Grolier Poetry Festival June 2, 2018 Reading, Workshop & Performance
It was a day that poetry poured out of the old Grolier Poetry Bookshop and filled Plympton Street with new and vibrant sounds. Celebrating its 90th anniversary, the bookshop held the Grolier Poetry Festival, a day full of readings by great poets like Kathleen Spivack, David Ferry, Lloyd Schwartz, Gail Mazur, Sajed Kamal, XJ Kennedy, Kevin McLellan and Ruth Lepson. I was honored to perform in the festival alongside these strong voices that mean so much to the art of poetry today. The outdoor stage also showcased musicians and dancers. It rained in pockets, the sudden showers typical of New England spring, but people kept reading and playing music, and listening. The harpist Audrey Harrer and I (seen below) almost performed under a tree that provided shelter from the rain, but the kind stage manager, James Fraser, offered to hold umbrellas during our performance. You can see a segment of our performance in the videoclip. Afterwards, I gave a writing workshop inside the poetry bookshop on writing credos, using the book I edited with Rita BanerjeeCREDO: An Anthology of Manifestos & Sourcebook for Creative Writing. In all, there were about 15 attendees of the workshop, and I was inspired by the energy everyone was sharing to create, write, tell stories, proclaim their truth, etc. In the evening, I had the privilege to perform with my longtime partner and collaborator, Dennis Shafer as part of Sounds in Bloom.
Diana Norma Szokolyai leads CREDO workshop at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop
Diana Norma Szokolyai leads CREDO workshop at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop
Audrey Harrer and Diana Norma Szokolyai
Elizabeth Doran, Diana Norma Szokolyai, Kathleen Spivack
Kathleen Spivack
Elizabeth Doran, Diana Norma Szokolyai, Kathleen Spivack
Diana Norma Szokolyai leads CREDO workshop at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop
Diana Norma Szokolyai leads CREDO workshop at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop
Diana Norma Szokolyai leads CREDO workshop at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop
dancers at the Grolier Poetry Festival
The entire day was a love song to poetry and its relevance, its vibrant life today! I am grateful to Ifyeani & Carol Menkiti, Elizabeth Doran, the entire Grolier staff, and Francine LaChance, who organized the festival. Here was the schedule:
Grolier Poetry Festival
A 90th Anniversary Celebration
HEARTFELT THANKS TO ALL WHO PERFORMED IN OUR FESTIVAL ON Saturday, June 2, 2018, 12noon–8pm.
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12 noon–12:55pm
CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
12noon-12:05pm
Welcome
Lloyd Schwartz, Poet and Board Member, Grolier
12:05pm–12:35pm
Scene selections from “Romeo and Juliet,” performed by the The Young Company at Greater Boston Stage Company
12:35–12:55 pm
Poetry Reading for Children, X.J. Kennedy reads his poems, and poems written by Grolier Poetry friends
X. J. Kennedy will talk about the importance of poetry to children, read his poems, and poems by the poet friends of the Grolier.
WORKSHOP, off stage, 1–3pm: Susan Roney-O’Brien, poet & teacher;
writing workshop for children of all ages.
12:55-1:00pm
Welcome and Opening Remarks, Ifeanyi Menkiti, Proprietor, Director, Grolier Poetry Book Shop
Ifeanyi Menkiti, Remarks on the Grolier Press, including author Tino Villanueva who is on a book tour in Florence and Venice for the Italian translation of his Grolier Press book So Spoke Penelope. Faye George will read excerpts from So Spoke Penelope. Select Grolier Poetry Press poets will read.
Grolier Poetry Press Poets: Keith O’Shaughnessy • X.J.Kennedy • Spring Berman • Fred Feirstein • Partridge Boswell
5:00–5:45pm
Poets Read
Gloria Mindock • Steven Cramer • Elizabeth McKim • Joyce Peseroff • Tomas O’Leary, reading and playing his accordion • Carol Weston
5:45–6:20pm
Translation Poets
Beatriz Alba del Rio translating from Spanish to English• Jana Kiely translating from Czech to English
6:20–6:40pm
Sounds in Bloom: Dennis Shafer, saxophone and woodwind player will perform while Diana Norma Szokolyai reads her poetry.
6:40-7:00pm
Dance and Poetry
Joe Burgio, Ensemble Inedit: Poetry, Song and Dance Dancers and musicians will perform to poems by the poets Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, and Todros Abulafia. Dancers: Katerine Gagnon, Ofri Rieger. Musicians: John Voigt and Walter Wright.
7:00–7:15pm
90 on 90: Presentation of Donald Hall’s book A Carnival of Losses:
Notes Nearing Ninety
An homage to our dear and long-time friend, Donald Hall. Lloyd Schwartz and Joyce Peseroff will read excerpts from Donald Hall’s essays and poems, and poems by his late wife Jane Kenyon.
7:15–7:25pm
Concluding Remarks, Ifeanyi Menkiti
7:15–7:25pm
Our Final Act
We will leave you with a video presentation of a musical setting of Ifeanyi Menkiti’s poem “Before a Common Soil,” an original composition by George Emlen, Music Director of Revels for over 30 years, now retired, performed by the Revels chorus and musicians.
Whiskey Radish, who has worked at Ryles for over 20 years, will sketch and will take photographs throughout the day.
It was a day that poetry poured out of the old Grolier Poetry Bookshop and filled Plympton Street with new and vibrant sounds. Celebrating its 90th anniversary, the bookshop held the Grolier Poetry Festival, a day full of readings by great poets like Kathleen Spivack, David Ferry, Lloyd Schwartz, Gail Mazur, Sajed Kamal, XJ Kennedy, Kevin McLellan and Ruth Lepson. I was honored to perform in the festival alongside these strong voices that mean so much to the art of poetry today. The outdoor stage also showcased musicians and dancers. It rained in pockets, the sudden showers typical of New England spring, but people kept reading and playing music, and listening. The harpist Audrey Harrer and I (seen below) almost performed under a tree that provided shelter from the rain, but the kind stage manager, James Fraser, offered to hold umbrellas during our performance. You can see a segment of our performance in the videoclip. Afterwards, I gave a writing workshop inside the poetry bookshop on writing credos, using the book I edited with Rita Banerjee CREDO: An Anthology of Manifestos & Sourcebook for Creative Writing. In all, there were about 15 attendees of the workshop, and I was inspired by the energy everyone was sharing to create, write, tell stories, proclaim their truth, etc. In the evening, I had the privilege to perform with my longtime partner and collaborator, Dennis Shafer as part of Sounds in Bloom.
DIANA NORMA SZOKOLYAI 
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