Saturday, February 21 at 12 p.m.
Next Saturday, I’ll be reading at one of my favorite spaces in town, the beloved Purple Couch Bookshop.
This reading feels especially meaningful.
On February 23, the Select Board will vote to appoint North Andover’s next Poet Laureate. If all goes as expected, I’ll officially step into that role shortly after. Until then, I suppose the most accurate title is one I’ve grown rather fond of:
Poet Laureate in Waiting.
There’s something beautiful about that phrase. It holds both certainty and humility. The work has already begun in classrooms, in bookstores, in conversations, in the quiet noticing of swallows and sidewalks and stories, but the official affirmation is still on its way.
This reading feels like a threshold moment. A pause before the gavel. A breath before the oath.
At Purple Couch, I’ll be sharing poems that explore presence, belonging, emotional courage, and the sacred threads that run through everyday life. Some are tender. Some are fierce. All of them are rooted in the belief that poetry is not decoration. It is connection.
Whether you’ve followed my work for years or you’re simply curious about what it means to have a Poet Laureate in our town, I would love to see you there.
Let’s gather in the place where words live.
Saturday, February 21 at 12 p.m.
Purple Couch Bookstore
North Andover
Come sit. Come listen. Come witness what’s unfolding.
With gratitude,
Christa April Lamb
Poet Laureate in Waiting