By Kathleen Aguero One morning at Lulu’s Bakery and Pantry in Salem, MA, several of us Thursday Poets were having a lively conversation about how we were first drawn to poetry. Often it was some poem we were assigned to read in elementary or junior high school, usually a poem that would be considered “an old chestnut.” I was first

Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read!  There’s nothing more cozy than cuddling up under a fuzzy blanket on a cold day with a big old pile of delicious words. This holiday season, you can give the gift of poetry written by local poets…even if that gift is to yourself. World Happiness Index by Kathleen

Eric Jay Dolin, bestselling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters and Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse, among a catalogue of 12 other titles, joins Historic Beverly online Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 7:00pm for a discussion of his most recent book, A Furious Sky: The Five Hundred Year History of America’s Hurricanes. Hurricanes menace North America from June through November every year. These

Related reading: “Your Weekend is Booked with Salem Lit Fest 2021” The twelfth Salem Literary Festival (aka Salem Lit Fest) will be presented September 9-12, 2021. Having hosted a very successful virtual festival in 2020, we’ll be delivering most sessions online in 2021, with our Children’s program presented in person at the Peabody Essex Museum on September 11. Featuring four

Buy Set in Stone (CavanKerry Press, 2020) $16 by Joey Phoenix Related Reading: “Beasts Walk Among Us in Carey’s Murder in the Marsh” Kevin Carey’s (He/him/his) most recent book of poetry, Set in Stone, is like salt. The salt of the briney ocean leaking into the Revere marsh, the dripping sweat and shoe squeak of a basketball court in a

Story by Betsy Ellor Let’s all take a second to appreciate how vibrant the creative community is on the North Shore. Artists, performers, and for writer’s like me: book shops, literary festivals and readings. It’s an amazing and inspiring place. Now imagine being uprooted and dropped into the distant, distant woods. I love hiking but trees are just not as

This month, we’re highlighting local businesses as part of our #StayLocal2020 campaign. Scroll to the bottom for more information. Drinking from Snowglobes is Christopher O’Keeffe’s first book of poetry. It’s currently available for presale here.  By Joey Phoenix “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Charles Dickens famously begins in his A Tale of Two Cities, set in

The Write Space is a monthly Q&A series from Creative Collective covering a local writer and a North Shore space(s) s/he associates with writing.  Questions? Contact: pmcyran@pamelasmark.com Give us your best writerly bio.  Hi there! My name is Cynthia Platt and I write books for kids of all ages. I’m the author of three picture books—Panda-monium, A Little Bit of Love, and Grow—with another on

The Write Space is a monthly Q&A series from Creative Collective covering a local writer and a North Shore space(s) s/he associates with writing.  Questions? Contact: pmcyran@pamelasmark.com Give us your best writerly bio. Well, I just finished up a collection of poetry “The Essential Doug Holder,” that was released by Big Table Books this summer. Recently, a “Doug Holder Papers Collection” has

The Write Space is a monthly Q&A series from Creative Collective covering a local writer and a North Shore space(s) s/he associates with writing.  Questions? Contact: pmcyran@pamelasmark.com Give us your best writerly bio.  I’m both an artist and a writer, but the major part of my kaleidoscope of paying creative careers is in the visual arts. This includes teaching art, clothing design,