The 11th annual Poetry Gathering at the Hancock Town Library, 25 Main St., is scheduled for Saturday, April 22, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Everyone is welcome, and anyone who would like to bring a poem to read aloud will have a chance to share. 

The gathering is organized by Three or More, a poetry group started by Melody Zahn Russell of Hancock, Jeanne Bartlett of Deering and Joan Weddle of Amherst, and the event will include Chaz Beaulieu on flute. 

Zahn Russell said it’s an opportunity to celebrate poetry, and even though the process of reading aloud can sometimes be vulnerable and a little daunting, “everyone walks away happy they came.”

She said there is always a variety of poems, and people can bring any original or favorite poem they’d like to read. She said because of the time of year, there are often poems about spring and themes of what’s going on in the world.

“It’s pretty powerful,” Zahn Russell said. 

Zahn Russell explained that reading a poem involves more than just the voice, that it’s a performance with the whole body.

“A lot of people write in journals, but sharing [poems out loud] adds another whole dimension,” said Zahn Russell. “I believe the listener is just as important as the speaker.”

People from all over the region and beyond have come to the event, and most years Zahn Russell said they get a group of around 12.

“I feel like poems have saved my life,” Zahn Russell said, emphasizing that people reach to poetry during significant occasions, such funerals, weddings, Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” that she recited at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. “Certain lines in poetry can just be like a little island for me to stand on. It’s like with music and art – it’s beyond logic.”

Those interested attending the gathering just need to show up, and should bring a poem if they’d like to read aloud. There will be a sign-up sheet at the event. People with questions about the event can send email to Zahn Russell at melodyzahnrussell@gmail.com.

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