Modern Pagan Unitarian Universalist Eclectic Witch in Rhode Island
What does that mouthful mean? The full run down is on my “Which Witch” page. For more information about me, Bridget Eileen Madden, written in the 3rd person (even if that feels a bit awkward to do), see the rest of this page.
Writer
Bridget Eileen Madden is a writer who lives in Rhode Island. She is a poet. She is an modern pagan Unitarian Universalist ecelectic witch. She has been blogging since 2006, and her main blog is NotebookWitch.com: Notes on Witchcraft and Witchery. She also does digital and communications coordination for paid and volunteer work.
Blogger
Bridget’s current blog is: Notebook Witch, a blog on witchcraft and witchery. Her archive blogs include An Arts Notebook, an arts and culture blog; and Glam Witch Style a body positive glamour witch beauty and style blog. Before establishing Notebook Witch, she also posted personal news updates at Bridget Eileen’s News. She has had blogs about vegetarian cooking, the close reading of poetry, making handmade jewelry, and general diary-like blogging when the medium was first introduced. Archives of these posts are available at An Arts Notebook.
Background
Bridget grew up in the Boston area. She has a Bachelor of Science in English Education with minors in Music and Women’s Studies from University of Maine, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a concentration in Poetry from University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA program. She is currently studying for professional certificates in Management and Marketing at MassBay Community College, where she has worked since 2008. She and Rhode Island got together in 2017 and it’s been a deep, abiding love ever since.
Literary Publications
Bridget Eileen’s poetry work has been published in Frost Meadow Review, Can We Have Our Ball Back, Boston Hassle, Nitrogen House, Stone’s Throw, Hineni Magazine, Let the Bucket Down, Reality Beach, Summer Stock Lit Journal, & Anti-Heroin Chic.
She has also been published in Reflections, The Maine Review, The Ornery Hipster, Vividarium, The Accompaniest, Stonecoast Lines, and Newport Life Magazine. She worked as an arts and cultural reporter for The Maine Campus, The Loop, and The Malden Muse.
Boston Poetry Marathon
Bridget Eileen was an artistic director for the long-standing Boston-area poetry reading marathon festival, the Boston Poetry Marathon. She an her fellow former artistic director, Suzanne Mercury, organized the event from 2017-2022. Their co-organizers, Christina Liu and Xtina Strong, joined the team in 2020. Bridget will be assisting in a less active capacity starting in 2023. The Boston Poetry Marathon was established in 1998.
Poetry Readings
Bridget Eileen has done poetry readings in Boston, Brooklyn, Albany, Cambridge, Gloucester, Maine, Manhattan, and New Orleans. She has done online poetry readings for 1000 Poets for Change – Connecticut and at Boston Architectural College. She has also run various poetry events at MassBay Community College since 2020.
Performing Arts
Bridget has served in multiple roles in the performing arts: as a singer in several choirs, a trombonist in classical and jazz bands, an actor in plays, a theatre director for high schools, and as a front-of-house volunteer for the Boston-area burlesque organizations, Rogue Burlesque and Alternatease. Currently, she sings in the choir at Bell Street Chapel Unitarian Universalist Church in Providence. She also performs solo pieces at the church in honor of the Wheel of the Year sabbats during the prelude or postlude of services on or near those pagan holidays.
Janeite
Bridget runs the Boston Austen Book Club, a book club that meets once a season to discuss the works of Jane Austen, works inspired by Jane Austen, or writing on Austen’s books and life. The book club is on indefinite hiatus for the time being.
Anyone can join the book club at any time. All you have to do is read the book and show up to discuss it. Follow the Boston Austen Book Club Facebook page for the latest news!
Communications & Digital Coordinator Work
Bridget Eileen Madden was a presenter at the Explorance World 2026 conference at Boston University. Her presentation “Communication Is Key” discussed how treating the distribution, administration, and collection portion of a given survey as a communication project (as opposed to solely a data collection project) helps increase response rates for online surveys. She also contributed a webinar on a similar topic for Explorance in 2024.
Bridget served as the the Communications Chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus from 2019-2021. She was the Communications Chair for RI NOW from 2022-2023. She currently volunteers as the Digital Coordinator for Bell Street Chapel.
Since 2002, she has worked on communications projects at academic institutions throughout New England and been main editor and writer for several educational newsletters. She has also worked on copy editing and copywriting as a merchandising assistant for an online retailer. She taught journalism and was the faculty advisor for a high school newspaper in Maine.
Leadership Roles
Bridget Eileen Madden currently serves as the Secretary of the Board for Bell Street Chapel Unitarian Universalist Church is Providence. She has been a member of the board since 2023.
From 2019-2021, she served on the executive board of the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus as Secretary and, before that, as the Executive Committee Member representing the 2nd Congressional District. She was the Communications Chair for the Caucus from 2019 to 2021. Along with a broad coalition of organizations and individuals, the Women’s Caucus was instrumental in electing more women to office in 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections, as well as passing the historically significant Reproductive Privacy Act in Rhode Island, which codefied the freedom of choice for abortion care for all Rhode Islanders, regardless of federal judicial decisions. This protection unfortunately became necessary with the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022.
Bridget’s other leadership roles include time as an executive board member for RI NOW and RI NOW PAC from 2022-23 and Chair of the RI State Senate Distrcit 24 commitee from 2022-24.
Political Work
Bridget Eileen is an EMILY’s List Ignite Change Fellow, and her work with the RI Democratic Women’s Caucus was featured at the 2021 EMILY’s List National Gala. She also completed Rhode Island Working Families Party “Campaign School” in late 2021.
She has been a member of the the RI State Senate District 24 Committee since 2022. She was voted onto the Woonsocket Democratic City Committee from 2022-2024. She has been involved with the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministries – Rhode Island (UULM-RI) since 2022. She is recurring donator to Indivisible RI and the Womxn Project of Rhode Island.
Along with immigration activist friends David Veliz and Melodie Pimental, she organized the 2019 Lights for Liberty Providence Protest against family separation. As artistic director of the Boston Poetry Marathon, in the years 2020-2022 she also helped raise money for SistaFire Rhode Island, Eastern MA Abortion Fund, the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Association, and the Womxn Project of Rhode Island.
Wedding Officiant
Bridget Eileen Madden is a non-denominational ordained minister through Universal Ministries and is available to officiate weddings for couples who are seeking an officiant for either non-denominational yet spiritual, a-religious, or modern pagan wedding ceremonies. She has experience with conducting the sabbat services at her church, Bell Street Chapel. If you are looking for an officiant, she will do the service for free as she gains experience on the process. Email for inquiries!
Personal Note
Bridget Eileen’s social and familial nieces, nephews, and littlest “cousins-removed” call her Auntie Boo-Boo and that’s awesome. Her role models in life are: Maude, of Harold and Maude, Aunt Jet and Aunt Franny from Practical Magic, and Blanche Devereaux from The Golden Girls.
Contact
To contact Bridget Eileen Madden, click the “Contact” button below.