The Mount hosts free Berkshire Launch for Mass. Poetry Festival on Oct. 15th

Press contact: Nynke Dorhout: ndorhout@edithwharton.org.

The Mount hosts free Berkshire Launch for Mass. Poetry Festival on Oct. 15th

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival, now in its second year, will start on Thursday, October 15th, with 7 simultaneous opening events throughout Massachusetts. The Berkshire launch, a panel discussion and readings by local poets, will take place in the drawing room of The Mount, Edith Wharton’s elegant estate and gardens. The Festival continues in downtown Lowell for the following three days.

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival is an annual festival established to celebrate the wide array of literary talent throughout the state. Massachusetts is the home to numerous great writers, small presses, literary publications, and poetry groups. Historically, our state has been a center of American poetry, making it the perfect location for a statewide poetry celebration. The Berkshire County kick-off event will feature a panel of local publishers discussing how they decide what to publish, moderated by Michelle Gillett. The panel includes: Jeffrey Levine, Tupelo Press; Barry Sternlieb, Mad River Press; Vivian Dorsel, upstreet magazine/Ledgetop Publishing; and Hannah Fries, Orion Magazine. The panel discussion will be followed by a reading by eight local poets: Aaron Beatty, Patty Crane, Abbot Cutler, Hannah Fries, Leslie Harrison, Mary Koncel, Jennifer Militello and Lisken Van Pelt Dus.

The event is free (reservations are recommended) and takes place on Thursday, October 15th from 5:30pm – 7:00pm. A book-signing and reception will follow in Edith Wharton’s dining room. The Mount is located at 2 Plunkett Street (just off route 7) in Lenox. To reserve tickets, or for more information, please call The Mount at (413) 551-5100 or visit www.edithwharton.org.

For more information about the Festival please visit: http://masspoetry.org