Columbia County poet Karen Schoemer will read from her own work and host an open mic to begin the celebration of Poetry Month at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library on April 2, 5:00 to 7:00 pm.
Schoemer, first place winner of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild 2015 Writing Contest, invites poets and poetry lovers “to share a poem and celebrate their own heritage and poetry’s shared heritage.” Participants can read one or two of their own poems or read poems from a favorite poet.
Karen Schoemer is a poet, author, performer and bookseller. Her poems have appeared in Chronogram, Up the River, Red Barn and Zephyrs. She is the author of Great Pretenders: My Strange Love Affair with ’50s Pop Music (Free Press, 2006), and her music journalism has appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Newsweek. The former book manager for the Spotty Dog in Hudson, she has hosted readings and book events for authors throughout Columbia County, and curated Arts Walk Literary for the Columbia County Council on the Arts in 2015. She is the vocalist for the Schoemer Formation, a Catskill-based rock band.
Additionally for Poetry Month, Great Barrington poet Janet Hutchinson will send out daily email poetry writing prompts during the month of April for the fifth annual Poem-a-Day Challenge. To receive daily prompts send your email address to janhutch44@gmail.com
Hutchinson says, “There are now 300 people in twelve states and three foreign countries receiving these prompts. Many people have told me that they did not actually complete thirty poems in April, but said that the five they did write were five more than they might have written otherwise.”
An open mic for Poem-a-Day Challenge participants to read some of the poems they wrote, will be held at the Roe Jan Library, on Friday, April 29, 7:00-8:00 pm.
Also for poetry month: A Poetry Writing Workshop led by poet Cara Benson will be offered at Roe Jan Library on April 23, 1:00-4:00 pm. Details of the workshop will be announced soon, and will be available on the library’s website.
Roeliff Jansen Community Library, which is chartered to serve Ancram, Copake, and Hillsdale, is located at 9091 Route 22, approximately one mile south of the light at the Hillsdale intersection of Routes 22 and 23. For information on hours and events, call 518 325-4101 or visit the library’s website at www.roejanlibrary.org.
