The “Yarnbombed” Poets Shack will be raffled for Vermont chef and poet with cancer.
In a remarkable display of support, over 40 people in Southern Vermont have built a tiny cabin—the Poets Shack— to raise funds for Carol Adinolfi, a Bennington chef, educator, and poet, undergoing treatment for life-threatening lymphoma. Dozens of fiber artists donated brightly colored knit and crochet circles and squares and “yarnbombed” the entire exterior of the tiny house. Also included were poems, in the form of QR codes within the yarnbombed fabric, which can be listened to on a mobile device.
Threshold Collaborative, an oral history project, and the Southern Vermont Bombshells, a fiber art group that includes Amy Anselmo, Trish Weill, Abi Gregorio, and Caroline Schneider, are coordinating the project.
After moving to Vermont in 2006, Adinolfi founded “Blooming Chefs,” a program that teaches public school children how to grow and cook healthy food. This program also incorporates creative writing and visual art to encourage self expression in children. Carol considers it an honor to have worked as an educator in Vermont for many years.
The Poets Shack can be visited by the pond at Clearbrook Farm, an organic farm and farmstand in Shaftsbury, Vermont. The inside of the cozy shack is decorated simply with vintage accessories: an oak writing desk, a yarnbombed chair, a manual typewriter, and books of poetry. Visitors can step into the cabin to write a poem and then tack it on the wall alongside dozens of others—many dedicated to Adinolfi—or create poems with Magnetic Poetry. Classic and current poetry is featured on the exterior of the shack with work by poets and spoken word artists such as: Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Clara Rose Thornton, Jory Michelson, and Mary Reufle. The shack also features an extensive poetry lending library.
The shack itself was built by Randy Anselmo and Forrest Matthews, mostly of reclaimed 100-year-old barn wood donated by John and Suzanne Ottomanelli. It measures seven feet wide, eight feet deep, and about ten feet tall. A hand-blown glass rondelle window, made by Andrew Weill of Manchester Hot Glass, is installed over the door.
Adinolfi received a stem cell transplant in Julyand the Poetry Shack is being raffled to raise funds for her ongoing treatment and recovery. “It would make a wonderful backyard writing retreat, studio, potting shed, or playhouse,” says Amy Anselmo, who can be contacted directly for raffle tickets at amy@vermontiki.com or 802.447.7959. Raffle tickets are also available at Hawkins House Craftsmarket, the Wallomsac Farmers’ Market, and Spice ’N Nice Natural Foods in Bennington, Vermont; in North Bennington at Whitman’s Feed Store, Powers Market, and Lake Paran; and in Shaftsbury at Clearbrook Farm. Tickets are $30 each or 4 for $100. The winner will be responsible for picking up or covering the transportation cost of the shack. If the winner is local to Southern Vermont, the organizers can help arrange the transportation logistics.
Poet’s Shack raffle tickets can also be purchased by check, made payable to the Bone Marrow Foundation with “Carol Adinolfi – Raffle” in the memo line; or online via Carol Adinolfi’s One-to-One page (http://bonemarrow.org/financial-assistance/one-to-one-funds/participants/carol-adinolfi/) with “Raffle” included in the notes field.
The drawing will be held at “Ciderfest” the annual end of season potluck party at Clearbrook Farm the last Saturday in September. For more information about Clearbrook Farm please visit: www.clearbrookfarm.com
For more information, please contact Amy Anselmo: amy@vermontiki.com, 802.447.7959 or visit www.thresholdcollaborative.org