Lenox - Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize winner and former United States Poet Laureate, will read from her poetry at The Mount on August 5 as part of the second annual Amy Clampitt Poetry Series.
Dove is the author of eight collections of poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Thomas and Beulah (1986) and American Smooth (2004), her most recent. She is also the author of Fifth Sunday (1985), a book of short stories, the novel Through the Ivory Gate (1995), and the play The Darker Face of the Earth (1992), which has been produced at the Kennedy Center, the Royal National Theatre in London, and other theatres. Her song cycle Seven for Luck, with music by John Williams, debuted at Tanglewood in 1998. She is the editors of Best American Poetry 2000 and wrote "Poet's Choice," a weekly column for The Washington Post, from 2000 to 2002.
Dove served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995 and is currently Poet Laureate of Virginia, where she is Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Her many literary and academic honors include the 2003 Emily Couric Leadership Award, the 2001 Duke Ellington Lifetime Achievement Award, the 1997 Sara Lee Frontrunner Award, the 1997 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, the 1996 Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities and the 1996 National Humanities Medal.
The August 5th program also will include a brief overview of Amy Clampitt?s life and work by Willard Spiegelman, editor of The Letters of Amy Clampitt, published by Columbia University Press spring of 2005. Spiegelman is the Hughes Professor of English at Southern Methodist University and editor-in-chief of The Southwest Review.
Dove's reading follows last year's successful inaugural reading for the Amy Clampitt Poetry Series. This series is named in honor of the poet Amy Clampitt, who wrote prolifically from her Stockbridge, Mass. cottage until her death in 1994. The series is underwritten by the Amy Clampitt Fund, established in 2001 by Clampitt?s late husband Harold Korn to benefit poetry and the literary arts, and is managed by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
The Amy Clampitt Poetry Series will be held at 4 pm at The Mount on August 5. Tickets are $12 and $6 for students with ID. For tickets or more information, please call (413) 637-1899 or visit www.edithwharton.org http://www.edithwharton.org/.
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Dalton Day Returns This Saturday
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The town's popular Dalton Day festival is returning this weekend after a year's hiatus.
The event will kick off this Saturday at 11 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. in the field in front of the Senior Center.
The community celebration was established in 2023 by the Cultural Council in an effort to increase resident participation at town meetings while also showcasing the area's welcoming, diverse, artistic and sporty atmosphere. In 2024, the event brought together 300 residents.
"The primary mission of Dalton Day is to foster a strong sense of community, build civic pride, and bring residents together through a shared celebration of local culture, music, and food," said Jeannie Ingram, Select Board member and cultural council chair, and Lori Venezia, executive assistant to the town manager.
The event provides an accessible and free platform for "civic education, community bonding, and supporting local businesses, artisans, makers, and culture more broadly," they said.
The festival strengthens the fabric of the town both civically and economically by connecting grassroots organizations with residents, fostering a shared sense of belonging, and providing free, family-friendly entertainment.
It also serves as an opportunity for community members to meet with local officials and a couple of state officials. State Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. Leigh Davis will be coming from Beacon Hill to speak at the event.
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