Initially, I wanted to “do something” with literacy. Bookstores and libraries were my favorite places. But I didn’t really care to teach. Or do something as mundane as shelve books at the local library. I wanted something meatier. Most places I found needed ushers, ticket sellers, envelope stuffers or board members.

I had also thought about volunteering with Montpelier Alive (aka MDCA), the downtown revitalization organization. I’d had some experience with the Brattleboro group, BaBB, and thought at least, it would be interesting to see how this one operated. Plus, I’m a downtown girl. I didn’t know much about the organization or what it did. My own inertia kept me from approaching them.

So I was fortunate enough last September to be working at the shop when Montpelier Alive’s Executive Director Suzanne Eikenberry walked in and introduced herself. She’d come to meet the new owners and invite their membership. I asked her about volunteer opportunities. She mentioned something about selling buttons, and perhaps doing some mailings. I probably crinkled my nose. I know I shook my head.

“How about office work? Something I could add to my resume, perhaps?” That’s when she suggested helping her with the weekly e-mail newsletter that I now write. Once I was trained on the process, I was able to work on it from home. It’s now how I spend my Mondays, cutting and pasting and rewriting press releases and calendar items, so it can arrive in inboxes on Tuesdays. I love it.

I’ve been writing the newsletter since last September, and through this one task, I’ve learned about organizers, presenters, artists and activists simply from the listings they send along. The list has grown by a third, with open and click-through rates higher than the industry standard. I’m pretty proud of what I do, and receive compliments here and there.

Actually, I won an award.

“Congrats on your award at the Montpelier Alive meeting!”

Montpelier Alive’s Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony was held last week in the Christ Church outdoor courtyard, complete with hot dogs and burgers. I was told it was the best attended meeting so far. I was surprised to see some folks that I knew. And a contingent that likes to be known as my “fans” came to support me. They promised to clap the loudest.

“thanks for all your hard work”

I received the 2010 Outstanding Volunteer Award “for bringing her leadership to Art Walk, Poetry Alive, & the weekly Montpelier e-mail newsletter”. It all started with a newsletter. I had inquired about Art Walk along the way. While getting recruited for the Promotions Committee, I found out about Poetry Alive. In that way, my life has been like a series of connect the dots. I’m glad I volunteered myself, and kept saying yes to opportunities that excited me.

“Looking forward to the next art walk – you’re doing a great job”

I have increased participation and visibility for both the quarterly Art Walks and the annual Poetry Alive projects. These are still rather young projects. They have a ways to go, I believe, before being fully developed. Because of this, I hope to stick around Montpelier for a few more years to nurture these projects.

“glad to hear the poetry alive event will happen again”

Truth be told: Montpelier Alive is a great organization to work with. The board members and volunteers are very open to suggestions and willing to put in time and energy. Everyone gets along really smoothly and the end results of our efforts are very high quality. If you’ve thought about volunteering your time or supporting Montpelier Alive, I would highly recommend it.

If you are not yet receiving the e-mail newsletter, please sign up here. You can also find Montpelier Alive on Facebook and get updates in your feed. Find me on Facebook and current on everything I’m working on. If you’re a regular reader of my blog and want to support what I do, become a Kachingler and check back here often.

Quotes are from notes I received in my e-mail box this week.

1. Hunger Mountain Co-op,

Featuring hand-painted haikus on the café windows themed around nature and food.

“Snow by Night” by Helen Neswald of Saxtons River

“Spring Cleaning” by Bill Devlin of Putney

“[untitled]” by Judith Chalmer of Burlington

“The Bridge” by James Facos of Montpelier

“[untitled]” by Kevin Macneil Brown of Montpelier

“Here” by Ivy Schweitzer of Norwich

Two untitled haikus by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier

“[untitled]” by Colleen Chatterton of Brattleboro

“Child” by Mary Elder Jacobsen of North Calais

update: “Sipping Tea” by Lene Gary of Montpelier (omitted from print version–sorry!)

2.  Minuteman Press,

haikus on the front windows.

“Last Embrace” by Evelyn Stillwell Webler of Montpelier

“Anima” by Martha Zweig of Hardwick

“Dark Glasses” by Bill Devlin of Putney

3. First In Fitness,

A poem on each of the front doors.

“Marlowe Poem” by Joshua Pace of Montpelier

“Dissolve” by Wyn Cooper of Halifax

4. The Drawing Board,

As usual, an artful and inspired window display.

“Insight” by Inga Potter of Waitsfield

5. Rhapsody Natural Foods Café,

An artful window display inspired by a few poems by Thomas Mulholland of Montpelier.

6. Capitol Copy,

“The Sandman” by Geof Hewitt of Calais

7. Petals and Things,

“Lawn Party” by Pamela Ahlen of Woodstock

“Morning Chorus” by Sally Ann Reisner of Fayston

“Exile” by Ellen Bryant Voigt of Cabot

“Peony Petals” by Carol Johnson Collins of South Duxbury

“Communion” by Heather Begley of South Strafford

8. 50 Main St. (formerly Capitol Video)

A group of Montpelier High School Student Poems.

“The Old Man I Saw in Front of Saint Helena’s Nursing Home” and “Rubber Bands” by Isaac Reilly

“How to Set a House on Fire” and “I grab the sky not only with my eyes” by Kate Sprout

“Streamline” and “Kitchen Sink” by Izabel Nielsen

“Almost Downpour” by Emma Schoenberg

“Klezmer” and “Nova” by Ezekiel Smith

“Spelunking” and “Xavier” by Maggie Kinzel

“A Stitch In Time” by Julia Francis

“Layers” by Marielle Johnson (Teacher Intern)

“How to Miss a Man” by Kerrin McCadden (Teacher)

9. Capitol Stationers,

“The Day You Came Back” by Phyllis Katz of Norwich

“My Double Death as a Bowl” by Kate Fetherston of Montpelier

“Bovinity” by Rebecca Macijeski of Northfield Falls

“Reliving History” by Francette Cerulli of Worcester

“As If Nothing Were Out of Place” and “Epilogue” by Carol Greenhouse of Putney

10. Peach Tree,

“The Afterglow” by Rachel Hadas of St. Johnsbury

“Speak to Me” by Charles Hoffman of Montpelier

11. Montpelier Pharmacy,

“Ode to Bedroom Slippers” by Susan Thomas of Marshfield

“Pajamas” by Earline Marsh of Moretown

12. No. 9 Boutique,

A hand-painted window.

“Moonlight Fantasy” by Regina Murray Brault of Burlington

13. Guitar Sam,

“A Good One” by Bob Messing of Montpelier

14. Bear Pond Books,

Plus, a rotating display of poetry in the other window.

“from Urban Renewal, XIII” by Major Jackson of South Burlington

15. Zutano,

“[untitled]” by Uli Belenky of Cabot

16. Coffee Corner,

“My Town” by Lea Walker Wood of Montpelier

17. Artisans Hand Craft Gallery,

Poems “growing” in the outdoor garden all month long.

“Bridge of Vermillion”, “Ode to Sacred Space”, and “Back to the Center” by Jonah Neale of Montpelier

“Bird Song”, “Loom Song”, and “April” by Cora Brooks of Montpelier

18. The Skinny Pancake,

Hand-painted poem on the window.

“[untitled]” by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier

19. The Times-Argus,

“Ghost Frost” by Roger Weingarten of Montpelier

“A Time to Talk” by Robert Frost, formerly of Ripton

“Afghanistan” by Phayvanh Luekhamhan of Montpelier

20. Adorn!,

“Anne Boleyn’s Dressmaker” by Carol Milkuhn of Waitsfield

21. The Kellogg-Hubbard Library,

Come inside!  Poems posted throughout the building.

“After Reading Emily Dickinson” by Merry Gangemi of Woodbury

“[untitled]” by Sharon Darrow of Plainfield

“Elegiac Heart” by Pamela Harrison of Norwich

“Spring Harvest” by Jack Gundy of Corinth

“Busy” by Kyle Cushman of Marshfield

“Remembrance” by Ruth Pestle of Waitsfield

“Daily Ritual” by Dorothy Warren of Warren

“Hilltop Sonnet” by David Huddle of Burlington

“Poet Interruptus” by Cecilia Leibovitz of Craftsbury

“Only the Sound Itself” by Ben Mitchell of Putney

“First Winter Here (After “Gazing North” by Wang An-Shih)” by Melita Schmeckpeper of Berlin

“Snowbound” by Alison D. Moncrief of Burlington

“Mojo No Mo” by Keith Nathan Brown of Brattleboro

“Into Green” by Michael Travisano of Dummerston

“The Proof” by Peter Money of Brownsville

“A Hebridean Day on the Hill, Vermont” by Anne Shivas of Northfield

“Spring” by Dan Wetmore of Montpelier

“I Believe in Birds” by Linda Aldrich of Marlboro

“Accidentals” by Lynn Martin of Brattleboro

“Afterwards” by Peggy Sapphire of Craftsbury

“James Monroe’s Dream” by Charles Barasch of Plainfield

“My Father’s Whistle” by Jim Schley of South Strafford

“The Sea Chews Things Up” by Cleopatra Mathis of Hanover

“Temperament” by Ivy Schweitzer of Norwich

“Horses Are Missing” by Sarah Brock of Montpelier

“Marion Beatty, the Outlaw” by Phayvanh Luekhamhan of Montpelier

22. Birchgrove Baking,

Includes an artfully decorated poem cake display.

“Green Birch” by Phyllis Rachel Larrabee of Woodbury

“Animal Art” by Ann Day of Fayston

“2006, summer” by Phayvanh Luekhamhan of Montpelier

23. Uncommon Market,

“Grazing” by Danny Dover of Bethel

“Blackberry Poem” by Tim Mayo of Brattleboro

“Dark Chocolate” by April Ossmann of Post Mills

24. Washington County Youth Service Bureau,

“Homeless Sneakers” by Morgan W. Brown of Montpelier

“Misfit” by Leonard Irving of Plainfield

25. The Cheshire Cat,

“One Moment After a Lake Champlain Sunset” by Samantha Lori Kolber of Montpelier

26. The Knitting Studio,

“Spring Green” by Mary Elder Jacobsen of North Calais

27 . Restaurant Phoebe,

“The First Green of Spring” by David Budbill of Wolcott

28. The Book Garden,

“The English Language” by Sherry Olson of Marshfield

29. Salaam Boutique,

“Piano Recital by Lady in White Dress” by Regina Murray Brault of Burlington

30. The Men’s Store,

A hand-painted window display.

“Hide and Seek 1933” by Galway Kinnell of Sheffield

31. Woodbury Mountain Toys,

“One Day” by Jody Gladding of Calais

32. Capital Kitchen,

“Ode to Utensils” by Jane Shore of Calais

33.  Chittenden Bank,

A poem on the front and back doors.

“Promissory Note” by Galway Kinnell of Sheffield

“Springtime” by Roy Shifrin of White River Junction

34. The Pink Shutter/Shaline’s Bridal,

“Anniversary Waltz” by Robert Barasch of Plainfield

“Psalm of Love” by James Facos of Montpelier

35. Onion River Kids,

“[untitled]” by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier

36. Global Gifts,

“Tokyo, Near Ueno Station” by Julia Shipley of Craftsbury

37. Buch Spieler Music,

“jazz on langdon st.” by Lené Gary of Montpelier

38. Onion River Sports,

2 untitled poems by Michiko Oishi of Montpelier

39. The Shoe Horn,

“Touchstone” by Linda Corelia of Randolph

40. Langdon Street Café,

“Walking in the Woods” by Grace Paley, formerly of Thetford

MONTPELIER, VT — On Friday, April 23, 2010 The Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) of Montpelier, Vt will host a group poetry reading in celebration of National Poetry Month (April, 2010) in the College Hall Chapel.  It starts at 4:30 p.m. The event is part of Montpelier Alive’s poetry-themed Art Walk, occurring throughout downtown Montpelier venues, and compliments the POETRY Alive! exhibit on display during the entire month.

The evening features six Vermont poets, ranging from emerging student writers to established working poets.  They will each present a short reading of their work, followed by a book signing and reception.

The reading is organized by Louise Crowley, VCFA’s Director of MFA in Writing, who says, “We chose a broad range of Vermont poets and voices to participate–high school students representing the younger poets, to their mentor-teacher (Kerrin McCadden), to a poet representing VCFA (recent graduate Paige Ackerson-Keily) to established poets Greg Delanty, who teaches at St. Michael’s College and Wyn Cooper, from Halifax, VT.”

Crowley pointed out that VCFA has long fostered poets, and has a mission to include and serve the community as much as possible. “We hope that a celebration of poetry will be of interest and bring a good number of people up to the campus for this event.” There will also be a poetry display of VCFA alumni  and faculty in College Hall during April as well.

“More and more we plan to offer regular events here on the VCFA campus that will be of interest to the Central Vermont community,” Crowley said.  The poetry reading is among other events scheduled for the public during the spring. All the campus events that are open to the public are advertised locally and sent out through the Community e-newsletter. To receive the newsletter, please contact Ann Cardinal at ann.cardinal[at]vermontcollege.edu.

POET/READER BIOS:

Wyn Cooper – Wyn Cooper’s fourth book of poems, Chaos is the New Calm, will be published by BOA Editions in 2010. He has written songs with Sheryl Crow, David Broza, Jody Redhage, and David Baerwald. His second CD with Madison Smartt Bell, Postcards Out of the Blue, came out in 2008. Their songs can be heard on six television shows. He lives in Vermont and works for the Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, a think tank run by the Poetry Foundation in Chicago.  www.wyncooper.com

Greg Delanty – Greg Delanty was born in Cork, Ireland  and lives in Burlington, Vermont where he teaches at Saint Michael’s College.  He became an American citizen in 1994. His latest books are Collected Poems 1986-2006 , The Selected Poems of Kyriakos Charalambides in Translation, and The Ship of Birth. His other poetry collections are The Blind Stitch, The Hellbox, American Wake, Southward and Cast in the Fire.

Kerrin McCadden - Kerrin McCadden teaches Creative Writing at Montpelier High School and The New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf.  She also directs The Hungry Rat Revue, a performance poetry group for teenagers.  She was a finalist for the 2010 Ruth Stone Poetry Prize and a semi-finalist for both the 2009 RATTLE Poetry Prize and the ”Discovery”/Boston Review 2010 Poetry Contest.  Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Hunger Mountain, RATTLE, Poet Lore, The Fiddlehead, Painted Bride Quarterly, and others.  Kerrin lives in Plainfield, Vermont.

Izabel Nielsen – Izabel Nielsen is a chef, a lifeguard, a dancer and a poet.  She is a senior at Montpelier High School where she has served as Opinion Page Editor of the school newspaper and as a contributing editor to the Wild Onion Review.  She is a founder of the performance poetry troupe The Hungry Rat Revue which she has co-chaired for two years.  Izabel also works as an intern at VCFA’s literary/art journal, Hunger Mountain.

Sophia Manley – Sophia Manley is a senior at Montpelier High School.  She attended The New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf in 2009 and has participated in The Hungry Rat Revue since it started in the fall of 2008, currently serving as co-chair.  She will be attending the Professional Writing Program at Champlain College next fall.

Paige Ackerson-Keily – Paige Ackerson-Kiely’s first collection, In No One’s Land, was the winner of the 2006 Sawtooth Poetry Prize judged by DA Powell and published by Ahsahta Press. Her second collection, The Misery Trail, is forthcoming from Ahsahta Press.  Paige has received grants and awards from Vermont Arts Council, The Willowell Foundation, the Jentel Artist Residency and was the 2006 winner of Poets & Writers Writer’s Exchange contest. Paige graduated from the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2005.  She lives in Vermont, and manages her family band The Blonde Sorrows.

Date: Friday, April 23, 2010
Time 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Place: various downtown venues, Montpelier
Downtown Montpelier will be abuzz with art patrons and poetry lovers as they stroll through the streets from venue to venue viewing the current art exhibits and reading poems in the POETRY Alive! installation. A project of Montpelier Alive.
Contact: Suzanne Eikenberry: director[at]montpelieralive.org or (802) 223-9604.

POETRY Alive!

Date: Thursday, April 1 through Friday, April 30, 2010
Place: various downtown venues, Montpelier
To celebrate National Poetry Month, the Kellogg-Hubbard Library and Montpelier Alive present an installation of poetry by Vermonters in downtown storefronts. 90 poets representing 30 Vermont cities and towns in 40 venues. This is a joint presentation of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library and Montpelier Alive.
Contact: Rachel Senechal: rysenechal[at]kellogghubbard.org or (802) 223-0643.

National Poetry Month Reading

Date: Friday, April 23, 2010
Time: 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Place: Chapel at Vermont College of Fine Arts, College Street, Montpelier
A group of emerging and established poets each present a short reading of their work. Followed by a book signing and reception. Poets include: Jody Gladding, Wyn Cooper, Izabel Nielsen, Kerrin McCadden, Sophia Manley and Paige Ackerson-Keily. Presented by the Vermont College of Fine Arts as a part of POETRY Alive! and Montpelier Art Walk.
Contact: Ann Cardinal: ann.cardinal[at]vermontcollege.edu or (802) 828-8589.

PostPoem

Date:Friday, April 23, 2010
Time: until 9 p.m.
Place: Bear Pond Books, 77 Main Street, Montpelier
Bring your own original poems and hang them on clotheslines strung throughout the store. Bear Pond will collect poems throughout the month. Or come during Art Walk and hang your own and read others. An Art Walk event.
Contact: Claire Benedict: claire[at]bearpondbooks.com or (802) 229-0774.

Linda Corelia Poetry Reading

Date: Friday, April 23, 2010
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: The Shoe Horn, 8 Langdon Street, Montpelier
Randolph poet Linda Corelia reads from her work. The Shoe Horn displays one of her poems in the window. A part of POETRY Alive! and Montpelier Art Walk.
Contact: Rachel Senechal: rysenechal[at]kellogghubbard.org or (802) 223-0643.

Tim Mayo & Patricia Fargnoli

Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: The Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main Street, Montpelier
A joint reading and book signing by Tim Mayo and Patricia Fargnoli. Part of POETRY Alive!
Contact: Rachel Senechal: rysenechal[at]kellogghubbard.org or (802) 223-0643.

The Music of Poetry

Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: The Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main Street, Montpelier
Classical and Jazz pianist Michael Arnowitt demonstrates and talks about the musical aspects of poetry, song lyrics and literature. Part of POETRY Alive!
Contact: Rachel Senechal: rysenechal[at]kellogghubbard.org or (802) 223-0643.

Song For My Father

Date: Thursday, April 22 through Sunday, May 9, 2010
Times: vary
Place: Lost Nation Theater, City Hall Arts Center, Main Street, Montpelier
LTN’s production of poet David Budbill’s latest play. Part of Montpelier Art Walk.
Contact: info[at]lostnationtheater.org or (802) 229-0492.

April Ossmann, Peggy Sapphire & Baron Wormser

Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Bear Pond Books, 77 Main Street, Montpelier
Three Vermont poets in a joint reading for National Poetry Month.
Contact: Claire Benedict: claire[at]bearpondbooks.com or (802) 229-0774.

Pamela Harrison Poetry Reading

Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Bear Pond Books, 77 Main St., Montpelier
Norwich poet Pamela Harrison reads from her work as part of National Poetry Month.
Contact: Claire Benedict: claire[at]bearpondbooks.com or (802) 229-0774.

Open Poetry Reading

Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tiem: 7 p.m.
Place: Bear Pond Books, 77 Main St, Montpelier
Community members gather to read and hear each other’s poetry. Early sign up required.
Contact: Claire Benedict: claire[at]bearpondbooks.com or (802) 229-0774.

And here’s Ryan Deery and Leah Grossman, who helped us to align the pages:

Robin put together one of the windows:

As did Suzanne:

Come by and read a few!

Poets featured include: Marielle Johnson, Kerrin McCadden, Isaac Reilly, Kate Sprout, Izabel Nielsen, Emma Schoenberg, Ezekiel Smith, Maggie Kinzel, and Julia Francis.

Last month, Suzanne Eikenberry of Montpelier Alive suggested that I attend a meeting of the Promotions Committee. I was already writing the weekly e-newsletter and had earlier mentioned my interest in stepping into the role of Art Walk coordinator, if Art Walk was in need of one. Rob Hitzig of the Lazy Pear had been coordinator, but he closed the gallery in January to focus on his wood craft, and was unsure if he would continue.

The Art Walk story is one for another post. In that initial meeting, Suzanne mentioned that someone at the library was putting together a poetry display in downtown Montpelier for the National Poetry Month. I ended up contacting Rachel Senechal, the Program and Development Coordinator of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, to indicate my interest and volunteer my services.

She, along with Ryan Deery, the library’s Vista Member, had wanted to ask downtown retailers to display a poem throughout the month of April. So began POETRY Alive! When I met them, they had already put together a sizable list of Vermont-based poets, pulled their books from the shelves, and received some commitments from local businesses. Vermont poets gave us a theme and made it easier to obtain permissions. I helped them to identify more poets, wrote up a call for poetry and sent it off to my networks—and went home with an armload of books to read.

Suzanne came by and took a photo of us on Saint Patrick’s Day.

We’ve collected poems from 80+ poets, matched them to about 30+ businesses. The display will feature work from teenagers as well as adults. We have unpublished writers as well as established poets. And Vermonters who live on through their legacies like Grace Paley and Robert Frost. The selection reflects a variety of writing styles. We had a short deadline, and so not everyone is included here. But I’m really happy to have this many different people in the exhibition.

Also as varied are the businesses that chose to participate: Montpelier Pharmacy, Chittenden Bank, First in Fitness, along with bookstores, eateries, boutiques and others. Many of them requested more than one poem. The library itself will be a poetry trove—installing 25 poems throughout the entire building. Each venue decided how to display the work. The Hunger Mountain Co-op will hand-paint haikus on the café windows, so diners can read them while also enjoying the view of the river. The Knitting Studio will create a knitted piece inspired by Mary Elder Jacobsen of North Calais. Birchgrove Baking will create an artfully decorated cake display inspired by Phyllis Larrabee of Woodbury. And Artisans Hand Craft Gallery will have an outdoor poetry garden that “grows” throughout the month, using poems by Cora Brooks and Jonah Neale, both of Montpelier.

We’ll be installing a “preview” on Monday, featuring a selection of work from Montpelier High School. It will be in the window of the former Capitol Video space on Main Street, across from City Hall.

In the meanwhile, we’re working on the guide/map and writing press releases, doing radio spots, and spreading the word. I hope to run into many poetry lovers strolling through the streets of our little town next month. I’m looking forward to our busy business district transforming into a walkable anthology of contemporary Vermont poetry. See you there.