Community
Partners
In March 2020, I felt compelled to act during the pandemic despite being isolated at home. I authored an essay on LinkedIn called “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” This phrase is attributed to an English Theologian in 1650. It means that things always seem the worst right before they improve. As Mary Oliver said so eloquently in “The Journey”: “One day you finally knew what you had to do and began.” I knew what I had to do and began.
I suggested to Wendy Pearson, Stockbridge Library Director in Stockbridge, MA, that I would like to host a weekly virtual poetry hour. I wanted to create a space where poetry reading could be medicine for the soul in our community. In April 2020, I started hosting the weekly virtual poetry hour, which ran four seasons from April 2020 to June 2024.
Five of the first ten poets to read had resided at the Amy Clampitt house in Lenox, MA. The Amy Clampitt Fund seeks to advance poetry and the literary arts by providing poet Amy Clampitt’s prior residence in Lenox, Massachusetts to foster the study and promotion of poetry and serve as a retreat for a Poet-in-Residence to nurture and cultivate their work.
Learn more about The Stockbridge Library stockbridgelibrary.org.
In August of 2024, one of our poets (who was on a foundation board) told me that they wanted to support my poetry program with a grant. However, I needed to find a nonprofit partner. So I reached out to Topsham Public Library in Topsham, ME. Director Katherine Webber, Adult Services Librarian Emma Gibbon, and the board approved our program.
It was at this time the virtual poetry program evolved into a podcast called Poetry Medicine for the Soul. Season 5 aired October 2024 and ran through May 2025. I co-produced live National Poetry Month (NPM) events at Topsham Public Library in April 2025 and April 2026. The NPM events also included a Teen Poetry walk. Season 6 ran from December 2025 to May 2026. Season 7 is forthcoming.
Learn more about them at topshamlibrary.org.
In an effort to expand our audience and community, I worked with one of our poets who was a member of the Fort Worth Poetry Society. Established in 1910 in Forth Worth, TX, it is the oldest literary society in the Southwestern US.
We met with the organization's leadership and they agreed to post Poetry Medicine for the Soul episodes on their website. They have been sharing our podcast since Season 5.
Learn more about them at fwpoets.org.
