2018 Massachusetts Poetry Festival

Boston's distinctive narrative and always-present past, its cityscape of buildings with architectural overlays of centuries, its varied neighborhoods, its magnificent green spaces, authored by Olmsted, and its iconic institutions have invited and inspired poetic works through the centuries.  The Boston poets reading today each have a different lens with which they reflect and refract the city: one is a Viet Nam veteran; one writes of place and identity, one is a spoken-word poet and musician; one observes and records; one writes about the Arboretum and Lowell millworkers.  Their Boston backgrounds are varied: two grew up in Boston neighborhoods; one "wandered into town 40+ years ago and never left; one has lived here most of  her adult life; one fell in love with Boston - once he got here.   From the visual to the visceral, these poets offer a span of perspectives on the dynamic and complex city we call home