You have to appreciate the sort of parents who, if inclined to name a child after an alcoholic beverage, would select "Chivas." That's excellent stuff! If my folks were inclined in that context, I'm sure the byline to this piece would say "by Colt 45 Malt Liquor Koster."

Speaking of excellence - as I was before the Colt 45 digression - the poet Chivas Sandage headlines the debut program for the spring calendar of the The Arts Café Mystic's 20th season. Taking place Friday in the Mystic Arts Center, Sandage will read new works as well as poems from her collection "Hidden Drive," which was a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year poetry award.

Sandage's poetic vision adeptly captures the intricacies and dynamics of family and relationships. As well, she has traveled extensively and, as her, the geological and cultural backdrops and settings in her work are evocative and stunning in their accuracy and variety.

Also on the bill is the evening's musical component is singer-songwriter The Friendly Ghost. And opening will be the Poets Laureate of six of the region's high schools who will read in collective.

- RICK KOSTER

Chivas Sandage, 7 p.m. Friday, The Arts Café Mystic, Mystic Art Center, 9 Water Street, Mystic; $10 door, students under 21 admitted free; (860) 912-2444, theartscafemystic.org.