Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare! To Shakespeare--After Three Hundred Years by Thomas Hardy To Shakespeare by Frances Anne Kemble They All Want to Play Hamlet by Carl Sandburg Ophelia by Julie Butters On Shakespeare by John Milton Sonnet of a Shrew by Julie Butters Sonnet 32 by William Shakespeare Julie Butters is an actress and writer based in …

Cenna Khatib is a vibrant 25-year-old, who serves as an Inclusion Teacher in Lynn Public Schools and is deeply committed to fostering an inclusive educational environment. Her journey began in 2021 when she graduated from Hofstra University, where she not only earned a BA degree in Psychology and Creative Writing but also held the prestigious posit…

Songs read by Agatha Morrell 1 "A Lover and His Lass" from As You Like It 2 "O Mistress Mine" from Twelfth Night Sonnets 98, 116, and 29 read by Simon Morrell Scenes performed by Julie Butters & Bryan Butters 1 Antony and Cleopatra 2 Two Gentlemen of Verona 3 The Tempest Julie Butters is a Salem-based actress and writer. The former co-chair of Harv…

Part 1 of 2 In honor of Women's History Month, Julie Butters performs "Ahead of Their Time: Inspiring Women of Literature." In this collection of dramatic readings, Julie brings to life some of classic literature's most exciting leading ladies, along with several historical women who created brilliant works in defense of their gender including Lysi…

Part 2 of 2 In honor of Women's History Month, Julie Butters performs "Ahead of Their Time: Inspiring Women of Literature." In this collection of dramatic readings, Julie brings to life some of classic literature's most exciting leading ladies, along with several historical women who created brilliant works in defense of their gender including Lysi…

Rod Kessler taught creative writing at Salem State University for 31 years. He is an author of short fiction, was an advisor to Sextant, a literary journal, and he has long been the champion of Malcolm Miller. Malcolm Miller, a Salem-born, Beat generation poet, unabashedly engages, entertains, amuses, instructs, surprises, and provokes in the 24 ne…

Happy Birthday, Edgar Allen Poe! Presenter Ken Grout talks with Agatha Morrell about the life, love, and literature of one of America's most iconic authors. Poe was born January 19, 1809, in Boston, MA, and died October 7, 1849 (aged 40) in Baltimore, MD. His most famous works are poems “To Helen” (1831), “The Raven” (1845), and “Annabel Lee” (1849…

Celebrate Our Favorite Poets' Birthdays Original music by Manny & Harry Edited by Lajla Dale Edited by Lajla Dale for TravelOggy. com Series in association with ReachArts.org 89 Burrill Street Swampscott, MA 01907 Open Sundays 10-1 CONTACT Information: info@reacharts.org Press Inquiries: press@reacharts.org…

Claire Keyes is Professor Emerita at Salem State University. She currently teaches for the Salem State Explorers, a lifelong learning program and leads a Poetry Salon at the Abbot Public Library in Marblehead. Claire has won many awards for her poetry. She will be talking about her latest book One Port and reading us a few poems from it. One Port i…

2022 REACHARTS GARDEN ART WALK Reconnect with art, nature and neighbors at this year’s Swampscott Garden Art Walk. Organized by ReachArts, this community event showcases artists along with gardens of all shapes and sizes in neighborhoods across our beautiful town. Date: Sunday, July 10 (Rain Date: July 17) Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm https://www.reach…

2022 REACHARTS GARDEN ART WALK Reconnect with art, nature and neighbors at this year’s Swampscott Garden Art Walk. Organized by ReachArts, this community event showcases artists along with gardens of all shapes and sizes in neighborhoods across our beautiful town. Date: Sunday, July 10 (Rain Date: July 17) Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm https://www.reach…

2022 REACHARTS GARDEN ART WALK Reconnect with art, nature and neighbors at this year’s Swampscott Garden Art Walk. Organized by ReachArts, this community event showcases artists along with gardens of all shapes and sizes in neighborhoods across our beautiful town. Date: Sunday, July 10 (Rain Date: July 17) Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm https://www.reach…

2022 REACHARTS GARDEN ART WALK Reconnect with art, nature and neighbors at this year’s Swampscott Garden Art Walk. Organized by ReachArts, this community event showcases artists along with gardens of all shapes and sizes in neighborhoods across our beautiful town. Date: Sunday, July 10 (Rain Date: July 17) Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm https://www.reach…

2022 REACHARTS GARDEN ART WALK Reconnect with art, nature and neighbors at this year’s Swampscott Garden Art Walk. Organized by ReachArts, this community event showcases artists along with gardens of all shapes and sizes in neighborhoods across our beautiful town. Date: Sunday, July 10 (Rain Date: July 17) Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm https://www.reach…

2022 REACHARTS GARDEN ART WALK Reconnect with art, nature and neighbors at this year’s Swampscott Garden Art Walk. Organized by ReachArts, this community event showcases artists along with gardens of all shapes and sizes in neighborhoods across our beautiful town. Date: Sunday, July 10 (Rain Date: July 17) Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm https://www.reach…

GARDEN ART WALK REACHARTS 2022 Reconnect with art, nature and neighbors at this year’s Swampscott Garden Art Walk. Organized by ReachArts, this community event showcases artists along with gardens of all shapes and sizes in neighborhoods across our beautiful town. Date: Sunday, July 10 (Rain Date: July 17) Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm Garden Art Walk M…

Agatha Morrell is a keen gardener and avid traveller. www.reacharts.org Original music: Calm Before by Larry Power (guitar) & Jack Kelly (harmonica) Editing by Lajla Dale Edited by Lajla Dale for TravelOggy. com Series in association with ReachArts.org 89 Burrill Street Swampscott, MA 01907 Open Sundays 10-1 CONTACT Information: info@reacharts.org …

"A national treasure!" whose "message must be heard by everyone!" Joan is a lifelong environmentalist, peace & human rights activist & advocate for all life on Earth. Award-winning author, transformational public speaker & coach, she wrote her first book when she was 5, has been a spokesperson for UNICEF and worked with President Carter to promote …

Melissa J. Varnavas is a poet, journalist, and editor living in Beverly, Massachusetts. A graduate of the Solstice MFA program at Pine Manor College, her work has appeared in the literary journals in Bellevue Literary Review, Oberon, End Times, Blast Furnace, Margie, The New Guard, and elsewhere. www.reacharts.org Original music: Calm Before by Lar…

Gayle Heney is producer and host of the TV series Write Now and former two-term Poet Laureate of North Andover. She edited the poetry books Songs from the Castle’s Remains, and Leaf Sorrow Tree Strong and co-edited Soulmates. Ms. Heney was an honoree for the Robert Frost Poetry Contest, and in 2021, she was the winner of the Haiga Poetry Contest of…

Nancy Hewitt’s love of language, story and poetry evolved alongside her 40-year career as a clinical social worker. Her chapbook Heard was published in 2013 by Finishing Line Press, and her chapbook Completing the Arc will be published by the same press on July 15, 2022. Her poems have appeared in Spoon River Poetry Review (Editor’s Prize), Mid-Ame…

Lee Eric Freedman is the 3rd Poet Laureate of Swampscott (2016-2018). Since 2011 he's been affectionately entitled as the Renegade Poet Laureate of Swampscott (2011-FOREVER) (This honorarium was bestowed upon him by his friend and storyteller Tony Toledo). He is truly honored and humbled to be both. When Lee isn't busy being any type of Laureate he…

Blue Troubadours ~ Jack Kelly: harmonicas; Larry Power: guitar & vocals. Jack and Larry have been playing music together for ten years, beginning at the now-defunct (but never forgotten) Sunday Blues Jam at The Cove, Revere, MA. Blue Troubadours began as an idea and some jamming. Their idea: to play all styles of music acoustically- Their jamming: …

The Stacking Stones Band blends alt-country, soul, and folk-rock genres grown from the roots of American music. Led by Kelly Dearing’s gospel-steeped voice and harmonies from Christina Gavin (keys) and Mike Manion (guitar), the band includes Eric Dearing on guitar, Dave Millar on drums, and John Coley on bass. The Stacking Stones Band Original musi…

Lindsay Garfield is a singer, songwriter, and musical educator from Swampscott. She has toured internationally, shared stages with Nels Cline of Wilco, Fleet Foxes, and Trisha Yearwood, and she has performed on the iconic Fillmore West stage, NPR's Mountain Stage, and Good Morning America. Original music: Troubadour Bounce by Larry Power (guitar) &…

Jim Kawski is an ex corporate tech professional and now full time Certified High-Performance Coach. His part time music side gig is a 20-year passion that he nurtures everyday. Other interests include woodworking, fishing, acting, philosophy and cooking. He lives in Swampscott with his partner Suki. Blue Honey Drops: https://www.facebook.com/blueho…

Susan Ruth is a violin player and singer with the Blue Honey Drops. She is also a songwriter and an avid Irish fiddler. Susan works as a sales consultant with her husband Benjamin Ruth, an award winning Violin Maker. They have lived in Swampscott since 2009 with their two kids. Original music: Troubadour Bounce by Larry Power (guitar) & Jack Kelly …

Blue Troubadours ~ Jack Kelly: harmonicas; Larry Power: guitar & vocals. Jack and Larry have been playing music together for ten years, beginning at the now defunct (but never forgotten) Sunday Blues Jam at The Cove, Revere, MA. Blue Troubadours began as an idea and some jamming. Their idea: to play all styles of music acoustically- Their jamming: …

Blue Troubadours ~ Jack Kelly: harmonicas; Larry Power: guitar & vocals. Jack and Larry have been playing music together for ten years, beginning at the now defunct (but never forgotten) Sunday Blues Jam at The Cove, Revere, MA. Blue Troubadours began as an idea and some jamming. Their idea: to play all styles of music acoustically- Their jamming: …

Larry Power: Guitar Inspiration for song title: The crazy rush to the supermarket. It’s just a snowstorm! Bread and milk — gotta get it NOW! Larry has played professionally for over thirty years and performed with many blues and rock legends: His greatest memory is jamming with the Allman Brothers Band and playing slide guitar face to face with Dic…

Larry Power: guitar 'Not perfect, but close enough for rock and roll, as they say.' Larry has played professionally for over thirty years and performed with many blues and rock legends: His greatest memory is jamming with the Allman Brothers Band and playing slide guitar face to face with Dicky Betts. "My ultimate fantasy come true". Composition by…

Blue Troubadours ~ Jack Kelly: harmonicas; Larry Power: guitar & vocals. Jack and Larry have been playing music together for ten years, beginning at the now defunct (but never forgotten) Sunday Blues Jam at The Cove, Revere, MA. Blue Troubadours began as an idea and some jamming. Their idea: to play all styles of music acoustically- Their jamming: …

Larry Power-Guitar “Phil’s Tune” is in honor of my friend of over 50 years, Phil Mayo, who died in October, 2021. He loved music. If he took you under his wing there was nothing he wouldn't do to help you achieve success. When the call came, I picked up my guitar. What came out was “Phil’s Tune.” It wrote itself. This is for my friend because his s…

Julie Butters is a Salem-based writer and actress who's participating in two of Sunday's panels at our literary festival. As the author of the book Pocket Prayers for Young Professionals, she'll speak about writing for young audiences. She will also speak about screenwriting as the author of a stage adaptation of Jane Eyre that was produced as a Zo…

Cenna Khatib is a recent graduate of Hofstra University. She majored in Psychology and has a minor in Creative Writing. In this interview with Agatha Morrell, Cenna reads A Reminder When Vision Blurs, Something to Be Perceived and Pondered, He Went to Jared and I Went to the Bar . Learn more and register for the Red Rock Literary Festival on Nov 6 …

Deahn Berrini is the author of three novels: Milkweed, set in Ipswich during the Vietnam era; How to Earn Your Keep, a tale of how economic stresses wear down a family; and, A Roanoke Story, which recounts the first European settlement in North America, solely from the Native American point of view. She teaches the long-running Creative Writing Cla…

David Townsend is a 4th generation Swampscott resident. His career is in international telecommunications policy and economics, which has taken him around the world to more than 85 countries. He has written countless reports and papers and book chapters in his professional field, but his non-career literary interests have gone in very different dir…

Mary Higgins has been writing for most of her life. At the age of 16, she won a National Essay Writing Contest describing shoppers at Filene’s Basement. With her nutrition background, she has written about food for several websites. Mary enjoys using her camera and combined her love of photography with writing for the Peabody Institute Library Blog…

Robert Jauron is a graduate of Swampscott High School, Brown University, and Suffolk University Law School and practiced law for 37 years before retiring in 2014. Thereafter he decided to write a book. He is the author of Big Blue Days - The Story of a Small-Town Football Dynasty in Swampscott Massachusetts. The book, published in 2018, tells the s…

Barry Brodsky currently teaches Screenwriting and Playwriting at Boston University Film School and Lesley University’s Low-Residency MFA program in Creative Writing. He also taught Screenwriting at Emerson College for 19 years and taught in the Theatre Dept. at U.Mass-Boston for 9 years. He taught Greek Drama, Playwriting, and essay writing to Bost…

Lina Rehal is a self-published author of three contemporary romance novels and two novellas. She also wrote Carousel Kisses, a book of nostalgic stories about growing up as a baby boomer. Lina likes writing “second chance at love” and “seasoned romance” stories in which the main characters are in their forties and up. Her latest book, Someday Is He…

Stefanie Timmermann is a photographer and multimedia artist. She also has a PhD in molecular biology. Born and raised in Germany, she worked and exhibited in Paris, before settling in Swampscott. Environmental and social issues are the focus of her artistic practice. Her series ‘Gaia,’ which takes on environmental destruction was exhibited in Reach…

“Groove” is a gallery show hosted by ReachArts in Swampscott, and features original artwork by Vinny Comeau, Dan Brenton, Matt Curley, Chris Reid, Danielle Wager, Red Carroll, Adric Giles, Mike Boroda and Courtney LeMay. The exhibit includes 95 pieces on display that span across a variety of mediums and styles and is accompanied by a playlist of fu…

Michael Aghahowa answers 20 Artist Questions with Agatha Morrell for ReachArts.org in Swampscott Massachusetts. Michael Aghahowa is a Lynn based artist. He has rooted his practice in community engagement and a steady studio practice. His paintings and artwork reflect the people around him. These people emerge from his work as portraits and referenc…

Tereza answers 20 Artists Questions with Agatha Morrell for ReachArts.org in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Most recently, Tereza's project Touchstone was included in The Immigrant Artist Biennial/ Mother Tongue, based out of New York City. Her 2019 exhibitions include a curatorial project Unredacted, bringing ten artists together who acknowledged the …

Marc Morin answers 20 Artists Questions with Agatha Morrell for ReachArts.org in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Marc Morin is a visual artist who uses a variety of mediums. His artwork explores how one understands, interprets and interacts with their surroundings and day-to-day life. He often uses non-traditional art materials and utilitarian objects. …

Sammia Atoui answers 20 Artists Questions with Agatha Morrell for ReachArts.org in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Sammia Atoui is an artist who runs Miramar Print Lab on Humphrey Street, an art studio and gallery focused on the art of printmaking. At Miramar, Sam teaches printmaking to individuals at all levels and sells limited-edition collections of …