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A Garden of Verse: Two Powerful Voices in BIPOC Poetry
July 27, 2021 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT
Join us for a free reading by two powerful voices in BIPOC poetry.
Marilyn Nelson is the author or translator of 17 books of poetry, plus a memoir. A three-time finalist for the National Book Award, she has been awarded the Frost Medal, the Lenore Marshall Prize, an NEA fellowship, a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, and the Poetry Society of America’s award for “distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry.” A professor emerita of English at UConn, Marilyn currently serves as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She was Poet Laureate of CT from 2001 to 2006, as well as the founding director of Soul Mountain Retreat, a writers’ colony.
Frederick-Douglass Knowles II is an educator and activist. He is the inaugural Poet Laureate for the City of Hartford. He is a recipient of the Nutmeg Poetry Award and was named a Connecticut Office of The Arts Fellow in Artist Excellence for Poetry/ Creative Non-Fiction in 2020. Frederick-Douglass is a Professor of English at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, CT. His book, BlackRoseCity, was published in 2011.
“A Garden of Verse: Poetry in the Keeler Tavern Gardens” is a project of Ridgefield Poet Laureate Barb Jennes, whose mission is to encourage Ridgefield residents to read, write, listen to, and enjoy more poetry. Jennes, a widely published, award-winning poet, is a retired Ridgefield Public Schools educator. She and her husband, Chuck, have lived in town for 22 years.
The walled garden and Garden House of the Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center were built around 1915 by renowned architect Cass Gilbert, who acquired the tavern as his summer home in 1907. Today, the classical garden and its arches, walls, decorative urns, and sculptures are maintained by a cadre of Keeler volunteers.
* READING BEGINS AT 7:00 PM.
* Limited parking on site; more at Jesse Lee Church across Main Street
* PLEASE NOTE: Public restrooms are NOT available during the event!
* RAIN VENUE: Ridgefield Guild of Artists, 34 Halpin Lane, Ridgefield
