Poetry Reading at Bear & Bee Bookshop

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Boiler House Poets Collective celebrates its annual residency with a reading at the Bear & Bee Bookshop, 28 North Holden Street in North Adams at 7 PM on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

The Boiler House Poets Collective will be in residence on the MASS MoCA campus from Oct. 7-13, an annual event since 2015. Ten poets spend their studio time creating new work, honing works in progress, and collaborating with their fellow artists in residence. Individually and collectively, they explore creating work including ekphrastic poetry inspired by museum installations, exquisite corpse poems, cleave poems, and video poems.

"MASS MoCA's art and the Berkshires' beauty, coupled with the support of my fellow poets, have been central to my work, resulting in a chapbook and a full-length poetry collection," said Joanne Corey, who is one of the original members of the Collective.

Wendy Stewart, who joined the Collective in 2022 added, "Spending a week dwelling in art, practicing art, talking with artists, sharing art: what could be better? The Boiler House Poets Collective Residency at MASS MoCA is a bright spot in my year."

This will be the Collective's second year reading at Bear & Bee Bookshop. The event is free (and there will be light refreshments). For more information, visit the websites of The Boiler House Poets Collective and The Bear and Bee Bookshop.

Clarksburg Students Write in Support of Rural School Aid

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
07:25AM / Sunday, March 15, 2026

Mason Langenback calculated that Clarksburg would get almost $1 million if the $60 million was allocated equally.

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Eighth-graders at Clarksburg School took a lesson in civic advocacy this week, researching school funding and writing letters to Beacon Hill that call for fully funding rural school aid. 

 

The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.

 

"They all address the main issue, the funding for rural schools, and how there's a gap, and there's the $4 million gap this year, and then it's about the $40 million next year, and that rural schools need that equitable funding," said social studies teacher Mark Karhan.

 

A rural schools report in 2022 found smaller school districts cost from nearly 17 percent to 23 percent more to operate, and recommended "at least" $60 million be appropriated annually for rural school aid. 

 

Gov. Maura Healey has filed for more Chapter 70 school aid, but that often is little help to small rural schools with declining or static enrollment. For fiscal 2027, she's budgeted $20 million for rural schools, up from around $13 million this year but still far below the hoped for $60 million. 

 

Karhan said the class was broken into four groups and the students were provided a submission letter from Rural Schools Advocacy. The students used the first paragraph, which laid out the funding facts, and then did research and wrote their own letters. 

 

They will submit those with a school picture to the governor.