WHATELY — Cancer Connection will host a Harvest Picnic and book launch for Words to Live By: Poems and Images for Contemplation in a Time of Not Knowing at Quonquont Farm in Whately on Sunday, Sept. 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event, which will include readings of a few selected poems from the book by local authors, is open to all. Reservations are required. Tickets cost $35 or $45 and can be purchased through EventBrite by clicking here.
Guests will enjoy a tasty twist on picnic fare catered by Rob Watson of Lone Wolf Catering. The menu features roasted orange-ginger glazed salmon with a Thai-basil drizzle, roasted chicken (and tofu) with a lemon-herb sauce, along with a variety of locally sourced vegetable salads, non-alcoholic beverages, and dessert.
Created to give thanks to Cancer Connection, Words to Live By is dedicated to the agency’s co-founders, Debra Orgera and Jackie Walker. The book was conceived in 2014 by John Bos, an op-ed columnist for the Greenfield Recorder, and created in collaboration with Pam Roberts, who has led the agency’s “Spirit of the Living Word” workshop since 2003; Keith Carver, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts; and James McDonald, a book designer.
The new, 130-page book features 50 poems and short prose pieces. Many of the book’s writers are well-established authors, including prize-winning writers Jane Yolen, Jane Lazarre, former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, Dawna Markova, Wendell Berry, Pat Schneider, Jane Kenyon, Ellen Bass, John O’Donohue, and Lucille Clifton. Others were members of the “Spirit of the Written Word” writing workshop at Cancer Connection. Each writing is accompanied by a photograph from nature by Carver, an award-winning nature photographer.
The initial printing of Words to Live By has been made possible by financial support from local donors and may be purchased at the event or directly from Cancer Connection after the book launch. The price of the book is $20.
