Poets and lovers of poetry will celebrate the publication of a compilation of poems entitled Memory Keepers on Sunday, March 27 at 11:30 am, following the UUFDC’s annual Poetry Sunday service. This is the inaugural event in Door County’s celebration of National Poetry Month, which begins April 1.

Memory Keepers is Volume II of poems read by featured poets during the previous 12 months of the Fellowship’s Dickinson Poetry Series. This book includes 28 poems by 15 poets. The title is a variation of the title of one of the poems in the book and reminds us that good poetry is indeed a repository of observations, ideas, and feelings we have all experienced. The poets featured include Katie Schnorr, Barbara Larsen, Nancy Rafal, Ellen Kort, Ralph Murre, Loraine Brink, Jack Redell, Sharon Auberle, Caleb Whitney, Gary Jones and Michael Farmer; plus Gibraltar High School students Caitlin Weber, Brandon Bogensch?tz, Morgan Petersilka and Rachael Mickelson. The poems reflect on the local scene, travel, language, social issues, nature and human interactions – subjects with a long history in poetry.

The publication celebration will include refreshments, music, impromptu readings of poems by their authors, and opportunity for the poets to autograph their pages in the books that have been purchased. The cost of the book is $10, with proceeds funding community service activities as well as promoting interest in poetry. Memory Keepers will be available at poetry events county- and state-wide as well as at UUFDC events.

The issuance of this Volume II confirms the intention to make poetry collections from the Dickinson Series an annual publication. Volume I, released in April, 2010 was No Breath is Lost. Both volumes were produced by Helene Di Iulio.