Letter from our President
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As I’m approaching the completion of my first year as your President, I am proud to say it has been a productive one: exciting, exhausting, surprising, illuminating, challenging, inspiring. Gloria Monaghan, who replaced Linda Haviland Conte as our new Membership Chair, is happy to report that our Club roster has been steadily climbing. And more people who sign up or renew their memberships are doing so at the benefactor level, indicative (I believe) of their faith in the job we’re doing for both our membership and the art form as a whole. Linda, who took on the role of Vice President, is in the beginning stages of meeting with pro bono consultants who (it is our hope) may be able to guide us in the creation of a five-year plan for our organization, helping to clarify the direction in which we’ve already been growing. David Miller, our assiduous Programs Coordinator, is not only expanding the number of NEPC readings we stage each year, but he’s fostering collaborations with the Worcester County Poetry Association and the Poetry Society of Vermont, with more outreach in the works. We’re beginning to finally live up to the geographical mission implicit in the Club’s name. Stephen Honig and the members of our Finance Committee have been working this past year to update the way our Club’s reserves are invested, trying to keep us on a sound economic footing in these wildly unpredictable times. I’d be remiss if I didn’t specifically mention the Executive Committee members Joy Martin, (our Treasurer) and Doug Holder (Clerk), whose steady leadership helps inspire the whole Board and, ultimately, ensure the vitality of our organization.
All in all, I’d say: the state of our (poetic) union is strong. But I am under no illusion that our society and culture are in a safe and stable place right now. So, as I have said from the beginning of my term, we––leadership and membership together–– have to make sure we’re taking care of dual responsibilities: first, to support the poets, colleagues, and friends who are the heart of this Club, and help carry on the strong traditions of New England poetry. But also to contribute––in any way possible––to the cultural health of our communities, Commonwealth, and country. Poetry and the arts embody the spirit of a people and are vital to any strong democracy. Every bit of insight, every small burst of joy we offer in our work helps resist the forces of repression that have been ascendant of late.
Toward that end, I’ll make a few comments about the tremendously successful first year of the WE (too) THE PEOPLE poetry/music performances at Longfellow Historical House. Well-attended and enthusiastically received, the four events featured five acclaimed poets, four talented musicians, and were some of the most engaging poetry readings I’ve been to in my life. Vivid memories abound: Robert Pinsky performing with jazz saxophonist Stan Strickland; the wonderful contrasting styles of Stephanie Burt and Diannely Antigua, rich with emotion; Richard Blanco bringing down the house with his portraits of the immigrant experience; and the final event at which Martha Collins’ marvelous reading skipped across the decades of her storied career, and demonstrated why she was a perfect choice for the 2025 Golden Rose Award. If you missed any of the performances or would like to review them, visit the WE (too)… page on the Club’s website for links to all the recordings. Our next job will be to produce an edited version of the readings (30-minute segments for each poet) accompanied by teacher guides being created by Mady Holzer––and then we will offer these to schools and cable stations across the country.
I should add that this project increased the NEPC visibility tremendously. For example, there was a large feature written about the events in the Boston Globe; and it was recently called to my attention that Richard Blanco himself posted about the WE (too)… series on LinkedIn. Calling it a “timely, vital series,” here, in part, is what he wrote:
“Last week, I read poems on the lawn of the historic Longfellow House. I left with a renewed sense of hope for humanity — inspired by all who shared the space and placed their faith in words, in a shared vision of the America we know, and are still fighting to become.
To those who couldn’t be with us in person: the recording of WE (too) THE PEOPLE is now waiting for you on YouTube. Come sit with us. Let the poems find you — as prayers, as rituals of hope.”
I felt honored by the number of people (especially Club members) who came up to me after these readings to say how proud they felt to be an NEPC poet. I felt exactly the same. We are already beginning to make plans for the second summer of WE (too)… and will be sure to keep you posted. Let me say that in another month or so, we plan to launch our first large-scale fundraiser, which will specifically help support this marvelous project, but also make sure we have the funds we need for new and continuing programs. If you are able to give NEPC an additional donation, we’ll do our best to make sure the money empowers all of this work. I thought I’d offer you a little advance notice: we still have 25 large and extra-large WE (too)… t-shirts available, which we can offer as an additional incentive to donors (while supplies last – further details will follow in an October flyer). But for those who are able to contribute $250 or more, there are eight 8.5”X30” full-color cardstock broadsides of the WE (too)… launch flyer, autographed by all five of the summer’s stellar poets––quite a collectable item, especially in so small a limitation. If such a generous donation is possible in your budget, don’t wait: let me know, and I can reserve one especially for you.
Thank you all for the support and kind words I’ve received from the membership. This has been a gratifying experience for me personally and professionally. I feel that I’ve been able to join my efforts with those of our other recent Presidents and NEPC leaders, strengthening the foundation of our venerable Club.
With my warm regards,
Steven
–President, NEPC