MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

In celebration of Poetry Month, former Portsmouth poet laureate John Perrault sings verse into song at the Portsmouth Public Library, on Wednesday, April 24, at 7pm. (Read about it below) 

The American lyric poem has a long history—contains multitudes:  Mary Oliver, Emily Dickinson; James Wright, Walt Whitman; Paul Dunbar, Langston Hughes—where does it all come from?  Lyrical Ballads are certainly back there.  So too jazz and the blues.  Back of them all is song:  The first “lyric,” (from “lyre,”) was sung. 

With guitar in hand John Perrault urges the lyric tradition back into song in this retrospective of the American and English lyric.  In addition to selected ballads, the presentation includes works by Burns, Blake, Wordsworth, Keats, Whitman, Dickinson, Longfellow, Dunbar, Hughes, Frost & Dylan.  

Joining John on selective numbers will be renowned flutist/recording artist Barbara London, and harmonica virtuoso Mike Rogers, on loan from Salt River & Wooden Eye. 

This program will be video recorded by Atlantic Media Productions, and audience members can expect to be visually incorporated in the filming process. 

Admission is free and open to the general public.  For further information, please visit the Library at: http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/ .  To sample John’s ballads and poems, please visit:  www.johnperrault.com .  Atlantic Media Productions may be accessed at http://atlanticmediaproductions.com/