2018 Massachusetts Poetry Festival

The ongoing opioid epidemic has become a national emergency. Its stigma and judgment prevents real understanding about the disease. Poetry is uniquely suited to expressing this understanding and compassion. In this panel discussion, four poets and a publisher discuss how they have tackled the topic, whether their own or others. They will talk about their writing and publishing processes, how they face the sometimes harrowing experiences brought about by addiction, and how they distill those experiences into memorable and meaningful poetry that, through its honesty and humanity, leads to understanding. If poetry is an opening in the lining between heaven and hell, within those folds we find these poets.