THE 5TH ISSUE OF THE RED WHEELBARROW CELEBRATES RUTHERFORD’S POETIC ENERGY
RUTHERFORD, August 20, 2012—Rutherford’s own poetry group, The Red Wheelbarrow Poets, is pleased to announce the publication of the 5th issue of their literary journal, The Red Wheelbarrow.
This remarkable collection gathers the work of 38 local poets, offering a diversity of voices and styles. They are inspired by the poetry of William Carlos Williams, Rutherford’s hometown doctor and poet, the founder of American modern poetry who celebrated the voice of the common man and revolutionized the letters of the last century.
The journal’s motto, “The epic is the local fully realized,” paraphrases Williams’ words: “The classic is the local fully realized, words marked by a place.” The Red Wheelbarrow Poets, who started the group six years ago, soon turned their activity into a grassroots cultural phenomenon growing stronger every year. They meet weekly for a poetry workshop; they host a monthly reading series on the last Friday of the month at the local GainVille Café on Ames Avenue; they read at various venues throughout New Jersey and in New York City; and they also support the William Carlos Williams Poetry Cooperative readings at Williams Center held on every first Wednesday of the month.
Every year, the poets pick the best crop of poems and showcase them in The Red Wheelbarrow journal. Issue 5 includes poems by David B. Austell, John Barrale, Norma Ketzis Bernstock, Marian Calabro, Joe Del Priore, Ana Doina, Milton Ehrlich, Mark Fogarty, Laura Freedgood, Gail Fishman Gerwin, Tom V. Gianni Jr, Elissa Gordon, Mary-Jane Grandinetti, Andrei Guruianu, Jim Gwyn, Patricia Kett, Gail King, Jim Klein, Melanie Klein, Janet Kolstein, John R. Lancelotti, Edward Lipiner, Fran Lombardi, Deanne Meltzer, Zorida Mohammed, Rick Mullin, Michael O’Brien, George Pereny, Tony Puma, Gabriella Radujko, R.G. Rader, Dan Saxon, Alex Sprouls, John J. Trause, Anton Yakovlev, Nicole Zach, and Don Zirilli, as well as essays on poetry and poetics and an excerpt from a play.
This year’s featured poet is Claudia Serea, a native of Romania who moved to Rutherford 10 years ago. “She has become a vital part of Rutherford’s vigorous poetry community,” said the managing editor Mark Fogarty. “Growing up in a Communist country with all its contradictions and persecutions must have been a trial, but it also inspired Claudia’s protean poetic talent.” Other featured poets from past issues include John Barrale and the late George Di Gregorio.
“Some day, a poet from our area will become famous,” said Jim Klein, the leader of the group and the journal’s poetry editor. But the local poets have already accomplished a more important task: growing the town’s poetic legacy and keeping alive the flame lit by Dr. Williams in Rutherford.
The journal will be launched on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the Williams Center in Rutherford, NJ. Copies will be available for sale that night and many of the poets will read from it during the evening. The Red Wheelbarrow is available online at Lulu.com and will be available on Amazon.com.
For info, contact John Barrale at
john.barrale@gmail.com • www.redwheelbarrowpoets.wordpress.com ###
The Red Wheelbarrow Poets 
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