Upcoming at the Talbot County Free Library from April 21-26 includes a poetry discussion in celebration of National Poetry Month, a lecture by local Pulitizer Prize-Nominated poet Sue Ellen Thompson, and a celebration of International Migratory Bird Day.
The Poetry of Place at the Library
On Monday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m., in the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library, Bill Peak will host his annual poetry discussion in celebration of National Poetry Month. This year the poems under discussion will focus on the idea of what “place”—whether it be home, coastline, or a campsite in Greece—means to us. Patrons can pick up a copy of the 7 poems to be discussed at either branch of the library, or they can request a copy from Bill Peak at [email protected] and he will e-mail them one. All library programs are free and open to the public. Patrons do not need to pre-register for this program.
Local Pulitzer Prize-Nominated Poet to Speak at Library
On Thursday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m., in the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library, poet and teacher Sue Ellen Thompson will speak on the extraordinary friendship that developed between the poets Robert Frost and Edward Thomas during the years leading up to World War I. Frost had just moved to England with his family when he met Thomas, an English writer then known primarily for his nonfiction and biographies. The two men were close in age and soon, with their wives, became fast friends. They both rented houses in the same rural area and got in the habit of taking long walks together. It is said that the famous Frost poem, “The Road Not Taken,” was written about Thomas. It was with Frost’s encouragement that Thomas decided to try his hand at poetry, which he did with considerable success. Sadly, the two men’s friendship was cut short by Thomas’s untimely death in France, in April of 1917, a casualty of World War I.
Thompson’s program will trace the course of a literary friendship and the poems that came out of it, which will be read and discussed. The three years that Frost spent in England represent a turning point in his career as a poet, and although the war forced him to return to the United States, he did so with two published books and a reputation that would continue to grow. But he never found another friend like Edward Thomas, whom he often referred to as “the only brother I ever had.”
Sue Ellen Thompson is the author of four books of poetry, with a fifth book to be published in October 2014. She is the editor of a major anthology of contemporary American poetry and has taught at several universities, among them Middlebury, Central Connecticut State University, Binghamton University, and the University of Delaware. She was the Robert Frost Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont and spent a summer as resident poet at The Frost Place in Franconia, NH. Her work has been read on NPR by Garrison Keillor and featured in the Best American Poetry series. In 2010 she received the Maryland Author Award from the Maryland Library Association. Her poetry has twice been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Thompson lives and writes in Oxford, MD.
Thompson’s presentation at the library is made possible by a generous grant from the Talbot County Arts Council, with funds from the Talbot County Council and the Towns of Easton and Oxford. All library programs are free and open to the public. Patrons do not need to pre-register for this program.
Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day at the Library!
On Saturday, April 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library, in partnership with the Pickering Creek Audubon Center, will celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with a day-long program of guest speakers, urban bird walks, live birds of prey, and games and crafts for all ages. A highlight of the day will be a presentation by Prof. Teena Gorrow, of Salisbury University, and eagle/raptor biologist Craig Koppie, of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, on their new book, “Inside a Bald Eagle’s Nest: A Photographic Journey Through the Bald Eagle Nesting Season.” Gorrow and Koppie’s book, released late last year, is a finalist for the prestigious 2014 Green Earth Book Award. Gorrow and Koppie will sign copies of Inside a Bald Eagle’s Nest which will be available for purchase following their presentation.
All library programs are free and open to the public. Patrons do not need to pre-register for International Migratory Bird Day.
For more information, call the library at 410-822-1626, or visit www.tcfl.org.
..
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.