Your Words, Her Poem! Julie Choffel Unveils Poem Using Words Submitted By Public (NWL)

PLEASE REGISTER BELOW.

Over the summer, patrons of West Hartford Libraries submitted 247 unique words that Poet Laureate Julie Choffel will use to write a poem. Julie will unveil the poem on Sept. 25 at Noah Webster Library — and attendees will get a chance to write their own “collage poem” using the submitted words.

Beginning in July, patrons have scribbled down words and dropped them into boxes at our three locations: Noah Webster Library, Bishops Corner and Faxon. From “adventure” to “zygote,” library patrons submitted an “extraordinary” amount of “mellifluous” words (and yes, those were all submitted!).

Julie’s poem — and poems created by attendees — will be on display in the Noah Webster Library until Oct. 4 when Billy Collins reads at the West Hartford Town Hall.

This program is a fun, no pressure poetry challenge for all ages. The event is part of a series of West Hartford READS! events hosted by the West Hartford Libraries between June and Billy Collins reading on Oct. 4. For more information on all the West Hartford READS! programs, go to http://bit.ly/westhartfordreads

JULIE CHOFFEL teaches creative writing at the University of Connecticut. She was named the sixth poet laureate of West Hartford in July 2017. She is the author of a poetry collection The Hello Delay (2012) and chapbook Figures in a Surplus (2011). Her poems have appeared in a number of magazines and journals including Art New England, Denver Quarterly, Indiana Quarterly, Fairy Tale Review, Verse, Wild Earth, American Letters and Commentary, Lungfull! and Make/Shift.

PARKING: There is ample library event parking in the nearby Isham Garage. Please bypass the garage payment kiosks and come directly to the Noah Webster Library Meeting Room, 20 South Main Street, where you may validate your parking with your license plate number.

The event is made possible by the Thomas F. Kilfoil Memorial Bequest, West Hartford Public Library Foundation, and is being held as part of a series of poetry events leading up to the Oct. 4 appearance of Billy Collins at West Hartford Town Hall for West Hartford READS!