Two Upcoming Events

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As fall officially starts tomorrow, I’m happy to announce two upcoming events. Tomorrow, Sept. 21, I’m taking part in Jazz-Poetry night at the Old Bricke Theatre in Scranton, located at 126 W. Market St. The event begins at 6 p.m., and I’ll be joined by fellow poets Rich Howell and Scott Thomas. The musicians will be Chelsea Smarr on harp and Jeff Brozena on percussion. I’ve done this event a few times in the past, and it’s always a lot of fun. I’m a fan of any event that combines different art forms.

Next week, Saturday, Sept. 27, I’m taking part in 100 Thousand Poets for Change.   This is a global event meant to raise awareness about social justice and environmental issues. I will be taking part in the event outside of Philly, at Souderton Park, which is also not too far from New Hope. My reading will be from 11-11:30 a.m., and the event will run until 6 p.m. and feature poetry and music all day.

 

On Teaching Poetry

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I am sharing a video by the Academy of American Poets featuring Naomi Shihab Nye, a poet whose work I like quite a lot. This video focuses on Nye’s comments about teaching poetry and the difficulty of poetry. Much of what she says in this video resonates with me both as a poet and a full-time English instructor at a college. When I taught creative writing in the past, I’ve had students groan about having to write poetry, and when I come to the poetry unit in my literature courses, I have countless students who think that they can’t get or understand poetry. I have had my own theories on why this is, and some of my students have confessed to me that their experience with poetry in high school was reduced to dissecting meter on a black board, as though poetry is a math equation that needs to be solved.

Nye brings up another point, however, that I think is true. She states, “Something happened with poetry a while ago where it became a measurable thing. You either get it or you don’t get it.” She stresses the importance of sweeping that idea under the rug in the classroom and creating an environment where love for poetry is known and welcome. She also recommends allowing students to bring in poems that resonate with them and talking for a few minutes about why they love the poem so much.   Furthermore, she recommends playing audio clips of the poets reading their work. This is something I do in nearly all of my classes. I have noticed time and time again that when students can hear a voice and associate that voice with the poem, they relate to the poem more. Sometimes, it makes the poem easier for them to understand, too. Though this is a short video, there is a lot of good feedback in here regarding teaching, creative writing pedagogy, and teaching poetry.

Here is the video. Enjoy!

New Poem Over at Two Cities Review

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Two Cities Review will be publishing its fall issue in the coming days. I’m thrilled that my poem, “Stargazing,” will be included. The editors launched a preview of the fall issue, which you can read here. It features my poem, and check their website in a few days for access to the rest of the issue.

Enjoy!

Win a Copy of All That Remains

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Wilkes University, where I received my M.F.A., is giving away a free copy of my latest book of poems, All That Remains. All that you have to do is leave a comment on the website, and you will be entered into the contest. One person will be selected at random to win a copy of the book. The book will then be shipped via UPS.

Here is the link.

Leave a comment on the Wilkes website for a chance to win. Good luck!

Goodbye, Vintage Theater

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Unfortunately, another all-ages art venue in Scranton is closing its doors. The Vintage Theater will officially close at the end of this month. A goodbye bash will be held on August 30 at 6 p.m. As a board member, I can’t even begin to express my disappointment and sorrow to see yet another venue close in the community. I can’t even begin to describe the importance of venues like The Vintage to communities like Scranton. When I was in high school, I found solace at another all-ages venue, Cafe Del Soul, which closed its doors during my senior year. It was there that I discovered the punk rock community, activism, poetry, and the broader art community. I am sure that The Vintage provided that for a lot of people in the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre community, and I can only hope another venue will open soon.

As a writer, The Vintage has been incredibly important to me. I had the book launch for Front Man there in the fall of 2010 and more recently, I had the release party for All That Remains there last fall. Conor and Theresa, the venue owners, were always there for the art community, and when New Visions Studio and Gallery closed last year, they were gracious enough to allow Jason Lucarelli and I to move the Writers’ Showcase there. We had two readings there, one last March and one in July. Both were well-attended, and all of the writers, especially the ones that came from our of town, had positive things to say about the venue and the greater Scranton community. Furthermore, the venue hosted a local writing group there each Saturday and had a monthly open mic for writers. All of this comes on top of the countless art, music, and theater events the venue had over the years.

If you’re in the area, or even if you moved out of the area, come say goodbye to the venue on August 30 at 6 p.m. and thank Conor and Theresa in person for the positive impact they had on the community.

New York Quarterly Reading

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Next Monday, August 11, I’ll be reading at the Bowery Poetry Club  in New York City as part of the New York Quarterly Reading Series. The reading series is held each month and features writers who have published through NYQ Books, or writers who have had or have work forthcoming in the magazine. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. The three other featured readers include Emanuel di Pasquale, Ellen “Windy” Lytle, and Alexander Norelli. For a full list of our bios, click here.

I am humbled and honored to be part of this reading series and can’t wait for the event!

Fledgling Rag Release Party

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This Wednesday, July 30, I’m reading in Lancaster, PA as part of the launch party for the new issue of Fledgling Rag, a wonderful journal published by Iris G. Press. The event will be held at DogStar Books, located at 401 W. Lemon Street, from 7-8:30 p.m. Copies of the journal will be available.  The other featured readers include Pat Hanahoe -Dosch, Jeff Rath, Joseph Ross, Heather H. Thomas, and Carol Clark Williams. Check out all of our bios via this Facebook event page.

Hope to see you there!