"Children of Grace"

First Congregational Church
134 Main Street
North Adams, Massachusetts
(413) 663-9940

Click here for directions to the church.

December 10, 2006, 4 p.m.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, Massachusetts

25th Annual North County Christmas Features
World Premiere of "Children of Grace" by Hilary Tann, with Words by Penny Harter

A 40+ voice ecumenical choir will perform Tann's "Children of Grace," a Christmas Cantata by Geoffrey Bush, and other Christmas music. Area clergy will read scripture.

Hilary Tann has chosen Penny's poem "The Children of Grace" as the only contemporary lyrics in her new choral music composition by the same title. This commissioned work will premiere during the North County Christmas program at the First Congregational Church in North Adams, where it is a gift to the church from Jack Bond, a relative of the donor of the church's 1910 Tiffany window, "Christ Blessing the Little Children."

Hilary Tann chairs the Department of Performing Arts at Union College, Schenectedy, New York, and is house composer for Oxford University Press. She is well known for chamber, orchestral, and choral works, and her modern classical music incorporates elements from her Welsh background and her studies of Japanese traditional music. Her biography and an extensive list of compositions may be found on her personal web site, at http://hilarytann.com/.

Biken International 2nd World Poetry Contest

New York International
Art Festival 2006—'EN'

Gallery Room
The Metropolitan Pavilion
123 West 18th Street
New York City
Phone: 212-463-0200

Click here for full information on the event.
(Note that this is an English page on an otherwise Japanese web site. Japanese text will display as ???, boxes, or other characters, if your browser is not set for Japanese. But the main text on the page is information about this event in English.)

Deadline: In-Hand December 31, 2006
New York City

Biken International
2nd World Poetry Contest for
Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Short Poems
Judged by William J. Higginson, Penny Harter, and Others

Grand Prize: A Round-Trip Air Ticket to Japan!

In conjunction with its charity New York International Art Festival 2006—'EN'—The Art of Japanese Identity, Biken International, a Japanese art and craft magazine publisher and international exhibition organizer, will hold its 2nd World Poetry Contest. All are invited to attend the exhibition, December 13–15. Those attending who wish to enter the contest may do so at the exhibit. Others are invited to enter by mail. Full contest rules are available on the web at http://haikai.home.att.net/bikenworldpoetrycontest.2006.html.

New Jersey Poetry Out Loud

The Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The competition begins at the classroom level, with winners advancing to schoolwide, and then regional and statewide contests. The New Jersey winner will recite three poems at the national finals in Washington, D.C., in April and May, where substantial scholarships and school prizes will be awarded. Our residencies in NJ high schools are part of a statewide effort administered by Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey. Any New Jersey public or private high school can participate in Poetry Out Loud. To explore options for your NJ high school, visit the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Poetry Out Loud pages on Discover Jersey Arts. (Note: The application deadline for involvement in the Poetry Out Loud program in New Jersey this year is November 30, 2006.) For more information on the national program, see the Poetry Out Loud web site, at http://www.poetryoutloud.org/. Between us, we are visiting Madison High School, Piscataway High School, Absegami High School, and Teaneck High School, working with a number of fine performing artists.

Madison High School provides "a rich, broad, and diverse educational program," according to the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. This will be their second year in Poetry Out Loud. Click on the photo to go to the school's web site.

November 2006–January2007
Madison High School, Madison, NJ

Poetry Out Loud Residency: Penny Harter & Duayne Maynard

Penny will work with performance artist Duayne Maynard to conduct a faculty workshop, visit several classes over the course of the program, and judge student recitation contests, as students deepen their understanding of poetry and select specific poems to memorize and perform while participating in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition. Penny's visit is coordinated by Jason Elrott of the MHS English Department. Click here for a Poetry Out Loud overview. (If you are interested in having Penny or Duayne visit your school to give workshops, contact Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey at http://www.ptnj.org/.) (back to top)

Piscataway High School, a Governor’s School of Excellence, will participate in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation competition again this year, with the help of Bill and Vondell. Last year, PHS's schoolwide winner went on to place second in the New Jersey statewide POL contest. Click on the photo to visit the student-produced web site of Piscataway High School.

November 2006 – January 2007
Piscataway High School, Piscataway, NJ

Poetry Out Loud Residency: William J. Higginson & Vondell Richmond

Bill and performance artist Vondell Richmond will visit several classes each day, helping students deepen their understanding of poems as they prepare for the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition. Bill's visit is coordinated by Chris Hamas, PHS Lit. Mag. advisor and honors English teacher, and Bob Coleman, English Department Chair. Click here for a Poetry Out Loud overview. (If you are interested in having Bill or Vondell visit your school to give workshops, contact Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey at http://www.ptnj.org/.) (back to top)

Absegami High School is a pilot school for the New Jersey Performance Assessment Alliance. Its 2300+ highly diverse students have garnered numerous awards in athletics and the humanities. Click the image above for the cool school web site. This will be Absegami's first year in Poetry Out Loud.

December 2006–February2007
Absegami High School, Galloway, New Jersey

Poetry Out Loud Residency: Penny Harter, William J. Higginson, & Donna Holmes

Penny and Bill and performance artist Donna Holmes will conduct a faculty workshop, visit several classes over the course of the program, and judge student recitation contests, as students deepen their understanding of poetry and select specific poems to memorize and perform while participating in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition. The POL program is coordinated by Donna Blair, Supervisor of English, Media, Performing Arts, and Reading at AHS. Click here for a Poetry Out Loud overview. (If you are interested in having Penny, Bill, or Donna visit your school to give workshops, contact Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey at http://www.ptnj.org/.) (back to top)

The Teaneck High School building is on the National Register of Historic Sites, and the school has been growing and adapting to the needs of its students since 1928. Click on the image above to go to their web site. This will be Teaneck's first year in Poetry Out Loud.

December 2006–February2007
Teaneck High School, Teaneck, New Jersey

Poetry Out Loud Residency: William J. Higginson, Penny Harter, & Natasha Yannacañedo

Bill and Penny and performance artist Natasha Yannacañedo will conduct a faculty workshop, visit several classes over the course of the program, and judge student recitation contests, as students deepen their understanding of poetry and select specific poems to memorize and perform while participating in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Competition. The POL program is coordinated by English Instructional Leader Rita Constantine at THS. Click here for a Poetry Out Loud overview. (If you are interested in having Bill, Penny, or Natasha visit your school to give workshops, contact Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey at http://www.ptnj.org/.) (back to top)

New Jersey Writers Project

January–February 2007
Knowlton Township Elementary School, Delaware, New Jersey

NJ Writers Project: William J. Higginson

Following a planning meeting with the teachers involved, Bill will visit the sixth grade classes at Knowlton Elementary School. Tailoring his lessons to the needs of students and the curriculum, he will encourage the students to write new poems each day, along with revising, editing, and sharing their work. His residency will include a faculty workshop in creative writing strategies for the classroom, and is coordinated by Vice Principal Josephine Noone. (If you are interested in having Bill Higginson be a poet-in-residence at your school, learn more about residencies in the New Jersey Writers Project and contact Playwrights Theatre through their web page at http://www.ptnj.org/.)

January 13, 2007, 9:30 am–12:30 pm
Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Madison

From Inspiration to Publication: A Poetry Workshop with Penny Harter and William J. Higginson

Whether you are a new or experienced poet, join Penny and Bill to:

• discover two new ways to start writing a poem,
• edit your poems,
• share with your peers,
• find out how and where to submit your poems for publication.

Let us help you take your poems to the next level!

The Library
Sussex County Community College
One College Hill Road
Newton, NJ

Click here for directions to the college. On campus, park in the upper lot. The library is the circular building slightly down the hill with a walkway extending from the parking lot to the building. The reading is downstairs, on the 2nd floor. (Note: The picture above shows the building from the other side.)

Friday, February 2, 2007, 7:00–9:00 pm
(Snow Date: February 16)
Betty June Silconas Poetry Center
Sussex County Community College, Newton

Idiom Reading Series Presents
Penny Harter and John Chorazy

Penny will be reading from her recent chapbook, Along River Road, and from her forthcoming collection, The Night Marsh, as well as selections from her books Lizard Light and Buried in the Sky. (See sample poems from Penny's Along River Road on this web site. John's most recent book, Walking Through My Father's Garden, won the 2006 Chapbook Competition of the English Department of the William Paterson University, and is listed here.)

The Idiom Reading Series is coordinated by Priscilla Orr.