2012 Dead Poets Remembrance Day in Massachusetts

Over 40 Poets & 20 Graves in 2 Days

  • Event Schedule & Maps
  • The Dead Poets of Worcester
  • The Merrimack Valley Poets
  • Celebrating the Poetry of John Updike
  • Remembering Wheatley, Sprague & Poe
  • The Raven & Cognac at Midnight!
  • Singing the Unsung Gloucester Poets
  • Singing the Unsung North Shore Poets
  • 20th-Century Harvard Bards @ Mt. Auburn
  • Jane Turrell and Michael Wigglesworth by Candlelight

Sunday, Oct 7th and Monday Oct 8th Event Details

  • Sunday, Oct. 7th Events: Worcester's Dead Poets 12:30 - 2:30
  • Merrimack Valley Poets; Sunday 4:30 - 5:45 PM
  • Celebrate John Updike; Ipswich 7 - 8 PM
  • Remembering Wheatley, Sprague, & Poe; Boston Commons 10:30 to Midnight
  • Monday, Oct. 8th, Columbus Day Events: Breakfast with Vincent 7:45 Niles Beach
  • Singing the Unsung Poets of Gloucester Monday 9 - 9:45 AM
  • Grave of Charles Olson
  • Singing The Unsung North Shore Poets; Monday 11 AM - 1:00
  • Harvard Bards @ Mt. Auburn Cemetery Monday 2:30 - 5:00
  • Jane Turrell & Michael Wigglesworth By Candlelight 6:30 - 8 PM
  • PRESS

Dead Poets of New Hampshire

  • Without J

Cognac, Roses, & Raven at Midnight!

At midnight Sunday, on the day that Edgar Allan Poe died, there will be a cognac and roses-laden reading of "The Raven" at Poe Corner, in the city of his birth

"Now that the Poetoaster has stopped his annual nocturnal visits to Poe's grave on October 7th, and the City of Baltimore has cut funding for the Poe House there," said Walter Skold, "We're hoping to start a new tradition of honorning Poe here in Boston."

The midnight event will take place rain or moonshine and it is part of the third annual Dead Poets Remembrance Day in Massachusetts, a two-day roster of 8 readings of 40 poets at 20 different graves in the Boston-area.

Besides "The Raven," which will be read by Cambridge storyteller, Owen Grey, the public will have a chance to read some of Poe's Boston-published poetry.

Poe Corner, at the corner of Boylston and Charles Street, currently has a city electric power box with a portrait of Poe on it. This is also the is the future site of the sculpture that is being placed there by Poe Foundation of Boston.

Other highlights of the two-day literary festival will include a tribute to the poetry of John Updike, in Ipswich, a celebration of Merrimack River poets, Robert Frost and Edna St. Vincent Millay, and readings at the graves of Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Creeley, Charles Olson, and the infamous Puritan poet-preacher, Michael Wigglesworth.

A full schedule of all locations and readings can be found at the event blog:

http://deadpoets.typepad.com/dprd-ne/

Dead Poets Remembrance Day is a new literary holiday that was started by Maine poet and film-maker Walter Skold and 13 State Poets Laureate 3 years ago, after Skold conducted a 3-month tour of 150 poets' graves.

"The holiday hasn't gone viral yet nationally," says Skold, "But here in New England more people have taken part in the celebrations each year and really seem to enjoy it."

"The more I attend those gatherings, the more apt and satisfying I find them," said Rhina Espaillat, a nationally-known "Powow Poet" from Newburyport. "After all, isn't poetry the art entrusted with preserving our collective memory as a species, of exploring the memories of the dead and sending out ours into the future?"

"Members of the community are welcome to come and read their favorite poem from these or other authors," said Skold. "The only stipulation is that that the poet who wrote it is dead, as this is the day to honor them."

The current partners for the events are: The Woodberry Poetry Room, The Worcester County Poetry Association, The Powow River Poets, Anne Bradstreet 400, The Stanley Kunitz Society, and Mt. Auburn Cemetery.

2. AP article this week

 

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The founder of the Dead Poets Society of America is halfway to his goal of visiting the gravesites of 500 bards.

 

Walter Skold on Thursday is visiting the gravesite of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's brother Samuel at Portland's Western Cemetery. Skold says Samuel Longfellow was a hymn writer, pastor and poet.

 

It'll be his 251st burial plot visit, marking the kickoff of events leading to Dead Poets Remembrance Day on Oct. 7.

 

Skold, who's from Freeport, Maine, pushed for a national holiday after he discovered that the graves of many of the nation's literary forebears have been neglected.

 

Highlights this year will include a tribute to the poetry of John Updike and a special midnight reading of "The Raven" at Poe Corner in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe's hometown.

 

http://deadpoes.org/DiaDead.html

Comments (1)

Sunday, Oct. 7th: Celebrating Worcester's Dead Poets

#1 Celebrating the Dead Poets of Worcester, Sunday, Oct 7th.

First Stop: 12:00 at Hope Cemetery ; Rain location, Fallon Room in Student Center, Worcester State

Elizabeth Bishop  r:

Dennis Brutus  : Dan Lewis

Frank O’Hara  r

Charles Olson  r

Etheridge Knight  r:

2nd Stop: 1:30 At childhood home of Stanley Kunitz 4 Woodford St., Worcester

Stanley Kunitz: Carle Johnson

Elise Asher r:

This event is in partnership with the Worcester County Poetry Association, the childhood home of Stanley Kunitz, the Center for the Study of Human Rights and the English Department at Worcester State University, and the Stanley Kunitz Society.

Celebrating the Merrimack Valley Poets; Sunday October 7th

Event #2. Celebrating the Merrimack Valley Poets; Sunday, Oct. 7th

4:30 - 5:30  PM, at the historic Old South Church, in Newburryport

John Greenleaf Whittier: Lainie Senecha & Harris Gardner, Tapestry of Voices

Anne Bradstreet  Karen Kline

Johnathan Plummer r: K. Peddlar Bridges

Robert Frost: Rhina P. Espaillat, Spanish translations; Toni Treadway, English

John Whittier: Harris Gardner, Tapestry of Voices

Harriet Elizabeth Spofford:

Edna St. Vincent Millay: Rhina P. Espaillat, reads Spanish translations; Toni Treadway, English; Owen Grey

Jack Kerouac: George Fitzgerald

Thanks to the Powow River Poets and Anne Bradstreet 400 for their partnership for this event.

Celebrating the Poetry & Life of John Updike

Event #3. Celebrating the Poetry and Life of John Updike; Sunday, Oct 7th; 

7 to 8 PM First Church in Ipswich, UCC  (8- 8:30 reception afterwards)

Various special readers; friends, family, and fans of John Updike.

Honoring Phillis Wheatley; Boston's Genius Slave-Poetess

Event #4 : Honoring Wheatley, Sprague, & Poe: Sunday, Oct. 7th

1st Stop: Remembering Boston’s Genius Slave-Poet ; 10:30 to 11:15

The Phillis Wheatley memorial statue, at Boston Women's Memorial, Commonwealth Ave.

2nd Stop A Visit with Boston's "Banker Poet" at grave of Charles Sprague 11:30PM

3rd Stop: The Raven at Midnight! At Poe Corner (across from Sprague grave)

Levi Lionel Leland & Owen Grey

A Visit with Charles Sprague: Boston’s Banker-Poet

Event #4: Remembering Wheatley, Sprague and Poe

2nd Stop: Remembering Boston’s Banker-Poet  11:30 PM – 11:45

at the grave of Charles Sprague @ the Central Burying Ground (across from Poe Corner)

Reserved reader

Screen shot 2012-09-03 at 7.44.36 AM

Comments (2)

The Raven & Cognac at Midnight!

Event #4 : The Raven & Cognac at Midnight! 

3rd Stop : Sunday, Oct. 7th; 11:45 – 12:15

at the Poe Box, Poe Corner,  Owen Grey, storyteller and poet

Screen shot 2012-09-15 at 7.37.44 PM

MONDAY October 8th: Visiting Vincent @ Niles Beach

Event #5 Celebrating the Unsung Gloucester Poets

1st Stop: 7:45 - 8:40 Remembering Vincent Ferrini

Fish Breakfast at Niles Beach, Gloucester

(If we can't get permission to build a small fire to cook the fish, we can either order fish from a restaurant, or eat cold fish. Please email info@deadpoes.org for a reservation if you can attend this first reading of the day)

In case of rain, we'll have the event but will not have the breakfast.

Singing the Unsung Gloucester Poets : COMMUNITY READING

Event #5 : Monday October. 8th; 

1st Stop: 7:45 AM Niles Beach Visiting with Vincent Ferrini;

Second Stop: 9 - 9:45 AM at the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Memorial: 

COMMUNITY READING: BRING ALONG A POEM FROM YOUR FAVORITE PAST GLOUCESTER POET TO SHARE

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps r:

Clarence Manning Falt r: Carl Carlsen, author Poetry & Places in Essex County

Marsden Hartley r:

3rd Stop: 10 - 10:15 At the Grave of Charles Olson

At the Grave of Charles Olson

Event #5 At the Grave of Charles Olseon 10 - 10:15 

Stop 3: At the grave of  Charles Olson Beechbrook cemetery in Gloucester

Screen shot 2012-09-15 at 8.01.56 PM

Singing the Unsung North Shore Poets

Event #6 The North Shore's Forgotten Poets Remembered

MONDAY, October 8th 11 - 12:30 PM (Rain location: The Gathering at Salem)

First Stop : Grave of Lucy Larcom, In Beverly, Central Cemetery 11 - 11:20

2nd Stop : Lynch Park, Beverly  11:30 - 12:15

George Edward Woodberry: K. Peddlar Bridges

Sylvia Plath: Cheryl Eagan-Donovan

Alonzo Lewis: Carl Carlsen

3rd Stop: Old South Cemetery in Peabody 12:30 to 1:00

At the grave of Rev. Jones Very : Peddlar Bridges & Pastor Phil Wyman

Rev. Timothy Flint

The Harvard Bards of the 20th Century at Mount Auburn

Event #7 Celebrating The Harvard Bards of the 20th Century at Mount Auburn:

Monday October 8th 2:30 – 5:00 PM Join us for a great literary journey through the sacred grounds of Mt. Auburn cemetery, (Rain Location Backup in Bigelow Chapel)

Amy Lowell  R: Mary Hutchins Harris

Robert Creeley: Susan Richmond, Robert Creeley Foundation

Buckminster Fuller: Sophie Nicols, Buckminster Fuller Institute

Gamaliel Bradford VI R:

David McCord R:

John Ciardi R:

William Alfred

in partnership with The Friends of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, the Woodberry Poetry Room, and the Robert Creeley Foundation.

Emily's Friend: Thomas Wentworth Higginson

If the gates are open, at 5:30 we'll head to the grave of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who is buried in the Cambridge cemetery, just East of Mount Auburn.

Read all about Thomas over at our good friends The American Literary Blog. Maybe we can read the song he wrote that was sung at his funeral?

 

Comments (0)

Puritans Jane Coleman Turell & Michael Wigglesworth

Event #8: Jane Turell in Medford's Olde Burying Grounds 6:30 PM

1st Stop: On our way to Michael Wigglesworth's grave in Malden we'll stop to find the grave of Jane Colman Turrell, an early American poetess who died at 27 and was buried in Medford.

We'll also celebrate the life and poetry of the famous Somerville-born Tufts poet, John Holmes.

Last stop on the Dead Poet's Train 2012:

7:30 At the grave of Michael Wigglesworth, Malden's Bell Rock Cemetery

Reserved Readers

Screen shot 2012-09-15 at 9.01.15 PM

 

Dead Poets Still Seeking Readers !!!

Invitation for Readers This Dead Poets Remembrance Day : info@deadpoes.org

Dear Friend of Poetry,

This Columbus Day weekend, October 7/8, the works of 40-plus poets, associated with the State of Massachusetts, will be remembered during the 3rd Annual Dead Poets Remembrance Day. We would like you to help us with your voice and your passion for poetry.

These unique public events will take place at 8 different main locations (Boston, Beverly, Watertown, Peabody, Gloucester, Newburyport, Ipswich, & Medford) in the greater Boston area,-- and organizers are still seeking Readers -- or singers, or dancers -- for 20 of the poets that will be read.

A complete list of the two-days of community poetry celebrations can be found at: http://deadpoets.typepad.com/dprd-ne/

*We are especially seeking young people who could bring a modern sensibility to the works of Phillis Wheatley and Edgar Allan Poe at our late-night readings on Sunday, October 7th. At 10:30 we'll meet at the amazing Wheatley statue, on Commonwealth Ave, and then walk 20 minutes for a midnight reading of "The Raven" at the Poe Corner, off of Boston Commons. How great would it be if the newest generation of poetry lovers could put the words of Poe and Wheatley and Etheridge Knight (and other poets listed below) to the MUSEical sounds and rhythms of our day?

Some of these 18th-19th-&20th-Century poets are famous and some are relatively "unknown," but they were all bards whose voices can be resurrected when remembered and recited.

Readers Needed for:

--Phillis Wheatley, Edgar Allan Poe, Marsden Hartley, Charles Olson, Etheridge Knight, Jane Colman Turrell, Sylvia Plath, Lucy Larcom, Elizabeth Spofford, George Edward Woodberry, Gamaliel Bradford VI, David McCord, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Charles Sprague.

If you would like to be a Reader (or singer, or dancer) for one of the Dead Poets listed, please email Walter Skold at info@deadpoes.org

The current partners for the events are: The Woodberry Poetry Room, The Worcester County Poetry Association, The Powow River Poets, The Robert Creeley Foundation, Anne Bradstreet 400, The Stanley Kunitz Society, and Mt. Auburn Cemetery, with others pending.

**Events will take place in cemeteries, churches, parks and beaches, with rain locations for most readings.

Please visit us at our Event Blog for more details: http://deadpoets.typepad.com/dprd-ne/

We look forward to seeing you at any or all of our events as a Reader or a Listener!

 Walter Skold

a.k.a. The Dead Poet Guy

2012 Partners & Keynote Readers

More 2012 Keynote Readers will be announced soon.

Rhina Espaillat / Prof. Mark Stevick /  Carl Carlsen / Carle Johnson /  Toni Treadway / Harris Gardner / Owen Gray / Susan Richmond / Mary Hutchins Harris / K. Pedlar Bridges / George Fitzgerald / The Dead Poet Guy /

Partners: Woodberry Poetry Room // Friends of Mt. Auburn Cemetery // The Powow River Poets // Worcester County Poetry Association // The Robert Creeley Foundation // Center for the Study of Human Rights // North Shore Community College // Anne Bradstreet at 400 // Dead Poets Society of America // Stanley Kunitz Society

Full Schedule & Interactive Map for 2012 DPRD

Find directions to the 8 events of Dead Poets Remembrance Day 2012

See Full Schedule of the 8 events or download it as a Word .docx

Download Full Skedule.docx (158.2K)

DprdMAP12

Comments (11)

Press Release Newburyport

Third Annual Dead Poets Remembrance Day to be Celebrated in Newburyport:

A unique literary event entitled Celebrating the Merrimack Valley Poets will take place at the Old South Church, at 29 Federal Street, Newburyport, on October 7th, from 4:30 to 5:30. It is one of 8 Boston-area readings taking place over Columbus Day weekend as part of the 3rd annual Dead Poets Remembrance Day in Massachusetts, all free and open to the public.

The group of poets being celebrated on Oct. 7 all had a close connection to the Merrimack River Valley, and their names read like a multi-generational Who's Who of American poetry: Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Jonathan Plummer, John Greenleaf Whittier, Harriet Spofford, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, and Jack Kerouac.

Dead Poets Remembrance Day is a new literary holiday that was started by Maine poet and film-maker Walter Skold and 13 State Poets Laureate 3 years ago, after Skold conducted a 3-month tour of 150 poets' graves. "The holiday hasn't gone viral yet nationally," says Skold, "But here in New England more people have taken part in the celebrations each year and really seem to enjoy it."

On Oct. 7, local poet Rhina P. Espaillat will read from her Spanish translations of Frost and Millay, and Toni Treadway, a fellow member of the Powow River Poets, will read the original poems in English. "Millay, a controversial early feminist, had a tremendous influence on many poets of my generation, particularly women," said Espaillat, "but many people don't know that she lived on Ring's Island when she was a young girl, and once had a house here in Newburyport. Her sonnets, especially, remain daring in their content, as well as magnificent examples of the form. As for Frost, he is one of the major voices of American poetry, and for many readers, defines New England." 
 
The organizers are hoping to involve young poets from the area who may be the future Millays and Frosts of the poetry world.

After the reading at the historic Old South Church, the public is invited to gather at the grave of Harriet Spofford, a 19th century American poet, for a sunset reading in Oak Hill cemetery. "By having a public reading at the Spofford family gravesite, we are honoring the role that poets can play in public life," said Skold. "She wrote some poems about the beauty of Oak Hill, and this event will give us a chance to experience that beauty ourselves."

A complete list of events, with locations and times, is at the event blog:
http://deadpoets.typepad.com/dprd-ne/

Comments (2)

40 Poets at 20 Graves in 2 days of Historic Readings : 2012 DPRD Press Release

Contact Walter Skold :  info@deadpoes.org

This Columbus Day weekend the works of 40 poets will be remembered at 20 different gravesites during the 3rd Annual Dead Poets Remembrance Day in Massachusetts. The eight community readings in the greater-Boston area will take place in cemeteries, churches, parks and beaches, with rain locations for most readings.

 “We have some of the best poets and literary organizations in Massachusetts cooperating in the events this year,“ said Walter Skold, of the Dead Poets Society of America, “And we’ve added a Midnight reading of The Raven, with cognac, at Poe Corner.”

Other weekend highlights will include a tribute to the poetry of John Updike, in Ipswich, and Dennis Brutus, in Worcester, a tribute to Phillis Wheatley at her monument, on Commonwealth Ave., a beachside celebration of Vincent Ferrini, in Gloucester, and a candlelight reading at the graves of two famous Puritan poets that night, in Medord and Malden.

Dead Poets Remembrance Day is a new literary holiday that was started by Maine poet and filmmaker Walter Skold and 13 State Poets Laureate 3 years ago, after Skold conducted a  3-month tour of 150 poets' graves.  

"The holiday hasn't gone viral yet nationally," says Skold, "But here in New England more people have taken part in the celebrations each year and they really seem to enjoy it." 

"The more I attend those gatherings, the more apt and satisfying I find them," said Rhina Espaillat, a nationally-known "Powow Poet" from Newburyport.  "After all, isn't poetry the art entrusted with preserving our collective memory as  a species, of exploring the memories of the dead and sending out ours into the  future?"

A full schedule of all locations and readings can be found at the event blog: 

 Members of the public are invited to be readers and presenters at the 8 community events taking place, and anyone who would like to read one of the following poets may contact Walter Skold at info@deadpoes.org.

The list of poets that still need readers is: John Ciardi, John Holmes, Marsden Hartley, Jane Colman Turrell, George Edward Woodberry, David McCord and Harriet Spofford.

The current partners for the events are: The Woodberry Poetry Room, The Worcester County Poetry Association, The Powow River Poets, the Tapestry of Voices, Anne Bradstreet 400, The Stanley Kunitz  Society, and Friends of Mt. Auburn Cemetery.

Comments (3)

Full 2012 Schedule for Dead Poets Remembrance Day in Massachusetts

Full Schedule for 3rd Annual Dead Poets Remembrance Day

Day 1: SUNDAY, October 7th

Event #1 Celebrating the Dead Poets of Worcester, Sunday, Oct 7th.

First Stop: 12:00 at Hope Cemetery and then 1:30 at the childhood home of Stanley Kunitz

Elizabeth Bishop   

Dennis Brutus  : Dan Lewis

Frank O’Hara 

Charles Olson 

Etheridge Knight 

1:30 At childhood home of Stanley Kunitz 

Elise Asher

Event #2  Celebrating the Merrimack Valley Poets Sunday, Oct. 7th

4:30  - 5:30 PM,  Location to be determined: Newburryport\

John Greenleaf Whittier: Lainie Senecha & Harris Gardner

Anne Bradstreet  r:  

Johnathan Plummer r: K. Peddlar Bridges

Robert Frost: Rhina P. Espaillat, Spanish translations; Toni Treadway, English

Harriet Elizabeth Spofford:

Edna St. Vincent Millay: Rhina P. Espaillat, reads Spanish translations; Toni Treadway, English; Owen Grey

Jack Kerouac: George Fitzgerald

Event #3  Celebrating the Poetry & Life of John Updike  

7 to 8 PM First Church in Ipswich, UCC  (8- 8:30 reception afterwards)

Various special readers; friends, family, and fans of John Updike.

Event #4 :Remembering Wheatley, Sprague, & Poe: Sunday, Oct. 7th

1st Stop: Remembering Boston’s Genius Slave-Poet ; 10:30 to 11:15

The Phillis Wheatley memorial statue, at Boston Women's Memorial, Commonwealth Ave.

2nd Stop: Remembering Boston’s Banker-Poet  11:30 PM – 11:45

at the grave of Charles Sprague @ the Central Burying Ground (across from Poe Corner)

3rd Stop: The Raven at Midnight! At Poe Corner (across from Sprague grave)

at the Poe Box, Poe Corner, (he may be able to attend in person!)

                       Day 2: MONDAY Columbus Day, October 8th

Event #5.  Singing the Unsung Gloucester Poets

1st Stop: 7:45 - 8:30 Remembering Vincent Ferrini: Elizabeth McKim

 Gather at lovely Niles Beach, Gloucester

Second Stop: 9 - 9:45 AM at the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Memorial: 

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

Clarence Manning Falt: Carl Carlsen

Marsden Hartley

3rd Stop: 10 - 10:15 At the Grave of Charles Olson Beechbrook cemetery in Gloucester

Event #6  Singing the Unsung North Shore Poets

The North Shore's Forgotten Poets Remembered 11 - 12:45 PM

First Stop :  Grave of Lucy Larcom, In Beverly  11 AM

2nd Stop : Lynch Park, Beverly 11:20

George Edward Woodberry

Sylvia Plath :  Cheryl Eagan-Donovan

Alonzo Lewis : Carl Carlsen

3rd Stop: Old South Cemetery in Peabody 12:30 - 1:00

At the grave of Rev. Jones Very

Rev. Timothy Flint

Event #7  The Harvard Bards of the 20th Century at Mount Auburn

Monday 2:30 – 5:00 PM Join us for a great literary journey through the sacred grounds of Mt. Auburn cemetery, (Rain Location Backup in Bigelow Chapel)

Amy Lowell : Mary Hutchins Harris

Gamaliel Bradford VI

David McCord

John Ciardi

Robert Creeley : Susan Richmond, Robert Creeley Foundation

William Alfred

Buckminster Fuller : Special readers

Event #8 Puritans Jane Coleman Turrell & Michael Wigglesworth

1st Stop: Jane Turrell in Medford! 6:30 PM

We'll also celebrate the life and poetry of the famous Somerville-born Tufts poet, John Holmes.

Last stop on the Dead Poet's Train 2012:

7:30 At the grave of Michael Wigglesworth, Malden's Bell Rock Cemetery

 

 

Comments (0)

Next »
PRESS
Be A Reader!
Poets' Graves in MASS

Recent Posts

  • Cognac, Roses, & Raven at Midnight!
  • Sunday, Oct. 7th: Celebrating Worcester's Dead Poets
  • Celebrating the Merrimack Valley Poets; Sunday October 7th
  • Celebrating the Poetry & Life of John Updike
  • Honoring Phillis Wheatley; Boston's Genius Slave-Poetess
  • A Visit with Charles Sprague: Boston’s Banker-Poet
  • The Raven & Cognac at Midnight!
  • MONDAY October 8th: Visiting Vincent @ Niles Beach
  • Singing the Unsung Gloucester Poets : COMMUNITY READING
  • At the Grave of Charles Olson
  • Dead Poets of Massachusetts Blog
  • Woodberry Poetry Room
  • Worcester County Poetry Association
  • Mt. Auburn Cemetery
  • Powow River Poets
  • Poetry & Places of North Shore
  • Stanley Kunitz Society
  • Paul Lewis: Boston College
  • Robert Creeley Foundation
  • Dead Poets Society of America