Whittier Birthplace Summer Poetry Festival

August 16, 2025 from 3 to 6 PM

Features an acoustic set by Alec K. Redfearn – Providence based composer/noisemaker behind projects such SWRM, D.U.M.E., Dox Malice, (AKR &) The Eyesores, HEVS, Mesmers, Reversible Light, Amoebic Ensemble, and Barnacled

Jason O’Toole is a poet, former punk vocalist, and advocate for elders and people with disabilities. A former Poet Laureate of North Andover, MA, he serves on the advisory board of New England Poetry Club and as treasurer of the Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco. His recent work appears in Another Chicago Magazine, Gargoyle, The Lowell Review, The 2020 Rhysling Anthology, and Love is for All of Us (Storey Publishing). His newest collections are The Strange Misgivings of the Sadly Gifted (Dead Man's Press Ink), Enragés (Beyond Shadows Press), and Wait Out the Burn (Ghost City Press).

Also featuring (alphabetical):

Claire Conroy – Beat poet laureate of Maine

Harry J. Durso – Robert Frost Foundation

Lee Eric Freedman – past poet laureate Swampscott

Jack Giaour – Winner of the 2024 Boom Chapbook Contest

Steve Iannaccone – past poet laureate of Swampscott

Ellie O’Leary – Amesbury poet laureate emerita

Dan Speers – Haverhill poet laureate

Lauren WB Vermette – poet laureate of Portsmouth

Elizabeth Wolf – finalist for the Joy Harjo Poetry Prize

Bob Whelan – Rockport poet laureate

Pop-up shop by Purple Couch Bookshop of North Andover