Poetry Marathon celebrates 56 voices
at 3^rd annual BPL fest

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

BOSTON - This weekend, jocks of the cerebral persuasion can indulge in aesthetic aerobics at the Boston National Poetry Month Festival. For the third year running (no pun intended), Tapestry of Voices poetry group founder Harris Gardner will fill the stages of the Boston Public Library with 56 established and emerging poets in a free, two-day literary love fest.

Gardner's poetry has appeared in Midstream, Harvard Review, Ibbetson St. Press and other publications. He is the co-author of the poetry collection Chalice of Eros. His most recent work, Lest They Become, examines sacred Judaic texts in light of everyday life and modern times.

Tapestry of Voices holds readings on the second Thursday of each month at Borders Books, 10-24 School St. in downtown Boston, as well as readings throughout the region. "The mission of Tapestry of Voices is to weave poetry into the social fabric of every day life of Boston and Massachusetts residents," said Gardner.

This weekend, each poet will perform a twenty minute reading. “This fast-growing tradition will begin with 30 elementary school students from The Marshall Elementary School/New England Scores Program with a fifteen minute poetry team performance,” said Gardner, who noted that the first hour will be also highlighted by three Boston High School students: Carol Ayler, the Boston NAACP 2002 gold medalist for poetry in The ACTSO Program, from Greater Egleston Community High School; Daniel Medina from English High, and Anita Yip, from Boston Latin. All three were selected for excellence by Positive Teens Magazine.

Festival co-sponsors include Tapestry of Voices and Kaji Aso Studio, in partnership with the Boston Public Library. The erudite entertainment begins on Saturday, April 12th, 2003- Starts at 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and Sunday,April 13th, 2003, 1:00P.M. to 5:00P.M.

The "Marathon" of poetry with the fifty-six major and emerging poets will begin on Friday with a 6 p.m. reception and commence at 11 a.m. on Saturday, where the poetry will flow until 5 p.m.. There will also be an open mic on Saturday from 1-2:30 p.m. which will hosted by poet Marc Goldfinger. A book table and photo display will round out the offerings.

Participating poets inlude Rhina P. Espaillat, Diana DerHovanessian, Rosanna Warren, X.J. Kenned,; Jack McCarthy Charles Coe, Pam Bernard, Regie Gibson, Don Share, Fred Marchant, and many others. “Everyone should be named, because the festival is packed with incredible talent,” said Gardner.

Jewish poets joining Gardner in the program include Pulitzer Prize recipient Lloyd Schwartz, Director of Creative Writing at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and music critic for the Boston Phoenix; Joyce Peseroff, prize-winning poet, Visiting Professor and Poet-in-Residence at the University of Massachusetts, Boston; Lisa Beatman, author of Ladies Night at The Blue Hills Spa; Ellen Steinbaum, author of Afterwords and award-winning columnist for the Boston Globe; recent Boston University graduate Rachel Hyman, who is the Boston Poetry Slam’s 2001-2 Champion of Champions as well as winner of the 2002 Cambridge Poetry Award for Best Female Slam Poet; Marc Widershien, an activist with five published chapbooks and author of the small press best seller, Life of All Worlds, which chronicles growing up in Jewish Boston in the 1940s and 1950s; Gail Mazur, head of Cambridge’s Blacksmith House poetry series, and Doug Holder, publisher of Ibbetson Street Press and Ibbetson Street Journal and coordinator of The Newton Free Library Reading Series.

Admission to the Boston National Poetry Month Festival at the Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St. in Copley Square, Boston, is free. For information, please call 617-723-3716 or 617-535-5400. The BPL is wheelchair accessible. Assistive listening devices available. To request a sign language interpreter or for other special needs, call 617-536-7055 (TTY) at least two weeks before the program date. This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a municipal agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.