The Power and Pleasure of Poetry: 2011-2012

Poetry is a powerful medium: it produces strong reactions, and its inspirations run deep. It is a unique method of communication, too, open to all literacy levels, economic backgrounds, and cultural experiences. The structure, flexibility, and freedom inherent in a poem can break down barriers, allowing its readers—and its writers—to stand on the same level.

On June 9, 2011, the MHC will begin “The Power and Pleasure of Poetry,” an 18-month celebration of the poetry present in our programs and our lives. This site will regularly reflect where and how the power and pleasure of poetry will appear throughout Maine, so sign up for updates!


Poetry Year Kick-off

June 9, 2011
Words and Communities: the Conversations We Create
a reading and discussion experience with poet Candace Stover

Dialogue is at the heart of all Maine Humanities Council programs.

From adults who sturggle with reading to those who read with ease, MHC audiences across all levels discover how words can enrich and inspire them, connecting them to each other and to their communities.


General Audiences:

Let’s Talk About It

After Frost: Poetry in New England

Explore the variety and vitality of the region’s poetry, using Robert Frost as a touchstone. A specially created anthology begins with Frost’s work and includes thirty more recent poets representing a diversity of cultural points of view.

Offered at Witherle Memorial Library, Castine.

For more information contact Harry Kaiserian, 207-326-4375.

 





Articles

Taking Heart for Poetry

What a pleasure it was to sit next to Shanna McNair on a rainy Wednesday last week in the Governor’s mansion in Augusta, and watch her father, Wesley McNair, be inaugurated as Maine’s 4th Poet Laureate….. continue reading.

In These Hard Times: Where Can Maine People Turn?

It is a dark and stormy night, so stormy, in fact, that the traffic on the turnpike slows to 55 mph between Biddeford and Kennebunkport. I am on my way down to York Public Library to attend the last session of the Let’s Talk About It poetry series American Traditions; American Innovations... continue reading