MONDAY POETS - Part 1
VSG’s Second Sunday Poetry and Music takes place every 2nd Sunday at the Gallery. Renowned poets and local talents alike will find a platform for their poetry, prose, spoken word, and acoustic performances creating a vibrant atmosphere of creativity and expression. By hosting these events, VSG aims to foster a sense of community and promote the art of poetry in Southbury and beyond. Whether you’re a seasoned poet, an aspiring writer, a storyteller, or simply a lover of the spoken word, mark your calendar for our open mic afternoons.
Free and open to the public (Suggested Donation)
Mary Panke has written hundreds of poems about family over the last 50 years. A handful have been published in journals and online. Once upon a time she memorized her poems for slam performance with the likes of Faith Vicinanza and Elizabeth Thomas. Now she hangs with The Monday Poets, a longstanding group of fabulous women writers who meet monthly to share their work. Mary lives in Vernon, CT with her forever partner, Dalia; their 2 adult sons, Max & Sam; 3 cats, Hobbes, Mango & Manuka; and wild puppy Pep Watson.
Davyne Verstandig was a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of Connecticut. (retired June 2020 after 25 years.) Her books include three books of poetry, Pieces of the Whole, Provisions and a quiet journey. Her work appears in Sex and Sexuality in a Feminist World, Songs of the Marrow Bone, Where Beach Meets Ocean, This One Has No Name, The Monday Poets, and Waking Up to the Earth, Connecticut Poets in a Time of Global Climate Crisis.
She has also performed improvisational work “composing on the tongue” painting and poetry at The Knitting Factory and Housing Works Café in New York City and given readings throughout New England. She gives writing workshops at both The Wisdom House Retreat Center in Litchfield, CT. and at Camp Washington- a Episcopal Retreat Center in Morris, Ct.
She is Poet Laureate Emerita of Washington and is a Justice of the Peace. She can be found at mymindisintheink@gmail.com., and www.davyneverstandig.com . She is a writing consultant. Books available on Amazon, some at The Hickory Stick Bookshop, Washington, Ct.
Susannah Lawrence is a poet based in Norfolk, Connecticut. She holds a Master’s in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a longtime member of the Monday Poets of Litchfield County, a group of women writers who meet to share new work and offer thoughtful critique. She is the author of the poetry collection Just Above the Bone, and her work has appeared in Waking Up to the Earth: Connecticut Poets in a Time of Global Climate Crisis, edited by Connecticut Poet Laureate Margaret Gibson. Wood has given readings throughout northwest Connecticut, including at the Norfolk Library, and has been an active member of the region’s literary community for many years.
Amanda McGrew is a poet and teacher in northwest Connecticut and a member of the Monday Poets of Litchfield County. Her involvement in the region’s literary community has also included the long-running No Name Writing Group in Washington, Connecticut, where writers gather to share and critique their work. McGrew has participated in public readings of the group’s work, including at the Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, and contributed to the literary community surrounding the group and its anthology, This One Has No Name. As both an educator and writer, she brings a teacher’s attentiveness to language and a poet’s interest in observation, experience, and the possibilities of the written word.