Tea & Poetry: A Great Success

Imagine a gorgeous garden, a perfect August day in Vermont. The sun is shining; the sky is perfectly blue. It is warm, but not hot. It is a perfect day for sitting outside and listening to poetry.

This is Tea & Poetry, held this weekend in East Hardwick, VT and organized by Woman-Stirred's own, Merry Gangemi. Tea & Poetry contains four poetry readings held over two days. It is a feast for the mind, the heart, the soul, and the body. In addition, Tea & Poetry is a fundraiser for the Vermont AFSC, an important organization working on peace and justice issues throughout Vermont.

Held at Perennial Pleasures Nursery in East Hardwick, VT, Tea & Poetry opened with readings by Judith Kane, the owner of Perennial Pleasures who served her delectable English creme teas for the poets and patrons of the event (the scones, with fresh strawberry jam and delicious cream, were to die for), Samn Stockwell, and Martha Zweig. The audience enthusiastically greeted each poet.

At four p.m., three more poets shared their work. Jim Schley read from his work. David Budbill read from a play in progress, and David Hinton, with help from the others, read a concrete poem, Fossil Sky. It was an extraordinary day in the gardens of Perennial Pleasures.

















On Sunday, the weather was not as sunny, but the cold and rain made for a perfect Vermont setting and the location of "The Grange", a block away from Perennial Pleasures was the perfect Vermont place.








Sunday at 1 p.m., the poets were Phyllis Larrabee, Julie R. Enszer, and Merry Gangemi. Here are Merry and Julie, giddy after the performance.

At 4 p.m., in the absence of Grace Paley, who has been sick lately, continuing to live with cancer, Tea & Poetry invoked her presence through her poems. The three poets reading were Peggy Sapphire, Cora Brooks, and Susan Thomas. Peggy Sapphire's book, A Possible Explanation, was recently published by Partisan Press. Cora Brooks, recently heard on Woman-Stirred radio, riveted the audience with many poems, including her poem for children on Halloween. Susan Thomas read from her book, winner of the Red Hen Press award.

Tea and Poetry was an incredible event benefiting the great work of the Vermont AFSC. If you missed Tea & Poetry, you can still make a contribution to support the work of the Vermont AFSC here. Meanwhile, plan to attend next year's Tea & Poetry. It is rumored that all of the women of Woman-Stirred will be there next year. Mark your calendars now for Tea & Poetry in East Hardwick, VT in August 2007.