Poet Rawlings featured at Aug. 4 Ogden poetry memorial in Rangeley

RANGELEY — Poet Doug Rawlings, of Chesterville, will be the featured poet at the 13th annual Hugh Ogden Memorial Evening of Poetry, 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, at Ecopelagicon nature store, 7 Pond St.
The event is free, open to the public and light refreshments will be served.
Ogden, formerly of Poets’ Island in Rangeley died in 2006. Ogden’s children will begin the evening by reading poems written by their father. Community members are invited to read a poem of Ogden’s or one of their own that attends to what meant so much to Hugh: the beauty and mystery of the world, especially Rangeley, and peace among all living things. A sign-up sheet will be available just before the start of the evening, since time will be limited.
Rawlings is author of two books of poetry — “Orion Rising” and “A G.I. In America.” He teaches a course in Peace Studies at the University of Maine at Farmington. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he and four others in Maine founded Veterans for Peace in 1985, an organization that has more than 6,000 U.S. and international members. Using veterans’ poetry, he leads weekly discussions in the psychiatric ward of Togus VA Maine Healthcare. He also teaches Vietnam-related courses for GoldLEAF, the elder college in Farmington, and he has led book discussions for the Maine Humanities Council.
For more information, contact Peggy Yocom at 207-864-3421 (myocomATgmu.edu) or Linda Dexter at 207-864-2771, and visit ecopelagicon.com, hughogden.com or margaretyocom.com/poetry.

PHOTO: Hugh Ogden on Poet’s Island in Rangeley Lake, August 2006. (Peggy Yocom Photo)