Poetry On The Patio With Greek Mythology Poet April 23

The Silas Bronson Library will host poet and storyteller, Susan A. Katz of Washington, Connecticut, during a free Poetry Reading & Author Talk on her recently-published book, “The Limits of Light”, on Saturday, April 23 at 12:00 PM, outside on the library’s patio. The Silas Bronson Library is located at 267 Grand Street in Waterbury. Face masks will be optional, preregistration is requested.

Published by Austin Macauley Publishers in August 2021, “The Limits of Light” features a collection of narrative poems that explores the tales of Greek Mythology and their contemporary messages. Katz commented, “The self-proclaimed gods, ostensibly divine beings were people just like us. We can easily see parallels between the triumphs and disasters of the ancient Greek gods, and today's power-mongers in modern civilization. It is almost as if these ancient stories foretold the future.”

From Apollo, who was thwarted in love, to Scylla, who betrays her father for lust, to Icarus who strives to fly to the sun, only to fall to his death… the tales of the gods unfold in Katz’s compelling and dramatic narrative poetry.

A nationally and internationally published poet, Katz's works have appeared in numerous anthologies, journals, and literary magazines. With the publication of “The Limits of Light”, she will have published four books of poetry and co-authored two textbooks with a music specialist, Judith A. Thomas, espousing the need to incorporate the arts into schools’ curricula.

For more than 30 years, Katz has worked for The New York State Poets in Public Service, and then, with music/movement specialist, Judith A. Thomas and conducted student/teacher poetry workshops in the United States and Canada. Her work has been cited as “…precise imagery, directness, and honesty…outspokenly erotic and sensual, evoking a powerful sense of physical passion and deeply felt experiences.” – Robert Wilson, Poetry Editor, Negative Capability. 

Katz has been actively writing and publishing poetry for more than 50 years. She finds inspiration for her poems in the intricacies, and intimacies, of life and family, the hazards of living, and the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Her poems reveal her intense passion for the living quality of language. Katz believes that “Poetry is the need to write beyond the limits of choice; the freedom to see beyond the limits of light.”

“The Limits of Light” includes poems such as “The Rape of Persephone”; "Of Beauty Born" (Medusa); "To Phaeton" (Phaeton & Apollo); "By What Name Love"; "What Matters" (Narcissus & Echo); "Hazard of the Heart" (Zeus); and "The Gift" (In the End).

Copies of “The Limits of Light” will be available for purchase at the April 23 event. The book is also available here and in select bookstores. Susan A. Katz’s works are on her website here.

The Silas Bronson Library is the public library of the City of Waterbury. Located at 267 Grand Street, the Library is open Mondays through Thursdays, 9 am to 8 pm; Fridays, 9 am to 5 pm; and Saturdays from Labor Day to the weekend before Memorial Day, 9 am to 4:45 pm. To learn more, visit www.bronsonlibrary.org.

Masks will be optional for the outdoor April 23 event, and in the event of inclement weather, the event will be on Saturday, April 30 at 12:00 noon. Space will be limited due to social distancing requirements. To preregister for the event, call the Silas Bronson Library at 203-574-8200, or visit www.bronsonlibrary.org. For information on Susan A. Katz, visit https://poetladykatz.com.