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I have always loved the theatre, and over the years I have interviewed a number of aspiring and accomplished playwrights, actors, directors, etc. So, it was a pleasure to connect to Ally Sass, who despite the pandemic keeps on keeping on.

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Listen is Steven Cramer’s sixth collection of poetry. The book’s inaugurating subject, a prolonged struggle with depression, brings closer to home the purely imagined speaker of Cramer’s previous book, Clangings (2012), whose language manifested the “clang associations” of manic and schizophrenic speech. Listen’s poems face what Dickinson called “that White Sustenance/Despair,” offering deeply intimate lyric testimony about a widespread human condition. But, as Kevin Prufer writes, “these poems begin in depression, but their territories are wide, diverse, and very vivid.” The later sections of Listen intensely grapple with the magical thinking that shapes, or misshapes, our deepest attachments; dramatize the anxieties of this especially perilous moment in history; and ultimately pay homage to the fragile consolations of art.

Reminders on upcoming deadline for vote by mail and the end of early voting

Three of Somerville’s polling places have been relocated for the November 3 election to accommodate COVID-19 safety measures. All other polling locations will remain the same as they were for the September primary election. If you plan to vote in person on November 3, don’t forget to double-check your polling location.

They touch on Cramer’s period of depression and his treatment, Robert Lowell and his poem Waking in the Blue, his years directing the MFA program at Lesley University, an upcoming reading at the Blacksmith House, and more.

Due to rising cases of COVID-19 connected to indoor ice hockey, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a new public health order  prohibiting indoor ice rinks and ice skating facilities from operating from October 23, 2020 to November 7, 2020.

Open Positions: One position available
Term: 3 years
Availability: Immediate

 The City of Somerville is currently seeking applicants for one open position on the Somerville Conservation Commission. The Conservation Commission is devoted to preserving and protecting Somerville’s natural environment with an emphasis on wetlands, open space, and community gardens. Members are charged with administering and enforcing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and Rivers Protection Act to protect the city’s wetlands and rivers. In addition, the Commission plays an important role as a sounding board for open space planning and initiatives. The City’s community gardens program, which offers gardening plots to residents, is also overseen by the Commission.

The annual Healey School apple-picking field trip was cancelled because of the pandemic, but Principal Cobbs alerted teachers, families, and students that helpers planned to bring the orchard to the Healey School community instead. Thanks to a generous donation from a Healey family, each Healey School prekindergarten through grade 4 student received a fall treat bag this week.

The MBTA is hosting a virtual public meeting on Thursday, November 5, at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the Porter Square Retaining Wall Repairs project. The meeting will include a project overview, anticipated construction schedule, and Q&A. 

The Somerville Public Schools and the City of Somerville will be jointly hosting a second online Schools Reopening Town Hall on local efforts related to the 2020/2021 school year amid the coronavirus pandemic, including updates on building ventilation efforts and COVID-19 testing plans. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, at 6 p.m. Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole interpretation will be available.