The Book Cellar Hosts Two Part Poetry Series: Back West and Out East

Submitted by anamcdaniel on Sat, 02/19/2011 - 6:20pm

News

The Book Cellar is hosting a two part poetryseries entitled BACK WEST AND OUT EAST aimed at exploring contemporary poetryin the United States. Featuring workfrom the heart of Western America as well as that of traditional New England, abroad spectrum of themes will emerge that illustrates notions of regionalismand diversity alongside shared kinship and unity.

Week one in the series focuses on the West andintroduces author Frances McCue. Shewill be reading from her new collection of poetry, THE BLED, and also from herprose collection, THE CAR THAT BROUGHT YOU HERE STILL RUNS.

Part travelogue, part memoir, part literaryscholarship, THE CAR THAT BROUGHT YOU HERE STILL RUNS traces the journey ofFrances McCue and photographer Mary Randlett as they follow the path of iconicWestern poet Richard Hugo through the towns that inspired many of Hugo’s poems.Returning forty years after Hugo visited these places, and bringing with her adeep knowledge of Hugo and her own poetic sensibility, McCue maps Hugo's poemsback onto the places that triggered them. Together with twenty-three poems byHugo, McCue's essays and Randlett's photographs offer a fresh view of Hugo'sNorthwest.

"Even though the essays are about smalltowns in Idaho, Washington and Montana, the book has a reference to the Mole’sEye, a bar in Brattleboro that I’ve always loved," McCue says. "It’sa road trip book and one of my earliest road trips was hitchhiking up I-91 toVermont and ending up in the Mole’s Eye."

THE BLED is a different kind of book -- acollection of poems about McCue’s husband, who died in Morocco. McCue and herhusband and daughter were living in Marrakesh while she worked as a FulbrightSenior Scholar.

McCue serves as the writer-in-residence andlecturer at the University of Washington’s Undergraduate Honors Program. Shewas the founding director of Richard Hugo House, one of the nation’s biggestliterary centers, from 1996 to 2006. She has been a Fulbright Senior Scholar,an Echoing Green Fellow, and a Klingenstein Fellow.

The first reading in this series is scheduledfor Friday, February 25 at 6pm. Thesecond reading featuring prominent New England poets, Chard DeNiord, Verandah Porche,and Stephen Sandy (further details to come) will take place during the March 4thGallery Walk at 6pm. Both events arelocated at The Book Cellar at 120 Main Street in downtown Brattleboro, VT. As always, events at The Book Cellar are freeof charge. Seating is limited. Please call The Book Cellar at (802)-254-681,email info@bookcellarvt.com, or come by the store to reserve yourplace.