Vermont is a state for poets. Whether it’s Frost or Kinnell, Carruth or Paley, poets speak to us whenever we walk across a pasture, split wood, or visit a friend in mud time. Perhaps that’s why the Poetry Out Loud Program is so popular in Vermont.

This year, Poetry Out Loud is bigger than ever. 43 schools have registered, up by four from last year's high of 39. Over the next three months, schools will hold their own competitions. The most compelling and accurate reciters will be declared winners and will then compete in our statewide finalist contest.

Find the details and schedule on the Vermont Poetry Out Loud page.

You're invited to stop by and enjoy the newest exhibit in the Spotlight Gallery, featuring art work by Alexis Kyriak. In her words, "The deep need to paint intimates something that will greatly fulfill my journey. Psychology, aesthetics, and the phenomenon of painting itself, metaphysics, and physics, are all guiding me to the point of light I am going toward."

The Spotlight Gallery is open to the public Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and is located in the corridor and conference room of our offices at 136 State Street in Montpelier. Read more about the exhibit here.

Vermont can be so proud of this year's Arts Awards recipients. On October 1, the Arts Council travelled to the Brandon Town Hall to celebrate the accomplishments of four fine Vermonters: folk artist Warren Kimble received the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, presented by Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott; writer Jay Parini of Middlebury received the Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts; and Bruce Bouchard of Middletown Springs and Carol Driscoll of Rutland each received an Arthur Williams Award for Meritorious Service in the Arts. Read more about the evening, look at pictures, and watch a video here.

Join the Vermont Public Radio project, "Art Hounds!"
Art Hounds creates the opportunity for you to rave about each others' work on the radio and shine a light on the arts scene in your community. All you have to do is click here and let VPR know about a concert, performance, exhibit or event that you want to rave about and recommend. No event is too small or too large to be considered. It can be happening this week, this month or all season - in Vermont, the Upper Valley, New York or Quebec.

The only stipulation is that it can't be your own work or work you're professionally, financially or personally associated with in any way. Use this form to tell VPR who you are and post your recommendation. It can be an art exhibit, a local theater production, a dance performance, CD release or a festival. And you can call the VPR Art Hounds hotline at (802) 778-9585 to record your suggestions, too! Each week, VPR will select nominations to be recorded for air.

Hear Art Hounds on Thursday afternoon at 4:50 as part of VPR's weekly arts segment and again on Friday mornings at 7:55, during "Morning Edition." You can also find the episode information each week at VPR.net.
 

Publicize your events by listing them in the Vermont Arts Calendar. The Vermont Arts Calendar is not only a FREE way of reaching thousands of people, but it also gets your events distributed to dozens of publications in the Northeast and throughout the country. To get the broadest exposure for your event you should list no later than six weeks before the event. Click here for more information about the Arts Calendar, or to enter your event.

Have you checked out our online classifieds recently?  We like to think of it as a sort of a "craigslist" for the arts in Vermont.  You can both search and list information on jobs, calls to artists and workshops.  There's a section for materials available or wanted, and another for studio space.  The listings are always changing so check it out today.