The Dreamland is proud to help sponsor this
brand-new, free (with ticket) community program.
The poems and poets featured in this lineup go from free verse to haiku,
from amateur to published, across generations and subjects. This year's Best of
Nantucket (and beyond!) poet playlist will have something for just about
everyone. Bring an open mind and an open ear to hear our selected poets for
this year's program. Here are just a few:
MARY ELLEN REDMOND’s poems have appeared in The Drunken Boat, Free State
Review, Comstock Review, Cape Cod Review, Rattle and The Cortland Review, but
the publication she is most proud of is the poem tattooed on her son’s ribcage.
A former slam poet, she represented Cape Cod at the National Poetry Slam
Competition in Providence, RI. She has been featured twice on WCAI’s Poetry
Sundays and her interview with poet Greg Orr was featured in The Drunken Boat.
Her poem “Fifty-Six Days” earned a Best of the Net Nomination in 2016. She
recently placed second in the 2024 Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest judged
by Marge Piercy. The Ocean Effect, her second chapbook, was published in
2014 by Finishing Line Press.
GABRIELLA BURNHAM, who grew up on Nantucket Island, is the author of the novels
Wait and It Is Wood, It Is Stone, which was named a best book of
the year by Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Publishers Weekly, and Good
Housekeeping. Burnham holds an MFA in creative writing from St. Joseph’s
College and has been awarded fellowships to Yaddo and MacDowell, where she was
named a Harris Center Fellow. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in Harper’s
Bazaar. She and her partner have two rescue cats, Galleta and Franz.
JOHNCARL MCGRADY graduated from Nantucket High School. From poetry to novels,
news articles to screenplays, JohnCarl is happy to write just about anything.
His writing has been published in the Nantucket Current, N Magazine and
Nantucket About Town and his films have been screened at several festivals
including the Nantucket Film Festival. He is entering his final year at
Williams College, where he is pursuing a double major in English and Political
Science.
And more! See our full lineup at nantucketpoetry.com.