Hey. Come here. I wanna tell you a story. At the Holy Name/Catholic Memorial dances I attended in my youth I never "grinded" with any boys. After one of the HN/CM dances I did find $211 on the ground when I went to buy some gum at White Hen Pantry. Westie continues its tradition of giving with this all-ages poetry contest courtesy of Friends of the West Roxbury Branch Library.

Are you missing the poetry of the late Mayor Thomas M. Menino? Are you in Boston and in your feelings? Feel like writing something other than internet comments to complete strangers? Then check out the call for submissions for the 2019 Mayor's Poetry Program, curated by Porsha Olayiwola, the newly appointed Poet Laureate of Boston:

“an Alcatraz around my neck"

This afternoon, GennaRose Nethercott sat at one of the tables near JP Licks on Centre Street with her 1952 Hermes Rocket typewriter, offering to write poems on the subject of your choosing.

Eric Mauro took her photo and shows one of her poems: Read more.

Anali reports a bill to create the position of Poet Laureate for the Commonwealth could go to the House for a vote this week:

... I have no idea what poets will be in the running for nominations, but it will be interesting to find out. I wonder who it will be and what their first poem will be like. ...

H.3146: An Act to create the position of poet laureate for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Great article by James Parker in The Phoenix this week about Boston poets Rafael Campo and Franz Wright, who write about the body in sickness and in health. (Full disclosure: Campo is indeed a doctor, my own, in fact.) Long before he was my PCP, Campo intrigued me with his devotion to forms, particularly the sonnet, and the way that he subverted the norms of the Shakespearean norm and wrote poems about AIDS and death.

Come join the Boston Firefly Project for a night of art, poetry, and activism as we raise awareness around the issue of poverty worldwide. Local artists, poets, and writers will be presenting and displaying their work on Thursday, August 14th from 7-9pm at the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy on 113 Brattle Street in Cambridge, a short walk from the Harvard Square T stop. Come meet other activists in the area and take part in the convergence of art and human rights - snacks and beverages provided!

Boston-area poets PLEASE SUBMIT POEMS to LOCUS POINT by May 30 to [email protected].

LOCUSPOINT IS:
A community-centered approach to poetry publishing: Each edition of LOCUSPOINT is built on a set of cities or regions. Guest Editors in each location are tasked with locating poetry community within their areas to whatever extent or degree they experience it by selecting seven poets whose work they want to highlight. Each poet contributes five pages of poetry to the city. The Guest Editor writes an introduction to his or her selections to comment on the poetry scene where they live.