Poets in the Attic to hold final reading

WOLFEBORO — After 15 years of fourth-Thursday poetry readings, the Poets in the Attic are calling it a wrap.

Thursday, June 27, marks PITA’s Last Waltz, their final celebration of open mic readings at the Country Bookseller. Poets, musicians and friends are invited to attend the event from 7 to 9 p.m.

“It’s been a good run,” said host Gordon Lang, “and I think we’ve accomplished what I wanted to accomplish over that time. We’ve created a vibrant poetry community of poets and writers here in the Lakes Region. When we first moved up here, that was hard to find.”

The poets first got together in the summer of 2004, meeting in the business office above Made on Earth. “Mary Beth Bryant didn’t know us at all, but she took a chance and gave us a space to meet in,” Lang said. “She’s a good soul who is always willing to take a risk to improve the community.”

The office is the original “attic” space of the group’s name, and served as their home for the first year.

“Since then, Karen Baker has nurtured us,” he said. “But folks in this town bend over backwards to do the right thing. What other town this size has a culture this rich?”

The Poets in the Attic have held outdoor readings in the summers, and staged readings in area art galleries. “Back in 2006 we even had a big birthday party for Shakespeare, down at the library,” Lang said.

“Some folks only ever saw us on TV,” Lang said. “Wolfeboro Community Television usually shoots the first hour of our reading and broadcasts it a few times over the course of the month. And one of our fans only knew about us by reading about us in “The Granite State News.” He was in a nursing home in Needham.”

The Poets in the Attic invite all visitors to join their final reading on Thursday, June 27, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Country Bookseller. Free, off-street parking is available via Mill Street.

For more information about Poets in the Attic, contact Gordon or Cheryl Lang at 603-539-4472 or poetsintheattic@gmail.com.