Tag: NEPA Poetry Readings

New Visions Recap

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I want to thank everyone who came out to the New Visions Writers Showcase on Saturday. We had a packed house and a very attentive audience. Our featured readers, Rachael Goetzke, Charlie O’Donnell, Reena Ranells, Sandee Gretz Umbach, and William James, did a fantastic job. William concluded the night with some of his SLAM pieces, and he blew the roof off, drawing raucus applause at the end of his set.

We plan to keep this reading series going for as long as we can, especially since the audience for it keeps growing and growing. We do indeed have a wonderful, supportive writing community here, and I hope it only continues to grow. Here are some pics of the event, courtesy of Sandee Gertz Umbach.

Rachael reading from her memoir

Sandee reading from her collection, The Pattern Maker’s Daugther

Me reading bios of the readers

William James getting us started with an opening poem

 

Our next New Visions Writers Showcase will be in May. We already have most of the readers lined up, and I promise they will not disappointment. I will write about the event more when it’s closer.

Third New Visions Writers Showcase

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The third New Visions Writers Showcase is set to take place this Saturday at  7 p.m. at New Visions Studio and Gallery, 201 Vine Street in Scranton. I’m proud to again co-host this event with my friend and fellow writer Jason Lucarelli. This event is different from our first two readings because we are bringing in some folks from out of town, including national slam poet William James, who will be entertaining, that I can promose. Known for his punk rock ethos and performance-based poetry, James will surely keep the crowd’s attention. Go Lackawanna ran a wonderful article about the event, focusing on James’ work. Check it out here.

To give you a little more info about our six featured readers, here are their bios.

Rachael Goetzke: Raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, Rachael Goetzke currently calls Sugar Notch, PA her home. She lives with her cats, Cinnamon and Sugar, and works as an Early Literacy Specialist at the Osterhout Free Library. She also founded and is the Managing Editor of Word Fountain, a literary magazine housed at the library. Rachael received her B.A. in English from Radford University and her MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She enjoys discussing creative projects, especially music-related ones, over fair-trade coffee beans.

Sandee Gertz Umbach is a poet and writer from Western Pennsylvania, currently residing near Pittsburgh.  Her poems have been published in numerous literary journals, including Poet Lore, The Ledge, Gargoyle, and The Green Mountains Review. She has been the recipient of a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowship grant and is a Sandburg-Livesay Award Winner. Her recently released poetry collection, The Pattern Maker’s Daughter, (published by Bottom Dog Press) is set in the industrial steel city of Johnstown,Pennsylvania and reflects coming of age themes with a strong narrative sense of place and landscape.

Reena Ranells is the author of the recently published collection of poems Dancing Trees of Life. She is also a member of the Mulberry Poets and Writers Association. Besides writing poetry, Reena has worked as an RN for the last 25 yeras, and recently started a non-profit for farm and animal rescue.

Keith Gilman has been a police officer in the Philadelphia area for over 15 years. His most recent novel is My Brother’s Keeper, and he is also the author of one previous novel, Father’s Day, which won the Private Eye Writers of America’s Best First Novel Award.

Charlie O’Donnell graduated from King’s College where he majored in English and minored in psychology. He was a mental health worker for many years and now works at the Arts Seen Gallery on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre, where he organizes the Third Friday of the Month Spoken Word series.

William James is a member of the Steel City Slam and current host of the Yount Steel Youth Slam. He has performed over 300 shows across America, touring both as a solo act and in support of musical acts ranging from punk rock to folk. He has featured or competed at poetry slams, readings, music venues, and basements in almost every state east of the Mississippi.

This event is free and open to the public. Wine and snacks will be provided.

Patricia Smith at Keystone

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I am eager and happy to announce that Keystone College is hosting Patricia Smith on Tuesday, April 3 from 7-9 p.m. at Evans Hall. This event is free and open to the public, and if you are looking for something to do to celebrate National Poetry Month in April, I recommend seeing Smith.  She is the author of five books of poetry, and her work has appeared in Poetry, TriQuarterly, The Paris Review, and other journals.  She is also a four-time individual champion on the National Poetry Slam, and she has been featured a few times on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam.

What I enjoy about Smith’s work is is the way that she has used music over the years to address various social issues, especially race. “What I Would Have Told Oprah if She Asked,” a poem about Michael Jackson’s insecurities and decision to whiten his skin, does this especially well.  Her poems are loaded with references to jazz, blues, Motown, rock ‘n roll, and hip-hop.

My favorite book by Smith is Blood Dazzler, a finalist for the National Book Award in 2008. It features poems solely about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. That book truly shows the range of voice and persona Smith is able to capture in her work. It includes poems from the point of view of George Bush, a dog, the hurricane, and various residents of New Orleans, rich and poor, black and white.

I’ve often taught Smith’s work when discussing voice/persona in creative writing classes, and I’m happy some of my students will get to see her live. Here is a video of Smith performing the poem “Medusa.” You can also find a lot of her work online if you Google her name of visit the Poetry Foundation’s website here.

A Little bit of Irish Verse

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Parade Day may be over in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, but that doesn’t mean the celebration of Irish heritage and culture is quite over in NEPA. This Friday, on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, the Art SEEN Gallery on Public Square in Wilkes Barre is presenting a unique St. Patty’s Day event. There will be a reading of work by Irish writers starting at 8 p.m. A limited open mic will follow. Anyone can sign up to read, and if you aren’t sure what to share, just Google W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, Frank McCourt, or any other Irish writer. There will also be some books on hand to chose from.

To get you in the mood for this event, here is one of my favorite love poems by Yeats.

When You are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.