BELLOWS FALLS — The Rockingham Free Public Library will kick off National Poetry Month on April 1 at 6 p.m. with a special visit from Sydney Lea, Poet Laureate of Vermont.
Lea is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and author of more than a dozen books of poetry, essays, and fiction, and the founding editor of the publication New England Review. He has been awarded fellowships from the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, and Fulbright Foundations, and taught at Dartmouth, Yale, Wesleyan, Vermont and Middlebury Colleges.
His stories, poems, essays and criticism have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and many other periodicals, as well as in more than 40 anthologies.
Lea was appointed to a four-year term as Poet Laureate of Vermont by Gov. Peter Shumlin in 2011. As Poet Laureate, Lea has been visiting libraries and promoting literacy around Vermont. National Poetry Month is held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets throughout the United States band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture.
Lea will share some of his poetry with those in attendance on April 1, and there will be time for questions, discussion, and book signing.
This event is free and open to the public with light refreshments and books available for sale. The library is located at 65 Westminster St. in Bellows Falls. Call 802-463-4270 or visit http://www.rockinghamlibrary.org for more information.