Rita Monte brings rhythm to the World of Poets festival

I always say there’s a poet inside of us. We just don’t know it.”

Rita Monte Baldwin poet

After being uprooted from her life in Italy in 1968, Rita Monte turned to poetry to express how she felt about leaving her home country, which led her to a world of like-minded poets.

Monte, Baldwin resident, wrote her first poem called “Italia” upon arriving from Italy at age 12. From there, she has won several poetry contests with some of her work being featured at the annual Italian Festival at Hofstra University. Her journey to becoming a successful poet has encouraged her to share what she has learned through being a host of WHPC Radio and an upcoming co-host of the Festival of the Spoken and Written Word.

Monte hosted a Written Word festival at the Oceanside Schoolhouse Green, 65 Foxhurst Road, on October 15. This is the first year that Monte co-hosted this event.

The event was the first of its kind, boasting several established poets, who read their works throughout the day, including poets laureate from Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. There were three come-one-come-all open mics, including one designated for teenagers. The event also featured mini workshops, and radio station WHPC 90.3, which Monte is the host of.

“I always say there’s a poet inside of us,” Monte said. “We just don’t know it.”

Monte said that poems don’t need to rhyme and that a true poem is words, and verses that come from the heart. To Monte, writing is very “cathartic” and she hopes that she can encourage young people to use poetry as an outlet to express their “bottled up” emotions.