Ogden poetry event is Aug. 7 in Rangeley

RANGELEY – Maine Poet Laureate Julie Bouwsma, of Kingfield, will be the featured poet at the 15th annual Hugh Ogden Memorial Evening of Poetry on Sunday, Aug. 7.
The event, which honors poet Ogden, who lived on Poet’s Island in Rangeley, is at 4:30 p.m. at the Rangeley Public Library, 7 Lake St. It is free and open to the public, sponsored by the Rangeley Public Library and the Ogden Poetry Committee. Light refreshments will be served.
Ogden’s family will begin the evening by reading his poems. Community members are also invited to read a poem of Ogden’s or one of their own that encapsules what Ogden loved: the beauty and mystery of the world, especially Rangeley, and peace among all living things.
There will be a signup sheet for readers and time will be limited.
Bouwsma will read to cap off the evening. Bouwsma, Maine’s sixth poet laureate is also a homesteader, editor, teacher and librarian at Webster Library in Kingfield. She also teaches in the creative writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington.
She’s the author of two poetry collections, “Midden” (Fordham University Press, 2018) and ‘Work by Bloodlight” (Cider Press Review, 2017), both of which were awarded the Maine Literary Award for Poet. Other honors include the Poet’s Out Loud Prize (2016-17), the Cider Press Review Book Award (2015), and residency fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center, Monson Arts and Annex Arts in Castine.
Bouwsma’s poetry can also be found in such journals as Green Mountains Review, Poetry Daily, Poetry Northwest and River Styx.
Those attending the reading must be either vaccinated or masked. Call the library in advance to register, at 207-864-5529, or stop by, to help with planning.