2019
May 28th
Cheryl Perreault
(Host of “Wake Up & Smell the Poetry”)
Cheryl Perreault, Ed.D. is a poet, writer and spoken-word artist. She encourages the sharing of poetry in the oral tradition and has hosted community poetry and story-sharing programs for a diversity of ages, life experiences and settings. With a background in psychology, Cheryl has taught a number of courses and seminars in life-span psychology in the Boston area. and has worked with hospice patients writing and conducting life- review stories. Cheryl offers performance programs of her own poetry and has recorded two cds “On Ants, Sandwiches and the Meaning of it All” and “Roar” with guitarist/producer Steve Rapson. She also provides community healing arts/celebrant programs with vocalist/songwriter Carolyn Waters and is co-editor with Cynthia Franca of Hopkinton through Poetry: Celebrating 300 Years featuring the poetry of 36 Hopkinton residents and friends from ages 8-102. At HCAM-TV Cheryl hosts/produces two programs for local cable TV which include “Wake up and Smell the Poetry” and “Meet Your Neighbor.” for HCAM-TV and can also be found at Roots and Wings Yoga and Healing Arts Center in Natick and Body n’ Beyond in Hopkinton where she offers a number of individual and group classes for writing, creativity, spirituality and well-being.
The featured Dead Poet of the month was Thomas Lux read by Paul Szlosek
June 25th
Stephen Campiglio
(Author of Cross-Fluence and Verbal Clouds through Various Magritte Skies)
Stephen Campiglio, a longtime Worcester arts organizer, and member of the former Noh Place Artists Cooperative, now makes his home in southern Worcester county and works in Continuing Education at Manchester Community College in Connecticut, where he founded and directed the Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series, which ran for 12 years (presently on hiatus). Stephen has performed his poetry in a variety of musical collaborations, including with the spoken word bands, Forbidden Poets, The Bluebottles, and Radial Points. His poems and translations have recently appeared in Aji Magazine, Chiron Review, City Works Journal, Journal of Italian Translation, Miramar, TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics, Tipton Poetry Journal, VIA: Voices in Italian Americana,and The Worcester Review. Winner of the Willis Barnstone Translation Prize for a poem by Italian writer, Giuseppe Bonaviri (1924-2009), he has now completed a book-length manuscript of translations on the author, The Ringing Bones: Selected Poems of Giuseppe Bonaviri. His new translation project is focused on the work of Italian poet, Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912), with co-translator and Pascoli scholar, Elena Borelli. Nominated for two Pushcart Prizes, Stephen has published two chapbooks, Cross-Fluence (Soft Spur Press, Missoula, MT: 2012) and Verbal Clouds through Various Magritte Skies (Cy Gist Press, New Haven, CT: 2014). He will have copies of Cross-Fluence to sign (which is also available on Amazon); Verbal Clouds through Various Magritte Skies is available through the publisher at: http://cygistpress.blogspot.com.
The featured Dead Poet of the month was Sylvia Plath read by Cody Peck
July 30th
Genie Johnson
(First Place Winner in the 12th Annual Julius Sokenu Poetry Awards)
Genie Johnson – Every year since 1970, the Connecticut Poetry Circuit has chosen a small group of student poets from Connecticut’s colleges and universities for a reading tour of campuses across the state. Selected as a Connecticut Student Poet, Genie Johnson is the only community college student [this year] and the first from QVCC to earn this distinction. Her poem, “Shadow”, selected for publication in The Chronicle by Eastern Connecticut State University Professor and Willimantic Poet Laureate Daniel Donaghy, she placed second in the 2018 QVCC Julius Sokenu Poetry Awards, and won first place in the 2019 QVCC Julius Sokenu Poetry Awards category for English poets. Genie resides in Woodstock, Connecticut with her husband Mike and their pug, Bailey.
The featured Dead Poet of the month was Mary Oliver read by Robert Eugene Perry
August 27th
Paul Richmond
(US National Beat Poet Laureate for 2019-2020, and Owner & Operator of Human Error Publishing)
Special Guest Feature (Visiting From Latvia)
Inga Gaile
Inga Gaile has published several collections of poetry, a collection of children’s poetry, plays and a novel. She often writes about stigmatized groups, feminist subjects and gender issues. Her first staged work was about the fate of poet Sylvia Plath. Her poems have been translated into English, German, Swedish, Lithuanian and Bengali. Gaile is active in the Latvian feminist movement and is the founder of a stand-up comedy group. Her new book of poems is “30 Questions People Don’t Ask: The Selected Poems of Inga Gaile” (Pleiades). Gaile lives in Riga, Latvia.
The featured Dead Poet of the month was Walt Whitman read by Genie Johnson
September 24th
Tommy Twilite
(Co-Founder & Director of the Florence Poets Society, Executive Editor of Silkworm, and Host of the Twilite Poetry Pub on WXOJ FM)
Tommy Twilite is the poet, musician, and retired firefighter who founded the Florence Poets Society in 2004 along with his friend, the late Carl Russo. The mission of the Florence Poets is to bring “poetry to the people” by providing a forum for anyone who wishes to explore and develop their own individual poetic vision. Tommy is the executive editor of Silkworm and the host of the Twilite Poetry Pub on WXOJ FM. He is currently working on a memoir “Firehorse“, and a collection of his selected poetry. He has published 5 chapbooks of poetry and his work has appeared in various publications including Meat for Tea, The Long Islander, Sinister Tales, Naugatuck RIver Review, and The Equinox.
The featured Dead Poet of the month was Marina Tsvetaeva read by Patick Yao*
*No Photo Available
October 29th
Robert Racicot
(Author of The Legend of Carbuncle Pond)
Robert Racicot is a poet, writer, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and former Professor of Chemistry at Worcester State University currently living in Oxford, MA. Robert recently left his college teaching career to pursue a path in writing; both young reader books and poetry. His poetry has been accepted for publication in Crosswinds Poetry Journal and Canary. The Legend of Carbuncle Pond is his first young reader’s book about the Native American legend of Carbuncle Pond. Earlier this month, Robert was also the feature along with fellow poet Susan Roney-O’Brien at the 1+1 Poetry Series at 19 Carter in Berlin, MA.
THE FEATURED DEAD POET OF THE MONTH was Seamus Heaney READ BY Karen Warinsky
(TO CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN, ATTENDEES WeRE ENCOURAGED THIS NIGHT TO WEAR MASKS OR COSTUMES AND READ A SCARY OR HALLOWEEN-THEMED POEM IN THE OPEN READING)
November 26th
Doug Anderson
(Author of The Moon Reflected Fire, Blues for Unemployed Secret Police, and Horse Medicine )
Poet Doug Anderson grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He served as a combat medic in the Vietnam War, and after Vietnam attended the University of Arizona, where he studied acting. He started writing poetry after he moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, and worked with the poet Jack Gilbert. Anderson has written about his experiences in the Vietnam War in both poetry and nonfiction. He is the author of the poetry collections The Moon Reflected Fire (1994), the winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and Blues for Unemployed Secret Police (2000). In 2009 he published his memoir, Keep Your Head Down: Vietnam, the Sixties, and a Journey of Self-Discovery. His most recent book is Horse Medicine (Barrow Street Press, 2015). His awards include a grant from the Eric Mathieu King Fund of the Academy of American Poets, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a Pushcart Prize. Anderson has taught at the University of Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut State University, and the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Its Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
THE FEATURED DEAD POET OF THE MONTH was Donald Hall Read by Clayton Arble
2020
January 28TH
Richard H. Fox
(Author of Time Bomb, Wandering in Puzzle Boxes, You’re My Favorite Horse, and The Complete Uncle Louie Poems)
Richard H. Fox dreams three-decker rainbows encircle The Woo. When not writing about rock ’n roll or youthful transgressions, his poems focus on cancer from the patient’s point of view drawing on hope, humor, and unforeseen gifts. He is the author of three poetry collections: Time Bomb (2013), wandering in puzzle boxes (2015), You’re my favorite horse (2017) and a chapbook: The Complete Uncle Louie Poems (2017). The winner of the 2017 Frank O’Hara Prize, he seconds Stanley Kunitz’ motion that people in Worcester are “provoked to poetry.”
The featured Dead Poet of the month was T.S Eliot read by Robert Eugene Perry
February 25TH
Ron Whittle
(Author of Goodbye Again, Postcards From a War Zone, and In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Grandson )
Ron Whittle, a lifetime resident of Massachusetts, was born in Worcester in 1947 and raised and educated in his home town of Shrewsbury. Further education came by way of the U.S. Navy, Vietnam, the Apollo 13 recovery team, and 45 years of family living. Ron divides his time between his home in Worcester and the shores of Cape Cod. His influences include Tom Waits, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Edgar Allan Poe, Ogen Nash, Ezra Pound, and Rod McKuen. Ron is a founder and co-host of the monthly open mic and featured poetry reading series The Poetorium at Starlite, a member of the Worcester County Poetry Association, the Works in Progress/ Outlaw Stage at the Worcester Artist Group, the Warrior Writers of Boston, and a founding member of the Worcester Art Walk. Ron has appeared and read on many local television programs including being a featured poet on “Wake up and Smell the Poetry” on HCAM-TV in Hopkinton, MA. He has also appeared on stage at the Massachusetts State Poetry Festival in Salem, MA, the Great Falls Word Festival at Turners Falls, MA, and the Garlic Festival in Orange, MA. Ron is the author of currently three published books of poetry (with many more scheduled to be published in the near future) from Human Error Publishing including Goodbye Again, Postcards From a War Zone, and his most recent In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Grandson which also features poems by both his late father and 9-year-old grandson Jake Hansen.
THE FEATURED DEAD POET OF THE MONTH was Lord Byron Read by Bob Datz
2022
JuNe 30th
The Grand Re-Opening of The Poetorium of Starlite*
*(Host Ron Whittle Filled in as Featured Poet for Scheduled Feature Meg Smith Whose Car Broke Down on Route to the Poetorium. Meg Has Now Been Re-Scheduled to Be the Feature for Our Halloween Poetorium Show on October 27, 2022)
THE FEATURED DEAD POET OF THE MONTH WAS AMELIA EARHART READ BY PAUL KOZLOWSKI
JULy 28TH
Wayne-Daniel Berard
(co-founding editor of Soul-Lit, an online journal of spiritual poetry )
Wayne-Daniel Berard, PhD, is an educator, poet, writer, shaman, and sage. An adoptee and former Franciscan seminarian, his adoption search led to the discovery and embrace of his Jewishness. Wayne-Daniel is a Peace Chaplain, an interfaith clergy person, and former college chaplain. He publishes broadly in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. His latest books of poetry include the full-length Art of Enlightenment and a chapbook Little Ghosts on Castle Floors, poems informed by the Potterverse, both with Kelsay Books. He is the co-founding editor of Soul-Lit, an online journal of spiritual poetry (www.soul-lit.com)
THE FEATURED DEAD POET OF THE MONTH WAS LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI READ BY PAUL SZLOSEK
August 25th
Tom Laughlin
(Author of The Rest of The Way)
Tom Laughlin is a professor at Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts where he teaches creative writing, literature, and composition courses, as well as coordinating the MCC Visiting Writers Series and open readings for students, faculty, and community members for the Creative Writing Program. He also coordinated the Writing Across the Curriculum Program at Middlesex Community College for many years; coordinated an Early Academic Intervention Program, the Writing Center, and creative writing activities at Massasoit Community College for nearly a decade; and taught literature classes in two Massachusetts prisons.
He was a founding editor of Vortext, a literary journal of Massasoit Community College, and a volunteer staff reader for many years for Ploughshares. His poetry and fiction have appeared in Green Mountains Review, Ibbetson Street, Drunk Monkeys, Sand Hills Literary Magazine, Blue Mountain Review, Muddy River Poetry Review, Superpresent Magazine, Hare’s Paw Literary Journal, Rockvale Review, Grey Sparrow Journal, North Essex Review, Molecule, and elsewhere.
He has also published academic articles in Teaching English in the Two-Year College and elsewhere, as well an annual calendar, Stone Balancing at Walden Pond, featuring photos of his stone balancing. His book of poetry, The Rest of the Way, is being released by Finishing Line Press in July 2022.
THE FEATURED DEAD POET OF THE MONTH WAS DOROTHY PARKER READ BY CHERYL BONIN
September 29TH
Jennifer Freed
(2022 Frank O’Hara Prize Winner)
Jennifer L Freed is a poet and teacher living in Holden, MA. She has a background in teaching English as a Second Language to adults, and currently leads writing programs for adults. Her first full-length collection, When Light Shifts (Kelsay, 2022), explores the aftermath of a family health crisis and was a finalist for the 2022 Sheila Margaret Motton Book Prize. She is also the author of a chapbook, These Hands Still Holding, a finalist in the 2013 New Women’s Voices Competition. Her awards include the 2022 Frank O’Hara Prize, Honorable Mention for the 2022 Connecticut Poetry Award, and the 2020 Samuel Washington Allen Prize for a long poem or poem-sequence. She has been a finalist for the Frank O’Hara prize multiple times and her work has been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and the Orison Anthology.
Less recently, Freed’s non-fiction describing her experiences as an English language teacher in Sichuan, China, was published in The Yale-China Review, and, in Chinese translation, in Cultural Meetings: American Writers, Scholars, and Artists in China (Guangxi Normal University Press). Her articles about life in Prague in the 1990s, where she worked as an English teacher shortly after the fall of the communist government, appeared in the travel section of The Boston Globe. Please visit jfreed.weebly.com to learn more.
THE FEATURED DEAD POET OF THE MONTH was Rod McKuen Read By Ron Whittle
October 27TH
Alan Ira Gordon*
(AUTHOR OF Planet Hunter and The Doggo Book)
Alan Ira Gordon is an urban planning professor at Worcester State University and writer of science fiction/fantasy/horror poetry and short stories. His poetry publications include Analog Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and he’s a frequent contributor to Star*Line, the quarterly journal of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA).
Alan’s science fiction/fantasy/horror poetry has received seven Rhysling Award nominations, a Dwarf Star Award, and an Analog Magazine year’s best nomination (Second Place Award). He has two published poetry collections, Planet Hunter and The Doggo Book (Hiraeth Books). Planet Hunter was nominated for the SFPA Elgin Award. Alan guest-edited Issue #24 of Eye To The Telescope, the online publication of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). His poetry, short stories, and articles have been published in various genre magazines and anthologies, a partial list of which can be found on his website at www.alaniragordon.com.
*Previously Announced Feature Poet Meg Smith Had to Unexpectedly Cancel Due to Unforseen Circumstances
The Poetorium at Starlite 