Name: PEM Reads: Poet in High Street Park
Start: 2026-01-11T14:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-01-11T16:00:00-05:00
Location: Peabody Essex Museum

Sunday, January 11, 2026 from 2—4 pm
In person
Morse Auditorium
Included with admission. Pre-registration encouraged.
Register Here: pem.org/events/pem-reads-poet-in-high-street-park?date=2026-01-11&time=02:00
Join the PEM Reads community for a live book launch! Hear Salem’s first-ever poet laureate J.D. Scrimgeour read from his new work Poet in High Street Park: Prose & Poetry for Modern Salem.
David Snider, PEM’s Director of Learning & Community Engagement, will host an author talk with Scrimgeour followed by a light reception and book signing.
Poet in High Street Park: Prose & Poetry for Modern Salem is a love song to Salem by a writer who has grounded himself in the everyday realities of living in the city for the past 30 years, from playgrounds to classrooms to ballfields. It is testimony that, Halloween hoopla aside, people live here. Finding the universal in the local, this book asks who we are, and who we want to be.
PEM Reads celebrates the art of literature and the creative act of writing through a year-round series of collaborative book club readings and author events, both in person and online. By gathering to read and discuss world-class literature and meet authors, PEM Reads seeks to deepen our sense of community and celebrate great storytelling. We hope you’ll join us!
This program is part of Salem 400+ celebrations. Explore all of PEM's Salem 400+ activities here.