Poetry, music and hope for 2021!

a message from BNPMF board member and co-producer, Kirk Etherton

 

This marks the 20th Boston National Poetry Month Festival. Like the Festival’s co-founders (and two of my fellow board members) Harris Gardner and Lainie Senechel, I had planned—in detail—on 2020 being the 20th annual Festival. April of last year sometimes feels a world away: it seems almost quaint to recall a time when “Zoom” was not one of the most frequently uttered words.

 

Naturally, we look forward to again being able to collaborate with Boston Public Library, where the majority of the Festival has always taken place, and having our next “Poetry, Music & Dance” concert at the Community Church of Boston. This year’s Festival is necessarily more limited in scope.

 

That said, we’re very pleased to present a high-quality, highly diverse event. Tapestry of Voices is proud to be partnering with our new ally and fiscal agent, Writers Without Margins: WWM is a tremendous organization that has been taking literature beyond traditional spaces since 2015. 

 

Musicians range from singer-songwriter Thea Hopkins to multi-instrumentalist Stan Strickland. Poets include Richard Hoffman, Rhina Espiallat, Fred Marchant, Charles Coe and more.

A special guest this year is Martín Espada.

 

As always, this Festival is made possible in part by generous donations; particular gratitude to those who have made the journey with us all these years.

 

~Kirk 

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