Brookline Poetry Series
The Brookline Poetry Series meets once a month on Sunday afternoons, September through May, normally in Hunneman Hall at the Public Library of Brookline Main Branch (361 Washington St., Brookline, MA 02445). Usually, one or two established poets read, followed by an open mike. You may contact the organizers via email.
- Timing of performances:
- 1:30 PM • Doors open
- 1:45 PM • Open mike sign-up
- 2 – 4 PM • Poetry readings
N.B. Usually the third Sunday of the month. On rare occasions, this may vary to accommodate holidays or special Library events, so be sure to check the Library Calendar or this page before attending. (Also, all meetings are held at the Main Library if possible, but on very rare occasions we have had to move to the Coolidge Corner Branch because of a scheduling conflict.)
Featured Readers
Oct 21, 2012 • Aimée Sands
Aimée Sands is a poet and independent documentary filmmaker. Her first book of poems The Green-go Turn of Telling, is forthcoming this year from Salmon Poetry in Ireland. Her poems have appeared in FIELD, Beloit Poetry Journal, Poet Lore, Measure, Salamander and other literary journals. She is the co-director of the Brookline Poetry Series.
Her documentary short What Makes Me White? is currently in use as a tool for diversity and anti-racism work in over 200 colleges, churches, and nonprofits in the US and Canada. The film has also screened at a number of academic conferences. The project was recently awarded a $200,000 grant by the Kellogg Foundation, and Aimée is now expanding the film to an hour.
In her 20 plus years as a radio and television producer, Aimée has received 18 awards for her work, including an Emmy, a Peabody Award, and a San Francisco Film Festival Golden Gate Award. Her television credits include Africans in America, the landmark PBS series on America’s journey through slavery; We Are Family, a WGBH and PBS documentary on life in lesbian and gay families; and Two Intimate Journeys, a WGBH documentary contrasting a feminist and a New Right woman. She has produced in-depth news and documentaries for both WGBH-TV and Radio, as well as for NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition.
Aimée is a past recipient of a National Press Foundation Spanish Language Fellowship, which enabled her to attain Spanish fluency in Mexico. She has an MFA from Bennington College and has taught at Clark University. She is currently an adjunct lecturer at Babson College.
History of the Brookline Poetry Series
The Brookline Poetry Series was founded in the spring and summer of 2001 by our friend and fellow poet Diane Collins Ouellette. Diane died of cancer several months into the series, and, with her husband Berred's support, we continued. We are guided by her original mission: a quality venue for local poets, both published and yet-to-be published; a place for a multiplicity of poetic voices; a series particularly dedicated to featuring the work of Brookline poets.
In the years since, we have featured the best contemporary voices in American poetry, as well as many fine local poets.
We are dedicated to providing a forum for poets of all experience to listen and read their work. In 2005, the Boston Globe named us the Best in Boston for our open mike.
We welcome all Boston-area poets to our series.
Since March 2008, the series has been held at the Public Library of Brookline.
Ann Killough
Tam Lin Neville
Susana Roberts
Aimee Sands