New book of poetry launched by retired Barlow teacher

 

Poet Jack Powers has announced the publication of his second book of poetry, Still Love. He is A fellow of the Connecticut Writing Project, the winner of several prestigious poetry contests and poetry prizes, and was named Poet of the Year by the New England Association of Teachers of English. A special education and English teacher at Joel Barlow High School for 38 years, he is also the author of the poetry collection Everybody’s Vaguely Familiar.

He will be presenting readings of his work in several locations in the upcoming months. These include April 22 at the Wilton Writers Salon; May 14 online with the FUMFA reading series, May 19 at Eco Evolution, 135 Washington St. in South Norwalk; June 4 at the Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road in Fairfield; and June 24 at the Norwalk Art Festival.

Powers, who retired from Joel Barlow High School in 2019, was also co-director of Barlow’s Writing Center. While teaching, he continued to explore many avenues of writing, both with his students and on his own, publishing many essays and poems. He has also recently completed his first novel.

He studied writing at Bard’s Institute of Writing and Thinking, Fairfield University, Sarah Lawrence College and the Hudson Valley Writers Center, and earned three master’s degrees in fiction writing, poetry and special education.

Still Love, a book of what Powers calls “broken sonnets,” traces the everyday lives of the characters in his poems through many of life’s stages.

“With intelligence, wit, and most of all, compassion these love poems … are full of sentiment without being sentimental,” commented poet Jennifer Franklin, author of If Some God Shakes Your House.

Still Love is available here and at local bookstores.