Dear Friends,
If there is such a thing as the poetry gods, they must be smiling on NEPC! We’ve now held 6 of the 8 scheduled events in the WE (too) THE PEOPLE programs––held across two summers, in collaboration with the Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters and the Friends of Longfellow–– and we have had nothing but sun every time. Granted, a few days last year were scorchers that made you want to kick yourself for ever cursing the winter snow––but most were simply lovely occasions on the Longfellow lawn.
We’ve had two balmy days for this year’s programs –– Tracy K. Smith’s marvelous kick-off on July 12th, accompanied by a compelling musical performance from singer Lydia Harrell and percussionist Ricardo Monzon. And this past Sunday’s celebration, which featured Lloyd Schwartz (who was also awarded NEPC’s 2026 Sam Cornish Prize) and Regie Gibson who (you won’t need me to remind you) is the Commonwealth’s very first Poet Laureate. The opening music was provided by two great performers: sax player Russ Gershon and bassist Rick McLaughlin. The duo also accompanied Regie on several of his poems, a scintillating hybrid that must have made the Muses smile.
If you were not able to make it, you’ll get a taste of the celebration from the photo collages at the bottom of my letter––and of course from the video recordings of all of our WE (too) performances, which can be viewed on YouTube, thanks to Somerville Media Center.
There are two more exceptional readings remaining in this series: Major Jackson and Kirun Kapur on Sunday, August 2nd (with music from jazz great Stan Strickland); and the Golden Rose Award reading on August 9th, featuring the 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winner, Marie Howe (with music from violinist/guitarist/singer Elizabeth Burke). I hope you’ll be able to join us. And if you’d like to volunteer at these or any of our NEPC programs, I’d love to hear from you: president@nepoetryclub.org
On another note, I am happy to announce three new appointees to our Advisory Board. They each bring exceptional talents that will, no doubt, help our organization thrive. Joyce Wilson is a poet and educator, the author of five poetry collections––and her long-running Poetry Porch publication features an exciting variety of literary voices. Realizing how much help we can use in refining our vision of development, we also elected our first two non-poets to leadership (though both are great admirers of the work of poets). Richard Snyder is a law partner at Duane Morris LLP and the former chair of the Babson College Board of Trustees and the Babson College Corporation. Jesse Victoroff is the Senior Director of Strategy and Outcomes at the Big Brother/Big Sister organization and is their chief fundraiser. Our hope is that, as we continue to solidify our financial footing, increased income will allow us the freedom to both expand existing programming and experiment with new initiatives. We welcome all three and thank them in advance for their commitment.
This will be our July/August newsletter, allowing our newsletter team, Elizabeth Lund and Trapper Markelz, a well-deserved breather so they can savor the rest of our New England summer. We’ll return with another issue in September. Until then, I hope you, too, have plans for enjoying the sun and taking advantage of the inevitable summer slowdown. May it bring you productive time with your notebook as well.
With my warm regards,
Steven
– President, NEPC
Photos by Joy Martin, NEPC Board member.