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I recently caught up with New England Poetry Club advisory board member Gloria Monaghan. She has a new poetry collection out from the Lily Press titled The Diary of St. Marion.

From her website:

Gloria Monaghan is a Professor at Wentworth University. She has published seven collections of poetry. Her seventh book, Diary of Saint Marion, Lily Poetry Review (2025), was featured at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (2025, AWP). Her poems have appeared in Nixes Mate, NPR, Poem-a-Day, Lily Poetry Review, Mom Egg Review, Quartet, and River Heron, among others. She has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize, as well as the Massachusetts Book Award and the Griffin Prize. She has also been nominated for the Sheila Margaret Motton Book Award from the New England Poetry Club. Thanks to a Bistline Grant from Wentworth Institute, she recently completed a film on the painter, Nancy Ellen Craig, Daughter of Rubens, which was accepted into the 2023 Provincetown Film Festival. She is currently working on another film about the Dominican painter, Jose Ricon Mora.

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Mel Schorin writes about nature and other things. He published a book of roadkill poems titled Raccoon Sympathy. He lives in Cambridge.

Year-long contract campaign involving hundreds of educators, caregivers, and students leads to greater investment in Somerville Public Schools and increased supports for the city’s most vulnerable students and educators

On June 23, the Somerville Educators Union ratified three new contracts which represent a huge step forward in reifying community values of inclusivity, accessibility, and educational equity. The union’s priorities and campaign included caregivers and community members; several caregivers served as silent bargaining representatives on the union’s bargaining team throughout the process, and union leaders hosted biweekly office hours for community members and organizations to learn about the bargaining process. These contract wins reflect a ten-month effort by educators, students, families, and community members to call upon Mayor Katjana Ballantyne to use the city’s reserves to fund its schools. 

The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO) is warning residents of a significant uptick in reported scam calls in which perpetrators are posing as members of the office. During June, the MSO’s Inner Perimeter Security (IPS) team reported receiving 59 complaints of scammers posing as officers or deputies – the most recently reported to the office in a single month.

Of the 59 people who reported receiving calls during the month of June, one individual reported losing more than $1,700.

The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory from Tuesday through Thursday

At this time, the National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for Tuesday, July 15 through Thursday, July 17. High heat and humidity are expected with feels-like temperatures up to 100 degrees. It’s important to know how to keep yourself and loved ones cool and safe on high heat days. The expected weather conditions can cause heat illness if precautions are not taken. 

— Photos by Joni Lohr

The Center for Arts at the Armory Deepens Collaboration With Leading Percussive Dance Artists in Third Annual Feet Keep the Beat Festival July 28 – August 3

Now in its third year, Arts at the Armory’s Feet Keep the Beat Festival announces its annual jams, workshops, and Showcase Performance LINEAGE to premiere on August 1st in the Armory Performance Hall. Returning from prior festivals are Ariaki Dandawate (Kathak), Joh Camara (West African), Lekisha Limage (Step), Ryan Casey (Tap), Anjali Nath (Kathak), Antonio Tran (Flamenco guitar), Akili Jamal Haynes (percussion, trumpet and tabla), Sory Diabate (percussion), Giri Subramaniam (tabla), and Aidid Brayboy (percussion). Xianix Barrera, a renowned Flamenco dancer and educator based in New York City, will be joining the Boston-based collective of percussive dance and musical artists this year.