William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage 2021-2022 Season Announced

The following is from our friends at the Cuyahoga County Public Library. For more information, visit https://case.edu/maltzcenter/upcoming-events/william-n-skirball-writers-center-stage.

DON'T MISS A SHOW! Writers Center Stage is returning to the beautiful Maltz Performing Arts Center at Case Western Reserve University for the 2021-2022 season. This season we have also added a live stream option. All events will be held at 7:30 p.m. EST.

GET TICKETS

RICHARD POWERS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021  Award-winning author Richard Powers is known for writing novels that explore modern science and technology. His best-selling novel The Overstory (2019) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His latest novel, Bewilderment, will be released in September 2021.

AMOR TOWLES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021 When Amor Towles released Rules of Civility, it quickly became a New York Times best-seller and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the best books of 2011. His second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, was on the best-sellers list for more than 52 weeks. Towles' latest book, The Lincoln Highway, will be released in October 2021.

MIN JIN LEE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 Award-winning author Min Jin Lee's debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires (2007) became a national best-seller and Netflix adapted it as a television series. Her second novel, Pachinko (2017), was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and named one of The New York Times' 10 best books of the year.

CARMEN MARIA MACHADO & RUMAAN ALAM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022 Carmen Maria Machado is known for blending surrealism, fantasy and horror in her writing. She is the author of the best-selling memoir In the Dream House and the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties. Rumaan Alam's thriller, Leave the World Behind, was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award and is being adapted into a film with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.

ISABEL WILKERSON THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022 The New York Times called Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson's latest book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (2020) "an instant American classic," and TIME Magazine labeled it a must-read book. Wilkerson's first book, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration (2010), won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for nonfiction, among other honors.

ANTHONY DOERR MONDAY, MAY 2, 2022 Anthony Doerr's novel All The Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. It spent more than three and a half years on The New York Times' best-seller list. His latest book, Cloud Cuckoo Land, will be released in September 2021.

GET TICKETS

The 2021-2022 William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series is presented by the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation and its academic partner Case Western Reserve University.   Funds raised by this series help support Cuyahoga County Public Library, the nation's top-rated library system for eleven consecutive years.

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Book Launch for Two Cleveland Area Authors at Visible Voice

https://www.visiblevoicebooks.com/events/book-launch-no-life-but-this-a-novel-of-emily-warren-roebling/

Literary Cleveland Inkubator to feature Claudia Rankine, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and New Yorker Writers

From our friends at Literary Cleveland:

 

This summer, Literary Cleveland’s annual Inkubator Writing Conference will take place virtually from July 11-25 with 31 free events totaling 78 hours of literary programming.  

 

The 2021 Inkubator will offer a wide range of interactive classes, craft talks, open mics, and panel discussions. This year’s conference features 11 multi-session workshops including teen and intergenerational classes as well as a printmaking and bookbinding workshop for those interested in making their own physical book.  

 

Nationally-recognized writers who will participate include Viet Thanh Nguyen in conversation with Thrity Umrigar and a panel of New Yorker writers originally from Cleveland: Andy Borowitz, Marry Norris, and Kathryn Schulz. An all-star lineup of local authors will lead panels on writing in prisons, solutions journalism, ethical representation in literature, how storytelling can affect social change, and writing about illness beyond the pandemic. Plus four editors from major New York publishing houses will discuss state of the industry and provide feedback on participant’s first paragraphs.  

 

The two-week event will be capped off by a keynote reading and discussion with renowned author Claudia Rankine. Rankine, presented by Cleveland Public Library. Rankine is a MacArthur fellow and the author of Just Us: An American Conversation (2020) and Citizen: An American Lyric, which won the 2015 National Book Critic’s Circle Award in poetry. 

 

Similar to last year, nearly all of the events will take place digitally this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. However there will be an in-person outdoor pop-up event at the Cleveland Public Library Eastman Garden on Saturday, July 17 featuring a book fair, DJ, food and drink vendors, and a community building workshop with an open mic.  

 

The 2020 Inkubator is supported by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the Cleveland Public Library, the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, the Northeast Ohio MFA Program, Mac’s Backs Book, Loganberry Books, Appletree Books, Hathaway Brown and the Press Club of Cleveland.  

 

Literary Cleveland is a nonprofit committed to helping people “explore other voices and discover their own.” The organization is a community of writers committed to bringing people into the world of words by providing educational writing opportunities at all levels, promoting new and existing literature of the highest quality, and advancing Northeast Ohio as a vital center of diverse voices and visions. 

 

To register and for more information, visit our website.

Poem about Mourning...

  

Poem shared on As It Ought to Be Magazine..

(good place to submit)

https://asitoughttobemagazine.com/2021/04/27/larry-smith-grief-into-mourning/

The Ohio Poetry Association Launches a New Podcast

The Ohio Poetry Association presents a new podcast hosted by Cleveland area poet Jeremy Jusek. Poetry Spotlight "interviews active Ohio poets. Each episode goes in a different direction based on our guest, but the goal is always the same: investigate what makes Buckeye writers tick. Inspiration, projects, and perspectives on writing are all on the table." A new episode every other Thursday! Click here for more info.

Follow the Ohio Poetry Association:

www.ohiopoetry.org
Facebook / Twitter
Become a member.

Write the Beats with Ray McNiece

From Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Ray McNiece:

Write the Beats

A Workshop of Beat Writer Prompts

Beat era poets have had a profound influence on modern culture and mores as well as contemporary poetics—in particular performance poetry. Write the Beats is a workshop of Beat poetry prompts: Each of the six weeks will use a prompt based on a poem by a prominent beat era poet: Ginsberg, Snyder, Ferlinghetti, DiPrima, Kaufman and Kerouac. Prompts will explore themes of political poetry/identity, environmentalism, feminist poetry, surrealism, and spontaneous bop prosody. We will also look at works by Baraka, Waldman, and Corso for the poetry of rebellion, beat spirituality and neo romanticism.

Online via Zoom on Thursdays from 6pm-8pm April 22-May 27th

Register to receive the zoom link and class instructions. https://www.litcleveland.org/classes-workshops/write-the-beats-a-workshop-of-beat-poetry-prompts

 

Ray McNiece is the author of nine books of poems and monologues, most recently Love Song for Cleveland, a collaboration with photographer Tim Lachina, and Breath Burns Away: New Haiku. He toured Russia with Yevgeny Yevtushenko. He also toured Italy twice with legendary beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and was writer in residence at the Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida.

Poetry month, featuring 30 Days of Poetry!

 

Once again, it's April with his shoures soote (in this case, snow showers). And that means once again it's National Poetry Month. And, once again, Laurie Kincer of the Cuyahoga County Public library has put together Thirty Days of Poetry, featuring a poem from a Northeastern Ohio Poet, and a poetry prompt, delivered right into your inbox every day this month.

Laurie writes:

Hello, poets!

 

I hope you’re signed up to receive Read + Write: 30 Days of Poetry, Cuyahoga County Public Library’s National Poetry Month blog. Every day in April, you’ll receive a poem by a poet who lives, works, or has some important tie to northeast Ohio; a poetry writing prompt to try; and a poetry book to check out of the library. Here’s a sample of the daily blog and the link to sign up for it. 

 

You’re also invited to these special poetry workshops:

• Now We’re Cookin’: Recipes for Revising Half-Baked Poems - Cuyahoga County Public Library (cuyahogalibrary.org) Thursday, April 1, 7-8:30 p.m.
• Practical Principles of Writing Poetry - Cuyahoga County Public Library (cuyahogalibrary.org) Saturday, May 1, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

And, of course, these regular, monthly gatherings of poets:

• Second Sunday Poets - Cuyahoga County Public Library (cuyahogalibrary.org) Sunday, April 11, 3-4:30 p.m. Featured reader: Toledo poet Jonie McIntire, host of Uncloistered Poetry.
• West Side Poetry Writing Workshop - Cuyahoga County Public Library (cuyahogalibrary.org) Thursday, April 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

 

Happy National Poetry Month to you and yours!

---

...and if that's not enough for you, check out Michelle R. Smith's blog, "Forcing Bulbs", where she is posting a poetry prompt every day in celebration of NaPoWriMo.  Start with Day One.

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•  Read + Write: 30 Days of Poetry
• Forcing Bulbs

 

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

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

What's Up with Ray McNiece?

Jordan Davis, for CoolCleveland, catches up with Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Ray McNiece "as he reflects on his travels, current projects and passing the torch to future poets of all ages...."

https://coolcleveland.com/2021/02/video-catching-up-with-poet-ray-mcniece/ 

And check out Ray's online poetry workshops. More details at RayMcNiece.com.

Poets: don't do this

 Don't do this with poetry! 

on her blog, Theresa Göttl Brightman explains: no, you shouldn't respond to rejections...

Virtual Valentine's Day reading

 Laurie Kincer writes:

Dear poets,

 

Here’s a special gift for you on Valentine’s Day: Honey Bell-Bey, Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate, is the featured reader at tomorrow’s Second Sunday Poets. A spoken word poet, Ms. Bell-Bey has been in the news frequently over the years as the founder and director of The Distinguished Gentlemen, a poetry recitation and performance group for young men ages 12-21.

 

Register here to receive a Zoom link at 2 p.m. for the 3 p.m. event: Second Sunday Poets - Cuyahoga County Public Library (cuyahogalibrary.org)

 

Bring one or two of your own poems to read during the open mic, with the suggested theme of love (keeping it PG-rated). You’re also welcome just to tune in to listen.

 

Stay well and warm,

 

 

Laurie Kincer

Writing Specialist

 

Cuyahoga County Public Library

South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch

William N. Skirball Writers' Center

1876 South Green Road / South Euclid, OH 44121     

p 216.382.4880 / f 216.382.4584

 

Cuyahoga County Public Library

Administrative Offices                                               

2111 Snow Road / Parma, OH 44134     

p 216.749.9309 / f 216.485.9851

  

www.cuyahogalibrary.org

Photo credit: Adrian Hood

Channel 5 Highlights 'Writers in Residence'

Read the whole article - 'Writers in Residence' gives voice to Ohio's juvenile detention youth, helping spark transformation and cut down recidivism - at news5cleveland.com.

And support Writers in Residence!
https://writersnresidence.org/

"Cleveland Poets See Amanda Gorman's Words As 'Tools' To Teach"

Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate Honey Bell-Bey
celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris with students
at Wade Elementary School on Inauguration Day. [Honey Bell-Bey]

Read the full article by Jenny Hamel at ideastream®.

Channel 5: "Presidential Inauguration Puts Poetry and Cleveland Youth Program in the Spotlight"

Read the whole story at https://www.news5cleveland.com.

And support Twelve Arts:
https://www.twelvearts.org/
Facebook: Twelve Arts
Instagram: @twelvelitarts
Twitter: @ArtsTwelve

The Bookshop Podcast features Mac's Backs and Larry Smith

This week on The Bookshop Podcast, host Mandy Jackson-Beverly talks to northern Ohio lit icons Suzanne DeGaetano of Mac's Backs Books on Coventry and Larry Smith of Bottom Dog Press:

Listen on Spotify, Podcast Addict, PlayerFM or BuzzSprout.

Mac's Backs: www.macsbacks.com

Larry Smith: https://smithdocs.net/LarrySmithHomepage.htm

The City, January 2021

 

art by smith

It's been far too long since we've seen a new issue of The City, Lady Smith's 'zine of art and poetry, but here it is, the January 2021 issue!

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"I’m interested in the concept of the city as center of culture. The city is a symbol of the womb, of civilization, of collected human experience. The city is something that is very old. The city is something holy. The city is something natural. The city is something akin to a coral colony. The city is a legitimate human function. The city means that we have moved beyond subsistence and into something more collective. Rather than being estranged from the land, the city is dependent on the land."

George Saunders Thinks Social Media Is Killing Us

I find it interesting that I encountered this interview with Lincoln in the Bardo author George Saunders shortly after I began my January social media hiatus. 

"There’s something wonderful about the spontaneity of social media, but I think at this point it’s becoming 100% toxic for people to be firing off the top of their brains. One of the things [my new] book says is that the deeper parts of our brain are actually more empathic. If you revise something 20 times, for a mysterious reason, it becomes more social, empathic and compassionate. With Chekhov, you feel he’s always saying: “Well, what else?”, “Is there anything else I should know?”, or “Maybe I’m wrong.” And all of that seems to be designed to foster love, or at least some kind of relation to the other that’s got possibility. So I’m not a fan of social media. I’m not on it. And I won’t be, because I think it’s killing us, actually. I really do."

Read the rest of what Saunders has to say in The Guardian.

And you can pre-order his new book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, from Mac's Backs.