Ridgefield Summer Poetry Series Gains Steam, Kicks Off 3rd Season

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The third season of "A Garden of Verse," a series of free summer-evening poetry readings, will launch on Monday, June 26.

The readings are presented in the historic walled gardens of Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center in Ridgefield. From its inception, the series has been hosted by its founder Barb Jennes, the town's poet laureate emerita.

Jennes founded the series when she was poet emeritus, and has kept the torch lit as the summer series has continued to grow in popularity.

She recognizes that's a relative term.

"For a poetry event, 'well-attended' means between 20 and 30 people," Jennes explained. "It's not a Phish concert."

Monday's season opener will feature appearances by two heavy-hitters, award-winning poets, Jessica Cuello and Matthew Lippman.

Jennes told Patch that as a result of the "Garden of Verse" series and one-off town events where her poetry has been featured, Connecticut's first Cultural District has genuinely added poetry to its arts education arsenal.

"People really began to understand that poetry isn't necessarily that stuff they studied in high school and hated. It's a very living art form."

Additional poetry readings will be held on July 10 by Jennifer Franklin and Sean Singer; on July 24 by Nicole Callihan and Iain Haley Pollack; and August 7, with Terry Blackhawk and CT State Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell.

All four poetry events are free to the public, although donations are welcome. Grounds open at 6:30 p.m. and readings begin at 7:00. Attendees should bring a lawn chair or blanket and may bring a picnic dinner. In the event of rain or a heat emergency, readings will be held inside the Keeler Tavern Garden House.

Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center is located at 152 Main Street in Ridgefield. There is ample parking on site. The readings are being co-sponsored by The Manhattanville College MFA In Writing.