The Chilmark Public Library hosts its first installment of an ongoing summer poetry workshop, Examining First and Last Lines of Poems with Fan Ogilvie, on Tuesday, May 7, from 3 to 4 pm. This ongoing workshop will continue on Tuesday, June 4, Tuesday, July 2, and Tuesday, August 6.
In this workshop, participants will look at the poems of published poets, unpublished poets, and their own poems to understand the importance of the first and last lines of poems, according to a press release from the library. They will explore the ways in which the first line often begins the interest in a poem (the curiosity), while the last often delivers a resolve of the conditions in the poem (the satisfaction).
Ogilvie has taught poetry in Washington, D.C., New Haven, New York, and on Martha’s Vineyard. She has published two books of poetry, and is the facilitator of Cleaveland House Poets.
No experience is necessary to attend, and all materials are provided. Participants can take one or multiple workshops in the series. The workshop is supported in part by a grant from the MV Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
On Wednesday, May 8, at 5 pm, the library hosts “I See New Englandy”: the poetry of Emily Dickinson, with Holly St. John Bergon.
According to the release, Bergon’s talk will explore the themes that riveted Dickinson’s poetic attention — the nature of privacy and immortality, her intense explorations of grief and loss, and her rootedness in the New England landscape of Amherst. The presentation will focus on selected poems, discussing their themes and, especially, the craft that makes Dickinson’s poetry so startling to readers, both in the 19th century and today.
Bergon is a published poet who taught courses in English composition, modern poetry, and creative writing at the State University of New York–Dutchess Community College. She now lives in Oak Bluffs.