About That Study

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While I was away on vacation last week, a lot of my local friends spread this article via social media by The Citizens’ Voice.

The article pertains to a study done by economists at Harvard University and the University of British Columbia Canada. The study found that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area is the unhappiest region in the U.S. Here is what the article states:

Economists with Harvard University and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, looked at telephone polls from 2005 to 2009 organized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among a slew of health and lifestyle questions was, “How satisfied are you with your life?”

At least 300,000 people in the U.S. answered that question each year. The study’s authors picked 177 metro areas that garnered at least 200 respondents each year. Even controlling for age, race, gender and other demographic factors, Northeastern Pennsylvanians were most likely in the country to tell pollsters their lives are unsatisfying.

Everyone knows the rust belt regions lack jobs, and that’s nothing new. Yet, as my friend Charlotte Lewis pointed out in the article, this area has a fairly strong artistic community. For the last three years, I’ve hosted a reading series and brought in writers from around the northeast region and from as far away as Chicago, and all of them were impressed by the city and the reading series. Furthermore, there are countless other literary events in the area, including open mics at The Vintage, open mics at Embassy Vinyl, locally produced plays, not to mention the visiting authors that the local colleges host. In addition, there’s a strong First Friday art walk in downtown Scranton and now a Third Friday art walk in Wilkes-Barre that is only growing. There’s a local music scene, and there’s easy access to NYC via bus. Philly is just a two hour car ride, while Boston and DC are only a few hours away, too. So, I’m unsure why people complain about the area so much. It’s certainly not lacking in terms of things to do or its access to other cities. The economy is troubled, yes, but that is nothing knew in the rust belt region of the U.S.

If people feel unhappy, then why don’t they do something about it? I have countless friends that have started wonderful artistic events in this area, but what about those that just complain about everything? If they’re fed up with the politics, then why not run for city council, county office, or school board? If they think there’s nothing to do, then why don’t they start something?

I’m glad that some of the quotes in the article praised what there is to do here and the growing artistic community. I feel fortunate to live in a place that has reading series, art walks, theater, several colleges, and short car rides to major East Coast cities.

Gettysburg Area Poets

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Many thanks to everyone who came out to the Writers’ Showcase the other night at The Vintage. We had a great turnout, and many thanks to Bryne, Paul, Charlotte, Eric, and Bernadette, our featured readers. They all did an excellent job. This weekend, there’s another literary event going on in Northeastern, Pennsylvania. Four poets from the Gettysburg area will read at the Library Express Saturday at 3 p.m. This event is free, and these poets are well worth checking out.

Here is information about the event from the press release:

Four Gettysburg area poets will read at the Library Express in the Steamtown Mall on Saturday, July 19 at 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The featured poets include Martin Malone, Katy Giebenhain, Dana Larkin Sauers, and Gary Ciocco.

Malone teaches at Mount Saint Mary’s University. His poems have appeared in Dream International Quarterly, Lighted Corners, The Monocacy Valley Review, Scribble and the Seminary Ridge Review.

Giebenhain edits the Poetry + Theology rubric for Seminary Ridge Review. Her poems and prose have appeared in The London Magazine, Tokens for the Foundlings, Bordercrossing Berlin, Saint Katherine Review, Appalachian Journal, Water˜Stone Review, Little Patuxent Review, Bellevue Literary Review and elsewhere.

Sauers, currently an adjunct faculty member at Mt. St. Mary’s University, is a founding member of the Hanover Poets and co-editor of the literary journal Digges’ Choice. Collections include Between the Space of Grace and Gray (2006) and My Letter to the World (2010). She has published in journals and has been recognized in various poetry contests. She recently began a yearly traveling and service commitment in Central and South America resulting in two books, Pura Vida (2013) and If These Stones Could Speak (2014).

Ciocco teaches philosophy and political science at Gettysburg College, Harrisburg Area Community College, and other colleges. He has had poems published in several journals including Seminary Ridge Review, Shadowtrain, National Catholic Reporter and Backbone Mountain Review.   He lives with his family in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and regularly travels near and far to hear and read the spoken word.

Summer Writers’ Showcase

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This Saturday, July 12 is the summer installment of the Writers’ Showcase at The Vintage in downtown Scranton, 326 Spruce St. There will be wine. There will be food. There will be engaging readings. The event starts at  7 p.m. Yours truly will be hosting, but I’m hoping Jason Lucarelli will be present, too, to say his goodbyes.

The cost is $5 and all of the money goes to support the Vintage. Check out the bios of our five featured readers:

Born and raised in Scranton, PA Bryne Lewis is a philosopher, poet, writer and teacher. Her poems have appeared in Janus Head: A Journal of Philosophy and Art, The Anglican Theological Journal and The Penwood Review. In 2010, her poem “Conjoined” won first prize in the “Love at the Mutter” poetry contest, sponsored by the Mutter Museum, Philadelphia, PA. Ms. Lewis is a regular contributor to the web journal “The Church and Postmodern Culture” at The Other Journal and works out her philosophical demons at www.brynelewis.com.

Paul Capoccia is a Dunmore native. He attended Holy Cross High School and graduated as Salutatorian of the class of 2012. He was also selected as a Scranton Times-Tribune Scholastic Superstar for the class of 2012. Paul currently attends Marywood University where he is working toward a Bachelor’s degree in English with minors of Writing and Mathematics. Paul has only recently begun writing as he spent three of his first four semesters at Marywood as a Math major.

You may have seen Charlotte Lewis hopping trains throughout the United States and Canada. You may have seen her living in redwoods stopping deforestation, marching against the war in Iraq, or playing fiddle in a whimsical puppet show about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing. Maybe you remember her from highschool as that bald girl yelling and playing trumpet in a punk band. But mostly, you may have seen the Scranton native Charlotte Lewis frequenting poetry readings in the area for the past nine years. She has helped host the Anthology New and Used Books poetry reading and now hosts her own reading, Kick Out the Bottom, every last Friday of the month, at Embassy Vinyl in downtown Scranton. She has produced her own zines such as Last Guerilla’s Poetic Tactics and Burn in the Memory of Burning.

Eric Wilson is a pipe fitter from the water industry who likes the sight of penguins more often than not. He has a glorious wife and two fantastic children who share his love for peanut butter and machine lubricants. His work has appeared relatively nowhere due to a debilitating fear of postage stamps, envelope glue, and technology. He is the president of the newly founded SwanDive Publishing Company, and cannot wait to meet you in person. You can follow him on Twitter @SwandiveEric.

Poet Bernadette McBride’s work has been published in numerous journals and anthologies nationally as well as in the UK, and on NPR’s “The Writer’s Almanac” with Garrison Keillor. A former Poet Laureate of Bucks County, PA, she has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, was second-place winner of the international Ray Bradbury writing award, and both a finalist and runner-up for the Robert Fraser poetry prize. She teaches writing and literature at Bucks County Community College, has taught Creative Writing at Temple University, and presents poetry and fiction writing workshops, often on the intersection of art and writing. In addition to directing the monthly Poets Reading Series at Farley’s Bookshop in New Hope, PA she reads her own work widely, including appearances on Public Television in New York City and PhillyCAM in Philadelphia. She is the author of two full-length poetry collections: Waiting for the Light to Change (Word Tech Editions) and Food, Wine, and Other Essential Considerations, forthcoming from Aldrich Press in September, 2014.

New Hope Reading

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If you read my blog and you’re in the Philly area this week, then please come out to see me read at Farley’s Bookshop in New  Hope, PA Wednesday, July 3 at 7 p.m. I’ll be reading some work from All That Remains, but also a selection of new poems from a new manuscript. The other co-feature is Ryan J. Torres, and there will be a limited open mic. I will also note that Farley’s is one of the most impressive, expansive bookstores in the Philly area, especially for poetry. It has shelves and shelves of books from indie presses/publishers.

Here’s the full info about the reading from the press release:

Farley’s Bookshop Poets Series welcomes poets Brian Fanelli and Ryan Torres for a reading and book signing Thursday, July 3, at 7 p.m. Farley’s is located at 44 South Main Street, New Hope, PA 18938. Phone 215-862-2452

Our reading is followed by a Q&A with the featured poets and an open reading (one long-ish or two short poems–about two-three minutes for each reader)

About the Poets

Brian Fanelli is the author of the chapbook Front Man (Big Table Publishing) and the full-length collection All That Remains (Unbound Content). His poetry has been published or is forthcoming in The Los Angeles Times, World Literature Today, Blue Collar Review, Portland Review, Contemporary American Voices, Main Street Rag, Boston Literary Magazine, and several other publications. Brian has an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and teaches English full-time at Lackawanna College. He is also a Ph.D. student at SUNY Binghamton. Find him online atwww.brianfanelli.com.

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Ryan J. Torres lives in Horsham, Pennsylvania. He has published poetry and short fiction in such publications as Shoofly, Essence, The Boston Literary Magazine, Page and Spine, The Young American Poet’s Blog, APIARY, and, most recently, Chapter and Verse, an e-zine that is published in southern France. Torres has been a journalist, newspaper photographer, editor, and is currently a teacher and administrator at the ATG Learning Academy; a non-profit school for children with learning disabilities. He collects, and does the majority of his work on typewriters.

New Poet Laureate

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Big congrats to Charles Wright, who was named the 20th United States Poet Laureate and follows Natasha Tretheway, who held the post for two years in a row. Like Tretheway, Wright is a southerner. A Tennessee native and graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 1993 and went on to win the Pulitzer and Griffin Prize. He also won the National Book Award for his collection Country Music. Regarding the selection, Robert Polito, president of the Poetry Foundation said, “He’s long been one of my favorite poets. His work, while rooted in a vivid sense of place, crosses all borders — geographic, aesthetic, and cultural. Charles is modest, but brilliant, an essential contemporary metaphysical poet. I can’t wait to see what his projects and initiatives will be.”

Here’s a link to several of Wright’s poems and an interview/overview of his work. It’s worth checking out!

 

 

 

 

Buy the man a beer, or something

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Three years ago,  Jason Lucarelli and I met to discuss creating a new reading series in northeast, Pennsylvania, one that would include featured readers only, no open mic, and combine poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Out of those initial meetings came the Writers Showcase Reading Series, which was held at the now defunct New Visions Studio and Gallery in Scranton and then the Vintage Theater this past year. We wanted to showcase the work of our friends, and since then, we’ve hosted over 100 writers, some local and some from far away as Chicago.

Jason has been an instrumental part of this reading series. He has invited several poets and prose writers to our area, connections he’s made through his  low-res M.F.A. program in Vermont.  Furthermore, once I started the Ph.D. program, took on a full-time teaching job, and released a new book, he took on the press duties  and has succeeded in ensuring our readings got publicity in the weekly arts papers.  So far (fingers crossed) we’ve never had a low turnout for any of the readings, and that is because of Jason’s hard work getting the word out.

All of this said, Jason will be moving away to Philly for a new job. I wish him the best of luck. We ran this series for three years, and it’s been a great run. It will continue, at least for July and November, dates we confirmed a long time ago with the Vintage. Our next reading will be Saturday, July 12 at 7 p.m., and it will feature Bryne and Charlotte Lewis, Paul Capoccia, Eric Wilson, and Bernadette McBride. Here is the Facebook event page.

When it’s a little closer to the date, I’ll post more info about July’s featured writers, including their bios, and post some articles from the local arts papers. It’s unclear now whether or not Jason will still be in town to co-host the reading, but if he is there, give him a thank you for co-organizing this series over the last three years. Buy the man a beer when we all go out to a bar afterwards.

Here’s a picture from the first reading at New Visions. The featured readers were Norma Bernstock, Amye Archer, Steve Keating, Alexis Belluzzi, Tom Borthwick, Jason, and I. In the meantime, keep supporting the other readings in the area, both the open mics and featured readers series. Other people like Jason put a lot of time and energy into sustaining this local literary community, and they deserve support.

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The Early Bird Gets the Worm

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If you’re looking for something new to read, one of my favorite new literary journals is Tahoma Literary Review, which publishes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. The journal will soon release its debut issue, and you can already read about some of the contributors. It’s a rather impressive list. I also like the journal because of the blog posts the editors write every few weeks, which contain some of the most practical advice on writing I’ve read, especially for those first getting started. In the latest post, editor Kelly Davio stresses the importance of submitting work early in a submission period. This post stuck because because when a lot of journals and magazines open for submissions in September, I don’t always submit my work to them immediately. Kelly’s post is making me re-think that.

Here’s what she has to say about submissions, “When editors see a piece we simply have to have, we know we’d better grab it before it appears in another magazine’s pages. That means we often have few pages left in the issue by the last week or two of the submission period:, and competition that was already tough to begin with reaches cutthroat proportions. I sometimes have to say no to great poems when they reach me on the late side.”

She adds that for the first submission period, they received work from over 350 poets, usually five poems per poet. Of the poems, over 200 came in the last week, but the journal was already 2/3 full. Those statistics really put things into perspective, and when September rolls around and a flood of journals open for submissions, I don’t plan to wait. Send the work out there at the beginning of the period.

If you have the time, I suggest going back and reading some of the older blog posts, too. All contain useful information.

On Father’s Day

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Normally, no matter the classes I teach each semester, I always do a poetry unit. Often, I break the poems up either by time period or by theme, and when I do it by theme, I always include a section on parents/sons and parents/daughters. I tend to change the poems up every year and have included work by Natasha Tretheway, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Toi Derricotte, Theodore Roethke, among others. But no matter how I change the unit, I always include “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, one of the poet’s most famous works, and also one of my favorite American poems.

Like me, a product of an economically depressed, blue-collar coal mining town, my students always relate to the poem. No matter the semester or the type of students, I always get a positive reaction to the poem. The students can relate to the father’s labor, the way he starts the fire,  warms the home, polishes the son’s shoes, and yet, expects no thank yous. The poem is beautiful and tender, rich in its language in just 14 short lines. In a lot of ways, it makes me think of and remember my father, dead 10 years come February. He too labored hard but did not expect praise, even though he picked me up from school daily and like my mother, spent years working to carve out a good life for his kids.

I encourage you on this Father’s Day to click the link to the poem and enjoy it. Here’s another link, one to a short audio podcast from The Poetry Foundation on “Those Winter Sundays.” It includes a recording of Hayden reading the poem, some background on him, and analysis by another favorite poet of mine, Terrance Hayes.

Finally, I’ll end this blog post with a link to one of my poems, “Waiting Room,”. Enjoy, and Happy Father’s Day!

Scranton ZineFest

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If you’re  around northeastern, PA this weekend, then I encourage you to come out to Scranton ZineFest. Since it’s creation a few years ago, the festival has grown to include more artists, zinesters, poets, and this year musicians. It has become an inclusive festival over the last few years that does its best to include a variety of art forms and media.  The free event will take place Saturday from 1-7 p.m. at the Tripps Park Community Center, 2000 Dorothy St. in Scranton. This year’s event features artists from all over the East Coast, including Maryland, Philadelphia, Richmond, DC, and artists from far away as Chicago. For a list of the artists and zinesters participating, click here.

There will also be live music throughout the day and a poetry reading at 2 p.m. I’ll be reading, along with Rich Howells, Alexis Belluzzi, Rachael Goetzke, and David J. Bauman. For a list of our bios, click here.

If you want more information about the festival, then check out this article The Weekender just published.

A big thank you to Jessica Meoni and her partners in crime for organizing this whole thing for yet another year.