Upcoming Events
Launch of new book plus a series of poetry readings during March & April
Jennifer Barber's new book, The Sliding Boat Our Bodies Made, will be out soon from The Word Works, and she will be holding a few poetry readings this month and next. Here is a link if you’d like to pre-order the book.
https://wordworksbooks.org/product/the-sliding-boat-our-bodies-made/
Virtual: Rozzie Reads: Thursday, April 21st, with Charles Coe, 7 p.m. Link to come.
In-person: Brookline, Brookline Booksmith: Thursday, April 28th, 7 p.m.: 4 x 4 reading for National Poetry Month with Danielle Legros Georges, George Kalogeris, and Fred Marchant.
Poet information:
Jennifer Barber is Brookline’s current poet laureate, and co-editor with Jessica Greenbaum and Fred Marchant of Tree Lines: 21st century American poems, forthcoming from Grayson Books in 2022. Her poetry collection The Sliding Boats Our Bodies Made will be available in 2022 from The Word Works.
Danielle Legros Georges’ The Dear Remote Nearness of You was published in 2016 by Barrow Street Press; and her Island Heart, translations of the poems of Ida Faubert, published in 2021 by Subpress Books. The former Boston Poet Laureate, she teaches at Lesley University.
George Kalogeris's most recent book of poems is Winthropos (Louisiana State University Press, 2021) and his previous collection, Guide to Greece, was also published by Louisiana State University Press. Kalogeris teaches literature and classics in translation at Suffolk University in Boston.
Fred Marchant is the author of five books of poetry, the most recent of which is Said Not Said (Graywolf). He is also the editor of Another World Instead: The Early Poems of William Stafford (Graywolf), and the founding director of the Suffolk University Poetry Center in Boston.
Register here
https://wordworksbooks.org/product/the-sliding-boat-our-bodies-made/
Virtual: Rozzie Reads: Thursday, April 21st, with Charles Coe, 7 p.m. Link to come.
In-person: Brookline, Brookline Booksmith: Thursday, April 28th, 7 p.m.: 4 x 4 reading for National Poetry Month with Danielle Legros Georges, George Kalogeris, and Fred Marchant.
Poet information:
Jennifer Barber is Brookline’s current poet laureate, and co-editor with Jessica Greenbaum and Fred Marchant of Tree Lines: 21st century American poems, forthcoming from Grayson Books in 2022. Her poetry collection The Sliding Boats Our Bodies Made will be available in 2022 from The Word Works.
Danielle Legros Georges’ The Dear Remote Nearness of You was published in 2016 by Barrow Street Press; and her Island Heart, translations of the poems of Ida Faubert, published in 2021 by Subpress Books. The former Boston Poet Laureate, she teaches at Lesley University.
George Kalogeris's most recent book of poems is Winthropos (Louisiana State University Press, 2021) and his previous collection, Guide to Greece, was also published by Louisiana State University Press. Kalogeris teaches literature and classics in translation at Suffolk University in Boston.
Fred Marchant is the author of five books of poetry, the most recent of which is Said Not Said (Graywolf). He is also the editor of Another World Instead: The Early Poems of William Stafford (Graywolf), and the founding director of the Suffolk University Poetry Center in Boston.
Register here
Brookline poet laureate Jennifer Barber, hosted a virtual reading on Saturday, February 19 at 2pm, with guests Lloyd Schwartz, poet laureate of Somerville, Ma and Alondra Bobadilla, Boston's first youth poet laureate.
Lloyd Schwartz - Frederick S. Troy Professor of English Emeritus at UMass Boston, an editor of the works of Elizabeth Bishop, and an arts critic for NPR’s Fresh Air and WBUR’s the ARTery. He has been awarded NEA, Guggenheim, and Academy of American Poets fellowships in poetry and a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. His latest book is Who’s on First?—New and Selected Poems.
Alondra Bobadilla was named Boston’s first-ever Youth Poet Laureate in January of 2020. Her poetry demonstrates how creative expression can be a powerful tool for youth to examine feelings around issues, find their voice, and speak up about the changes they want to see for their future. Her collection of poems is entitled With Clipped Wings, and she is a student at UMass Boston majoring in International Relations with a minor in Dance.
Jennifer Barber is Brookline poet laureate for 2021-2024. Her new collection, forthcoming in 2022 from The Word Works, is The Sliding Boat Our Bodies Made.
Sign up for the Virtual Poetry Reading here!
Co-sponsored by the Brookline Commission for the Arts and the Public Library of Brookline.
past events

On Wednesday, April 25, Zvi A Sesling, hosted "Poetry in Translation" in Hunneman Hall, Brookline Village Library. This was an evening of international poetry as more than 15 poets read poems in the original language, followed by the English translation.
FALL 2017
The Bagel Bards, a literary group founded by Doug Holder and Harris Gardner in 2004, meet every Saturday at Au Bon Pain in Somerville, but for one night only on Thursday, October 26 from 7 to 8:15pm they entertained Brookline in Hunneman Hall at Brookline Village Library.
Featuring Bagel Bards Dennis Daly, Gloria Mindock, Doug Holder, Deborah Leipziger, Lawrence Kessenich, Timothy Gager and Brookline's own Poet Laureate, Zvi A Sesling. |
spring 2017
Zvi A Sesling, Brookline's third poet laureate, and past poets laureate, Judith Steinbergh and Jan Schreiber, invited the community to a well attended special poetry event, The Changing of the Bard, at Brookline Village Library, Hunneman Hall, on Thursday, May 11, where they read from the works of New England poets. |
fall 2016

An evening of poems & music on Wednesday, November 2 at 7pm in Hunneman Hall at Brookline Public Library.
The ancient art form of poetry spoken to music is given new life by poet Rhina Espaillat and guitarist/composer John Tavano. This free evening is hosted by Brookline Poet Laureate Jan Schreiber.
2015 |
Jan Schreiber, Brookline's second poet laureate, was inaugurated on April 1, 2015. Jan will be joined by Brookline’s first poet laureate, Judith Steinbergh, and national poetry slam champion, Regie Gibson, for a free evening of poetry and performance. in Hunneman Hall, Brookline Main Library, Wed, June 24 7-8.30pm Here’s what’s been said: “I was struck by the power and inherent music of Steinbergh’s poems” – Lucille Clifton “Regie, you sing and chant for all of us. Nobody gets left out.” - Kurt Vonnegut “Schreiber goes beyond the subterfuge of surfaces, into the very life of things.” - David Yezzi FREE ADMISSION |
Fall 2014poetry writing workshop: caring for our earthTues, Sept 16, 6:50-8:20pm - Led by Judith Steinbergh
Brookline Public Library, Coolidge Corner Branch. FREE With some guidance and much choice, try your hand at writing a poem about something from the natural world that intrigues and moves you, something you'd wish to protect or preserve. Novice and experienced writers are welcome. Space is limited so please contact Judith at brooklinepoetlaureate@gmail.com with your name and contact info if you plan to attend. Community Poetry Reading: Caring for our EarthWed, October 22, 7-8:20pm
Brookline Public Library, Main Branch, Hunneman Hall. FREE Readings by poets of all ages Contact Judith at brooklinepoetlaureate@gmail.com if you would like to read one short to medium length poem on a facet of our natural world that intrigues or concerns you. Please leave your full name, email or phone and the subject of your poem. Poems must be appropriate for family audiences. Interactive Poetry MapThe Poetry Brookline program that was developed by Judith Steinbergh, Brookline's Poet Laureate, produced a wealth of work created by the Brookline community from the ages of 8 to 80 and beyond.
Judith, in collaboration with Feng Yang in the IT Dept of town hall, created a wonderful interactive map of Brookline to show the locations that some of the poems were written about.. To visit the Brookline Poetry Map please click here then click on the icons along the bottom to visit various sites. You can then enlarge each poem by clicking on the poem itself. |
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In addition, Judith would like to recommend poetry events sponsored by other Brookline organizations:
POETRY DISCUSSION GROUP - Brookline Public Library Meets 12-1:30pm in the conference room in the Main Library. Bring your own lunch and copies of poems will be provided. No sign-up or preparation is necessary. Each month the group will read and discuss half a dozen poems of a well known poet. All Welcome. Fall dates: Sept 4 (Naomi Shihab Nye); Oct 2 (John Ashbery); Nov 6 (Adrienne Rich); Dec 4 (Ella Wheeler Wilcox). BROOKLINE POETRY SERIES
The group meets once a month on Sunday afternoons, Sept through May, normally in Hunneman Hall at the Main Library, with one or two established poets reading, followed by an open mike. The organizers can be contacted at poetry@brooklinelibrary.org. Please do not send written correspondence in care of the library. |
poetry brookline 2013
TOOK PLACE ON TUESDAY, OCT 15 IN HUNNEMAN HALL, BROOKLINE MAIN LIBRARY
Judith Steinbergh, Brookline poet laureate, introduced 30 readers ranging in age from 9 to 80, to read poems or sing songs about Brookline places, people, memories, and relationships to a packed out Hunneman Hall. Click here to sample the songs, poems and odes to our town, its parks, woods, neighborhoods, food delights, seasons, cycles, changes, history, and so much more.

Judith welcomes readers and audience
to the standing room only "Poetry
Brookline" event on Oct 15.
to the standing room only "Poetry
Brookline" event on Oct 15.
second annual world of poetry in brookline
The second annual World of Poetry in Brookline took place on Thursday, December 12, 2013 in Hunneman Hall, Brookline Main library
Hosted by Judith Steinbergh, Brookline Poet Laureate
This free event was a lyrical, insightful evening of poems by 10 readers in 10 languages. Poems were read in Japanese, Chinese, Bengali, Spanish, French, Creole, Italian, Farsi, German, and Russian. These poems, with their own rhythms and structures, images and references reflected Brookline's international community. Judith Steinbergh thanked all who read and shed light on the poems, poets and cultures. The event will soon be available on BATV.
See here for photos and some of the poems that were read.
Hosted by Judith Steinbergh, Brookline Poet Laureate
This free event was a lyrical, insightful evening of poems by 10 readers in 10 languages. Poems were read in Japanese, Chinese, Bengali, Spanish, French, Creole, Italian, Farsi, German, and Russian. These poems, with their own rhythms and structures, images and references reflected Brookline's international community. Judith Steinbergh thanked all who read and shed light on the poems, poets and cultures. The event will soon be available on BATV.
See here for photos and some of the poems that were read.