CT Poet Laureate Joins 2 Award-Winning Poets For Ridgefield Reading

RIDGEFIELD, CT — On Monday, August 7, Connecticut State Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell will join Ridgefield’s newly appointed town poet laureate Ira Joe Fisher and award-winning poet Terry Blackhawk in the final reading of the 2023 “A Garden of Verse” series, hosted at Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center.

Weather permitting, the reading will be held in the museum’s walled gardens, currently in full bloom. Attendees are asked to bring a lawn chair or blanket; picnic dinners are welcome. In the event of rain or a heat emergency, the reading will move inside the historic Garden House.

According to Ridgefield Poet Laureate Emerita Barb Jennes, who organizes and curates the annual series, “We’re honored to have Antoinette among this season’s featured poets. She’s a highly sought-after poet, educator, and activist.” Brim-Bell, who was appointed Connecticut’s eighth poet laureate in 2022, will be introduced by Ridgefield First Selectperson Rudy Marconi on Monday evening.

The author of three full-length poetry collections, Brim-Bell is a Cave Canem Foundation Fellow and a Professor of English at Capital Community College in Hartford. She will be joined at the podium by Ira Joe Fisher—a Ridgefield celebrity and prolific poet, essayist, actor, and educator—and Terry Blackhawk, an award-winning poet with roots in Connecticut and Detroit.

Located at 152 Main Street in Ridgefield, the Keeler Tavern gardens and garden house are fully accessible. There is ample parking on-site.

Grounds will open at 6:30.

The 2023 “A Garden of Verse” reading series is sponsored by the Manhattanville College MFA in Creative Writing Program.