As a young lady madly in love with poetry, I'm always trying to get people to jump on the obsessive bandwagon with me. I'll be riding in the passenger's seat of a friend's car, reading dramatically from a book of Sandra Beasley's poetry, and all I'll be met with is a confused side-glance beckoning me to just shut my pie hole. "But don't you see? She's comparing herself to a jukebox. Isn't that the best thing you've ever heard?!" An exasperated, "Uh, sure," is usually the best response I get. Despite even my most earnest efforts, most people I speak with about modern poetry are convinced that it's inaccessible, confusing, and has nothing to do with their own lives. The more I read poetry, though, the more I'm convinced that the exact opposite is true. Poetry is being written by innumerable people all over the world right at this very moment, with all different experiences to share, and events like the 2nd Annual Westchester Poetry Festival remind us of this fact.
On Saturday March 31, The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center will join forces with The Masters School in presenting the 2nd Annual Westchester Poetry Festival. This year’s festival features poetry readings, workshops, student performances, and lectures that focus on international collaboration - a theme that emphasizes poetry's ability to expound on all cultures, lifestyles and experiences. This year's festival will be headlined by internationally renowned poet Rigoberto Gonzalez, the author of three poetry books. His most recent publication, Black Blossoms, explores the personal lives of working class women of color and the struggles they face daily. Other poets attending the festival include, Deborah Poe, Anne-Marie Fyfe, Jane Collins, Uche Nduka, Jennifer Franklin, Floyd Chung, Quincy Lehr, Yibing Huang, Ana Bozicevic, and lyricist and performer Bill Kelly, joined by Masters alumnae songwriters Alexa Wilding and Sinem Saniye. With this fantastic variety of performers, you are bound to feel an enriched, or newfound, excitement over modern poetry, and, perhaps, you will be
inspired to share some stories of your own.
Admission to the 2nd Annual Westchester Poetry Festival is FREE
Location: Estherwood Mansion on The Master's School campus, 49 Clinton Avenue, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
