Politics and poetry — both can make you stop and think and look at your world through someone else’s eyes. The West Windsor Arts Council will shake up your sensibilities this spring with a film screening and a pair of poetry events in April.
On Saturday, April 10, there is a screening of “Lemon Tree,” also known as “Etz Limon” at the West Windsor Library. The 2008 film is the first serving in the 2010 West Windsor Film Series “Controversies and Contradictions.” A multi-layered narrative of a Palestinian widow’s struggle to preserve her lemon grove evokes the hopes and hopelessness of the geopolitical conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The film, directed by Eran Riklis, also delves into patriarchal attitudes and how they influence outcomes in love and conflict.
A post film discussion will be facilitated by Beth Baron, professor and co-director of the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center, CUNY, and an editor of the International Journal of Middle East Studies. She has written several books, including “Egypt as a Woman: Nationalism, Gender, and Politics” in 2005, and “The Women’s Awakening in Egypt: Culture, Society, and the Press” in 1994.
On Sunday, April 18, a “Spring Awakening Poetry Workshop” will be held at Grover’s Mill Coffeehouse, also in West Windsor. Diane Lockward, a former high school teacher and nominee of several Pushcart Prizes, is the featured speaker. She is a poet-in-schools for the NJ State Council of the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Her contemplation of tastes, textures, and poems on food and relationships were published in her 2006 collection, “What Feeds Us,” for which she received the Quentin R. Howard Poetry Prize. Her most recent publication, “Temptation by Water,” will be released this year. $20.
Later in the day, “Spring Awakening Poetry Reading and Open Mic” will be led by Lockward and Jake Willard-Crist, at West Windsor Library. Willard-Crist, poet-in-residence at the Presbyterian Church, Lawrenceville, finds humanity in cows and twittering birds and spirituality in every day things. He has been published in Shenandoah, Rattle, Pebble Lake Review, and Broken Bridge Review. Readings will be followed by an open mic for all poets eager to share their work.
Register for all events at www.westwindsorarts.org.
— Lynn Miller
Film Series: Controversies and Contradictions, West Windsor Arts Council, West Windsor Library, North Post Road, West Windsor. Saturday, April 10, 7:30 p.m. Screening of “Lemon Tree,” a 2008 Israeli film, followed by discussion and refreshments. Free. 609-919-1982.
Spring Awakening Poetry Workshop, West Windsor Arts Council, Grover’s Mill Coffee, 295 Princeton-Hightstown Road, West Windsor. Sunday, April 18, 12:30 to 2 p.m. Workshop presented by poet Diane Lockward. Register. $20. 609-919-1982.
Spring Awakening Poetry Reading and Open Mic, West Windsor Arts Council, West Windsor Library, 333 North Post Road, West Windsor. Sunday, April 18, 3 to 5 p.m. Readings presented by poet Diane Lockward and Jake Willard-Crist. Free. 609-919-1982.
