Back From The Edge:

The Girls Of Touchstone At Coffeehouse

BETHEL — The poets of Touchstone Community will be the featured guests at The Wednesday Night Poetry Series at Molten Java on June 11.

The readings will offer a rare and intimate glimpse into the lives of teenage girls who have been on the edge. Touchstone is a residential treatment facility located on 55 acres of land in Litchfield. It is a place for healing, for learning to take responsibility for one’s own choices, for developing an awareness of what those choices might be.

The facility is a residential program serving girls committed to the Department of Children and Families. For eight years, family therapist Sharon Charde has volunteered at Touchstone developing and administering a creative writing program there. I Am Not A Juvenile Delinquent, a book of their poetry edited by Ms Charde, won the PASS Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Jon Baskin, a filmmaker from New York, made a 22-minute documentary about the program.

The public is invited to give these young women an audience for their unforgettable work. Copies of their award- winning poetry anthology will be available for purchase, and alumnae will also be present to read work they have written since being out in the world again.

The evening will begin at 8 pm with an open mic followed by the feature at 9. Molten Java Coffee Roasters is at 102 Greenwood Avenue in Bethel. For information or directions visit WedPoetry.net.