The Gathered Poems

<p>This poetry collection came from a Free Speech project called Poetry for the People. Created by poets Lisa E Baldwin and Seth Kaplan in late January 2025 Poetry for the People organized and facilitated a series of six gatherings of local poets and poetry lovers each with a program of 10 or so local poets reading their own work followed by an open mic. The stated intentions of the Poetry for the People gatherings were defending our democracy building community and bolstering hope. And poetry is the best tool for this work. </p><p>Our gatherings took place in six different venues spread across two rural counties in southwest Oregon three river valleys two complete seasons with one gathering each month March through August. </p>