CHARLEMONT — The Academy at Charlemont will host a mini poetry festival on Friday, May 16.
Three poets, Martin Espada, Rage Hezekiah and Joseph Legaspi, will lead a poetry reading at the Academy Recital Hall on Route 2 at 4 p.m., after spending the day leading students through poetry writing workshops thanks to a $5,000 Massachusetts Cultural Council grant.
Humanities teacher and published poet Lauren Schmidt said she applied for the grant because having authors visit the school is always a fun way to get students excited about learning.
“I’ve been wanting to do a visiting writers program for a while,” Schmidt said. “It’s good for them to have teachers outside of the academy staff.”
The poets will spend the afternoon with the students, leading exercises on poetry techniques and helping the students write their own poems, prior to the academy opening to the community for the 4 p.m. public readings.
Schmidt said she has been working with Legaspi and Hezekiah for a few years. Legaspi joined students for a remote question-and-answer session during the pandemic, and stayed in touch to mentor a student. Schmidt met Hezekiah at a poetry reading in Shelburne Falls and the two became pen pals. The third poet, Espada, is Schmidt’s husband.
“They’re two of the nicest people you’ll meet and they write about issues I think impact our school community,” Schmidt said. “Their work is really timely and timeless.”
Tickets for the 4 p.m. readings are $7 and can be purchased at charlemont.org/2025-poetry-festival.
“We’re hoping this becomes an annual thing,” Schmidt said, “and grows to be a bigger event.”
Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.
