SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Sydney Lea will present the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program “Poetry of Vermont Landscape” on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m., at the Nolin-Murray Center, next to St. Mary’s Church, on Pleasant Street in Springfield.
Lea, Vermont’s poet laureate from 2011-2015, will begin with a look at our iconic Vermont poet Robert Frost, who is very much a poet of landscape. As we examine how poems express the views of traditional agricultural hill farms, we’ll also consider the challenge of expressing changes of the landscape implicit in the last line of Frost’s “The Oven Bird,” “What to make of a diminished thing?” With discussion and readings of Frost and other poets’ work, including Lea’s own, we’ll hear illustrations of how the language of poetry can express the environment around us.
Lea is a former Pulitzer finalist in poetry. In 2021, he was presented with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He has published 26 books, both novels and poetry collections.
Sponsored by the University of Vermont, OLLI is run by local volunteer members, and is geared mainly towards seniors who are 50 years of age and over who enjoy learning for the fun of it. Anyone who would be interested in this type of program, regardless of their age, is welcome. The programs are held Tuesday afternoons, at 2 p.m., and last about an hour and a half.
You may view the entire semester programs by going to the website www.learn.uvm.edu/olli/springfield. Preregistration can be done online at this website with a credit card. You may also register over the phone, using your credit card, by calling 802-656-8407 during regular office hours, Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. There is a membership series fee, and nonmembers are welcome and encouraged to attend individual programs for a single program fee.
If there are weather-related changes to the schedule, you can check the above website on the morning of the program.
The final program of the fall semester will be on Tuesday, Dec. 3, with Mark Breen returning for his 13th annual presentation. He will present “In the Land of Shadow and Light: The Science, Beauty, and Nature of Eclipses.”