Since 2004, the Florence Poets Society has been a hub of the poetry communities in Western Massachusetts, promoting the sharing, reading, and publication of works by its members. The group has sponsored outdoor poetry festivals, poetry slams, and readings and it has encouraged publication of poetry through its annual review, The Silkworm, and through chapbooks of its members
Established in partnership with Rich Puchalsky and the Florence Poets Society, the Western New England Poetry Collection constitutes an effort to document the vibrant poetry communities in Western New England. The collection includes all forms of poetry, from the written to the spoken word, in all formats, but with a particular emphasis upon locally produced and often difficult to find chapbooks, small press books, unpublished works, and limited run periodicals. The collection is not limited to members of the Florence Poets Society, and additions from poets in Western New England are eagerly welcomed.
Historical Note
During the summer 2004, Carl Russo and Thomas Clark gathered a group of poets in Florence, Mass., to found the Florence Poets Society. Since that time, the Society has grown in size and significance, becoming a hub of the poetry communities in Western Massachusetts, promoting the sharing, reading, and publication of works by its members.
In the past several years, members of the Florence Poets Society have received grants from the Northampton Arts Council to organize an outdoor Poetry Festival in Northampton (2005-2007), and with additional assistance, they have promoted a successful, on-going Poetry Slam competition (2006- ) and a regular run of other public readings throughout the region. The Society publishes an annual review, The Silkworm, and since 2006 it has sponsored an annual international poetry contest that now receives dozens of submissions from as far away as Australia and the UK. The Society also supports the publication of chapbooks by its members, often working in concert with local publishers such as Slate Roof Press and Turtle Pond Press.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Established in partnership with Rich Puchalsky and the Florence Poets Society, the Western New England Poetry Collection constitutes an effort to document the vibrant poetry communities in Western New England. The collection includes all forms of poetry, from the written to the spoken word, in all formats, but with a particular emphasis upon locally produced and often difficult to find chapbooks, small press books, unpublished works, and limited run periodicals.
The collection is not limited to members of the Florence Poets Society, and additions from poets in Western New England are eagerly welcomed. In the collection inventory, we have included biographical statements for selected poets.
Collection inventory
Ayvazian, Andrea
And So Begin. Northampton, Mass.: Turtle Pond Press.
2003
Box 1: 1
The Jesus Poems. [Northampton, Mass.]: Turtle Pond Press
The Duffel Bag. Amherst, Mass.: Factory Hollow Press.
2011
Box 2
Cahillane, James Francis
A Winter Offering and a Second Collection. Williamsburg, Mass.: Florence Poets Society.
2007
Box 1: 5
Signed by author
Clark, Tom
Paradise Found: A Walking and Biking Tour of Northampton, Massachusetts Through Poetry and Art, ed. By Tom Clark, Lori Desrosiers, and Oonagh Doherty. Amherst, Mass.: Levellers Press.
2014
Clement, Joyce
Beyond My View
2011
Box 7
Cook, Wanda D.
après bath
2009
Box 8
dusky lingerie
2010
Box 8
first light
undated
Box 8
In That One Place. Greenfield, Mass.: Tribe Press
2006
Box 5: 5
Random moments. S.l.: Haiku Circle
2013
Box : 5
sirens and incense. S.l.: s.n. With Larry Kimmel
2006
Box 5: 7
Cook, Wanda D. and Porter, Linda, eds.
flower of another country
2007
Box 8
Crapo, Trish
Walk Through Paradise Backwards. Northfield, Mass.: Slate Roof Press
2004
Box : 4
Crowell, Elizabeth A. C.
BirdSnippets. S.l.: s.n.
2010
Box 3: 4
Seasons. S.l.: s.n.
2011
Box : 4
Denig, Nancy Watkins
hitting home: poems 2004-2006. s.l.: s.n.
ca.2006
Box 2: 5
Moonlit Pillow. Northampton, Mass.: s.n.
2008
Box 5: 1
Sensible Particulars. Florence, Mass.: s.n.
2008
Box 5: 2
Desrosiers, Lori
Masks and Mirrors and Other Poems. S.l.: s.n.
2003
Box 2: 6
Signed by author to Vikki.
More Poems in a Pinch. S.l.: s.n.
2008
Box 5: 3
Three Vanities. Pudding House Publications: Columbus, Ohio
2009
Box 5: 12
Signed by author on ffep.
Trees Are Not Still. S.l.: s.n.
2007
Box 2: 7
Signed by author on ffep.
Devaney, Kevin
Outstanding Works of Genius Vol. 2. S.l.: s.n.
ca.2005?
Box 2: 8
Doherty, Oonagh
Home. S.l.: s.n.
ca.2012
Box :
Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, and Essays
Moore, Maureen , ed.: Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, and Essays. Northfield, Mass.: Maureen Moore, v. 1:1.
2004 Spring
Moore, Maureen , ed.: Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, and Essays. Northfield, Mass.: Maureen Moore, v. 1:2.
2004 Sept.
Box 2: 9
Moore, Maureen , ed.: Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, and Essays. Shelburne Falls, Mass.: Ginger Cat Press, v.2:1.
2005 Spring
Box 2: 10
Moore, Maureen , ed.: Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, and Essays. Shelburne Falls, Mass.: Ginger Cat Press, v.2:2.
2005 Fall
Box 2: 11
Moore, Maureen , ed.: Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, and Essays. Shelburne Falls, Mass.: Ginger Cat Press, v. 3:1.
2006 Spring
Box 2: 12
Moore, Maureen , ed.: Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, and Essays. Shelburne Falls, Mass.: Ginger Cat Press, v.3:2
2006 Fall
Box 2: 13
Faerstein, Howard
Play a Song on the Drums He Said. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Owl’s Head Press.
1977
Box 2: 14
New Brooklyn Poets no. 3
Five College Student Poetry Fest
Poems. S.l.: s.n.
2008
Box 5: 13
Fleischer, Donna
Indra’s Net
2003
Box 7
Intimate Boundaries
1991
Box 7
Twinkle, Twinkle
2010
Box 7
Foley, Brian
The Black Eye. Northampton, Mass.: Brave MenPress
2010
Box 3
Forges-Ryan, Sylvia and Ryan, Edward
Take a Depp Breath: The Haiku Way to Inner Peace
2006
Box 8
Forrester, Mary Coleman, ed.
In Time for Plum Blossoms
2003
Box 6
Forrester, Stanford M.
Buddha’s Fingerprint
2003
Box 6
The Haiku Manual of Icarus & Other Myths
2009
Box 6
January Sun
2007
Box 6
The Toddler’s Chant
2009
Box 6
Toy Submarine
2004
Box 6
Forrester, Stanford M., ed.
Gatherings: A Haiku Anthology
2008
Box 6
Seed Packets: An Anthology of Flower Haiku
2010
Box 6
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XIX:1
1991 Spring
Box 7
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XIV:2
1991 Summer
Box 7
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XIV:3
1991 Autumn
Box 7
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XIV:4
1991 Winter
Box 7
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XV:1
1992 Spring-Summer
Box 7
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XV:2
1992 Fall-Winter
Box 7
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XVI:1
1993 Spring-Summer
Box 7
Frogpond: A Quarterly Haiku Journal, XVI:2
1993 Fall-Winter
Box 7
Gallers, Anita
Care Center Poems. Holyoke, Mass.: The Care Center
2007
Box 1: 6
Gessner, Michael
Artificial Life
2009
Box 8
Gillett, Michelle
Blinding the Goldfinches. Omaha, Neb.: Backwaters Press
Song of the dancer. Georgetown, Ky. : Finishing Line Press
2014
MacFayden, Janet
Janet Cochrane MacFayden was born in Englewood, NJ, but grew up in Williamstown, MA, where he father taught geology. She received an A.B. in geology from Brown University and 14 years later, an MFA in English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She lived in Providence, RI; Cambridge and Somerville, MA; Delray Beach, FL; and Amherst, Leverett, and Shutesbury, MA. In her early adulthood she tried many different professions, including soup cook, woodworking, piano tuning, various secretarial jobs, welfare worker, and personnel recruiter. After her MFA, she worked as a freelance writer/editor for many area schools. Later she also worked part-tome for Yankee Environmental Systems, a firm developing meteorological instruments. Her first poetry teacher was Harold Bond in Cambridge, MA; later Susan Mitchell at Florida Atlantic University became an important influence. Workshops with James Tate and Dara Wier all informed her work. [Biographical statement courtesy Slate Roof Press.]
“My poems have always been a way to reach that part of me and the universe that remains hidden. On one level, many of my poems are attempts to reconcile early memories of childhood, the truth of which are now greatly altered by time. On another level, poems connect me with that dark glittering Something that stands outside of human understanding, that Something coming to the forefront in lucid dreams, meditations, and when the pen writes unhindered by the mind.”
In Defense of Stones. Sunderland, Mass.: Heatherstone Press
1995
Box 3: 8
Publishers proof.
Martin, Jeannie F.
The Art of Awareness
2009
Box 7
Middleton, Susan
Susan Middleton , born 4/18/49 in Cambridge, MA, has lived in Ashfield MA since 1991. She has a BS in Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and since 1986 has worked as a freelance writer and editor of mostly science textbooks. She was one of the six founders of Slate Roof Press, which works collectively to publish chapbooks of its Franklin County members. In her spare time, she leads hikes for the Appalachian Mountain Club, tutors ESL students, and of course writes. [Biographical statement courtesy Slate Roof Press.]
“I was initially drawn to writing poetry because it combines elements of two earlier passions in my life — music. singing, playing the piano) and visual arts. painting, photography) — with my love of language. And experimenting as a young adult with various crafts. including pottery and sewing) prepared me in part for the discipline and pleasures of revision. The main focus of my poems has been on nature: nature in its own right, how nature affects me personally and us as human beings. especially as a source of spiritual renewal), and how nature in turn is affected by us. I also draw on nature for metaphors in poems exploring relationships between people.”
Seed Case of the Heart. Northfield, Mass.: Slate Roof Press
2007
Box 3: 9
Miller, Paul
Called Home
2006
Box 8
Few Days North Days Few
2011
Box 8
Moise, Lenelle
Madivinez. S.l.: Lenelle Moise
2007
CD
Box 3: 10
Nautilus II
Poetry and art by teen mothers studying at The Care Center
Nautilus II. Holyoke, Mass.: The Care Center, v.2
2004
Box 3: 11
Nautilus II. Holyoke, Mass.: The Care Center, v.3
2005
Box 3: 12
Nautilus II. Holyoke, Mass.: The Care Center, v.4
2006
Box 3: 13
Nautilus II. Holyoke, Mass.: The Care Center, v.5
2007
Box 3: 14
Nautilus II. Holyoke, Mass.: The Care Center, v.7
2009
Box 6: 2
Nautilus II. Holyoke, Mass.: The Care Center, v.10
2012
Box :
Newman, Leslea
Signs of Love. Port Orchard, Wash.: Windstorm Creative
2008
Box 5: 9
Still Life with Buddy: A Novel Told in Fifty Poems. Radnor, Ohio: Pride Publication
1997
Box 5: 10
Newton, Peter
What We Find
2011
Box 8
Niedzielska, Suzanne
Peach-hued: A Collection of Haiku and Short Poems. Glastonbury, Ct.: Raid Puddle Press
2014
Box
Ogden, Don
With Respect to Peskeomskut. S.l.: s.n.
1994
Box 4: 1
O’Shea, Teri Buford
Jonestown Lullaby. Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse
2011
Box :
Patlove, Susie
Susie Allen Patlove was born in Boston in 1947 and lived in Hingham, MA until she was twelve, at which time her family moved to
Red Bank, NJ. She was educated at Smith College and UC Berkeley, taking a degree from Smith in Chinese History. She has long been a student and practitioner of Zen Buddhism. She has worked at a variety of jobs including nursery school teacher, housecleaner, landscape gardener, editor and bookstore clerk. She now works at the Arms Library in Shelburne Falls. [Biographical statement courtesy Slate Roof Press.]
“For me, writing poetry is a way of divining what lies beneath the surface of things. If I get out of my own way, I have much to learn from the universe. I am always happy if what comes through can resonate with others.”
Quickening. Northfield, Mass.: Slate Roof Press
2007
Box 4: 2
Peck, Charles
Yesterdays Toys. Springfield, Mass.: Galeria
ca.2006
Phillips, Alex
Under a Paper Trellis. Amherst, Mass.: Factory Hollow Press
2007
Box 4: 3
2nd printing
Prior, Ezra
At the Nowhere Cafe. S.l.: s.n.
ca.2011
Box 4
Puchalsky, Rich
9/11 was 2001: a decade of political poems. S.l.: s.n.
2014
Doctor of Dead Letters. S.l.: s.n.
2005
Box 4: 4
First printing, signed by author
a model of the universe. S.l.: s.n.
2014
Shards of Glass. S.l.: s.n.
2000
Box 4: 5
Second printing, signed by author
Sun on the Surface: Poems and Pictures for Children. S.l.: s.n.
2006
Box 1: 8
Signed by author
The Power of Weevils. S.l.: s.n.
2004
Box 4: 6
First printing, signed by author
Purington, Carol
Family Farm: Haiku for a Place of Moons
1999
Box 7
Gathering Peace
2007
Box 7
The Trees Bleed Sweetness
1997
Box 7
Richie, Joseph
Nothing Left Open Can Keep You. Amherst, Mass.: Factory Hollow Press
2008
Box 4
Richmond, Paul
No Guarantees Adjust and Continue. Greenfield, Mass.: Human Error
2007
Box 4: 7
Robinson, Martina D.
Before and After. S.l.: s.n.
Undated
Box 5: 16
The September Poems. S.l.: s.n.
ca.2008
Box 5: 17
Set on Freedom, vol. 1: Disability Poems. Mariposa Press: Belchertown, Mass.
2007
Box 5: 18
Set on Freedom, vol. 2: Feminist Poems. Mariposa Press: Belchertown, Mass.
2007
Box 5: 19
Set on Freedom, vol. 3: Queer Poems. Mariposa Press: Belchertown, Mass.
2007
Box 5: 20
Set on Freedom, vol. 4: Person of Faith Poems. Mariposa Press: Belchertown, Mass.
2007
Box 5: 21
Set on Freedom, vol. 5: People of Color Poems. Mariposa Press: Belchertown, Mass.
2007
Box 5: 22
Set on Freedom, vol. 6: American Poems. Mariposa Press: Belchertown, Mass.
2007
Box 5: 23
Words Inspired by the People’s Music Network. S.l.: s.n.
ca.2009
Box 5: 24
Schulman, Joel
There Will be a Singing. Northampton, Mass.: South Street Books
2007
Box 4: 8
Shanahan, Dan
The Lotus Seed Poems. Lotus Seed: Northampton
2003
CD
Box 6: 1
Silkworm: The Annual Review of the Florence Poets Society
Russo, Carl and Thomas R. Clark, eds.: Silkworm 2007: The Annual Review of the Florence Poets Society. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2007
Box 4: 9
Russo, Carl and Thomas Clark, eds.: Silkworm 3: The Annual Review of the Florence Poets Society. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2008
Box 4
Clark, Thomas R. and Carl Russo, eds.: Silkworm 4: The Annual Review of the Florence Poets Society. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2010
Box 6: 3
Clark, Thomas R. and Carl Russo, eds.: Silkworm 5: The Annual Review of the Florence Poets Society. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2011
Box 6
Slate Roof Press
Titles, Fall 2007.
2007
Box 1: 9
Stein, Art
blonde red Mustang state trooper. Northfield, Mass.: Slate Roof Press
2005
Box 4: 10
Svane, Christina
Sonnets to the Unseen and Other Poems. Sebastopol, Calif.: Talking to Tara Press
2001
Box 5: 11
Terrence, Maureen, ed.
Equinox: An Excursion of Stories, Poems, a
nd Essays. Northfield, Mass.: s.n.
2004 Spring
Box 4: 11
Twilite, Tommy
Amerika. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2006
Box 4: 12
The Hum of Distant Turbines. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2007
Box 4: 13
Light the Nose. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2005
Box 4: 14
Richardson’s Milk: Poetry from the Crate. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press 38p.
2007
Box 4: 15
Son of Richardson’s Milk: More Poetry from the Crate. Florence, Mass.: Florence Poets Society Press
2007
Box 4: 16
Varney, Laura T.
Love Illusions. S.l.: Lonegoddess Publ.
2005
Box 4: 17
Ward, C. S.
Neneh Cherry and the Buffalo Stance Feeling. S.l.: Fortunes Find Press
ca.2011
Box 4
Winlove, Peggy
Peggy’s Poems. Leeds, Mass.: s.n.
2011
Box 4
Wlodyka, Linda Bratcher
My Spirited Cameo: Poetry For the Ages. Florence, Mass.: Collective Copies
2008
Box 4: 18
Poems 2011. Florence, Mass.: Collective Copies
2011
Box :
Voices from the Blue Room. Florence, Mass.: Collective Copies
2009
Box 6: 4
Yelle, Gerald
The Holyoke Diaries. Lexington, Ky.: FutureCycle Press
2014
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Language:
English
Provenance
Acquired by gift from Rich Puchalsky and assorted friends and associates of the Florence Poets Society, 2008-2014.