Your guide to the heart of Litchfield County:
Discover local stories, hidden gems, and must-know events.

The Cornwall Library is delighted to present Traces, Places, and Faces, an intriguing exhibition of photography and watercolor painting by Sari Goodfriend and Eddie Watkins. They are life partners, and exhibit their shared passion for people, nature, and art in this joint show.

From an early age, New Yorker Sari Goodfriend happily spent her childhood summers in Cornwall with her sister Jenny and her art dealer parents, Carol and Jim. For a few years after college she lived in East Cornwall, photographing for local newspapers from New Milford to Salisbury. Todd Piker (of Cornwall Bridge Pottery) provided her a first opportunity to exhibit (and sell!) her personal photos in a show he curated at the Silo Gallery in New Milford.

Moving back to New York, Sari has since worked as a commercial photographer, shooting assignments for corporations, magazines, non-profits, universities, and private individuals. She now does mostly portraits and events, but her youthful Cornwall summers are apparent in the landscape and nature-inspired images she is exhibiting at the library. Her part of the show also features some abstract photographs inspired by what she terms “bleak winter beauty” and “the wild, chaotic, post-tornado woods”. Many of her photographs are in frames that once held old master prints from her parents’ art dealership, C&J Goodfriend, Drawings and Prints.

Eddie Watkins is from Pittsburgh. After four years in the Navy stationed in Cuba and Newfoundland as a proud member of the Seabees (Construction Battalion), he moved to New York City and became a photographer of fine artwork. His clientele includes museums such as The Frick Collection, The Museum of Arts and Design, private art dealers, well known artists, and collectors. He also photographed the permanent collection of The Art Students League.

Eddie has been the drummer for many rock and blues bands, a sideline that provides many subjects for his photography.

The Cornwall Library
30 Pine Street
Cornwall, CT 06753

Events

Acclaimed poet Phillis Levin will give a poetry workshop entitled The Second Person, open to writers and readers, on April 27 at 12 PM at the Cornwall Library. This complements her reading the previous evening from her latest collection, An Anthology of Rain (separate registration required).

Enrollment is limited to 12 students, and registration on the website (see link below) is required. Writers and readers are welcome. There is a materials fee of $25 (scholarships are available).

In this workshop students will explore the power of direct address in poetry. The act of speaking to (rather than of or about) a person, a thing, a place, or an idea opens us to a real or imagined Other—and to a new engagement with language. Unfamiliar elements within oneself are called forth and previously untapped possibilities of diction, tone, and style emerge in the writing process.

Workshop members will receive a packet of contemporary poems that exemplify ways of deploying direct address. Through in-class exercises, you will experiment with (and experience) the vital charge of this ancient rhetorical strategy. Feel free to bring a poem you have already composed, especially one that’s ready to be transformed.

Levin’s poems have been published in The Atlantic, The Nation, The New Republic, The New Criterion, The New Yorker, Paris Review, and many other places.

She previously taught creative writing at The University of Maryland, NYU, and the 92nd Street Y, and is now Poet-in-Residence and Professor of English emerita at Hofstra.

The Cornwall Library
30 Pine Street
Cornwall, CT 06753

Events

Traces, Places, and Faces: Works on Paper by Sari Goodfriend and Eddie
Watkins
Free
April 19 – June 7;
Artists’ Reception on Saturday, April 19, 5–7 PM; Registration on library website requested for reception.

The Cornwall Library
30 Pine St, Cornwall, CT 06753

Art Exhibitions

Tue – 10-5 / Wed – 12-7 / Thu – 12-5 / Fri – 12-6 / Sat – 10-2 / Sun 12-3
Closed Mondays

Join us for ASAP!’s Youth Ensemble Concert, a unique chance to support talented young musicians from Northwest CT as they share their hard work and love for music. This concert showcases the Youth Ensemble program, which brings together a community of young musicians to improve their skills and innovate together. By attending the concert, you’ll celebrate their accomplishments and encourage them to keep pursuing their musical dreams. Bring your friends and family for an evening full of energy, passion, and exceptional talent!

When: Thursday, May 1 – 7:00-8:00 pm
Cost: Free, pre-registration required

The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm
44 Upland Rd, New Milford, CT 06776
https://asapct.org/project/youth-ensemble-concert/

Acclaimed poet Phillis Levin will read from her new book, An Anthology of Rain, the sixth of her published collections, on April 26, 5–7 PM at The Cornwall Library. A book signing follows; admission is free, and refreshments with be served.

Registration is required on the library website given below.

Phillis Levin’s work recently inspired the following salute from Pulitzer Prize winning American poet and essayist Vijay Seshadri:

“Phillis Levin’s poetry has been characterized over the past thirty years by an astonishingly consistent excellence. She has written…poems that are precise, feeling-full and piercing, elegant, informed and aware of the world, and rich in the kind of profound play that is a hallmark of real art.”

Perhaps Seshardi was thinking of lines like the following when he wrote that tribute:

There is a needle in the sky
Being threaded now, but the thread is blue:
That is why you cannot see it
Threading its way. When all is said and done
It will keep sewing…

From “A Needle in the Sky”, by Phillis Levin

Note that Ms. Levin will also give a poetry workshop, open to writers and readers, at the library on the following day, Sunday April 27. Registration on the library website is required and limited.

Levin’s poems have appeared in well-known publications such as The Atlantic, Kenyon Review, The New Yorker, Paris Review, Plume, and The Yale Review.

A Guggenheim Fellow, Levin’s many honors include a Fulbright Scholar Award and fellowships from the Trust of Amy Lowell and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, Levin taught creative writing at The University of Maryland, NYU, and the 92nd Street Y. She is now Poet-in-Residence and Professor of English emerita at Hofstra.

She lives with her husband in New York City and West Cornwall, Connecticut.

The Cornwall Library
30 Pine Street
Cornwall, CT 06753
https://cornwalllibrary.org/events/

ASAP!’s annual fundraiser is not only a night of celebration but a crucial source of funding for the arts-infused educational programming we provide to youth in our community. Your participation in this extraordinary evening of art and live performances directly supports a world where young people’s passion for learning is ignited.

Join us to honor Founder JoAnne Torti’s remarkable 26-year legacy and welcome our new Executive Director, Ali Psomas. Let’s celebrate the rich history and exciting future of ASAP! with host Ellen McCourt!

Families are welcome. We look forward to celebrating with you!

When: 5:30-8:00 pm
Attire: Casual cocktail
Tickets: $125-$500

Program
5:30-6:00 pm – Check-in, snacks, and open bar

6:00-7:00 pm – ASAP! Youth Ensemble and Celebration of Young Writers performances

7:00-8:00 pm – Food, open bar, and Celebration of Young Photographers exhibition

Spring Hill Vineyards
292 Bee Brook Road, New Preston, CT 06777
https://asapct.org/project/asap-celebrates/

As part of Washington’s celebration of National Poetry Month, “For The Love of Poetry”, The Hickory Stick Bookshop will be hosting a poetry reading on Thursday April 24th at 5.00 pm, in the bookstore. The poets who will be reading are Cheryl Della Pelle, Amanda McGrew, and Davyne Verstandig.

ABOUT OUR “POETRIO”

Cheryl Della Pelle is an educator, meditation instructor and Master Gardener. She owns and operates Della Pelle Gardening, where she spends as much time outdoors as possible. She founded Common Thread, a poetry performance group, producing several evenings of poetry, dance and music throughout the year. Her poems have been published in Arkenstone, The Connecticut River Review, Hobo Jungle and other journals. As a member of the Monday Poets, she has been included in their self-titled anthology, The Monday Poets. Down To The Waters is her first book of poems published by Antrim House Books.

Amanda McGrew lives in northwestern Connecticut where she has worked for many years teaching young children and exploring aspects of the creative life, drawing inspiration from the natural world around her. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her work can be seen in Crosswinds Poetry Journal and The Connecticut River Review. She is currently working on her first collection of poems.

Davyne Verstandig is professor emerita in English and Creative Writing UCONN for 25 years. She was UConn’s Director of the Litchfield County Writers Project from 2004-2012. She is a writing consultant giving writing workshops throughout New England, poet laureate emerita of Washington, CT. and a Justice of the Peace. Her poetry can be found in many anthologies including Waking Up to the Earth, Connecticut
Poets in a Time of Global Climate Crisis, and Sex and Sexuality in a Feminist World.

This event is free and open to the public – we hope you can join us.

The Hickory Stick Bookshop
2 Green Hill Rd
Washington Depot
CT 06794

Saturday, May 3, 2025
10:00 AM – 1:30 PM

Presented by Marcie Swift

On this World Labyrinth Day, join Marcie Swift to immerse yourself in her powerfully healing harp notes, guided imagery, and enchanting story-telling. Walk in our beautiful labyrinth to the harp’s healing vibrations, quiet your mind, recover your balance, and release worry and pain. Allow Marcie’s exquisite notes to fill you with the wonder and delight of the Divine’s embrace.

COST | $60, lunch is included

Wisdom House Retreat & Conference Center
229 E Litchfield Rd
Litchfield, CT 06759
https://www.wisdomhouse.org/program-calendar/labyrinth-day

Wednesday, April 23, 2025
9:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Presented by Susan Lovallo

Join us for a day of Tops Tens for getting and staying organized. We will cover the Top 10 Best Organizing Products, Top 10 Best Tips for Letting Go, the Top 10 Time Management Ideas plus tips for tackling the biggest organizing projects. Presented by Susan Lovallo, Certified Professional Organizer, with 25 years in the organizing profession.

COST | $50, lunch is included

Wisdom House Retreat & Conference Center
229 E Litchfield Rd
Litchfield, CT 06759
https://www.wisdomhouse.org/program-calendar/top-10s

Saturday, May 31, 2025
9:30 AM – 3:00 PM

Presented by Steven Parlato

In conjunction with an exhibition of his 16-piece collage series, “They Are Not Disposable,” artist/author and college professor Steven Parlato will offer a program (including audience Q&A) discussing his process and inspiration in creating the series, which depicts 16 Black Americans whose lives were stolen due to racial violence. Part tribute, part call to action, the presentation, featuring Parlato’s poetry honoring those lost, will offer an opportunity for community conversation. If time allows, attendees will be encouraged to write their own poem inspired by an issue–for example, social justice, or the climate crisis–of particular personal relevance.

COST | $75, lunch is included

Wisdom House Retreat & Conference Center
229 E Litchfield Rd
Litchfield, CT 06759
https://www.wisdomhouse.org/program-calendar/art-for-change