Saturday, March 6, 2021

Remembering Ben Rader (1947-2021)

I met Ben Rader for the first time at a reading Larry Smith hosted at Joe Sundae's in Sandusky in 2008. I immediately liked him. Since then, I've run into him at probably a hundred open mic venues across the state including right here in Cleveland, where he was born, and it was always good to hear and talk with and learn from him. Ben was known as a master of the haiku form, but was accomplished in a wide array of other poetic forms as well. And he was always generous with his time and knowledge. 

Here is a brief clip I recorded of Ben on the occasion of our first meeting:

https://youtu.be/hnk5j2r1IHk

Sadly, Ben passed away near the end of February following a battle with Covid-19. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Willa and the rest of his family and everyone who loved him.

A celebration of Ben's life will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 7, 2021 at the Norwalk Masonic Hall, 319 E. Main St, Norwalk, OH 44857.

Read his obituary in the Norwalk Reflector: https://norwalkreflector.com/news/306098/bennett-james-rader/.

And here's one more short clip from that day in Sandusky:

https://youtu.be/6Y4-oe4PRaw

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

March 4th: Heights Arts Live Streams Ekphrastacy

From our friends at Heights Arts....

Join us March 4th for a special live stream of our Ekphrastacy program!

The Ekphrastacy literary program is a series of artist talks + poetry readings held regularly in the Heights Arts gallery (when possible), in conjunction with our special exhibitions.

Cleveland-area writers are invited by the current Poet Laureate to view the installed artworks and respond with a poem.

To accommodate to this year's special circumstances, we are presenting the Ekphrastic event through a Facebook live stream. Tune in on Thursday, March 4th to view poets Kisha Foster, Ray McNiece, Josiah Quarles, and Michelle R. Smith present poems they wrote in response to work in our current exhibition Posing the Question at our space on Lee Road.

All poets were selected by Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate, Ray McNiece.

 

Streaming Information:

Date / Time:
Thursday, March 4th at 7 PM ET

Where:

Heights Arts' Facebook
Heights Arts' Website

Learn more on the Heights Arts website.

 
More Information

Cited...

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