National Poetry Month Celebration

April is National Poetry Month! Celebrate at Henry Carter Hull Library with an afternoon of poetry readings and a panel discussion with Connecticut State Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell, CT Council of Poets Laureate President Pegi Deitz Shea, and Clinton Poet Laureate Cathy Weiss.

Books will be available for purchase and signing at this free in-person event.

Refreshments served.

About Connecticut State Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell: Antoinette Brim-Bell (Antoinette Brim), Connecticut’s 8th State Poet Laureate, is the author of three full-length poetry collections: These Women You Gave Me, Icarus in Love, and Psalm of the Sunflower. She is a Cave Canem Foundation Fellow and an alumna of Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA). Brim-Bell was nominated for the Pushcart Prize twice, for poetry and essay. Her poetry has appeared in various journals, magazines, textbooks, and anthologies, including Villanelles, 44 on 44: Forty-Four African American Writers on the 44th President of the United States, Not A Muse, and has appeared in Poetry Magazine and Poem-a-Day. Additionally, Brim-Bell has published critical work, most notably, essays: “Living Behind the Numbers: A Statistic Muses about her Life” (National Association of African American Studies Monograph Series); “The Myopic Eye in Alice Walker’s ‘Flowers’” (Critical Insights: Alice Walker, Salem Press) and “Juxtaposed Dichotomies: the idealized white suburban pastoral, the surrealist tableau of black poverty &; the women in between” (The Whiskey of Our Discontent: Gwendolyn Brooks as Conscience and Change Agent, Haymarket Books). A printmaker and collage artist, Brim-Bell exhibited both poetry and monoprints in Jazz: Anexhibition of Poetry, Prints, and Photography at the Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery in New Haven, CT, and Sheroes, in partnership with the Alliance of Women Veterans at the Grove in New Haven, CT. She serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors of Indolent Arts Foundation based in New York City, is a past Board Member of OneWorld Progressive Institute, and a past President of the Board of Directors of the Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, CT. Additionally, Brim-Bell hosted a series of Black History Month television programs for the OneWorld Progressive Institute. She is also a former guest host of Patrick Oliver’s Literary Nation Talk Radio (KABF 88.3, Little Rock), for which she interviewed a variety of entertainers, literary figures, political pundits, and community developers. A sought-after speaker, editor, educator, and consultant, Brim-Bell is a Professor of English at Capital Community College in Hartford, CT.

About CT Council of Poets Laureate President Pegi Deitz Shea: Pegi Deitz Shea, two-time winner of the CT Book Award, is the author of more than 500 published articles, essays, poems, and books for adults and young readers. Her latest, The Weight of Kindling, (Grayson, 2022) is her first full-length collection of poetry for adults. Pegi has taught Creative Writing at UCONN, the Mark Twain House, and online at Writers Institute; and she’s conducted writing workshops and presentations at schools, libraries, and conferences across the country. The inaugural Poet Laureate of Vernon, she is President of the Connecticut Council of Poets Laureate. She also directs Poetry Rocks, a quarterly reading series she founded in 2017.

About Clinton Poet Laureate Cathy Weiss: Cathy Weiss is currently serving as Clinton’s poet laureate. She is a writer, elected artist, gerontologist, and has been described as a cultural guru for her years of creating and funding unique programming and arts venues. She has written two memoirs, two books of poetry, and created a town-wide community project “The Portraits of Clinton Poetry Project" and anthology. She has been published over thirty times in journals, newspapers, and online magazines. She won a lifetime achievement award from the Towers Foundation in 2020, and was voted one of Connecticut's most inspiring women in 2022. The Catherine Weiss Poetry Garden will open as a destination venue in New Haven on May 2024.

About National Poetry Month: https://poets.org/national-poetry-month