Gordon College Celebrates National Poetry Month with Daily Podcast Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT
Jo Kadlecek
Office of College Communications
978.867.4752
[email protected]

WENHAM, MA–Every day in April is a day worthy of a poem. So for the first time in Gordon College history, students, staff and faculty have handpicked well-known and favorite poems to feature as audio podcast recordings for each day in April, which is National Poetry Month.

From Robert Frost and Langston Hughes to Shel Silverstein, Emily Dickinson and others, a variety of poets can be heard on Gordon College’s iTunesU section and available to the public starting April 1 (no fooling).

Mark Wacome Stevick, an award-winning poet and assistant professor of English/creative writing, has helped coach some of the readers so they could enjoy the poem as much as possible. Wacome Stevick also invited some of his current creative writing students to read as well, and believes the Poetry Podcast Project could excite more people around the rhythms and power of the written word.

“Poetry wicked matters,” said Wacome Stevick, who recorded an original poem for the Project as well as two favorites by other poets. “It matters in the early morning, it matters in the funeral parlor, it matters when the newborn turns up, it matters when declarations of love are indelibly on the agenda.”

Natalie Ferjulian, a junior communication arts major with podcast journalism training, produced the daily poetry readings. Since late February, Ferjulian has been recording professors, staff members and fellow students as they read their favorite poems in the on-campus digital recording studio.

“We wanted to find ways to bring the Gordon community together as well as celebrate what’s happening off campus,” said Ferjulian. “Poetry is a fun way to do both, because it connects people on a very personal level, letting us see into one another’s world views.”

Also in celebration of National Poetry Month, various poets--including Jonathan Bennett Bonilla and Bryan Parys--have been scheduled to give public readings throughout April on campus. And Gordon’s student newspaper, The Tartan, will be including an insert featuring student poetry in its April 10 issue. The section will include poems, short stories and prose written by members of the Gordon College community, and will be released in conjunction with the rest of the regular newspaper.

“Poetry is something that is very important to me personally because it helps me appreciate living on a deeper level,” said Abigail Maci, Editor-in-Chief of The Tartan. “It’s such a valuable form of writing, art and culture, so I’m excited to see what Gordon students have to offer as we celebrate National Poetry Month.”

According to its web site (www.poets.org) National Poetry Month was, “inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, and brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. “

The Gordon College Poetry Podcasts will be available through Gordon’s iTunes U, and The Tartan is available in hard copies on campus. For more information, contact the Office of College Communications 978.867.4752. 

National Poetry Month schedule of readers and readings:  

1. Mark Wacome Stevick, "My Strange New Poetry" by Mark Halliday

2. Rachel Strazner, "The Storm" by Theodore Roethke

3. Matt Schwabauer, "The History of the Pencil" by Jack Ridl

4. Jan Carlberg, "Why Nobody Pets the Lion at the Zoo" by John Ciardi

5. Beth Ingham, "Forgetfulness" by Billy Collins

6. Paul Rogati, "For Who Can Endure the Day of His Coming" by Luci Shaw

7. Natalie Ferjulian, "4 am" by Wislawa Szymborska

8. Alexis Pope, "As Kingfishers Catch Fire" by George Manley Hopkins

9. Jo Kadlecek, "Harlem" by Langston Hughes

10. Emmaneulle Vanborre, "The Sleeper in the Valley" by Arthur Rimbaud

11. Phoebe Brosnan, "Young" by Anne Sexton

12. Matt Schwabauer, "The Drywallers Listen to Sinatra as they Work" by Jack Ridl

13. Jordan Carr, "I Carry your Heart with Me" by E. E. Cummings

14. Abby Maci, "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

15. Andrea Frankwitz, "When de' Co'n Pone's Hot" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

16. Berge Ferjulian, "Smart" by Shel Silverstein

17. Mark Wacome Stevick, "Economy: Boston to San Francisco" by Mark Wacome Stevick

18. Sarah Berube, "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

19. Travis Keeler, "Pitcher" by Robert Francis

20. Rachel Strazner, "If Strangers Meet" by E.E. Cummings

21. Norman Jones, "At the Winter Feeder" by John Leax

22. Cathy Thiele, "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou

23. Greg Carmer, "The Contemplative" by Rainer Marie Rilke, translated by Richard Validesau

24. Phoebe Brosnan, "The Dream Keeper" by Langston Hughes

25. Jan Carlberg, "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

26. Kyleen Burke, "Daphne With Her Thighs In Bark" by Ezra Pound

27. Cory Strnad, "A Soldier" by Robert Frost

28. Matt Schwabauer, "After Reading Dom John Chapman Benedictine Abbot" by Jack Ridl
29. Andrea Frankwitz, "Tell All The Truth but Tell it Slant" by Emily Dickinson

30. Mark Wacome Stevick, "The Correspondence School Instructor Says Goodbye to His Poetry Students" by Galway Kinnel

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