When the Friends of the Jones contacted local poet Dara Wier about
starting up a poetry reading series at the Jones several years ago, Dara knew who
to turn to: Rob Casper. Founding publisher of the prominent literary journal jubilat, Rob was looking for a place to
re-locate jubilat's stellar reading
series from Somerville, MA. Rob was delighted to join with the Jones to
establish a local, state, & regionally attuned series that would bring to
Amherst a good variety of new and established poets to read in tandem with
poets who live closer to home, here in Amherst and through-out the Valley,
Western Massachusetts and 5 College area.
In 2012 jubilat / Jones
was honored by being named one of the 10 best reading series in New England by LitBridge, a comprehensive guidebook
resource for poets and writers. In the 2012-2013 season, the series welcomed a
dynamic range of new poets: Blueberry Morningsnow, Mike Young, Zach Savich,
John Colletti, Noelle Kocot, Emily Toder, Lily Ladewig, Lesle Lewis, Ben Kopel,
Laurie Saurborn Young, and Amanda Nadelberg.
Every jubilat /
Jones poet travels to Amherst with the help of a modest $200 honorarium, which
the series is able to offer through the generosity of the Friends and the Amherst
Cultural Council. This amount sometimes meets (but rarely exceeds) their
expenses; it is a gesture acknowledging jubilat
/ Jones's firm belief in the tangible value of art to our community. These
readers visit us and spread their ideas, enthusiasm, and love for art, and they
enrich the creative space in which we all live. Their willingness to travel from
far and wide (many poets typical honoraria often runs $1000 to $5000) is a
remarkable gesture of kindness and goodwill back toward the series. The beauty
of the venue and the history of jubilat
/ Jones continues to allow us to host stellar up-and-coming poets alongside
nationally established ones.
By now the series has a track-record of amazing variety and
literary energies. In 2012-2013 we continued to see a steady stream of today's
most exciting poets walking up the Jones stairs for Sunday afternoon sessions
of poetry and conversation. Our audiences filled the beautiful Jones library
room with upwards of 50 or so participants, bringing together students,
community members, teachers, and people of all ages and affiliations. We look forward to continuing to be inspired by these poets and
the warmth of their reception in many more upcoming years of jubilat / Jones.
* * *
jubilat / Jones reading series, a
community poetry reading series, has been sponsored by the Friends of the Jones
Library and the literary journal jubilat
since 2000.