The Adirondack Center for Writing’s (ACW) annual Poem Village project is now installed in shop windows around Saranac Lake, Malone, and in towns across St. Lawrence County until May 19.

To celebrate the record number of poets (237) published this year, ACW is inviting anyone who contributed a poem in 2024 to read their piece at a casual event on Tuesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at ACW – 15 Broadway, Saranac Lake. This event is free and open to the public; register online at adirondackcenterforwriting.org.

As part of ACW’s ongoing Barkreaders open-mic series, the event will feature poet, percussionist, and paramedic, Jane Boxall (Lewis, NY) who will read from her new chapbook, “Please Don’t Need Everything It Hurts.” The chapbook is a work of experimental haiku where Boxall composed poems by using the predictive text feature on her smartphone. When she began to type, the software predicted three options for the next word. Boxall chose a word and then was presented with three more words, each decision bringing her closer to a completed haiku. Boxall created hundreds of haiku this way and selected her favorites for a small, limited-run handmade (and hand-written) chapbook that will be for sale at the event.

After Boxall’s reading, Poem Village participants can share their work during the open-mic section of the event. All published poems are a single page in length (under 25 lines). ACW hopes to bring the public art installation of Poem Village to life with this live presentation.

April is National Poetry Month; ACW has been commemorating this holiday with the Poem Village project since 2016. More information about Poem Village as well as published poems from 2024 and past years can be found at adirondackcenterforwriting.org/poemvillage.

This year’s installation of Poem Village was made possible by generous sponsors including Adirondack Health, ArtyLadyMsD (Maria DeAngelo), Downtown Artist Cellar, SLC Arts, Hotel Saranac, Traverse Lodge, Play ADK, and Tell Media.

More information: https://adirondackcenterforwriting.org/event/barkreaders-jane-boxall-poem-village-celebration/

More about Jane Boxall and her chapbook: https://janeboxallmarimba.bandcamp.com/merch/handwritten-haiku-collection-please-dont-need-everything-it-hurts

The Adirondack Center for Writing has been bringing people and words together for 25 years through provocative events and meaningful programs. For more information about ACW, visit adirondackcenterforwriting.org or follow @adkctr4writing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.