Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Cleveland Heights Poets Laureate: Past, Present, and Future


Cleveland Heights is about to have a new Poet Laureate. Christine Howey writes:
Come and hear Cleveland Heights Poets Laureate—past, present and future—read some of their favorite poems! It’s a celebration of words and those who love them. And a big thank you to Cleveland Heights and Heights Arts for even having a Poet Laureate!Hope to see you there! And please pass this along to anyone who might be interested.
The event will be this Thursday, March 29, at 7pm in the Coventry Village Branch library




Tuesday, March 27, 2018

National Poetry Month Coming Up at Cuyahoga County LIbrary

The William N. Skirball Writers' Center at the Cuyahoga County Public Library will also, once again, be celebrating National Poetry Month in April with their Read +Write: 30 Days of Poetry feature. Each day in April will have a poem and info on a different North Eastern Ohio poet, plus a poem-writing prompt every day of the month.
If you have not yet signed up to receive Read+Write Poetry daily in your email during April... why not?  Just click here!


...and don't miss Poetry Month events at the branch libraries:

Monday, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Parma Branch
7-8:30 p.m.

Friday, April 13
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch
7-8:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 15
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch
2-4 p.m.

Sunday, April 22
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch
2-3:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 19
(and the third Thursday of every month)
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch
6:30-8:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 26
(and the third Thursday of every month)
Parma Branch
6:30-8:30 p.m.






--know of any other National Poetry Month events?  Tell us!

Monday, March 26, 2018

Lunar and Planetary Haiku

photo of the moon by Geoffrey Landis
photo by GL

The Economist has an article about science haiku at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference:
including some examples:

Thermal Moonquakes: Implications for Surface Properties
Sunrise and sunset
Cracking, creaking, and rumbling
The Moon never rests.
                          --Renee Weber


I do have to admit I've probably written more than my share of haiku and pseudo-haiku, including more than a few science haiku.  If you like science haiku, though, you owe it to yourself to check out Mary Soon Lee's "Elemental Haiku," in the journal Science: one haiku for each element. And the sciku project page, the latest scientific and mathematical discoveries, thoughts and ideas... in the form of haiku.

Image for hydrogen haiku

Friday, March 23, 2018

National Poetry Month coming up at the Lakewood Public Library

national poetry month logo
Lakewood Public Library will present the following 2018 National Poetry Month programs at their Main Library, located at 15425 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood Ohio, 44107.

Poetry Workshops
Tuesdays: April 3, April 10, April 17, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Library Multipurpose Room
Writing poetry is about the journey, not the destination. Part of that journey is seeing what you’ll discover, surprising yourself and enjoying the bumps in the road. Leanne Hoppe will be your poet tour guide on this adventure—all abilities and experience levels are welcome. Hoppe, who teaches at Lorain County Community College, received her master’s degree in creative writing from Boston University, and her work appears or is forthcoming in Bayou Magazine, Gravel and Driftwood Press. Her translations of the Italian poet Michela Zanarella were published in 2017 by Bordighera Press. More details.

Coast Line: April Reading
Wednesday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium 
Coast Line: Poetry Reading Series is Lakewood Public Library's showcase of our community's poetic talent. Readings by Robert Miltner, D.L. Ware and Catherine Wing. More details.

Documentary: Louder than a Bomb
Tuesday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium
Every year, students across Chicago compete in the largest youth poetry slam in the world. From junior high to college age, this event showcases voices from all walks of life in their most honest form. The tournament features an individual poem from each team member and then a group piece performed by four students. Follow the teams and individuals as they prepare and perform original pieces, and tell their stories drawn from experience and hardship. Their poems reveal perspectives to the audience and each other that might otherwise never be heard. This annual event allows young people from all over Chicago to share themselves through spoken art. More details.

Meet the Author: Clouds Pile Up in the North: New & Selected Poems by Major 'Maj' Ragain 
Thursday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium
Maj Ragain is the author of seven chapbooks of poetry and five book-length collections, all of which contribute to Clouds Pile Up in the North: New & Selected Poems. Lisa Coffman, author of Less Obvious Gods says, “These poems hold so lightly what can’t be held—old queen asleep in her milkweed chamber, the full Hunter’s moon, Secondhand Rose and February dusk, the dragon’s egg nestled against the breastbone, the lost silver earring among the flowers. You will find in this book thirst and burning air, songs in the key of High Lonesome, truths maybe we were afraid to want, and a top-down fast-ride in the convertible of Delight. Friend, Fellow Traveler, if you wished to know whether there was a place set for you at the banquet, let me point you toward Maj Ragain’s poems. They are sustenance. They are sweet mortal joy.” Ragain has served for more than thirty years as host to open poetry readings, currently at Last Exit Books. Books will be available for sale and signing at this event.

WordStage: d.a. levy
Sunday, April 15 at 2:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium
In 1960s Cleveland, poets haunted coffee shops, printed zines with mimeographs and frequently ran into trouble with the law. There were many talented yet troubled writers in Cleveland, but none more infamous than d.a. levy. Though charged with distributing obscene writing in 1966, levy was a strong believer in Buddhism and a champion of justice. levy continued to document Cleveland’s gritty charm and rough interior through his poetry, founding Cleveland’s first underground newspaper, the Buddhist Third-Class Junkmail Oracle. Through that medium, he published scores of powerful poetic voices of the decade. He was a force to be reckoned with in the creative community of the time, and continues to inspire artists from Northeast Ohio and beyond. WordStage is a chamber music reader’s theater, dedicated to the presentation of works with special literary, historical and musical merit.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

National Poetry Month coming up at the Cleveland Public Library

Once again, the Cleveland Public Library & Ohio Center for the Book is setting up their events for National Poetry Month, with workshops and a Monday open mike.
Check out their National Poetry Month events listing

--know of any other National Poetry Month events?  Tell us!

Cited...

The poet doesn't invent. He listens. ~Jean Cocteau