Longfellow Days: SUNDAY READINGS Part III

Longfellow Days joins Bowdoin College in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the notable Graduating Class of 1825, which included two of the school’s most distinguished alumni: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  This year’s Sunday Readings are inspired by the Maine literary legacy they established and focus each week on a different century of American poetry.

SUNDAY READINGS, Part Three:
2025 Tribute to Poets and Writers

More than 120 Maine poets have participated in Longfellow Days’ Sunday Readings.  Today we remember three who departed in 2024: Sally Cowperthwaite reads poetry by her father Steve Cowperthwaite.  Georgia Nigro reads work by her late husband Rob Farnsworth. Maryli Tiemann reads poetry by Ruth Bookey. Then Maryli Tiemann introduces Nicole Chvatal, reading her own work.

Sarah Cooperwaithe, daughter of Steven Cooperwaithe reads his work*
Steve was a pioneer of sorts, making the old ways cool again. A poet and author, he found solace and expression through his writing. At the urging of his fantastic poetry peers, he published his work, Boulders, Birch, and Woodsmoke: A Maine Melody (2014), which highlighted his boyhood growing up on a farm in rural Maine, his early experiences as a school teacher on a remote island, and his home on Parker Pond. He was a masterful storyteller, dotting his tales with rich characters and beautiful landscapes.

Georgia Nigro, Rob’s wife reads Rob Farnsworth
Rob Farnsworth (1954-2024) was a poet and teacher who made his home in Maine since 1983. His last collection of poetry was Rumored Islands. He served as poetry editor of The American Scholar for seven years and spent a summer as resident poet at The Frost Place in Franconia, New Hampshire. Rob first taught at Colby College and then at Bates from 1990 until his retirement in 2018. An energetic and generous teacher, he won the excellence in teaching award at Bates twice. Through his work with the Maine Humanities Council, Rob brought poetry to libraries, schools, jails, and hospitals. He spent his final years in Greene, at his home on the Androscoggin River.

Maryli Tieman reads Ruth Bookey
Ruth and her family fled to the United States from Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. She began writing poetry inspired by her poet husband Ted and poetry groups that met at their home. Together Ruth and Ted translated works of the German poet Erich Kästner. Her poetry books include Life Class and I Still Feel the Swirl.

Nicole Chavatal* reads her own work
Nicole Chvatal writes property deeds and other witty things and lives in Bath, Maine. Her work has appeared in Popshot Quarterly, SWWIM Daily, Quarter After Eight, LEON Literary Review, The Portland Press Herald and Deep Overstock Magazine. She is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.