RANGELEY — Lovers of poetry will gather at 6 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Ecopelagicon Nature Store, 7 Pond St., to honor poet Hugh Ogden of Poet’s Island, Rangeley.

Maine Poet Laureate Stuart Kestenbaum will read from his work.

The event is sponsored by Ecopelagicon and 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, who was born in 1937 and died in 2006. Community members are invited to read one of Hugh’s poems or one of their own that refers to what meant so much to Hugh: the beauty and mystery of the world, especially Rangeley, and peace among all living things.

A signup sheet will be available at the beginning of the evening, as time will be limited.

During the second part of the evening, Kestenbaum will read. A resident of Deer Isle, Kestenbaum was appointed to the five-year, honorary position of Maine’s poet laureate in March. His latest book of poetry, “Only Now,” came out in 2014.

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The director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts from 1988 to 2015, he has also authored nonfiction books such as “The View From Here: Craft, Community, and the Creative Process.”

Kestenbaum’s love for Maine — its people, its arts and its ways of life — shines in the titles of his poems: “Starting the Subaru at Five Below,” “In Praise of Hands,” “Prayer in the Strip Mall, Bangor, Maine.”

The Ecopelagicon will have several of his books on sale.

For more information, to join the email list, or to contribute to the fund set up for this event by the Ogden family, contact Peggy Yocom at 864-3421 or myocom@gmu.edu, or Linda Dexter at the Ecopelagicon 864-2771. You may also visit the sponsor’s website at ecopelagicon.com.

Additional information may also be found at hughogden.com and margaretyocom.com/poetry.


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