Love was the theme at Poetea

Co-host Gillie Griffin (in kick ass boots) welcomes people to the poetry for a snowstormy night.

I read from 3 chapbooks of love and sex: *Adding Up to This* (Catkin Press, 2023), *A Couple Sumerians* (Turret House Press 2023) and *Sex in Sevens (*above/ground, 2016)

Mary Lou van Schaik, who with Ilse Turnsen, is part of the local lovers and reciters of poetry, shared a few favourites.

Oddly by chance three of the open mic people chose different poems by e.e. cummings. Who knew he was such a hands-down winner at love poetry?

There was a fantastic open mic, even if it took a little coaxing to break the shell of shyness off.

I missed getting a shot of Ilse Turnsen but got most of the rest of the open mic, including co-host and actor Julie Le Gal who read some poems by others and one by herself.

Tamsyn Farr read a fabulous poem of her creation in the lovely community space of the library.

Behind, you can see the gift bags of cookies I made up, some gluten free, some gluten-rich each with a poem from Adding Up to This attached. I made 60 or cookies (gingerbread, freezer cookies and thumbprint cookies), some of which made it so far as the event. 30 bags and I took no pictures.

Some book sales were made and donations, which is sweet and encouraging.

I test read a couple poems from a new manuscript which went over well. And one of Gertrude Stein because never pass up on a Stein.

Gillie read from her collection, *Warm Bodies, Foreign Parts* (Loxwood Stoneleigh, 1996)

All in all, a good night. There were two sessions last summer but this is a new iteration.

Save the dates for the next sessions: March 21st, April 18, May 16, and June 20 at 7pm @ Wakefield library, 38 ch de la Vallée-de-Wakefield, Wakefield, Québec J0X 3G0

Love was the theme at Poetea

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