Boston National Poetry Month Festival,
2018
Now, with more music!
By Kirk Etherton
This highly diverse festival--now in
its 18th year--is happening April 4-8. Most events are at the Boston
Public Library: the first, as always, is a Friday (April 6) afternoon
of "Keynote Poets." This year includes the acclaimed
"Melopoeia," a fusion of music and spoken word featuring
Rhina Espaillat, Alfred Nicol, and John Tavano.
 |
| Berklee guitarist Julian Dinwoodie |
The evening is sponsored by the great
Middle East Restaurants and Nightclubs.
Saturday, the incomparable Tomas
O'Leary will perform songs on his accordion (and also recite poetry),
and award-winning American singer-songwriter Thea Hopkins will be
there with a fantastic guitar. Sunday's performers include Madelyn
Holley (age six), making her second Festival appearance playing the
ukulele. Later, Berklee professor Beth Bahia Cohen will play violin.
Of course, there are plenty of great
people who will "simply" be reading unforgettable poetry:
Lloyd Schwartz; Gail Mazur; Fred Marchant; Joan Houlihan; Charles
Coe; Kate Finnegan; Richard Hoffman; Melissa Castillo-Garsow, Rep.
Denise Provost--plus Boston's current and former Poets Laureate, and
many more.
There are also two Open Mics, a panel
on "Craft and Publishing," and...well, go see for yourself
at: bostonnationalpoetry.org
NOTE: the Festival begins Wednesday
evening, April 4, with a High School Slam Poetry Contest.
As always, all events are FREE and open
to the public.
Sounds fantastic. Alas for the wings of a bird.
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