NH Poetry Community Spotlight – Poetry Nashua!
Welcome to Poetry Society of New Hampshire’s inaugural NH Poetry Community Spotlight!
The goal of this spotlight series is to highlight where and how poetry is happening around New Hampshire, providing to you a deeper view of venues, recurring readings and events, workshops, journals, collaborations, and all things poetry-related in our communities.
Our first spotlight – Poetry Nashua!
Location: Nashua Public Library – activity room on the lower level.
Day/Time/Frequency: First Tuesday of each month starting 9/5/23, 6-8 pm
Poetry Nashua: Share a Poem, Make a Friend
Poetry Nashua offers a place where writers and poetry-lovers of all ages and backgrounds gather in comfort to share and honor the experiences of writing, reading, and exploring poetry.
Poetry lovers meet every first Tuesday of the month at the Nashua Public Library at 6pm. A featured poet reads her/his poems followed by an open mic, where listeners can experience the sound of shared poems. Informal conversations follow with the featured poet, who may also make published collections of their work available for sale.
Poetry Nashua’s welcoming atmosphere, its mix of sharing new work and discovering existing collections, along with learning about upcoming events continues to foster inclusive and profound comradery. Participants often gather in a local restaurant after the evening’s program.
Poetry Nashua was started by Irene Baker and Valerie Raudonis, who met in 2022 at the Frost Farm Poetry Conference in Derry, N.H. Within a year, invitations to this new group were shared through many channels, including the websites of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, Patch Nashua, and New Hampshire Public Radio. The inaugural gathering of Poetry Nashua took place on Sept. 5, 2023.
Poetry Nashua has gone from strength to strength since – a website will launch in the near future, and plans are underway for a celebratory second-anniversary evening on October 7 with commemorative gifts and special refreshments following the usual readings. All are welcome to attend.
Featured Poets have included readings by the following poets: Liz Ahl, Rodger Martin, Bill Schreiber, Brian Evan-Jones, Meg Smith, J. Kates, Liane St. Laurent, Kinda Warren, John Hodgen, Sara Backer, Sara Letourneaux, Melanie Chicoine and Ala Khaki, Jimmy Pappas, Kyle Potvin, Jack Casey, Roy Goodman, Chelsea Woodard, Carla Schwartz, Charlotte Pogue, David Thoreen, and Jeeni Criscenzo.
Irene Baker has lived in Derry, N.H., for 27 years. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of her high school and university literary magazines. She obtained B.S. degrees in Chemistry and in Writing and Literature and wrote K–12 science curricula until her recent retirement.
Valerie Raudonis is a native of Nashua, N.H. where she practiced law. Since her recent retirement she has enjoyed focusing her time and energy on the study and writing of poetry through her own work, as well as Poetry Nashua and as a co-facilitator of a poetry-writing class at Rivier University via the RISE Program. Valerie published a collection of poems, “Sea Glass Secrets” (Oak Manor Press) in 2006. She especially enjoys her time traveling and being with her granddaughter.
To contact, send email to: poetrynashua@gmail.com