Wellness Month 2025

Join local poet and historian, Stephanie Smith, for an evening of discovery, surprise, and intrigue as she delves into the lives of our saints and shares her findings through poetry. You’ll meet a talking fish, a pet lion, a shoplifter, a melancholy Pope, and several brave princesses.

You don’t have to be religious to find saints inspiring or comforting. Most were real men and women. Over time the stories about them evolved and were elaborately embroidered, but often there is a core of historical reality. Their stories are dramatic and sometimes gruesome: they involve persecution, tyranny, mystery, disguise, escape, triumph, and above all, courage. They speak to the power of determination, humility, faith, hope, and love.

But if you think all saints are “saintly”, in the sense of sickeningly good, think again. A surprising number of saints were rebels and misfits. Cranky men and difficult women, who defied the expectations of their families and their rulers, even though it could cost them their lives.

Light refreshments will be available after the reading.

Please note, this talk is a historically-based entertaining examination of the deeds and lives of various saints. Although some of the poems take a light-hearted approach, no disrespect is intended towards the saints themselves or those who revere them.