Denise Provost and Lesley Bannatyne doing their part in promoting locally made literature at the Davis Square Farmers Market. — Photos by Ryan DiLello

By Ryan DiLello

I could feel my shirt sticking to my back as I biked through the thick air in Davis Square. Off the main road now, I turned down a brick-laid alley and emerged at a parking lot farmers’ market. I ditched my bike, lodging it against an iron fence, and entered the paved paradise full of fresh produce, pressed juices, meats, and other local goods. It was nearly 6:00 p.m. and the market was winding down. I made my way through the aisles in the fading sun.

I was parched and in search of organically grown, locally sourced, freshly squeezed – literature.

The Literature table, which was covered with books from Somerville-based authors, stood at the back of the fair. Two accomplished local writers, Denise Provost, and Lesley Bannatyne stood by the table, making introductions to their local wordy finds.

I asked them how they came up with this idea. Provost answered.

“Authors kept telling me they have great success at farmer’s markets – but in this situation,” Provost said, gesturing at the books and then at the surrounding vendors, “You can’t sell things.”

“I thought, why don’t we promote it all? And so, we went around and harvested as many Somerville authors as we could find,” Provost said.

No one was questioning the extension of “digestible goods,” let alone “harvesting,” so I moved on. I asked what led them to writing.

“I was making up poems before I could write them down,” Provost told me. “For a while when I was little, my mother read poetry to me,” she said. “Then she had too many kids to do that. So, I used to listen to song lyrics, memorize them, then make up alternative lyrics to the melody. You know, just making stuff up. And then I decided that I should make them into books. In case my computer exploded, or my house burned down, my poems wouldn’t disappear forever. Which I guess is a kind of vanity, but it afflicted me. And I keep getting in deeper. I am now Co-President of the new England Poetry Club and I think at this point all our officers in the New England Poetry Club live in Somerville. I’m dreading the day that some journalist comes up with the Somerville Poetry Mafia.” I assured her that would not be me.

“I have a rejection letter from when I was six years-old,” Bannatyne chimed in, with a sparkle in her eyes. “Did you submit something you wanted published?” I asked. “Yes,” she said. “And they were nice enough to write back to me with encouragement – and you know there was no hard ‘no’ in that letter. So, I think there’s still a possibility,” she said laughing.

“I went down the rabbit hole of Halloween to start,” Bannatyne said, pointing out a few books covered in pumpkins and ghouls. “Then about 10 years ago, I took a short story class and that…” she trailed off with a circular hand motion, signaling that the course marked a change in direction. “I just published my first collection of short stories and they’re all fiction.”

Both writers were eager to discuss the strength of the Somerville writing community. She affirmed that the table served both promotional as well as networking purposes.

For readers interested in supporting local authors, getting their own works out to the public, or simply hungry for local literature, the stand will return to next week’s market.

The following books are being promoted by Provost and Bannatyne at their Farmers Market stand:

Lesley Bannatyne  – Unaccustomed to Grace. Stories
http://lesleybannatyne.com
Buy the book: http://lesleybannatyne.com/grace.html
UPCOMING EVENT: Saturday, September 10, 2:00 p.m., Somerville Library main branch, author reading w/Lesley Bannatyne and Kate Chadbourne https://somervillepubliclibrary.assabetinteractive.com/meeting-and-study-rooms/a-reading-with-lesley-bannatyne/

Bonnie Bishop – One Foot in Another World
https://bonniebishopbookart.weebly.com/one-foot-in-another-world.html
Buy the book: contact bonniebookart@gmail.com

Linda Conte – Seldom Purely. Poems by Linda Haviland Conte
https://lindaconte.net/
Buy the book: https://lindaconte.net/

Gary Duehr – The Great Empty. A Regna in Time of Corona
https://www.garyduehr.com/poetry
Buy the book: https://www.lulu.com/shop/gary-duehr/the-great- empty/paperback/product-qgygvr.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Kirk Etherton – Diving for Stones

Bridget Galway – What Moments Yield
https://m.facebook.com/people/Bridget-Seley-Galway/100011307669532
Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Moments-Yield-Bridget-Seley-Galway/dp/0359711774

Louise Glück – Winter Recipes from the Collective: Poems
Buy the book:  https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Recipes-Collective-Louise-Gl%C3%BCck/dp/037460410X

Dori Hale – Disorientation and the Weather
https://www.facebook.com/dori.hale.7
Buy the book: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/disorientation-and-the-weather-by-dorinda-hale/

Doug Holder – The Essential Doug Holder. New and Selected Poems
http://dougholderresume.blogspot.com/
Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Doug-Holder-Selected-Works-ebook/dp/B089QY1QNN

Daphne Kalotay – Blue Hours/Sight Reading/Russian Winter, Calamity & Other Stories
https://www.daphnekalotay.com/
Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Daphne-Kalotay/e/B001HPWV04%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Gloria Mindock – Ash
https://www.gloriamindock.com/
Buy the book: https://glass-lyre-press.myshopify.com/collections/all-books-1/products/ash

Tam Lin Neville – Triage
https://www.pw.org/content/tam_lin_neville_1

Buy the book: http://www.thelostbookshelf.com/cervenabooks.html#Triage

Dave Ortega – Dias de Consuelo
daveortegadraws.com
Buy the book: bit.ly/DiasdeConsuelo

UPCOMING EVENT: Dave will be a special local guest at MICE 2022, October 22-23 micexpo.org

Denise Provost – City of Stories
Buy the book: https://www.google.com/books/edition/City_of_Stories/x_a4zgEACAAJ?hl=en&kptab=getbook

Diane Robitaille – Leaving Only Impressions
http://diannerobitaille.blogspot.com/
Buy the book: contact dougholder@post.harvard.edu

Hilary Sallick – Asking the Form
https://hilarysallick.com/
Buy the book: https://hilarysallick.com/books.html

Lloyd Schwartz – Who’s on First? New and Selected Poems
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lloyd-schwartz
Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Whos-First-Selected-Poems-Phoenix/dp/022679508X

Michael Steffen – On Earth as It Is
http://www.thelostbookshelf.com/cervenabooks.html#OnEarthAsItIs

Burt Stern – What I Got for a Dollar
https://www.grid-books.org/bert-stern-1
Buy the book: https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9781946830012/what-i-got-for-a-dollar.aspx#:~:text=Co%2Dfounder%20of%20Grid%20Books,on%20American%20expatriate%20Robert%20Winter.

Gilmore Tamny – Haiku4U
https://www.gilmoretamny.com/

Buy the book: https://www.gilmoretamny.com/purchasing-books-and-zines

Patricia Wild – Welling Up. A love Story
https://patriciawild.net/
Listen to the book: https://wellingup.net/episodes