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Harvard Square Poetry Stroll

Illustration of Harvard Square building from above, with snowflakes falling

Illustration by Grace Coffey (NPS)

Riding upon the Goat, with snow-white hair,
I come, the last of all. This crown of mine
Is of the holly; in my hand I bear
The thyrsus, tipped with fragrant cones of pine.
I celebrate the birth of the Divine,
And the return of the Saturnian reign;--
My songs are carols sung at every shrine.
Proclaiming "Peace on earth, good will to men."

DECEMBER from The Poet's Calendar by Henry Longfellow

Winter, you are
Beautifully not bitter
But beaming with ice
You, and I are one

From Cataclysm of Snowfall by Justice JI Brooks

2022 Harvard Square Holiday Poetry Stroll

December 10, 2022-January 1, 2023

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site is excited to announce the third annual Harvard Square Holiday Poetry Stroll in partnership with Mass Poetry and the Harvard Square Business Association. Short works by local poets will be on view at outdoor locations around the Square. Many of this year's poems were selected in conjunction with Mass Poetry's The Hard Work of Hope series, which featured "poems from our community that offer moments of reprieve and inspiration in these difficult and confusing times."

We invite you to enjoy the self-guided outdoor Holiday Poetry Stroll with your friends or loved ones. There is no designated start or end point for this experience. This year's poems and locations, and the opportunity to create your own poetry, are listed on this page.

2022 Harvard Square Holiday Poetry Stroll Map


Complete Poem Listing

Cataclysm of Snowfall

By Justice JI Brooks
Featured at Brattle Plaza Giving Tree (In front of 27-31 Brattle St.)

This year's stroll highlights the work of Cambridge youth poet Justice Brooks alongside over a dozen other remarkable local poets.

When you find the time to let it go, breathe it in
When you find the time for mistletoe, hold them close
When you find the time for hot cocoa, remember the mellows

DECEMBER from The Poet's Calendar

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1882)
Featured at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS (105 Brattle Street)

Riding upon the Goat, with snow-white hair,

Click here to continue reading The Poet's Calendar.

Summer 2021 Cicadas

By Ellen Steinbaum
Featured at 94 Brattle Street (private residence)

They’re my last cicadas, though who can be sure,

Click here to continue reading Summer 2021 Cicadas.

Oh, my brown boy

By Sunayana Kachroo
Featured at American Repertory Theater ( 64 Brattle St.)

You tear up crooning the star-spangled banner

Click here to continue reading Oh, my brown boy

Pseudo-Haiku for Immigrant Haters

By Totongi
Featured at Cambridge Center for Adult Education (42 Brattle St.)

You say Go Home! I say Go Home Too!

Necessity

By Roselyn Kubek
Featured at Cambridge Center for Adult Education Blacksmith's House (56 Brattle St.)

January fills us so darkly

Click here to continue reading Necessity

notes on: acts of service

By Anthony Febo
Featured at Coyneworks Art Gallery Pop Up (34 JFK St.)

and so
i propose to you to ponder this

Click here to continue reading notes on: acts of service

Only

By Danielle Legros Georges
Featured at Gallery 24/7 (Mount Auburn & Holyoke St.)

Nature hides
the most beautiful

Click here to continue reading Only

the US is on the brink of war and i’ve just taken a chem test

By Ezana Demissie
Featured at the Democracy Center (45 Mount Auburn St.)

sometimes i crave the quiet space

Click here to continue reading the US is on the brink of war and i’ve just taken a chem test

Permabeauty in the Boston Athenæum

By Andie Sheridan
Featured at Grolier Poetry Book Shop (6 Plympton St.)

In ash and thorn

Click here to continue reading Permabeauty in the Boston Athenæum

The Idea of Eleanor

By William Tilleczek
Featured at Felix Shoe Repair (1304 Massachusetts Avenue)

Hail, corner-rounder and surprise

Click here to continue reading The Idea of Eleanor

Haloed

By Marjorie Thomsen
Featured at the Smoke Shop BBQ (8 Holyoke St.)

Galileo would be stunned: Jupiter’s 79

Click here to continue reading Hope

Hope

By Ingrid Goff-Maidoff
Featured at Cambridge Trust (1336 Massachusetts Avenue)

I hung hope out with the laundry

Click here to continue reading Hope

sipèstisyon

By Mckendy Fils-Aimé
Featured at Harvard Coop (1400 Massachusetts Ave.)

in an effort to encourage healthy eating

Click here to continue reading sipèstisyon

The Sky's Reflection

By Amy Manion

Featured at Otto Pizza (1432 Massachusetts Ave)

When will I let myself outside?

Click here to continue reading The Sky's Reflection.

Love is a Battlefield, Literally, Because the Planet is on Fire

By Margot Douaihy
Featured at First Parish in Cambridge (3 Church Street)

& I’m too in love with this world & its creatures,

Click here to continue reading Love is a Battlefield, Literally, Because the Planet is on Fire.

Before the Ashes

By Christina Pierre Louis
Featured at Christ Church Cambridge (0 Garden Street)

Before your body became ashes

Click here to continue reading Before the Ashes.

Offering

By Jean Dany Joachim

Featured at First Church Cambridge (11 Garden Street)

I am the poem without words;

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Last updated: December 15, 2022