My View of Life on the Dock
Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library Poetry Without Paper Contest 2019 find out more here
deadline April 30, 2019
Fun fact: Christy Russo, Director of Childrens Services at the library, said that new Teen Librarian Haley created the word cloud for this year’s flyer from winning poems submitted in 2018.
2019 poetry contests for children and teens:
Gloucester Poetry Without Paper Contest co-founded by Christy Russo and John Ronan through Sawyer Free Public Library is now in its 17th year! Submissions are due March 1 – April 30th. Read all about it here: https://sawyerfreelibrary.org/poetry-without-paper-contest/
The deadline for Rockport Poetry’s Paperless Poetry Contest is midnight March 31. Submissions can be sent by email: rockportpoetry@gmail.com. Sharon Chace is Rockport Poet Laureate. Read more here.
It’s free and simple to participate in National Poem in Your Pocket Day. From Mayor Romeo-Theken:
“I’ve selected a poem by former poet laureate, Ruthanne “Rufus” Collinson, “Jumping In”. The view from my City Hall office is the building Collinson writes about, and the poem’s span of time and special moments –celebrating kids, seniors, connections and kindness– are music to read.”- Mayor Romeo-Theken, Gloucester, MA
JUMPING IN
I was 12 years old
dreaming already
of the life within life,
writing plays and poems,
clumsy beyond description
when I arrived at Central Grammar School,
to a daily journey over the bridge,
learning about the universe of Gloucester
from my new friends,
learning art and history and language
from my new teachers.
What I will never forget
is the lesson I learned from the kind eighth grade girls
on the playground.
In elementary school, I fell down everyday at recess,
playing jump rope, trying to jump in.
My new friends at Central Grammar
taught me to look up,
to wait until the rope swung high,
to wait for the thin shimmering line
to reach its highest arc,
to enter then
and begin to keep the rhythm.
And here I am today.
The school has become a residence for the elders
and, once again,
I am learning to jump in
-RUTHANNE “RUFUS” COLLINSON
Reminder- kids poetry contest is closing soon. Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Libraray childrens services Poetry Without Paper 2018 contest And send them to the Mayor’s office– she promises to read them!
It’s free and simple to participate. Carry a Poem. Share a Poem.
John Ronan, a poet, playwright, journalist and a National Endowment for the
Arts Fellow in Literature, shares two sonnets: “The Parlor” and “The Lesson.” And the very short, “Arrowhead.”
Arrowhead
The bifacial point, found in a potato
field in Maine, is still sharp,
a Micmac weapon or crafted heart
knapped from the whole cloth of stone.
Flint’s a slap in the face, elegist
relic only as long as you look.
Says: crow shadow and opaque.
Adds: I will exist without witness.
-John J. Ronan
John Ronan served as Gloucester’s Poet Laureate 2008-2010, maintaining the website resource dedicated to Gloucester poets, Gloucester Poet Laureate, and producing Salt and Light: An Anthology of Gloucester Poetry, published spring 2010. He is the host of the Cape Ann TV (now 1623 studios) program, The Writer’s Block. His most recent anthology is Taking the Train of Singularity South from Midtown. He read “We, Helsmen” at Mayor Romeo Theken’s 2018 Inauguration. Ronan helped to establish Poetry without Paper; the 12th annual deadline for this beloved annual tradition is approaching. Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Libraray childrens services Poetry Without Paper 2018 contest
Two weeks to go. Kids- send in your poems: Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Libraray childrens services Poetry Without Paper 2018 is underway
Now in its 16th year (!) Sawyer Free’s annual poetry contest for all students who go to Gloucester schools or live in Gloucester is LIVE. Participants can submit up to 3 poems through April 30, 2018. Some of the previous winning poems are published on the library web site. 2015 2016 2017
Former Gloucester Poet Laureate, host of The Writers Block, and co-founder with Christy Russo of the dynamite Poetry without Paper contest, John Ronan, included this reminder plug along with his January column and poem in the Gloucester Daily Times: Continue reading “Poetry without Paper deadline reminder from Christy Russo Sawyer Free Library, John Ronan, O’Maley School, & Mayor Romeo Theken”
Now in its 16th year (!) Sawyer Free’s annual poetry contest for all students who go to Gloucester schools or live in Gloucester is LIVE. Participants can submit up to 3 poems through April 30, 2018. Some of the previous winning poems are published on the library web site. 2015 2016 2017
Former Gloucester Poet Laureate, host of The Writers Block, and co-founder with Christy Russo of the dynamite Poetry without Paper contest, John Ronan, included this reminder plug along with his January column and poem in the Gloucester Daily Times:
“Students! Families! Grandparents, aunts and uncles! The annual Poetry Without Paper contest, sponsored by the Sawyer Free Library, will again open from March 1 to April 30. All students living in or attending school in Gloucester are eligible, from elementary to high school. This is the 16th year of the contest and hundreds of students participate each season, winners claiming prizes, a public reading, and a chance to be on TV. Spread the word! Watch for details at: www.sawyerfreelibrary.org.”
Mayor Romeo Theken broadcasts and celebrates National Poetry Month every April, Poetry without Paper, and Poem in Your Pocket Day which is April 26 in 2018. #pocketpoem
O’Maley Innovation Middle School has it posted in several spots and it’s been included in newsletters since the contest opened. Good luck to all the writers!
APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JUNE 9
Links for: 2017 Poet Laureate application (digital format) or 2017 Poet Laureate application (PDF format submit 5 copies).
The City of Gloucester’s Committee for the Arts announces the release of the 2017 Call for Applications for the four year position of Gloucester Poet Laureate.
The position of Gloucester Poet Laureate is dedicated to building community through poetry and encouraging a love of poetry among people of all ages. The position was most recently held by the late Peter Todd, appointed in 2014. During Peter’s time as Poet Laureate, he generously shared his talents with his beloved City of Gloucester.
Under City Ordinance, the process to select the Poet Laureate is administered by the Committee for the Arts and will involve a Selection Panel including representatives from the local literary community thanks to Eastern Point Lit House and The Gloucester Writers Center. A recommendation from the Selection Panel will be forwarded to the Committee for the Arts for review and then forwarded on to the Mayor for nomination, subject to confirmation by the City Council.
The Call for Applications is available for download at the Committee for the Arts page on the City website: http://gloucester-ma.gov/index.aspx?nid=102. Copies also are available at the Sawyer Free Library, the City of Gloucester Mayor’s Office, Eastern Point Lit House, the Gloucester Writer’s Center, and other locales. Applications must be submitted by 12 pm on Friday, June 9th , 2017. Contact Judith Hoglander, Committee for the Arts with any questions.
National Poetry Month at Sawyer Free included this past Saturday’s super cute puppies and poetry program with Cape Ann Animal Aid .
Poetry without Paper contest is open and National Poem in Pocket Day is April 27.
John Ronan presents Taking the Train of Singularity South From Midtown on Saturday, April 8, 2:00-3:00pm in the Friend Room. It’s Sponsored by the Gloucester Lyceum and Friends of the Sawyer Free Library.
John Ronan a poet, playwright, journalist and a National Endowment for the
Arts Fellow in Literature has done so much in Gloucester! Here’s a throwback article from 1978 about the Gloucester Broadside, a monthly 10 cent one sheet of quality poetry.
Ronan developed the website resource dedicated to Gloucester poets, Gloucester Poet Laureate, also for Salt and Light: An Anthology of Gloucester Poetry, published spring 2010. He is the host of the Cape Ann TV program, The Writer’s Block. He was pivotal in establishing the library’s annual Poetry without Paper Contest and poetry columns in the Gloucester Daily Times.
Students are encouraged to submit poems to the Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library’s annual Poetry without Paper contest by April 30th!
April 27 2017 | POEM IN POCKET DAY: It’s free and simple to participate. Carry a Poem. Share a Poem. For more information, search for Poem in Your Pocket Day (PIYP Day) Academy of American Poets (www.poets.org) or New York City’s excellent web site, http://www.NYC.gov/poem. PIYP Day started in NYC in 2002 inspired by the Favorite Poem Project established in 1997 (first events April 1998) by Robert Pinsky, former 3x Poet Laureate of the United States. East Gloucester Elementary School initiated Poem in Pocket Day in 2011 (PTO enrichment).
The Ride of My Life
The signs say sixty
miles an hour, sixty
degree angles, eight
bucks for two minutes,
and Don’t Stand Up!
We pay the eight,
climb in the car.
The Big Guy who draws
down the lap bar
tight as a tourniquet,
says: “Stash the glasses,
the pen in your pocket.
Stuff flies out.”
Cogs catch. The cars
quake, start awkwardly
forward as my wife waves,
safe on West 10th
and others stroll Surf,
Coney Island tourists
not thinking about The Cyclone,
or the comic fate that leads
in the first place to Astroland,
no way not to be
in a roller coaster seat
at the top of the first drop and…
Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!
Up plummet of guts
plunging down, fist
full of fear in the heart-
sick final mind:
I am not on a metaphor,
I am going to die.
Followed by a slow coast,
an arc of confident calm,
balm of Brooklyn below and…
Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!
Death drop and keister
clench! The easy scream!
…and the balm of Brooklyn below.
Ohmygod! horror, and hope…
Ohmygod! horror, and hope…
Slowly, slack in the lickety split.
Speed evens out
and the sine curve dies,
finally flat
in a fan turn to the ramp.
The Big Guy hovers
above the cars, smiling:
“Second ride’s five.”
-John J. Ronan
Cape Ann TV filmed John Ronan reading this poem, The Ride of My Life
I LOVED the Cyclone and I lost my prescription eyeglasses…and a shoe!
John Ronan’s New Book: Taking the Train of Singularity South from Midtown
The Poetry Society of America recently featured John Ronan’s wonderful civic poetry creed essay January 2017. Book tour events listed http://www.theronan.org/
POET LAUREATE: In Gloucester, MA, the Poet Laureate is dedicated to building community through poetry and encouraging a love of poetry among people of all ages. The honorary post for the City of Gloucester was created in 1998. There have been 4 Poet Laureates: Vincent Ferrini was the City’s first, then John Ronan served from 2008-10, Ruthanne Collinson served 2010-14, and Peter Todd served 2014-15. The Committee for the Arts helps to select a new Poet Laureate.
Gloucester students: there’s still time to submit entires SFL Poetry Without Paper
Good luck 🙂
National Poetry month celebrates a milestone this year: 20 years. If you haven’t heard of this commemorative theme, a generation of children has grown up with this awareness from a parent, teacher, librarian or friend. Please let us know of local events and programs honoring poetry this April so we can collect them in one spot (write in comments below and add to James Eves calendar). I am toying with ‘Terse Verse Thursdays’ as a possible theme for a series, because I’d love to share your poems on GMG. They don’t have to be strictly ‘terse verse’ where a two word rhyme response solves a question or statement.
In the meantime, you have two weeks till National Poem in Your Pocket Day. Although the date skips around annually, this year it falls on April 21 as it did in 2002 the year it was established. PIYP Day (not sure this acronym will ever have legs) was inspired by the Favorite Poem Project founded by Robert Pinsky, former Poet Laureate of the United States in 1997. Write your own or carry a favorite to share with others throughout the day. What will you choose?
Gloucester children can submit their original poems to Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library’s Poetry without Paper competition thanks to Christy Russo, John Ronan and volunteers who step up to serve on that jury panel. Gloucester students can send their original poems to the Office of the Mayor, 9 Dale Avenue, Gloucester, MA, any month. Mayor Theken promises to read them! Students should include their name, which Gloucester school, and their grade. Mention a teacher if they’ve helped.
To celebrate April as National Poetry Month, the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library is proud to have participated in its twelfth annual Poetry Without Paper contest.
Elementary School:
First and Second Place (shared): Charles King, Grade 5, East Gloucester Elementary School: “Fireworks”
and George King, Grade 5, East Gloucester Elementary School: “Blank Slate”
Third Place: Calvin Del Vecchio, Grade 5, East Gloucester Elementary School: “The Sun”
Honorable Mention: Aurelia Harrison, Grade 3, West Parish School: “Immortal”
Middle School:
First Place: Mila Barry, Grade 6, O’Maley School: “Living in The Valley Green”
Second Place: Willa Brosnihan, Grade 6, O’Maley Innovation Middle School: “The Swarm”
Third Place: Ruby Mills, Grade 7, O’Maley Innovation Middle School: “Forest”
Honorable Mention: Katherine Bevins, Grade 7, O’Maley School: “Memory Window”
High School:
First Place: Emily Ryan, Grade 11, Gloucester High School: “Loving in Reverse”
Second Place: Josette Thompson, Grade 12, Gloucester High School: “True Love Haiku”
Third Place: Spencer Taft, Grade 12, Gloucester High School: “A Note for the Windshield”
To read all of the prize-winning poetry, click here
PRIZES: Each winner will receive a cash prize, a book of poetry, publication of the winning poem, an invitation to read the poem at the awards ceremony, and the chance to appear on the local TV program The Writer’s Block.
See Martin DelVecchio’s Beautiful Photo Gallery Here:
Poetry Without Paper contest
The Gloucester Lyceum and coordinator John Ronan have announced the 7th annual Poetry Without Paper contest for students living in Gloucester. All levels, from elementary, middle and high schools are eligible, whether the student attends school in Gloucester or not. The contest honors national poetry month and will have its official start April 13. Entries will be accepted at http://www.sawyerfreelibrary.org until May 25. Winners receive U.S. Savings Bonds, books, and an invitation to appear on Ronan’s television program, “The Writer’s Block.” All winning poems will be published online. The presentation of awards will be made by Mayor Kirk on Thursday, June 11, 7 p.m., at the library.
Free library program
An evening of poetry, photography and song inspired by a collection of poems that record the voices of 19th century pioneer women as they and their families homesteaded the Okanogan Valley of Washington state, will be the subject of a Gloucester Lyceum/Sawyer Free Library program on Thursday, April 16, 7 p.m., at the library, 2 Dale Ave. The event, “Oh How Can I Keep On Singing:” Voices of Pioneer Women, celebrates National Poetry Month and is free and open to the public. The program will be performed by Kathleen Adams, Barbara Braver, Geraldine Herbert and Kristina Martin, and introduced by Jill Carter. Photographs of the Okanogan Valley taken by local photographer Susan Oleksiw during her visit to the area last summer will be on display in the Matz Gallery.
Cape Ann Art Haven
Cape Ann Art Haven offers family studio time every Friday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. This is an opportunity to bond with your children through art. Cost is $10 for the first child, $5 for each additional child. CAAH also offers classes for third- through fifth-graders every Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 5 and 5:30 to 7 p.m. The class runs for one month and costs $60. CAAH also offers classes for sixth- through eighth-graders every Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and 6 to 7:30 p.m. The class runs for one month and costs $60. To sign up, call 978-283-3888 or visit info@capeannarthaven.com. Walk-ins are welcome.
’50s dance
The Night Prowlers Car Club will hold its annual ’50s Saturday, April 18, at the Gloucester Fraternity Club, 27 Webster St. The dance will feature music by DJ Leo Francis, mystery guests, pizza at 9 p.m., door prizes and raffles. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $13 per person and are available at the door. Proceeds benefit the Gloucester Fraternity Club’s special needs children.
Beeman on Broadway
The Beeman School Chorus will present “Beeman on Broadway,” songs and dances from some of Broadway’s most beloved shows, on Wednesday, April 15 and Thursday, April 16, 7 p.m., at Beeman School. Tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for students.
Good Morning Gloucester 