Mirth and joy and laughter and sadness, and a lot of glee, will be in attendance Wednesday, September 16, at 7 pm, when Newtown Cultural Arts Commission presents “The Four Wordsmiths” at Newtown Congregational Church, 14 West Street.

Part of the Newtown Arts Festival, admission is free but reservations are required. Visit newtownartsfestival.com, click on Events at the top of the page, and then click on the link for The 4 Wordsmiths to make a reservation.

This year’s program will feature Charles Rafferty, Barry Dougherty, Fran Capo and Astrid Sundberg.

Mr Rafferty, an award-winning poet and author, and Mr Dougherty, an essayist, enthralled a sold out crowd last year. They are returning for the 2015 Newtown Arts Festival with their very special views on the human condition.

Mr Rafferty was the recipient, in 2009, of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. He is the author of four collections of poetry, and his work has appeared in multiple journals as well as four chapbooks and in several anthologies.

Mr Doughtery is the head writer of the Friars Club Roasts and has written five books about the Friars Club. He was a consultant to the PBS series Make ‘Em Laugh, and is the editor of The Epistle, the Friars club magazine.

They will be joined this year by comedienne Fran Capo, a world-record-holding fast talker, comic and writer; and Ms Sundberg, a poet/comedienne.

Currently listed in the Guinness World Records as the fastest-talking female, Fran Capo is a motivational speaker and writes a weekly blog, Fran’s World (francapo.com). She fashions herself a comedienne, an adventurer, and a writer.

Astrid Sundberg, a 2015 graduate of Newtown High School, was the only poet in the Newtown High School Poetry Slam to participate as a comedian. Currently on a gap year between high school and college, she has no idea what she wants to do in life, she has noted, except make people laugh.

“The Four Wordsmiths” is part of the month-long Newtown Arts Festival, a variety of performances and events being presented in September under the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission umbrella.