Poetic Waltham

Waltham and surrounding towns observed the twenty-second annual National Poetry Month with a collection of diverse events to enrich our common culture.

Newtonville Books began the poetic experience with a poetry reading with Martha Collins, author of "Night Unto Night," and Joan Houlihan, author of "Shadow-Feast." These two poets read passages of their poetry collections.

Wellesley Books featured Catherine Stearns, Lynne Viti, and Heather Corbally Bryant. Each of these three women write about personal history, self-awareness, womanhood, and family, each in a uniquely defied style. The poets shared that they gain inspiration from their families, the memories of their childhoods, and from the environment they encounter daily, from tall trees to street signs. Listeners were encouraged to find moments to reflect on personal lives, pasts, and hopes for the future.

Robbins Library in Arlington was the hub of the poetic universe one afternoon. The Talking Chair was unveiled with gracious ribbon-cutting ceremony enveloping the large crowd with shared creative joy.

The Talking Chair is the brain-child of Emily Calvin Bottis. This high-tech multi-media experience brings to life poems written by a diversity of folks from Arlington.

Poet Achan Manning wrote and narrated "The Lost Man."

Poetry on Demand was procured at Belmont Books. Poets Whitney Scharer and Allison Adair were on hand for personalized poem requests. Children were as enthralled by the typewriters as they were by the prospect of their ideas becoming instant poetry!

Luke listened to typewriters clacking as poets compose poems on the theme of his choosing.

Gallery 55 on 55 S. Main Street in Natick hosted their 3rd Thursday Poetry. Local poet Carla Schwartz warmed up the stage with readings from her Vermont flavoured words.

Open Mic Poetry Night at Belmont Books brought voices together.

Writers Dan Chiasson and Robin MacArthur shared their poetry and prose at Wellesley Books.

A Night of Poetry was offered at Belmont Books. Poets Krysten Hill, Maggie Dietz, and Sandra Lim read their poems.

On Monday the 30th at 7PM, Newtonville Books is hosting readings by poets Deborah Leipziger, E.J. Graff, Anna Warrock, and Peter Payack.

Local publisher Indie Woods supported poetry in Waltham by sponsoring Hands On Poetry. HOP uses STEM to explore poetry.

On Saturday April 14, children gathered for the Indie Woods HOP at the Waltham Public Library. They used word blocks to build physical poetry. Colourful towers became rhymes. The children also listened to readings of the library's cheerfully poetic board books, "Llama Llama Hoppity Hop," and "Llama Llama Wakey-Wake." The kids experienced words in a new, concrete way.

Three year old Nikhil built a poem by playing with colour patterns.

Indie Woods HOP returned to the WPL on Saturday, April 21 featuring different coloured magnets and corresponding origami paper. Magnetic butterflies and a rainbow of Duplo blocks were accessible to contrast and compare, practice new vocabulary, and to experiment with gravity, sound, colour blending, and magnetic properties. Scientific questions were asked and expressed with poetic observations. Four year old Fiona of Waltham discovered that she could cause the butterflies to flutter over paper by using magnets. In the open-ended and instructor guided setting, poetry and science blended together like colours of a rainbow.

The third and final installment of Hands On Poetry for National Poetry Month incorporated music into spoken word poetry. Percussion instruments were used to integrate sound into poems to explore rhythm, tempo, and volume.

National Poetry Month is recognized as the largest literary event in the world.Indie Woods is proud to promote local poets and encourage poetry appreciation in city culture.

Local Author Jessica Lucci unveiled her new volume of poetry, "Freedom for Me," which became a number one Amazon bestselling new release its first day of publication. Featuring cover art by Waltham-raised photographer Linda Utley Harrington, it has been nominated for All Authors Cover of the Month. Lucci's other poetry books, "Person Numbers," and award-winning "Code Words," are available at discounted prices to encourage the reading of poetry throughout this celebratory month.

Thank you for taking this poetic journey with me this month. Thanks to your feedback and readership, I am introducing a new monthly feature on Waltham Patch. The series, "Literally Waltham," will involve a monthly focus featuring local bookish activities. If you have literary events which are being offered locally, you can share them by e-mailing me through my website. Literally!