*

Interview by Doug Holder/ New England Poetry Club – Board of Directors

Recently, I was out in Amesbury, Ma. for a memorial reading for the late Poet Laureate of Amesbury, Lainie Senechal. The reading was on the grounds of the Whittier House. There I met poet Lisa Usani Phillips, the current Poet Laureate, and she told me she has a new book of poetry out titled Guest People (Wheeling Tern, 2022). She generously agreed to this interview.

*

Gary Whited is a poet, philosopher and psychotherapist. His first book titled, Having Listened, won the 2013 Homebound Publications Poetry Contest. In 2014 it received a Benjamin Franklin Silver Book Award, and in 2015 was translated into Russian and a bilingual edition was published.  His new book, Being, There, includes new poems along with his translation of the ancient Greek fragments of Parmenides from the 5th century BCE. This book dances between the poetic voice of Parmenides and the poetic remembrances of a young life on a prairie cattle ranch. His poems have appeared in journals, including Salamander, Plainsongs, The Aurorean, Atlanta Review, Comstock Review, The Wayfarer, Poetry Daily, The Red Letters and Kasparhauser.

David Bogen (far left), Berklee interim president and provost; Boston city councilor Sharon Durkin; and Krystal Prime Banfield (far right), Berklee vice president of education outreach and social entrepreneurship, celebrated this year’s City Music scholarship recipients on stage at the Berklee Performance Center. Image by Elizabeth Friar

Ronald Ellies of Somerville is one of nine recipients of four-year, full-tuition Berklee City Music Scholarships this year. He is a current participant in Berklee City Music programming, focusing on drum performance. He plans to major in Music Production and Performance at Berklee. 

Somerville Public Schools ($41,035)is the recipient of a computer science education grant from the Healey-Driscoll Administration

Following the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s STEM Summit focused on computer science education and careers, the administration announced  that it is awarding $265,025 in grants to nine school districts to establish and promote rigorous, engaging and standards-aligned digital literacy and computer science education. These funds are designed to support implementation that began last year for either grades 3-5 or grades 6-8. The grant will help districts expand digital literacy and computer science education into an adjacent grade span, with a focus on ensuring that all students in that grade are receiving computer science education.

This is the largest Brazilian cultural event in New England, and is organized by the community for the community with a lot of help from volunteers. This year, the festivities will be held from September 3rd to the 8th, and there will be plenty of activity. Massachusetts is home to one of the largest and most organized Brazilian communities in the United States.

Celebrate Pixels of Somerville,Saturday, August 24, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., Central Library, 79 Highland Ave.

This month, the library is pleased to display the artwork of local artist Jael Whitney Brothers in the Gallery @ SPL with her exhibition: Pixels of Somerville. 

Benford to depart dual roles as Boston Housing Authority Police Chief and Boston Chief of Emergency Management to lead Somerville PD  

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne announced today the selection of Boston’s Shumeane Benford as the City of Somerville’s new police chief. After a thorough community-driven, nationwide search, Benford will assume leadership of the Somerville Police Department on September 16. The 30-year law enforcement veteran will be departing current dual roles as Boston Housing Authority Police Chief as well as Boston Chief of Emergency Management.  

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

By State Senator Pat Jehlen

 Probably the most urgent issue in our state is the cost of housing. It’s a big part of the reason shelters are full and the state is limiting access. I’ll write about lots of end-of-session news soon.