The iris are crowding each other, the peonies are saved only by stakes keeping them from plopping over, the rhododendrons are balls of color and the violets and vinca have raced across the ground. My favorite month of the year! And this May, in addition to the abundant flowers, I’ve enjoyed an onlinel poetry class with Maggie Dietz – a fabulous teacher who made the experience more than worthwhile. Ms. Dietz teaches at University of Massachusetts, Lowell and she is assistant poetry editor of the online magazine SLATE. Her PERENNIAL FALL won the 2007 Jane Kenyon Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry. The class, a 24 Pearl Street Production, was taught in blog format with videos included. All the students added to the abundance of the class by reading each poem with great thought and commenting with generous suggestions and encouragement. I’m grateful.

The Louise Bogan Chapter of MSPS will meet twice in the month of June. June 5 the poets will meet at my home to attempt a writing exercise that Maggie used in her online class and they will meet again June 21 at the Lunenburg, MA Library for an open mic and a reading by award winning poet Dan Lewis. Dan will be reading from his newest book THIS GARDEN published in 2012.