The Great Boston Poetry Marathon of 2010
Calendar and Events Listings
Sunrise to Sunset : This Columbus Day experience 3 Centuries of Poetry in 12 hours on The Great Boston Poetry Marathon of 2010. Public readings will take place in 6 locations around Boston, from Gloucester at sunrise to Concord at sunset. Along the way we’ll the graves of over 30 poets as well as hear special presentations from actors who will play Anne Bradstreet, Edgar Allan Poe, Maria White Lowell, and Henry Thoreau. The event is one of ten nationwide as communities celebrate the first Dead Poets Remembrance Day holiday. Full details of the 6 locations and which poets will be featured at each can be found at the event blog: http://deadpoets.typepad.com/gbpm/
6:15 to 7:15 AM : Gloucester Waterfront
Meet at the Fisherman’s Memorial for a sunrise reading of the Gloucester-related poetry of Vincent Ferrini, T. S. Eliot, Henry Longfellow, William Moody and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, among others. Then visit the nearby grave of poet Charles Olson for a cemetery reading and discussion of his unique but endangered tombstone.
8:45 AM to 9:45 AM : Lynch Park, Beverly
Gather with others on the North Shore for a special reflection on the life and poetry of John Updike by his son, Michael, and others. Listen to the 19th Century poetry of Beverly’s own Lucy Larcom as well as poems by Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, and Sylvia Plath, all of whom had connections to the North Shore.
10:00 to 10:30 AM : Old South Cemetery, Peabody
Gather round the tombstone of Transcendentalist poet Jones Very as we compare the poetry of three generations of preacher-poets from Massachusetts. Listen to the works of the Puritan best-selling poet, Michael Wigglesworth, the 19th Century Methodist preacher, Timothy Flint, and the strange Rev. Jones Very, who once declared himself Christ and became the first of a long line of venerable Massachusetts poets to be hospitalized at McClean Psychiatric Hospital.
11:30 to 12:30 : Irish Famine Memorial. Step back into Boston history and listen to the poetry of the famous slave-poetess, Phillis Wheatley, read near the Old South Church she attended. This event includes a special visit from Anne Bradstreet herself. Hear the amazing story of famous Irish-American poet, John Boyle O’Reilly and top the hour off with a visit from Edgar Allan Poe as he discusses his connections to and feelings about Boston.
2:00 to 4:30. : Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge
Join the Poetry Marathon for a 21-grave salute & walking tour, “Sweet Auburn: An American Parnassus.” Listen as Rhina Espaillat and other noted poets read at the graves of famous bards, while independent literary scholar, Rob Velella gives historical background of many of the poets. Also, a special presentation on several poets by the dynamic literary duo, The Proper Ladies
5:30 to 6:30 : Author’s Ridge, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord
Come meet Henry Thoreau in person as he ascends Author’s Ridge to tell us about his four friends buried there while members of the community read from their poetry. End the day with a sunset poetry service at the grave of Emerson’s son, Waldo.
