JANUARY 25, 2022, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: Jimmy Pappas and Making the Private Public: Join us when poet, Jimmy Pappas, discusses writing poetry that makes the private public. We all have personal, private stories we are sometimes hesitant to share. When we do let the world know through our poetry, we share a common humanity. Other human beings recognize those stories in their own lives. As the author Dinty W. Moore said “. . . most individuals keep these parts so hidden that there is little chance to discover the commonality.” Other moments can be so extraordinary that they find no commonality. It is up to the individual to decide what to open up to the world. Pappas is author of Scream Wounds, a book of poems of Veterans’ stories, and is the winner of the 2019 Rattle chapbook contest. He also won the 2018 Rattle Readers Choice Award. Pappas was interviewed by Tim Green in RattleCast #34. Pappas is published in over 100 journals and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He runs the Tuesday ‘PSNH Presents’ online poetry discussion series. Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
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PSNH Presents Dominican American Poet Diannely Antigua
JANUARY 18, 2022, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: PSNH Presents Dominican American Poet Diannely Antigua: Dominican American poet and educator, Diannely Antigua, writes from a “painfully self-aware” female perspective. Raised in Massachusetts responding in English to her mother’s Spanish, raised to be a devout Christian while yearning the physicality of love, being a woman of color with “big hair”, Antigua lives a life that necessitates processing and negotiating around differences, as well as trauma. In the process, she fell in love with words: “Language, my Liberia, is my refuge.” In addition to winning the Pamet River Prize and a 2020 Whiting Award for her debut collection Ugly Music (YesYes Books, 2019), Antigua has been the recipient of several notable fellowships and has been chosen for the Best of the Net Anthology and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Antigua received her MFA from New York University and was awarded a Global Research Initiative Fellowship to study in Florence, Italy. We invite you to join us for an evening of truth-telling and inspiration. Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
An Evening with Jack Ridl
JANUARY 11, 2022, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: An Evening with Jack Ridl: Poet and educator, Jack Ridl, has a knack for writing accessible poems about universal topics, rooting his messages in objects of ordinary life – dog paws and doorknobs, cats and cars, Harleys and kitchen towels. He has published more than 300 poems in numerous anthologies and journals and has authored several collections of poetry – notably, one about basketball. Though Ridl retired from Hope College after serving as a Professor of English for over 30 years, he continues his mission to use poetry to “nourish, heal, strengthen” by leading poetry workshops around the country at educational, art, and other institutions. Take the chill off of winter by joining us for a heartwarming informative evening. Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
Russian Poetry
JANUARY 4, 2022, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: Russian Poetry: Award-winning literary translator, co-director of Zephyr Press, and poet, J. (“Jim”) Kates, will discuss Russian poetry: Russian poets are renowned for both their public and private voices. We’ll read a few of the classic examples of Russian poems mostly from the 20th century—Pasternak, Akhmatova, Yevtushenko, and others—and, of course, their translations into English. Kates, the translator of a dozen books of Russian and French poetry, has also published three chapbooks of his own poems and one full book, The Briar Patch (Hobblebush Books). Kates, who has been granted three National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and an Individual Artist Fellowship from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, is also a former president of The American Literary Translators Association. Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
Paying Attention in the Midst of Wilderness
DECEMBER 14, 2021, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: Paying Attention in the Midst of Wilderness: Join us for a special presentation by Amber Rose Crowtree, MFA, a poet whose poems are informed by her life growing up on the coast of Downeast Maine, among fishing families and others with lives connected to wilderness and nature, as well as the seasons she worked for the National Park Service. Crowtree’s poetry explores the relationship between body and natural landscape, experience and wilderness. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals over the past 20 years. Her newest chapbook is The Inviolable Hours (Finishing Line Press, 2021). NH poet, Jennifer Militello has said Crowtree’s poems “…shelter an enviable quiet as they coax mythologies and reflections from the wonders of the natural landscape” and of Crowtree, herself, “…a poet who fully inhabits the complex and sorrowing world.” Also, if you attended last week’s Eco-Poetry discussion, Crowtree’s work might be an interesting follow-up. Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
Eco-Poetry with Deborah Leipziger
DECEMBER 7, 2021, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: Eco-Poetry with Deborah Leipziger: Join us for a special presentation by Deborah Leipziger, an award-winning poet, author, and advisor on sustainability. Born in Brazil, Ms. Leipziger is the author of several books on sustainability and human rights, some of which have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese. She is the co-founder of Soul-Lit, an on-line poetry magazine. Her chapbook, Flower Map, was published by Finishing Line Press (2013). Several of her poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Forthcoming in January 2023 is Story & Bone (Lily Poetry Review Books). Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
The Field Guide as a Template for Poetry Collections
NOVEMBER 30, 2021, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: The Field Guide as a Template for Poetry Collections: Poet and pediatrician, Dr. Kelley White, will introduce us to, and discuss, the concept of writing a collection of poetry as if it were a field guide, which was the concept that she used for her most recent collection A Field Guide to Northern Tattoos (Main Street Rag Press). Dr. White’s publications include 8 chapbooks and 7 full-length collections of poetry. Her poems have been nominated 17 times for a Pushcart Prize. Dr. White currently serves as Poet in Residence at Drexel University College of Medicine. Along the way perhaps the discussion will generate some of your own ideas for creating a chapbook in a different way! Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
Where Slam Meets the Page
NOVEMBER 23, 2021, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: Where Slam Meets the Page: Join us for an evening with poet Nathaniel Bek, winner of the 2020 ‘Three Mile Harbor Press Poetry Book Award’. This will be an evening of discussion and poetry on the topic of “Where slam meets the page.” Nathaniel has curated a list of eight poems that range from the page to performance on a national stage. He plans to discuss the editing choices, style, and theory that separates them. This exploration will delve into slam theory, and the challenges associated with trying to merge both facets of poetry. Hope you can join us! Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
Gilbert Arzola on Migrant Workers
NOVEMBER 16, 2021, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: Gilbert Arzola on Migrant Workers: Join us as we welcome recent winner of the Rattle Chapbook Prize, Gilbert Arzola. Arzola will discuss his book of poems about the life of his father, who worked as a migrant farm worker, and how migrant work impacted his family. Come hear how he integrates stories of ordinary life — of a difficult life — into his poignant poems. We look forward to a fascinating evening! Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
Spiritual Poetry
NOVEMBER 9, 2021, TUESDAY AT 7:00 PM ET: Spiritual Poetry: Join editors of Soul-Lit, Deborah Leipziger and Wayne-Daniel Berard, who will be discussing the topic of Spiritual Poetry. Contact Jimmy Pappas at psnhevents@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to attend.
Poetry Society of New Hampshire 