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Article by Off the Shelf Correspondent Parma Chattopadhyay

On March 24, from 6 to 9 p.m., Co-Founder of Out of the Blue Community Arts, Deborah Priestly, hosted the first of several poetry nights at the Out of the Blue Art Gallery in studio performance space B6 on the Basement Floor of the Armory at 191 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA 02143.

Deborah Priestly

All are welcome to attend, with a $10 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be available to all who attend.

During the nights of her poetry series, she will have a couple of her artworks showing which have graced the Gallery for several decades. She will be MC-ing the night, and call poets up to the stage in the order that they sign up.

Please note that we do have a couple of hours for this memorable event, and if time is needed, we can go all the way to 10 p.m.

The gathering is poetry-centered, although light un-amped music is welcome. There is a guitar as well as acoustic hand drums at the Gallery for everyone’s use, as has always been customary at the Gallery through its nearly 40 years in the Camberville area. Folks are welcome to bring copies of their poems to distribute to the audience.

Deborah Priestly has a memorable footprint in the Camberville arts scene. She is the author of The Woman Has a Voice (Ibbetson Street Press) and worked alongside Timothy Gager to produce Out of the Blue Writers Unite, a collection of short stories and poetry from Boston-based writers.

The Out of the Blue Art Gallery hosted Stone Soup Poetry for many years at its former locations in Cambridge, while several of these poets have attended literary events at our newer Somerville location. It hosted literary nights featuring Jack Powers, Brother Blue, and his wife Reverend Blue. It has also worked alongside BARCC, On the Rise, and the Women’s Center to develop inclusivity across all demographics.

Deborah Priestly graduated from Emerson College in creative writing and dance. She also worked at Boston University as an office manager, and was deemed an “Art Angel” in Harvard Square, giving proceeds of her art sales to the disabled and homeless. She helped found the Gallery in the early 1990s, and since then curated the Open Bark Poetry series for 25 years.

For the last 5 1/2 years, and since the Gallery moved from its second location in Allston to its current one in Somerville, she has spent some time working on herself and budding into her future projects.

Welcome Deborah Priestly on the 24th, bring your poetry game, and thanks for celebrating the history of Out of the Blue.