Date:  Thursday, April 21, 2011
Time:  4:30 - 8:00 pm
Place:  In the Library's Lecture Hall

            More than twenty-five well-known and emerging poets, along with University of Maine students and community members, will joins voices at the ninth annual POETS/SPEAK! on Thursday, April 21 from 4:30 – 8:00 p.m. at the Bangor Public Library. The annual reading is sponsored by the library in celebration of National Poetry Month.

            According to Kathleen Ellis, Orono poet and event coordinator, POETS/SPEAK! celebrates the spirit of Walt Whitman’s lines: “Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me?”

            “We hope the reading will call attention to the diversity of sounds and cultures of Poetry and the World, the theme of the annual event which features ‘many voices reading’” says Ellis, who teaches English and Honors at the University of Maine. She has also translated the work of Latin American women poets in exile.

            While honoring Whitman’s tradition of seeking community among strangers, POETS/SPEAK! also seeks to be a showcase of talented poets, both nationally known as well as emerging younger writers from eastern and central Maine.

            This year’s event will also feature a conversation with poets Linda Buckmaster and Ellen Taylor, who have written about their experiences as wanderers below the border in Mexico and Central America.

            The evening will begin with Latin jazz performed by the Karel Lidral Duo, refreshments, and an opportunity to browse the books and literary magazines on sale, and meet participating writers and poets.

            Readings start at 5 p.m. with a memorial tribute to Lucille Clifton by Zimbabwean poet Patricia Sithole, who will also read her own work. The event will conclude with a tribute to Bill Lippincott, longtime bookstore owner in downtown Bangor who will close his store this spring.

            Well-known Maine poets reading include Christian Barter, Lee Sharkey, Linda Buckmaster, Cheryl Daigle, Leonore Hildebrandt, Terrell Hunter, Annaliese Jakimides, and Ellen Taylor. Many will also be signing their latest books at the event.

            In addition, the region’s exciting group of younger poets will be represented at this year’s event, including Lisa Panepinto, Megan London, Clinton Spaulding, and Stefania Irene Marthakis.

            Along with readings by University of Maine student poets Breanna Frits, Sarah Lingo, Aya Mares, Steve Martin, and Steve Morin, two Bangor High School writers, Joshua Elwood and Becca Pelletier, will also read their work.

            POETS/SPEAK! is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Bangor Public Library at 947-8336.

Bangor Public Library is a founding member of Bangor Arts, a collaboration inviting the public to discover and enjoy the excitement of Bangor’s world of art and culture.

Bangor Public Library is a founding member of Bangor Arts, a collaboration inviting the public to discover and enjoy the excitement of Bangor’s world of art and culture.