Dye & Bleach House Poetry Series (3rd Thursday of the month)
FREE ADMISSION
(DONATIONS GRACIOUSLY ACCEPTED)
3rd Thursday of the month thru May 2026
Steve Veilleux
Welcome to EC-CHAP’s Dye & Bleach House Poetry Series! The series will be facilitated by Steve Veilleux., published author and Poet Laureate of Thompson, CT. All sessions will take place in the Dye & Bleach House Community Gallery, 156 River Road, Willington, CT.
The show’s format will consist of two open mic segments as well as a segment for the featured artist. Intermission will give audience and poet the chance to meet one another and the opportunity to purchase signed publications.
The open-mic segments will provide the opportunity for audience members to read their own original work. We are planning to allow for two half-hour sessions, one at the beginning of the event, and the other at the end. Readers will be given up to five minutes to present, and we will have a signup sheet.
The Featured Readers for December 18th include John Popielaski and Robert Eugene Perry.
John Popielaski
Born and raised on Long Island, John Popielaski received a BA in English from SUNY-Stony Brook and an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. He worked in a variety of capacities, from lobsterman to furniture mover, from tent erector to lackey for a tropical biologist, before settling into teaching. For the last twenty-five years, he has taught English at Xavier High School in Middletown. He is the author of the novel Attuning (forthcoming from Broken Tribe Press), That Special Something (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions), the novel The Hollow Middle (Unsolicited Press), Isn’t It Romantic? (Texas Review Press), O, Captain (The Ledge Press), A Brief Eureka for the Alchemists of Peace (Antrim House), and Contemporary Martyrdom (Birch Brook Press).
Robert Eugene Perry
Robert Eugene Perry is a native of Massachusetts and the author of six books. His most recent collection of poetry I Dreamt I Was Water was published by Metaphysical Fox Press in 2025. He is a Board Member of the Worcester County Poetry Association and was nominated for the Stanley Kunitz Medal in 2025.
Perry has emceed the monthly Open Mic at Booklovers’ Gourmet in Webster, MA (USA) since May 2017. He has had several poems published in Worcester Magazine, as well as Florence Poetry Society’s Silkworm 16, Poetica Magazine’s Mizmor Anthology, NatureCulture’s Honoring Nature collection, National Beat Poetry Foundation Remembering Jack Kerouac on his 100th Birthday, Beat Style Love Poems and Natural Worlds anthologies, Meat for Tea: The Valley Review, his poem Primal was a finalist in the 2023 Beals Prize for Poetry and his poem Heard Street/ Hadwen Park in Winter was a winner in the 2024 Poems in and out of Places sponsored by the Mapping Worcester in Poetry & the WCPA. His short story In the Company of Trees was published by Wordpeace Journal.
As a metaphysical poet, he finds inspiration in nature and endeavors to draw connections between our higher selves and the natural world.
Writers who are interested in featuring should reach out to Steve Veilleux by email: Veilleuxs50@gmail.com or phone 860-324-4942.
Please join us for EC-CHAP’s D&BH Poetry Series! This program is hosted by the "Eastern Connecticut Center for History, Art, and Performance" (EC-CHAP) and Steve Veilleux. Doors 6:00pm / Presentation 6:30pm. Free Admission - Donations Accepted
We are pleased to offer our exclusive "BYOB&F" model - Bring Your Own Beverage & Food TM (Wine & Beer Only - I.D. Required).
For more information, please call 860-324-4942.