Celebration of Late Poet's Life is April 9

Friends and family of Kent's "poet laureate," Merle Mollenkopf, will celebrate the late poet's life on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Kent Stage.

"If you happen to have a poem, song, or 'Merle' story that you'd like to share that night please feel free to do so," Mollenkopf's son, Mark, wrote on a Facebook memorial page for Mollenkopf. "We won't have too much of a formal schedule for the night, but if you know for sure that you'd want to share something, please let us know so we can make the time available."

Mollenkopf, 78, died in February after battling esophegeal cancer.

"He was an encyclopedia of poems," fellow Kent poet Maj Ragain said of his friend. "He was full of poems."

Click here to read about how Mollenkopf's poems are preserved on audio recordings.

Kent resident Brad Bolton, a friend of Mollenkopf's, is planning to hand out copies of audio recordings on CD at the celebration of Mollenkopf reciting poetry.

Bolton is looking for volunteers to help assemble the 300 CDs to distribute and is willing to pay TimeBank hours for members of the Kent Community TimeBank who help.

"This will be a community effort in support of a community event," Bolton said. "I am not charging for the CDs, but I am accepting donations to cover my costs."

RELATED COVERAGE:

• Kent Poet Recorded Original Works Before Death
• Mollenkopf Family Creates Facebook Page to Share Poetry
• Beloved Kent Poet Merle Mollenkopf Dies