Whiting Library given gifts of poetry, music

A little bit more musicality has come to the Whiting Library with donations from area residents: one, a gift of piano tuning and the other of a book of locally created poetry.

The book, Poetry Night, Twenty-five Years, is a compilation of a quarter of a century of poems written by a group of friends for their annual Poetry Night, a pot luck gathering that began in Bill and Lynne Reed’s back yard in Grafton, then moved to behind Misty Valley Books, when the Reeds bought the bookstore.

Each year, the Reeds select a one-word theme, and the invitees (over 70 all told), mostly from several southern Vermont towns but also from farther away, come to the event armed with a poem of their own composition on the subject, which they read from a throne surrounded by torches, sculptures, oriental rugs and, sometimes, hecklers – all in good fun.

The book, with biographies of the poets, an essay about the event by Reed, and color photos of several Poetry Nights, is available to readers at the library.

Also donated to the library was a much-needed repair of the Whiting Library’s piano, a 1950s Story and Clark upright given to the institution more than 15 years ago.

Don Dalton of Smokeshire Piano Service of Andover volunteered his service. After the piano was moved to the main floor in more favorable heat and light where he began a thorough assessment of its needs.

Dalton had turned to piano tuning in 2017 because he was having trouble finding someone to tune his grand piano. He began formal training as a piano technician first at the Randy Potter School of Piano Technology, switching his studies to the Piano Technicians Academy.

Dalton is an associate member of the Piano Technicians Guild. 

Now that the piano is in fine shape, Tanzer suggests that anyone who would like to play it should come into the library and “favor us with a song.”

Whiting Library is located at 117 Main St. in Chester. It is opened from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. For more information call 802-875-2277.