Ira Joe Fisher - Ridgefield’s Poet Laurette - Book Signing/Reading
This lyrical poetry collection offers an evocative exploration of life in Annville and the enduring rhythms of rural America. Through skillful and heartfelt verse, the poet captures the rich texture of small-town existence, painting intimate portraits of its people and their stories. Seasonal changes, particularly the stark beauty of winter's snows and transformations, serve as a recurring motif, evoking both the passage of time and nature's unyielding presence. These poems thrive on quiet moments of observation, transforming the seemingly ordinary into something deeply resonant.
With themes of memory, aging, loss, and the fragile yet profound bonds of human connection, the collection invites readers to reflect on universal experiences. Against a vivid backdrop of trees, birds, creeks, and ever-shifting weather, the poet reveals how nature mirrors and intertwines with our lives. Settings like train stations, cozy bookstores, bustling coffee shops, and the winding streets of the village become more than mere locations-they become touchstones of place and memory.
Balancing wistful nostalgia with sharp, clear-eyed insight, this collection weaves a vivid tapestry of place and time. It celebrates the enduring beauty found in life's quieter moments, offering a profound meditation on the interconnectedness of people, place, and the natural world.
About the poet: Ira’s poetry has appeared in Poetry New York, The Alembic, The New York Quarterly, Entelechy International, Diner, Ridgefield Magazine, The New Hampshire Review, and the anthology Confrontation. He is the author of Remembering Rew, a poetry chapbook, and three full-length collections, Some Holy Weight in the Village Air (2006), Songs From An Earlier Century (2009), and The Creek at the End of the Lawns (2012) and a collection of essays, Wide and Wavy Out of Salamanca (2020).
He presents readings and conducts poetry workshops in New York and throughout New England. Ira has a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire. He has taught communications and broadcast history at New England College and poetry at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, Waterbury, Torrington, Western Connecticut State University, Mercy College, and Founders Hall in Ridgefield, Connecticut.