In Celebration of National Poetry Month & Seamus Heaney’s Birthday
Saturday, April 11th
7:00pm
Doors open at 6:30pm
Join us for an evening of poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month and Seamus Heaney’s birthday! We will have readings from three incredible poets, followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Doors open at 6:30 PM, and readings begin at 7:00 PM. Admission is free, and books will be available for purchase at the event
Featuring:
Audrey Gidman, Luke Morgan, Julia Bouwsma
About the Poets:
Luke Morgan
Luke Morgan is an Irish poet and filmmaker. He was the recipient of the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award 2025, an award given annually by the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. “Blood Atlas”, his third collection from Arlen House, was published in 2025 and completed with the assistance of a bursary from The Arts Council of Ireland. His other two collections are “Beast” (2022), and “Honest Walls” (2016). As well as poetry, Luke is also part of an award-winning Irish filmmaker duo, “Morgan Brothers”, with his brother, the composer Jake Morgan. Among their recent work is the film, “The Boat”, which was Executive Produced by Brendan Gleeson and longlisted for an Academy Award. He lives and works in Galway, Ireland.Books by Luke Morgan:
Blood Atlas (2025: Arlen House, distributed in US by Syracuse University Press)
Beast (2022: Arlen House, distributed in US by Syracuse University Press)
Honest Walls (2016: Arlen House, distributed in US by Syracuse University Press)
Audrey Gidman
Audrey Gidman is a queer poet living in the midcoast. She is the author of the chapbooks body psalms (Slate Roof Press, 2023), which won the Elyse Wolf Prize, and griefnotes (Porkbelly Press, 2026). She has received fellowships from Out in the Open and Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and her work has been supported by The Sable Project and Vermont Studio Center. She serves as guest editor for Frontier Poetry, chapbook editor for Newfound, and occasional manuscript reader for Alice James Books. She is the Poet Laureate of Belfast, Maine. Connect with her here: audreygidman.substack.comBooks by Audrey Gidman
body psalms (Slate Roof Press, 2023)
griefnotes (Porkbelly Press, 2026)
Julia Bouwsma
Julia Bouwsma lives off-the-grid in the mountains of western Maine where she works as a poet, homesteader, editor, teacher, and small-town librarian. She is Maine’s sixth Poet Laureate, currently serving a term from 2021 to 2026, and is the author of three poetry collections: Death Fluorescence (Sundress Publications, June 2025), Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018), and Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017). She is also the librettist for the short chamber opera, Ghost Apples, created in collaboration with composer Nathan Davis and to be performed by the Halcyon Quartet in the fall of 2025. Bouwsma’s honors include a 2024 Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets and two Maine Literary Awards. Her work can be found in various publications including Ecotone, Green Mountains Review, Kenyon Review, Plume, and Poetry Daily. She has taught in the Creative Writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington, serves on the Community Advisory Board for the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and works as the Library Director for Webster Library in Kingfield, ME.Books by Julia Bouwsma
Death Fluorescence (Sundress Publications, June 2025)
Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018)
Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017)