There have been a lot of big name poets reading on our shores this summer. And we applaud this embarrassment of riches. But next Wednesday, August 24, beginning at 5:30 p.m., we have the chance to stand a bit taller and clap even louder as some of our very own Vineyard poets take the stage at the West Tisbury library. Readers include Justen Ahren, Samantha Barrow, Ellie Bates, Maureen Hall and Jill Jupen.

This event is free and includes refreshments too. A guaranteed sating of both mind and body.

Here’s a bit of a rundown on our talented wordsmiths.

Justen Ahren is the codirector of the Summer Festival of Poetry on Martha’s Vineyard and the founder and director of the Martha’s Vineyard Writers Residency. His work has appeared most recently in MV Arts & Ideas, Fulcrum, Borderlands and Texas Poetry Review.

Samantha Barrow completed her MS in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. She works with the International Trauma Studies Program in New York city advocating for survivors of sexual assault. Ms. Barrow has been known to ride her motorcycle around the country, sharing her poems in bars, universities, libraries, cafes and sex shops.

Ellie Bates has been published in Refocus, the Vineyard Educational Journal, Vineyard Poets, Martha’s Vineyard Writing and the Boston Writing Project. A member of the Cleveland House Poets and the Howes House Writers Group, she is the editor of the forthcoming Howes House journal.

Maureen Hall started writing poetry when she was eight-years-old. Her work has appeared in numerous publications over the years, most recently in Hospital Drive. She is a registered nurse and works at the West Tisbury library.

Jill Jupen’s poems have appeared in Kayak, Dakota Territory, Green Mountains Review, Vineyard Poets and Martha’s Vineyard Writing and elsewhere. She teaches a poetry group at the Edgartown Senior Center and lives in Vineyard Haven with her husband and five dogs.

Call 508-693-3366.