An evening of Poetry and Music from "The Holler"
On Tuesday, June 30, the A Sense of Place series continued with its second event, An Evening of Poetry and Music from “The Holler.” It featured Alstead artists Ellen Chase and Randy Miller. The evening alternated between Ellen reading her poems from her latest collection, A Cow Named Joy, (as well as a few poems written by her mother, Edith Chase, written in and about Mill Hollow), and Randy playing old fiddle tunes that relate to milling. Randy also performed one of his own compositions, Mill Hollow Reel.
About Ellen Chase: Ellen grew up in Alstead, then lived in various other parts of the country for 50 years before returning in 2007. She has a BFA in illustration from the Mass College of Art and MFA from Syracuse University, and has had several solo shows of her paintings. Her occupations have included potter, carpenter, scientific illustrator, software designer, and most recently, teacher of poetry courses through the CALL program at Keene State College. She considers her study of illustration to be a good foundation for poetry writing, as both arts depend on sensory information, metaphor, and imagery to create an emotional effect.
About Randy Miller: Randy comes from a musical family - he and his three siblings all took music lessons while growing up. He has played fiddle and piano at contra dances and Irish sessions nation-wide for more than 40 years and has recorded six albums of traditional New England and Irish fiddle music. Randy co-hosts several regular Irish music sessions in Hanover, Newport, and Peterborough, and is the dance fiddler for The Inn at East Hill Farm. Randy moved to Mill Hollow in the spring of 1973, renting “The Corn Crib” from Mary Burroughs. In 1975 he was commissioned by author Heman Chase to make several wood engravings for Heman's book, More Than Land.
You can watch the recording of the event on our YouTube Channel or click below.
This video and the virtual programming event were made possible by a grant from New Hampshire Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
