Peoria Poetry Club

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This is not a library sponsored event.

Purpose of Meeting

Celebrating the spoken word!

The Peoria Poetry Club was founded on January 28th, 1941, and the first meeting was held at the Pere Marquette Hotel.  PPC offers glimpses of creative writing through poetry, participating in poetry workshops, and other creative programs presented by poets and others.  Attendees are invited to bring a favorite poem to share, or just come to listen and enjoy readings and recitations by others.

Meeting schedule:
* 11:30 - 12:00 - Meet and greet time - Catch up with friends new and old!  
* 12:00 - Poetry Club Role Call - Anyone is welcome to share a poem!
* 1:00 - Monthly Presentation 

The Peoria Poetry Club is free to attend and all are welcome!


July Program: The Best of Billy: The Poetry of Billy Collins, presented by George Tanner

 

A balding man is holding a pipe in his mouth.
Billy Collins - photo credit Steven Kovich

Dubbed “the most popular poet in America” by Bruce Weber in the New York Times, Billy Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender, or profound observation on the every day, reading and writing, and poetry itself.  Collins’s level of fame is almost unprecedented in the world of contemporary poetry.  He served two terms as the US poet laureate, from 2001-2003, was New York State poet laureate from 2004-2006, and is a regular guest on National Public Radio programs.  In 2002, as US poet laureate, Collins was asked to write a poem commemorating the first anniversary of the fall of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11.  The reading was in front of a joint session of Congress held outside of Washington, DC.

Peoria Poetry Club member George Tanner will present selected poems by Billy Collins and discuss the poet and his work.