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Don’t miss this evening of poetry from the Cape Ann Poets, the writing group behind the recent anthology Tidelines (Rockport Press, 2021).
Meeting continuously since 1986, the Cape Ann Poets group has published several books of their work, including the recent Tidelines. Featuring: Martha Fox, Ruth Maassen, Jennie Meyer, Carol Seicheik, Suellen Wedmore, Robert Whalen.
Martha Fox published the chapbook Tides/The Land Sighted with poet Thomas Lux and the book If the river’s this high all summer (Martha Fritz, Pym-Randall Press, Cambridge, MA). She has published numerous poems in literary journals, including Poetry, The Atlantic, and Ploughshares. After receiving an MFA from UC Irvine, she was an NEA Poet in the Schools and continued to teach young writers for decades. She feels grateful every day to live in Rockport.
Ruth Maassen was poets laureate of Rockport for twelve years. Her Picking Raspberries was fourth in the Folly Cove chapbook series. Her poems have been published in Tar River Poetry, West Branch, Inkwell, and other journals.
Jennie Meyer, M.Div., is a poet, yogi, and certified dreamwork professional. She is a member of the Cape Ann Poetspoetry group, and is a contributor in their recently published book, Tidelines: An Anthology of Cape Ann Poets. Her poetry has also appeared in Anchor Magazine, Albatross, Artis Natura, Canary, Molecule, Mothers Always Write, Mutha Magazine, The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy, and other publications. Her poems explore a blend of themes ranging from nature, environmental destruction, family, and women’s issues, to a compelling investigation into the unseen realms. Jennie grew up in Rockport and lives in West Gloucester with her husband and three fledgling children. You can find her at thedreamnest.co.
Carol Seitchik is author of the poetry collection The Distance from Odessa. Her poems have been published in the anthologies A Feast of Cape Ann Poets (Folly Cove Press), The Practicing Poet (Terrapin Books), Poetry Diversified: An Anthology of Human Experience (Poetry Matters literary prize), and various journals. She currently works as an independent visual arts curator and lives with her husband in Beverly.
Suellen Wedmore, Poet Laureate Emerita of Rockport, has been widely published. She won first place in the Writer’s Digest Rhyming and Non-Rhyming poem contests, her chapbook Deployed won the Grayson press annual contest, her chapbook On Marriage and Other Parallel Universes was published by Finishing Line Press, and her chapbook Mind the Light won first place in Quill’s Edge Press’s “Women on the Edge” contest. After working twenty years as a speech and language therapist in the schools, she retired to pursue a MFA in poetry, graduating from New England College in 2004.
Robert Whalen is a poet and writer whose poems have been published in several journals and anthologies, including Ibbetson Street, Neologism Poetry Journal, Pure Haiku, Red Barn, 2020 Voices, and Word Play. A member of the Cape Ann Poets poetry group, his work also appears in their anthology Tidelines. Believing poetry is best as spoken word, he frequents open mics in Boston and the North Shore. He organizes the annual Rockport Poetry Festival and hosts the monthly Rockport Poetry Open Mic. He lives in Rockport with children, an organic garden, dogs, cats, chickens, and bees. Currently he supports his poetry addiction as an adjunct professor of philosophy and psychology.