Feb 15 2015
Common Threads Poetry Celebration at West Falmouth Library

Common Threads Poetry Celebration at West Falmouth Library

at West Falmouth Library

Calliope Poetry Series will celebrate the recent release of the 2015 edition of the Common Threads poetry volume on at West Falmouth Library, 575 West Falmouth Highway, on Sunday, February 15 at 3 pm. The public is invited to this free event and light refreshment will be available.

Common Threads is an annual publication by Mass Poetry of 7-10 poems written by Massachusetts poets chosen by a Massachusetts poet, with a guide to reading and discussing the poems, videos of the poems being read (by the poets themselves when possible), and outreach to libraries, senior centers, book clubs, and more. The goal is to facilitate 350 poetry discussion groups throughout the state in an effort to broaden the audience for poetry. Falmouth poet Alice Kociemba, director of the Calliope Poetry Series which meets at the Library, is this year’s guest editor.

“The overarching theme of this fifth edition of Common Threads is love- a reverence for life and a zest for living that is intensified at moments of birth and death, the cherishing of one’s birthplace and the longing for what has been left behind, a passion for peace and respect for poetry itself as witness, and finally, the precious and precarious beauty of nature. Each of these eight poems reveals love’s common threads,” she said.

The volume begins with Richard Wilbur’s “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World” and ends with “The Osprey” by Cape Cod poet Mary Oliver.

Ms. Kociemba described the poems as “accessible” and “discussable.”

“They were designed to elicit our innate love of language and enchantment with story and song. Common Threads is similar to Robert Pinsky’s Favorite Poems Project in that it is inclusive of the general public. He wrote an essay, “How to Read a Poem” specifically for this edition of Common Threads,” she said.
“Cape Cod residents, in particular, will be captivated by Mary Oliver’s poem – as many of us are awed by the osprey’s power and are protective of their habitat.”

Fred Marchant, whose poem “The Salt Stronger,” is also included in the volume, will co-lead the event with Ms. Kociemba. Professor Emeritus of English at Suffolk University, Mr. Marchant is the founding director of the creative writing program and the Suffolk University Poetry Project.

Admission Info

Free of charge

Email: calliopepoetryreadings@verizon.net

Dates & Times

2015/02/15 - 2015/02/15

Location Info

West Falmouth Library

575 W Falmouth Hwy, West Falmouth, MA 02574