The Red Wheelbarrow Poets launched the gorgeous 9th edition of their yearly publication, The Rutherford Red Wheelbarrow, at a reading at the Williams Center in Rutherford Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016.
The book features a stunning cover illustration by editor Jim Klein (cover designed by Claudia Serea) and the poetry and prose of more than 40 area writers who have either participated in the RWP’s long-running weekly poetry workshop or who have read their work at the Williams Center or GainVille Café (also in Rutherford) in the past year.
Interior drawings have been supplied by Don Zirilli and Janet Kolstein (section cover pages). Mark Fogarty, John Barrale and Melanie Klein are managing editors of the book.
The overall theme of the book again is Dr. Williams’ observation that the epic is the local fully realized. Many of the writers in the volume adhere to Williams’ groundbreaking poetic philosophy of writing about the everyday in vibrant, “live” language.
This year’s featured poet is Anton Yakovlev. He is a Russian-born New Jersey poet and filmmaker who is the author of two books of poetry, Neptune Court and The Ghost of Grant Wood. Anton has also contributed two short essays on the work of Dr. Williams to the book and translations of two poems by Russian writer Sergei Esenin. The book features an interview with Anton by Loren Kleinman and a review of The Ghost of Grant Wood by Mark Fogarty.
The revival of poetry in Rutherford, Dr. Williams’ home town, began when poet John J. Trause, along with Jane Fisher, director of the Rutherford Public Library, founded the Williams Carlos Williams Poetry Cooperative of Southern Bergen County. From 2006 through 2012, Trause ran the monthly readings at the Williams Center, featuring poets from the tri-state area as well as from further afield. This First Wednesday series now is run by the “Gang of Five” (Claudia Serea, John Barrale, Don Zirilli, Anton Yakovlev and Arthur Russell). Mark Fogarty curates the monthly reading series at GainVille, which started in 2009.
The RWP weekly poetry workshop at the Williams Center, now in its tenth year, is run by Jim Klein, the leader of the Red Wheelbarrow Poets. It is free and open to all local poets every Tuesday at 7 PM.
Both the Williams Center and the GainVille offer an open mic to poets who are also invited to submit their work for next year’s publication. Copies of the book will be on sale at the Williams Center and are also available online at http://www.lulu.com/shop/red-wheelbarrow-poets/the-red-wheelbarrow-9/paperback/product-22857853.html
The Red Wheelbarrow Poets 
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