RUMFORD — The Friends of the Rumford Library launched its new poetry program on April 24.
A spirited group of 14 poetry lovers met in the Library’s public room to share their own work or the favorite works of others. Librarian Susan Marshall welcomed the group and read the first poem of the evening, Robert Frost’s “Two Tramps in Mud Time.”
Participants unanimously agreed to continue the library’s poetry program. Meetings will be held monthly on the fourth Thursday of the month, at 5:30 p.m. Meetings will be held on May 22 and June 26.
Rumford’s Jane MacFarlane, April Trenoweth, and Ashley Duguay read poems they’d written, as did Mary Tyler of Gilead and Iris Roberts of Newry. Gerry Boivin brought her father’s book of poems and stories. Jenn Cohen read from beloved Rumford high school principal the late Kevin Nye’s collection and Brenda Sassi read one of Jean McQuade’s works. Other participants offered Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Dorothy Parker, and Ogden Nash, among others.
Andy Beauchesne, then president of the Rumford Library Friends, was a spirited participant in the first poetry event and one of its most enthusiastic supporters. Her family and her many, many friends in the River Valley community were grieving her sudden death on April 30. The Library Friends will be consulting with Andy’s family to find a fitting memorial for Andra.