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Book Review by Off the Shelf Correspondent Ed Meek

Charles Simic is now 81 years old. He’s been a force in the world of poetry for many years. He has penned forty books of poetry. He writes articles about poetry for The New York Review of Books. He was a Poetry Editor for The Paris Review, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990, and was the recipient of a MacArthur Grant. His poetry is somewhat enigmatic. His poems are generally short, combining colloquial language, observed details and surrealism. Here’s an early poem that has stuck with me. It’s called Fear:

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Sharon Paradiso teaches English and gender studies at Endicott College. Her work has appeared in The Faulkner Journal, Modern Language Studies, and English Language Notes. Lately, she’s been inspired by feathers on the ground in unusual places.

Somerville voters headed to the polls today to cast ballots for Mayor and Ward 3 School Committee in a preliminary election, which is similar to a primary election.

Voters narrowed down both the mayoral and the Ward 3 School Committee candidates to two candidates each. This was a nonpartisan preliminary and all voters were permitted to vote for any candidate running for either office.

Arrests:
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Stacy Powell,  September 3, 12:53 a.m., arrested at Cutter Ave. on a charge of operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.

Jeffrey Lefoy,  Quincy, September 3, 1:18 a.m., arrested at Moreland St. on a charge of receiving a stolen motor vehicle.

L-R standing: Jim Bowdring, Bob Nissenbaum, Jack Connolly, Darcie DeLuca, Dawn Austin, Tom Austin, Bill Lemos, Gene Brune, Paul Zimmerman; L-R front: Chairperson Haley Adams, David Blumsack, Patricia Ng.

On August 20, the Somerville Kiwanis Club wrapped up the second successful year of a month-long drive to collect school supplies for local children who are most in need. The drive was officially closed when 200+ backpacks stuffed with school supplies were dropped off at two Somerville Schools.

Location update:

The City of Somerville and the Somerville City Council Committee on Public Health Public Safety invite all interested community members to attend and speak at a co-hosted Public Hearing on Airplane Noise.  The Hearing will take place on Wednesday, September 18,  in the auditorium of Somerville High School, 81 Highland Ave.

Jeanne Leyden is an RN and director of Adult Family Care, a non-profit program at Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services that helps people receive in-home care across the Greater Boston, North Shore, and Merrimack Valley areas. For more information, visit adultfamilycare.org or call 617-628-2601.

By Jeanne Leyden

Caring for a loved one who requires daily assistance can be challenging. Medicaid recognizes this by providing great programs designed to support family caregivers. Unfortunately, some of those programs are not available for caregiver spouses here in Massachusetts.

A proposal known as S28 seeks to change that. Properly titled an Act Allowing Spouses to Serve as Caregivers, S28 would allow spouses to receive support from home and community-based services funded by MassHealth, the Commonwealth’s Medicaid program. Fifteen other states already allow similar measures, and we would like Massachusetts to join that list.

General: 1st Prize Lucy Borodkin, 27 Milton St.

Congratulations to the winners of the Somerville Garden Club’s Greening Somerville Garden Contest. On Wednesday, August 14, Mayor Joseph Curtatone presented the prizes for each category at Tufts Administration Building, Tufts University.

On September 15, Somerville resident Lexi Beckwith (EF Educational Tours Production Coordinator) and many others will enjoy a bike ride down car-free Storrow Drive and across the Emerald Necklace, exploring Boston’s vibrant neighborhoods by bike, and all for a good cause in Boston’s 15th Annual Hub on Wheels Citywide Ride.