Summer Poetry at ABC Libraries: From the Beat Generation to Parrots

Poetry Circle at Cherry Hills Library has been rescheduled for Wednesday, August 10th, 3-5:30. Hope to see you there!

Part of this year's celebration of Summer Reading includes Paris' Beat Hotel as one of our Novel Destinations! On Wednesday, July 20th, from 3-4:30, stop by Cherry Hills Library for the Poetry Circle discussion of Gregory Corso's "Bomb" & Allen Ginsberg's "Kaddish, Part 1". I have been reading The Beat Hotel: Ginsberg, Burroughs, and Corso in Paris, 1958-1963 by Barry Miles to get ready for this event-quite an eye-opening tale!

Interested in the Beat Generation but can't make it to the Poetry Circle? The library catalog has a plethora of Beat Generation titles for your perusal, ranging from The Beats: From Kerouac to Kesey-An Illustrated Journey through the Beat Generation to San Francisco Beat: Talking with the Poets to Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader to The Beat Book: Poems and Fiction of the Beat Generation. You can also look up Beat Generation members by name (such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, or Lawrence Ferlinghetti) to find individual works & biographies.

ABC Libraries offers several other ways for you to enjoy poetry, too! Lomas Tramway offers a Two Poets discussion group-the next meeting is August 17th from 11 a.m. -12:30 p.m., when Stephen Dobyns' "Yellow Beak" & Rita Dove's "Parsley" will be the two parrot-centric poems to talk about. Both poetry discussion groups meet quarterly. Additionally, Erna Fergusson offers a Poetry Around the World class for ages 10-18. This free writing class meets the third Thursday of the month (no meeting in December) from 4 -5 p.m., with a new style of poetry from a different part of the world being explored each month. Registration is required for the class, but not for the poetry discussion groups. To register for Poetry Around the World, call the Erna Fergusson Library.

Perhaps you'd just like to read some poetry on your own? There is also a Poetry LibGuide, compiled by library staff, with tips for writing poetry & recommended reads.