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Montpelier Alive Thanks Our Legacy Member
Poetry Alive comes to Montpelier!

The Kellogg-Hubbard Library and Montpelier Alive join together to install a display throughout downtown Montpelier, Vt in celebration of National Poetry Month (April, 2010). Download a pdf map and guide.
Rachel Senechal, Program and Development Director of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Ryan Deery, their Vista member, and Phayvanh Luekhamhan, Montpelier Alive volunteer, coordinated the effort. Phayvanh’s been blogging about it here: <www.phayvanh.com>
The exhibit includes student and professional Vermont poetry, as well as those no longer writing among us, such as Robert Frost and Grace Paley. It features 80+ poets in 30+ venues, representing more than 20 Vermont cities and towns. This is truly a walkable anthology of contemporary Vermont poets. Conduct your own self-guided tour during the month of April by following the free guide and map provided by the Kellogg-Hubbard Library and other downtown retailers.
Other Poetry Events in celebration of National Poetry Month:
April 13th: April Ossmann, Peggy Sapphire and Baron Wormser reading at Bear Pond Books, 7 p.m.
April 20th: Pamela Harrison at Bear Pond Books, 7 p.m.
April 21st: Tim Mayo and Patricia Fargnoli at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library at 7 p.m.
April 22nd through May 9th: Song for My Father by David Budbill at Lost Nation Theater, times vary.
April 23rd: Montpelier Art Walk, 4-8 p.m.
April 23rd: Group Poetry Reading at Vermont College of Fine Arts, 4:30 p.m. With Reception and book signing, featuring Jody Gladding , Wyn Cooper, Kerrin McCadden, Izabel Nielsen, Sophia Manley, and Paige Ackerson-Keily.
April 23rd: Randolph poet Linda Corelia will be reading from her poetry at The Shoe Horn (Art Walk venue#24) at 7 p.m. Her poem "Touchstone" is on display in their window as part of POETRY Alive!
April 27th: Open Poetry Reading at Bear Pond Books, 7 p.m. Early sign-up that day.
April 28th: POETRY Alive! The Music of Poetry A talk by pianist Michael Arnowittat 7pm at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. "The Music of Poetry," Michael Arnowitt's newest lecture-demonstration, explores the musical aspects of poetry, song lyrics, and literature. The talk offers a musician's insights on the elements of sound and time in literary composition and the parallels he hears between the creations of great writers and the music of past and present classical composers and jazz and pop songwriters.
Topics include how poets and lyricists build momentum, tension, and resolution; the rhythm of syllables in poetry lines; alliteration and other sequences of consonant and vowel types; the use of punctuation, capitalization, and white space on the page to give a sense of time in writing; how songwriters decide the best order of words; and a humorous look at what makes a good fictional character name.
The presentation will also venture into more esoteric subjects such as modern poets' peculiar one word lines and strangely-placed paragraph breaks in the middle of sentences, and how to better understand these oddities through analogies to music. Michael Arnowitt will discuss these topics through brief excerpts drawn from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Macbeth, and the Tempest, Coleridge's "Kubla Khan," Wordsworth's "A slumber did my spirit seal," Thomas Pynchon's novel "Gravity's Rainbow," poems by e.e. cummings and Dylan Thomas, Chopin's Prelude in A-flat major, a Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau recording of 19th century romantic German art song by Robert Schumann, Rodgers and Hart tunes, the song "Something's Coming" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, oratory by an African-American minister, pop songs by the Beatles and James Taylor, and a poem by Carol Maillard of Sweet Honey in the Rock called H2O Flow.
POEMS
1. Hunger Mountain Co-op,
623 Stone Cutters Way
Featuring hand-painted haikus on the café windows themed around nature and food.
“Snow by Night” by Helen Neswald of Saxtons River
“Spring Cleaning” by Bill Devlin of Putney
“[untitled]” by Judith Chalmer of Burlington
“The Bridge” by James Facos of Montpelier
“[untitled]” by Kevin Macneil Brown of Montpelier
“Here” by Ivy Schweitzer of Norwich
Two untitled haikus by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier
“[untitled]” by Colleen Chatterton of Brattleboro
“Snow By Night” by Helen Neswald of Saxtons River
“Child” by Mary Elder Jacobsen of North Calais
2. Minuteman Press, 7 Main Street
Hand-painted haikus on the front windows.
“Last Embrace” by Evelyn Stillwell Webler of Montpelier
“Anima” by Martha Zweig of Hardwick
“Dark Glasses” by Bill Devlin of Putney
3. First In Fitness, 1 Blanchard Court
A poem on each of the front doors.
“Marlowe Poem” by Joshua Pace of Montpelier
“Dissolve” by Wyn Cooper of Halifax
4. The Drawing Board, 22 Main Street
As usual, an artful and inspired window display.
“Insight” by Inga Potter of Waitsfield
5. Rhapsody Natural Foods Café,
28 Main St.
An artful window display inspired by a few poems by Thomas Mulholland of Montpelier.
6. Capitol Copy, 32 Main Street
“The Sandman” by Geof Hewitt of Calais
7. Petals and Things, 36 Main Street
“Lawn Party” by Pamela Ahlen of Woodstock
“Morning Chorus” by Sally Ann Reisner of Fayston
“Exile” by Ellen Bryant Voigt of Cabot
“Peony Petals” by Carol Johnson Collins of South Duxbury
“Communion” by Heather Begley of South Strafford
8. 50 Main St. (formerly Capitol Video)
A group of Montpelier High School Student Poems.
“The Old Man I Saw in Front of Saint Helena’s Nursing Home” and “Rubber Bands” by Isaac Reilly
“How to Set a House on Fire” and “I grab the sky not only with my eyes” by Kate Sprout
“Streamline” and “Kitchen Sink” by Izabel Nielsen
“Almost Downpour” by Emma Schoenberg
“Klezmer” and “Nova” by Ezekiel Smith
“Spelunking” and “Xavier” by Maggie Kinzel
“A Stitch In Time” by Julia Francis
“Layers” by Marielle Johnson (Teacher Intern)
“How to Miss a Man” by Kerrin McCadden (Teacher)
9. Capitol Stationers, 54 Main Street
“The Day You Came Back” by Phyllis Katz of Norwich
“My Double Death as a Bowl” by Kate Fetherston of Montpelier
“Bovinity” by Rebecca Macijeski of Northfield Falls
“Reliving History” by Francette Cerulli of Worcester
“As If Nothing Were Out of Place” and “Epilogue” by Carol Greenhouse of Putney
10. Peach Tree, 65 Main Street
“The Afterglow” by Rachel Hadas of St. Johnsbury
“Speak to Me” by Charles Hoffman of Montpelier
11. Montpelier Pharmacy, 69 Main Street
“Ode to Bedroom Slippers” by Susan Thomas of Marshfield
“Pajamas” by Earline Marsh of Moretown
12. No. 9 Boutique, 75 Main Street
A hand-painted window.
“Moonlight Fantasy” by Regina Murray Brault of Burlington
13. Guitar Sam, 71 Main Street
“A Good One” by Bob Messing of Montpelier
14. Bear Pond Books, 77 Main Street
Plus, a rotating display of poetry in the other window.
“from Urban Renewal, XIII” by Major Jackson of South Burlington
15. Zutano, 79 Main Street
“[untitled]” by Uli Belenky of Cabot
16. Coffee Corner, 83 Main Street
“My Town” by Lea Walker Wood of Montpelier
17. Artisans Hand Craft Gallery,
89 Main St.
Poems “growing” in the outdoor garden all month long.
“Bridge of Vermillion”, “Ode to Sacred Space”, and “Back to the Center” by Jonah Neale of Montpelier
“Bird Song”, “Loom Song”, and “April” by Cora Brooks of Montpelier
18. The Skinny Pancake, 89 Main Street
Hand-painted poems on the windows.
“[untitled]” by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier
19. The Times-Argus, 112 Main Street
“Ghost Frost” by Roger Weingarten of Montpelier
“A Time to Talk” by Robert Frost formerly of Ripton
“Afghanistan” by Phayvanh Luekhamhan of Montpelier
20. Adorn!, 116 Main Street
“Anne Boleyn’s Dressmaker” by Carol Milkuhn of Waitsfield
21. The Kellogg-Hubbard Library,
135 Main St.
Come inside! Poems posted inside the building.
“After Reading Emily Dickinson” by Merry Gangemi of Woodbury
“[untitled]” by Sharon Darrow of Plainfield
“Elegiac Heart” by Pamela Harrison of Norwich
“Spring Harvest” by Jack Gundy of Corinth
“Busy” by Kyle Cushman of Marshfield
“Remembrance” by Ruth Pestle of Waitsfield
“Daily Ritual” by Dorothy Warren of Warren
“Hilltop Sonnet” by David Huddle of Burlington
“Poet Interruptus” by Cecilia Leibovitz of Craftsbury
“Only the Sound Itself” by Ben Mitchell of Putney
“First Winter Here (After “Gazing North” by Wang An-Shih)” by Melita Schmeckpeper of Berlin
“Snowbound” by Alison D. Moncrief of Burlington
“Mojo No Mo” by Keith Nathan Brown of Brattleboro
“Into Green” by Michael Travisano of Dummerston
“The Proof” by Peter Money of Brownsville
“A Hebridean Day on the Hill, Vermont” by Anne Shivas of Norwich
“Spring” by Dan Wetmore of Montpelier
“I Believe in Birds” by Linda Aldrich of Marlboro
“Accidentals” by Lynn Martin of Brattleboro
“Afterwards” by Peggy Sapphire of Craftsbury
“James Monroe’s Dream” by Charles Barasch of Plainfield
“My Father’s Whistle” by Jim Schley of South Strafford
“The Sea Chews Things Up” by Cleopatra Mathis of Hanover
“Temperament” by Ivy Schweitzer of Norwich
“Horses Are Missing” by Sarah Brock of Montpelier
“Marion Beatty, the Outlaw” by Phayvanh Luekhamhan of Montpelier
22. Birchgrove Baking, 279 Elm Street
Includes an artfully decorated poem cake display.
“Green Birch” by Phyllis Rachel Larrabee of Woodbury
“Animal Art” by Ann Day of Fayston
“2006, summer” by Phayvanh Luekhamhan of Montpelier
23. Uncommon Market, 1 School Street
“Grazing” by Danny Dover of Bethel
“Blackberry Poem” by Tim Mayo of Brattleboro
“Dark Chocolate” by April Ossmann of Post Mills
24. Washington County Youth Service Bureau, 38 Elm Street
“Homeless Sneakers” by Morgan W. Brown of Montpelier
“Misfit” by Leonard Irving of Plainfield
25. The Cheshire Cat, 28 Elm Street
“One Moment After a Lake Champlain Sunset” by Samantha Lori Kolber of Montpelier
26. The Knitting Studio, 97 State Street
“Spring Green” by Mary Elder Jacobsen of North Calais
27 . Restaurant Phoebe, 52 State Street
“The First Green of Spring” by David Budbill of Wolcott
28. The Book Garden, 50 State Street
“The English Language” by Sherry Olson of Marshfield
29. Salaam Boutique, 40 State Street
“Piano Recital by Lady in White Dress” by Regina Murray Brault of Burlington
30. The Men’s Store, 30 State Street
A hand-painted window display.
“Hide and Seek 1933” by Galway Kinnell of Sheffield
31. Woodbury Mountain Toys, 24 State St.
“One Day” by Jody Gladding of Calais
32. Capital Kitchen, 18 State Street
“Ode to Utensils” by Jane Shore of Calais
33. Chittenden Bank, 112 State Street
A poem on the front and back doors.
“Promissory Note” by Galway Kinnell of Sheffield
“Springtime” by Roy Shifrin of White River Junction
34. The Pink Shutter/Shaline’s Bridal, 27 State Street
“Anniversary Waltz” by Robert Barasch of Plainfield
“Psalm of Love” by James Facos of Montpelier
35. Onion River Kids, 7 Langdon Street
“[untitled]” by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier
36. Global Gifts, 9 Langdon Street
“Tokyo, Near Ueno Station” by Julia Shipley of Craftsbury
37. Buch Spieler Music, 27 Langdon St.
“jazz on langdon st.” by Lené Gary of Montpelier
38. Onion River Sports, 20 Langdon St.
2 untitled poems by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier
39. The Shoe Horn, 8 Langdon Street
“Touchstone” by Linda Corelia of Randolph
40. Langdon Street Café, 4 Langdon St.
“Walking in the Woods” by Grace Paley formerly of Thetford
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