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Photo by Richard Howard. Westwood resident Lynne Viti is one of ten finalists for the Beals Prize for Poetry.
9-13-2025 12:26am
Westwood Resident Poet Lynne Viti is Finalist for Beals Prize for Poetry
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Lynne Viti, formerly appointed inaugural poet laureate for the Town of Westwood in Massachusetts, has been announced on September 11th as one of ten finalists for the 2025 Beals Prize for Poetry, and will perform her poem, "Suburban Living," at an award ceremony at Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon on September 25th.
"Given all the troubling news these days, hearing that one of my poems was chosen as a finalist for the Beals Poetry Prize certainly cheered me up," said Dr. Viti. "The poem is about coyotes in Westwood, and our feeling, sometimes, that they are intruding on our space, when in fact it may be the other way around."
On how Dr. Viti plans to prepare for her upcoming recitation, she says, "I will prepare for the September 25 event by reading my poem aloud to myself a dozen times or so, and then I’ll see if someone in my family will listen to me read it." She also plans to be well-prepared in advance with the best GPS directions for travelling to the Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon.
Eligible contestants in the competition may come from Massachusetts or from New Hampshire towns within 20 miles of Winchendon. Winners will be awarded $250 for first place, $100 for second, and $50 for third.
Dr. Viti has authored four poetry collections, including The Walk to Cefalù (Cornerstone Press, 2022). Her poems have been widely published in regional, national, and international publications.
Her work has received recognition in the Fish Publishing Poetry Contest, Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest, Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest, Miriam Chaikin/Westbeth Artists Poetry Award, Highland Park Poetry, and Hale Education.
A faculty emerita at Wellesley College, she founded and facilitates a Poets in the Schools project in Westwood, Massachusetts as well as a poetry workshop for adults at the Westwood Library, and serves on the advisory board of the New England Poetry Club.
