Poets Julia Lisella and Cammy Thomas

Massachusetts poets Julia Lisella and Cammy Thomas, each known for several collections, will give a free virtual reading of their work in the Phosphorescence Poetry Series with the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Julia Lisella is the author of two full-length collections of poetry: Always and Terrain (both from WordTech Editions) and the chapbook Love Song Hiroshima (Finishing Line Press, 2004). Her poems are widely anthologized and have appeared in Ploughshares, Alaska Quarterly Review, Antiphon, Ocean State Review, Literary Mama, Salamander, Prairie Schooner, Valparaiso and many others.

She has received residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, MacDowell, Millay, and Dorset colonies, and has received a number of grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to lead community poetry workshops. Her scholarship focuses on American women modernists. She is Professor of English at Regis College in Massachusetts, where she teaches literature and creative writing. She co-curates the Italian American Writers in Boston Literary Series (originally in Boston’s North End and now on Zoom).

Headshot of poet Cammy ThomasCammy Thomas’ first book, Cathedral of Wish, received the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America. A fellowship from the Ragdale Foundation helped her complete her second, Inscriptions. Her third collection, Tremors, is forthcoming in 2021. All are published by Four Way Books. Her work appeared recently in the anthology, Poems in the Aftermath. Two of her poems under the title Far Past War were set to music by her sister, composer Augusta Read Thomas. The premiere of this choral work will be performed by the Cathedral Choral Society at the National Cathedral in Washington DC on Oct. 17, 2021. She lives in Lexington, Mass.

To Emily Dickinson, phosphorescence was the spark and the illuminating light behind learning — it was volatile and transformative in nature. The Phosphorescence Poetry Reading Series celebrates contemporary creativity that echoes Dickinson’s own revolutionary poetic voice. The Series brings together established and emerging poets whose work and backgrounds represent the diversity of the flourishing contemporary poetry scene.

The 2021 Series will continue virtually to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved. While the museum is disappointed not to gather together in Amherst, they are excited to connect with a global community of friends and writers. Join us on the last Thursdays of each month to hear from poets around the world as they read their work and discuss what poetry and Dickinson mean to them. The series is free.

Zoom link »