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      Pa. Center for the Book announces 2019 Poems from Life with Juniper Village

      During the 2017 inaugural year of Poems from Life, two participating pairs — from left, Juniper Village resident John Flynn with poet Camille-Yvette Welsch, and poet Alison Jaenicke with resident Lois Price, holding a framed poster of Jaenicke’s poem about Price, “Here’s an Empty Horse” — celebrated their collaboration during the poetry reading event at Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline in State College, Pennsylvania. Welsch wrote “A History of the Senses” to honor Flynn. Credit: photos provided by Pennsylvania Center for the Book. All Rights Reserved.

      UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Center for the Book has selected poets and celebrated residents for the third annual 2019 Poems from Life with Juniper Village, a project developed in partnership with Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline, in State College, Pennsylvania, to share and celebrate the lives of its residents with original, individualized poems presented by local poets. 

      This year’s Poems from Life poets include:

      • Michael Bourgo, Penn State Olli
      • Peter Buckland, Penn State Sustainability Institute
      • Joe Bueter, Penn State English Department
      • Steve Deutsch, Penn State Artificial Heart & Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics Lab, semi-retired
      • Hannah Inglesby, Centre County writer and Free-Range poet
      • Rachael Lyon, Penn State English Department
      • Mary Rohrer-Dann, Penn State English Department
      • Teresa Stouffer, Bellefonte Elementary Special Education, retired
      • Camille-Yvette Welsch, Penn State English Department.

      Each poet meets with a Juniper Village resident over several weeks and then writes an original poem to celebrate the resident’s life and contribute to Juniper Village’s mission of “nurturing the spirit of life.” 

      Residents being celebrated this year include Dick Backastow, Darlene Bartron, Betty “BB” Leasure Blazer, June Brown, Helen Cummings, Jim Delansky, Coach Harry Groves, Donald James and Chuck Noel.

      Each poet will present their Poems from Life piece at a celebratory reading held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, on the campus of Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline, 1930 Cliffside Drive, State College. The event is free and open to the public.

      The Pennsylvania Center for the Book, sponsored by Barbara I. Dewey, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, and Penn State State University Libraries, is an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. It encourages Pennsylvania’s citizens and residents to study, honor, celebrate and promote books, reading, libraries and literacy.

      In addition to Poems from Life, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book also administers the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, the Public Poetry Project, Letters about Literature, A Baker’s Dozen: The Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy, Words of Art and the interactive Literary and Cultural Heritage Map of Pennsylvania. 

      For more information about the Pennsylvania Center for the Book’s Poems from Life with Juniper Village project, please email Nicole Miyashiro, editor, at nmm16@psu.edu, or visit https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/poems-life, where videos from previous years’ celebratory readings can also be found.

      Last Updated March 11, 2019

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