The second of the Poetry Readings events during Poetry Weekend is slated for 3:00 to 4:30pm on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Poetry Duo will be staged in Orange Hall Gallery where presently on view are two watercolor exhibits: the 2024 North East Watercolor Society Members’ Exhibition and
Watercolor Expressions: My Explorations in Landscapes and Portraits by Hema Gupta.

Prolific Poet J. R. Solonche will be reading selections from several of his many books of poetry. His writing is easy to read and propels the reader to continue through the book and come back for more. His works mirror his feelings and often contain terrific humor that may catch the reader off guard. 

He recently was named Poet Laureate of Orange County. Solonche is a professor emeritus of English from SUNY Orange.  

In addition to his 37 published books, J. R. Solonche has published poetry in more than 500 magazines, journals, and anthologies since the early 1970s. His poems have been read on Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac and other radio shows and have been translated into Portuguese, Italian, German, and Korean. His works have brought him the honors of being twice-nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and in 2022 was nominated for the National Book Award. Solonche will be bringing books to sign and give away for donations to Orange County Food Pantries.

Former Orange County resident who presently resides in Burlington, VT, Stephen Cramer is the poet who will share the “stage” with Solonche during Poetry Duo. Cramer has been honored with the Creation Grant from the Vermont Arts Council and the Alice M. Sellers Award from the Academy of American Poets. He has also been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes. He was a finalist for a Balcones Poetry Prize. He has published seven books and his eighth is “hot off the press.” He will bring some books for the book signing.

An assistant poetry editor at Green Mountains Review, Cramer is also a senior lecturer in the English department at the University of Vermont.

Free parking is available in lot #1 which is adjacent to Orange Hall and located at the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview Avenues, (GPS: 24 Grandview Ave.) on the Middletown campus of SUNY Orange. Questions may be addressed to Cultural Affairs at cultural@sunyorange.edu. Also visit the Cultural Affairs website at www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs.