PUTNEY — In honor of National Poetry Month, Next Stage Arts presents an evening of poetry, conversation, and dancing with poet Diana Whitney on Friday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. The event celebrates the release of Whitney’s new poetry collection, Girl Trouble, which early readers are calling “unstoppable” and “deeply subversive.”
Whitney will read from the new book and be joined in conversation by poet Eve Alexandra, whose prize-winning collection None of Us in White was released in 2025. The evening will conclude with a dance party, celebrating the spirit of connection and community that poetry can inspire.
Girl Trouble is an excavation of female adolescence and a bold journey through rape culture from the 1980s to the era of #MeToo. Whitney’s earthy poems spill secrets, make trouble, and reckon with stories of desire and harm while exploring the agency and oppression of women and girls. Rooted in the natural world, the collection also grieves the planet’s degradation while celebrating queerness and seeking healing for the next generation. By the end of the book, a chorus of voices builds to a full-throated roar, offering readers the power and release of truth-telling. It is a collection for survivors and advocates, for mothers and daughters, and for anyone moving through trauma with resilience.
Whitney is a queer writer and educator who believes fiercely in the power of poetry to connect people to themselves and to one another. She is the editor of the bestselling anthology You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves, winner of the Claudia Lewis Award, and the author of two previous poetry collections, Wanting It and Dark Beds. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Kenyon Review, The San Francisco Chronicle, and many other publications. In addition to her writing, Whitney advocates for survivors of sexual violence in her Vermont community and works as a developmental editor and community organizer for a rural LGBTQ+ nonprofit.
The evening will include snacks, a cash bar, and books available for purchase from Everyone’s Books.
Next Stage Arts is located at Next Stage Arts. RSVPs and more information are available at nextstagearts.org.
