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Inquiry – The Power of Poetry featuring Kathyrn Petruccelli

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This reading will be the 100th of our Online Poetry Series!

 

Workshop leader, tutor, and mom with roots in spoken word, Kathryn Petruccelli holds an MA in teaching English language learners. She also holds obsessions around themes of place, language and the ocean, as evident in her first poetry manuscript, “God of Sea. God of Salt.” A Best of the Net nominee and finalist for the Edith Wharton Writer-in-Residence, her poems have most recently appeared in Gulf Stream Magazine, Hunger Mountain, Bracken, and Whale Road Review. You can listen to Kathryn be interviewed on the Hive Poetry Collective broadcast through KSQD, Santa Cruz, California. And if you live in the vicinity of western Massachusetts, come take a tour at the Emily Dickinson Museum, where Kathryn might be your guide. More poems and information on workshops can be found at her website: poetroar.com. Drop a note and say hello!

 

Visit Kathryn Petruccelli’s website

 

 

Information about our Online Poetry Series from John Gillespie, who heads the program:

During the early stages of the pandemic (in March 2020), I suggested to the Stockbridge Library (MA) Director, Wendy Pearson, that we host a virtual weekly poetry hour for National Poetry month (April 2020).

The Season 1 program, “Poetry: Medicine for the Soul”, provided a space for people where poetry could be medicine for their soul. It went well beyond April 2020 and ended in June 2021. In Season 2, called “The Refuge of Witnessing”, we wanted a place where we all can feel safe, a sanctuary, a port in a storm, a place where we can recharge, reset, let good ideas and friendships wash over us. We wanted each of us to witness our own story, our family’s stories, and our community’s stories. We yearned to go beyond ourselves, to “bear witness” to situations that need our collective action, and more importantly our specific action.

Season 3 began by engaging “Inquiry – The Power of Poetry Questions”. Emily Perez, who read in Season 1 and 2, said it quite well: “I think a great poem is asking questions and though it may not find answers, it engages in a search ”. In “Sometimes” (David Whyte), the last three lines are “Questions that can make or unmake a life, Questions that have patiently waited for you, Questions that have no right to go away.” This year, we dive into the power of poetry to ask us questions.

We’re very pleased to have Kathryn Petruccelli return to read for us this week as we celebrate our 100th reading. Workshop leader, tutor, and mom with roots in spoken word, Kathryn holds an MA in teaching English language learners. She also holds obsessions around themes of place, language and the ocean, as evident in her first poetry manuscript, “God of Sea. God of Salt.” A Best of the Net nominee and finalist for the Edith Wharton Writer-in-Residence, her poems have most recently appeared in Gulf Stream Magazine, Hunger Mountain, Bracken, and Whale Road Review.

All readings are recorded and are accessible on the library’s YouTube channel.

Contact John Gillespie at jgillespie@beyondtbl.com for program information.