On Friday, March 21, from 8:30 until 10 pm, poets and scholars from surrounding universities will gather at Congregation Adath Israel, 115 Huntingtown Road, for an inspirational evening of poetry. Refreshments will be served including wine, cheese and crackers.

It will be an evening for sharing the deeper things of life, the things that really matter, according to Rabbi Shaul Praver.

A Sabbath service will precede the poetry reading from 7:30 until 8:30. The community is welcome to attend both events.

“Poetry has a way of cutting through the chase and getting to the deeper core of human consciousness,” said Rabbi Praver, spiritual leader of the congregation. “We are very fortunate to have these poets, many of whom I’ve had the great pleasure hearing read at WestConn last summer,” he continued.

Poets reading on March 21 will include:

*Dr James R. Scrimgeour, Professor Emeritus at Western Connecticut State University. He has published nine books of poetry and over 220 poems in anthologies and periodicals. He served as editor of Connecticut Review from September 1992-September 1995. He has also published a critical biography of Sean O’Casey, along with numerous reviews and articles on poetry and drama.

*Carol Ann Davis, the recipient of an NEA Fellowship in Poetry. Her poetry collections are Psalm (2007) and Atlas Hour (2011). After editing the respected literary journal Crazyhorse for over a decade and directing the undergraduate program in creative writing at the College of Charleston for a number of years, she joined the faculty of Fairfield University in 2012 and began teaching in their MFA Program.

*Jeff Schlicht, a part-time poet and full-time professor in Western Connecticut State University’s department of Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences. One of the first poems Mr Schlicht wrote was to the son of an archeologist doing a summer dig on St Croix near Mr Schlicht’s home. He compared their new friendship to the spectrum of a rainbow. He still views life through a multi-faceted lens.

*Brian Clements, the author of several collections of poetry, Professor and Coordinator of the MFA in Creative and Professional Writing at Western Connecticut State University, and a member of Congregation Adath Israel.

The event is free and the entire community is invited encouraged to attend.