RANGELEY – On Sunday, Aug. 7, lovers of poetry will gather at 6 p.m. on the lawn of the Ecopelagicon nature store, 7 Pond Street, Rangeley, to honor poet Hugh Ogden (1937-2006). Poet Sidney Wade of Rangeley and Gainesville, Florida, will read from her work. Sponsored by Ecopelagicon and the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum, the event is free to all. Light refreshments will be served.
Members of the Ogden family will begin the evening by reading poems written by their father. Community members are invited to read a poem of Hugh’s or one of their own that attends to what meant so much to Hugh: the beauty and mystery of the world, especially Rangeley, and peace among all living things. A sign-up sheet will be available at the start of the evening, since time will be limited.
During the second part of the evening, poet Sidney Wade will read. The author of five volumes of poetry, including Empty Sleeves, From Istanbul, and, most recently, Stroke (2008), Sidney is professor of English at the University of Florida. She sets many of her poems in Turkey where she has taught and traveled extensively; she also translates poems from Turkish. A summer and winter resident of Rangeley since 1963, Ms. Wade also writes of the people and places of western Maine. Former poet laureate of the United States Billy Collins writes that Ms. Wade’s poems “achieve the sudden intimacy to which poetry is uniquely susceptible. Always alert, always up on their toes, these poems can draw us deeply in.” To read her poetry, visit http://www.sidneywade.com
Organizers of the event plan to continue this August Evening of Poetry, and the Ogden family has established a fund for this purpose, to which all are invited to contribute. Please see Linda Dexter or Peggy Yocom.
