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BArT to Host Salvadoran Poet and Literary Activist

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ADAMS, Mass. — BArT Charter Public School is hosting poet and activist Javier Zamora as a part of their Creative Leaders in Residence program (CLRP). 
 
CLRP brings voices to BArT to share their work through lectures, performances, or readings with our students and the community. Connecting BArT and its students to the world and the world to the School is an important part of the BArT ethos.
 
In addition to spending time with BArT students in a number of their classes during 3 school days, Mr. Zamora will deliver a public performance at 7:00pm on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 via Zoom. 
 
That performance, "BArT Presents: Javier Zamora," is free and open to the public; pre-registration is required. Register by clicking here or by visiting the News & Events page at www.BArTcharter.org. Any questions should be directed to leah.thompson@BArTcharter.org.
 
Javier Zamora was born in La Herradura, El Salvador in 1990. His father fled El Salvador when he was a year old, and his mother when he was about to turn five. Both parents' migrations were caused by the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992).
 
In 1999, Javier migrated through Guatemala, Mexico, and eventually through the Sonoran Desert. After a coyote abandoned his group in Oaxaca, Javier managed to make it to Arizona with the aid of other migrants. 
 
His first full-length collection, Unaccompanied (Copper Canyon Press, September 2017), explores how immigration and the civil war have impacted his family.
 
Zamora was a 2018-2019 Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University and holds fellowships from CantoMundo, Colgate University (Olive B. O'Connor), MacDowell, Macondo, the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation (Ruth Lilly), Stanford University (Stegner), and Yaddo. He is the recipient of a 2017 Lannan Literary Fellowship, the 2017 Narrative Prize, and the 2016 Barnes & Noble Writer for Writers Award for his work in the Undocupoets Campaign.
 
Zamora's visit to BArT is supported by the Charles H. Hall Foundation, the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, and the George H. and Jane A. Mifflin Memorial Fund.
 
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Adams Sees No Races So Far

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — With less than a week left before nomination papers are due, there are currently no contested seats.
 
Only selectman incumbent John Duval has returned papers. Selectman Howard Rosenberg has decided not to seek re-election. 
 
Rosenberg, who was elected in 2021, said he has chosen not to run again to make room for younger candidates.
 
"I feel strongly, we need younger people running for public office,  as the future of our town lies within the younger  generation. The world is so fundamentally different today and rapidly changing to become even more so. I believe we need people who are less interested in trying to bring back the past, then in paving the way for a promising future. The younger generation can know that they can stay here and have a voice without having to leave for opportunities elsewhere," he said.
 
The only person to return papers so far is former member the board Donald Sommer. Sommer served as a selectman from 2007 to 2010 and before that was a member of the School Committee and the Redevelopment Authority. He ran unsuccessfully for selectman in 2019 and again in 2021 but dropped out of before the election.
 
Incumbent Moderator Myra Wilk and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor have returned papers for their respective positions.
 
Assessor Paula Wheeler has returned papers and incumbents James Loughman and Eugene Michalenko have returned papers for library trustees.
 
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