Memorial Poetry Reading for Karie Friedman

The Belfast Free Library and the Office of the Belfast Poet Laureate present a Memorial Poetry Reading featuring poems by Montville poet, Karie Friedman (1940-2017) . The event celebrates the life and influence of this poet who died suddenly five years ago.
Karie Friedman was a remarkable writer and friend who influenced many local poets. She received an MFA from New England College and was for many years the Assistant Editor of Reviews of Modern Physics. A native of Los Angeles and a longtime summer resident of Maine, she moved to Montville in 2005. In 2008 she established the poetry critique group, “The Poets Table,” which met in members’ homes and in the basement of the Belfast Historical Museum.
Karie’s last public appearance was at a poetry reading at The Playhouse titled “Departures, Gazpacho, and Queen Anne’s Lace” on September 3, 2017. To the shock of many in the local poetry community, she died two weeks later. After her death, a group of her friends helped publish her manuscript, “Add Water, Add Fire.”
The public is invited to join us for this celebration of poetry and the life of Karie Friedman. The following former members of “The Poets Table” will be sharing memories and reading some of Karie’s poems as well as their own: Belfast Poet Laureate Judy Kaber, Jackie Ascrizzi, Sharon Bray, Shirley Glubka, Betsy Headly, Leslie Moore, and Rhoda Neshama Waller. Some recent books by these poets will be for sale. There will also be a chance to donate to a fund to support local poetry in Karie’s name.