On Sunday, June 27th, 4:00pm-5:30pm, Calliope Poetry returns to the West Falmouth Library to celebrate the release of its anthology, From the Farther Shore: Discovering Cape Cod and the Islands Through Poetry. This event is free and open to the public. The Library is located at 575 West Falmouth Highway. Books and ordering information will be available at event.
The book, a collaborative project between Bass River Press (an imprint of the Cultural Center of Cape Cod) and Calliope Poetry, features 118 poems that touch on all of the Cape’s towns, as well as the Elizabeth Islands, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Together, the poems bring the region to life, focusing on famous landmarks and people, traditional industries, historical episodes, and the region’s overall history and heritage.

Co-editors Alice Kociemba, Robin Smith-Johnson and Rich Youmans will give an overview of the collection, presenting how they conceived, selected and organized the poems to bring the region to life. They and several local poets will then read selections from the book.

The poets range from the well-known (e.g., Pulitzer Prize–winners Stanley Kunitz and Mary Oliver) to those who are just at the start of promising careers.

Themes found throughout the book include the quality of light that draws artists to the region, the fragility of the environment, the erosion of the shoreline, and the pressure of development impacting the ecosystem. It also contains poems that highlight those who live on the Cape and islands year-round.

Alice Kociemba is founding director of Calliope Poetry and the author of Bourne Bridge (Turning Point, 2016). Alice was guest editor of Common Threads, the poetry discussion project of Mass Poetry (2015 & 2016).

Robin Smith-Johnson teaches at Cape Cod Community College. She is the author of two books of poetry: Dream of the Antique Dealer’s Daughter (Word Poetry, 2013) and Gale Warnings (Finishing Line Press, 2016), as well as being a co-founder of the Steeple Street Poets. Robin lives in Mashpee, MA.

Rich Youmans’s work has appeared in diverse publications, including Contemporary Haibun Online (where he currently serves as editor in chief), Cape Cod Poetry Review, the Cape Cod Times, and The Best Small Fictions 2020 (Sonder Press). He lives in North Falmouth with his wife, Alice Kociemba.

For information about Bass River Press and to order a copy of the anthology, visit www.cultural-center.org/bassriverpress, or email calliopepoetryforcommunity@gmail.com.