Sharing Through Poetry at Hillside Public Library.

Poet Ada Jill Schneider shared intimate moments with members of her family who were in attendance at the Poets of Nassau monthly meeting on Friday evening at the as many of her poems referenced those. 

Schneider made the voyage from Somerset, Massachusetts to read her poetry to friends and family who attended the event. Schneider is the winner of the National Galway Kinnell Poetry Prize, an award named after Pulitzer prize-winning poet Galway Kinnell. She began writing poetry at the age of 53 and her lyrical poems focus on getting older, the rewards of long love and the importance of family.

Every first Friday of the month, Hillside Public Library plays host for poetry readings for the poets of Nassau. After receiving an invitation from the Poets of Nassau, Schneider jumped at the opportunity to read on Long Island.

“Since my brother lives on the Island, this would be a lovely opportunity to have them here,” Schneider said.

Although Schneider’s poetry focuses on a wide array of topics, she explained that the setting dictated the theme of poems for the evening.

“I have other poems too but with this group of family here, it’d be mostly family poetry,” she explained. “I’m delighted that they all came. I’m thrilled.”

With her husband in attendance, Schneider read poetry recounting days when she was a teenager in Brooklyn falling in love with her husband. Her last book of poetry, “Behind the Pictures I Hang,” was published in 2007 by Spinner Publications and she is currently working on a new collection of poetry that focuses on life in Somerset.

Although there will be no scheduled poetry readings at the Hillside Public Library in September, Poet Margo Berdeshevsky will be reading on October 7 for the students of . You can check the rest of the schedule for readings at Hillside Public Library here.