At a special December 10th Tap Talks we’ll take a literary hike through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and celebrate its biodiversity and staggering beauty.

Charles Malone and Carrie George, editors of Light Enters the Grove, a newly published collection of works by Northeastern Ohio poets, will tell us how this monumental project came to be. They’ll also share poems they and others contributed to this anthology.

Light Enters the Grove collects 80 poems, each of which reflects its author’s unique connection to a living organism found within the park–ranging from white-tailed deer to brown bats and from Japanese honeysuckle to bloodroot. Additionally, each poem is paired with an artistic depiction of the poem’s subject that reinforces the rich relationship between artists and the natural world.

Editors Charles Malone, Carrie George, and Jason Harris provide a stirring introduction to this emotional journey through the park. Renowned writers featured in the volume include Kari Gunter-Seymour, poet laureate of Ohio, and Deborah Fleming, whose book Resurrection of the Wild won the 2020 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay.

This collection, published as part of the Wick Poetry Center’s 40th anniversary celebration, invites readers to look further into their own experiences and memories of the park, to reflect on their relationships to its species, and to recognize the importance of preserving the lives and habitats of our nonhuman neighbors.

Tap Talks was initiated by Don Schjeldahl, the creator of North Water Brewing, as a way to bring the community together for conversation about life in Kent, Kent’s history, and issues of the day that impact us all. It’s also a chance to enjoy an array of locally-brewed artisan ales and beers. Tap Talks are sponsored by Kent Historical Society and scheduled monthly at 7 pm at North Water Brewing, 101 Crain Avenue in Kent.

Those who attend will have an opportunity to meet the poets and purchase copies of Light Enters the Grove – great for holiday giving!