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Free Poetry Reading At the Mason Library

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Friends of Great Barrington Libraries and the Board of Library Trustees invites the community to a free poetry reading at the Mason Library on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 from 4 -6 pm. 

Poets Jan Conn and Orchid Tierney will read from their works. 

Wine, cider and food provided by the Friends of Great Barrington Libraries.

About the poets

Jan Conn is a poet, biologist, and visual artist. Peony Vertigo is her most recent book. The Disruptive Ordinary, a chapbook, is forthcoming this autumn. Her visual art is represented by Lauren Clark Fine Art Gallery in Great Barrington. She recently retired as Professor and Research Scientist with the New York State Department of Health and SUNY-Albany.

Orchid Tierney is a poet and scholar, originally from New Zealand. She is the author of This Abattoir Is a College and A Year of Misreading the Wildcats as well as several chapbooks including Pedagogies for the Planthroposcene. She co-edited the Routledge Companion to Ecopoetics. She teaches at Kenyon College in Ohio and is a senior editor at the Kenyon Review.

The OtherWords reading series, co-curated by Michael Gottlieb and Evelyn Reilly, is sponsored by Friends of Great Barrington Libraries and the Board of Library Trustees. Friends of the GB Libraries sponsors events and programs to bring community members together with library resources.

Mason Library, 231 Main Street, Great Barrington, for more information call (413) 528-2403.

 

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Victim Identified in Fatal Richmond Crash

Staff ReportsiBerkshires

RICHMOND, Mass. — A 25-year-old South County man died Thursday in the fiery crash on Route 41. 

The Berkshire District Attorney's Office on Friday reported that the victim was Christopher Lee Kilmer, 25.

The single-vehicle accident took place on Route 41 in Richmond near 2715 State Road. A Hyundai Sonata driven by Kilmer was travelling northbound when it crossed into the southbound lane and off the road; the car was engulfed in flames when first responders arrived.

According to the DA's Office, West Stockbridge Fire and County Ambulance declared Kilmer dead at 9:53 a.m. when the Fire Department "was able to extinguish the fire." 

"It was at this time (when the fire was extinguished) that first responders observed a single occupant in the vehicle and made the declaration of death," according to the press release.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has taken custody of the body. 

On Friday morning, several South County fire departments posted tributes on Facebook to Kilmer, who they reported was a member of the West Stockbridge and Alford fire departments.

"Every first responder carries a fear that one day the next emergency call will involve someone they know, a friend, a neighbor, or someone they love. But perhaps the greatest fear of all is when that call involves one of our own," the post read. 

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