UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. —The Pennsylvania Center for the Book announces its sixth annual 2022 Poems from Life with Juniper Village, a project developed in partnership with Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline to share and celebrate the lives of Juniper residents with original, individualized poems presented by local poets.
This year’s Poems from Life poets include:
- Peter Buck, Penn State Sustainability Institute
- Joe Bueter, Penn State English Department
- Barbara Campbell, author, Centre County
- Carolyne Meehan, Ridgelines Language Arts
- Kathleen Morrow, Penn State Communication Arts & Sciences, alumna
- Mary Rohrer-Dann, Penn State English Department, retired
- Camille-Yvette Welsch, Penn State English Department
- Tierra Williams, Ferguson Township supervisor
Each poet meets with a Juniper Village resident over several weeks and then writes an original poem to celebrate the resident’s life and contribute to Juniper’s mission of “nurturing the spirit of life.” COVID-19 precautions continue to be taken, and meetings were conducted in accordance with current health safety guidelines. Residents being celebrated this year include: Joan Baisley, Ronald “Ron” Buckalew, Connie Farrell, Mary Joan Fetter, Peter Haglich, Theodore “Ted” Hovick, David Maneval and Lanny Sommese.
On Thursday, May 12, at 6:30-8 p.m., each poet will present their Poems from Life piece at a celebratory reading on the campus of Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline in the Willows Dining Room, located at 1930 Cliffside Drive in State College. This event is free and open to the public, and masking is required.
Juniper Village at Brookline offers independent living, personal care, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation in State College, Pennsylvania. A leader in quality, value and innovation in long-term care, Juniper's mission is to encourage engaged minds, active bodies and fulfilled spirits in all stages of life.
About the Pennsylvania Center for the Book
The Pennsylvania Center for the Book is an affiliate of the Center for the Book established in 1977 at the Library of Congress. In partnership with and housed within Penn State University Libraries since 2000, it encourages Pennsylvania’s citizens and residents to study, honor, celebrate and promote books, reading, libraries and literacy.
In addition to Poems from Life, the Center administers the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, the Public Poetry Project, A Baker’s Dozen: The Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy, Words of Art, the interactive Literary & Cultural Heritage Maps of Pennsylvania and Curricula & Teaching Materials. The Center’s public initiatives provide access to content that includes poetry posters, live and recorded presentations, lesson plans, reviews and more.
For more about Poems from Life with Juniper Village, please contact Nicole Miyashiro, writer-in-residence, at nmm16@psu.edu or visit https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/poems-life for more information and to view poems and videos from this collaborative project.