New Visions Reading

The next installment of the reading series at New Visions is March 30 at 7 p.m. The line-up this month will feature a diverse mix of Keystone College alumni, Wilkes M.F.A. students/alumni, and other local authors. It will include poetry, fiction, and possibly some non-fiction. As always, this reading series if free and will be held at New Visions Studio and Gallery, 201 Vine Street in Scranton.

Stanton Hancock is a poet, author, and musician from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Stanton has a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from Bloomsburg University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. He is the founder of the indie publishing company Three Chord Press and is excitedly finishing the final preparations for its first release, Split 7 Inch, slated to be released this spring.

Laurel Radzieski is a Keystone College graduate who divides her time between writing and theatrical endeavors. She is the Cultural Assistant at the Dietrich Theater and is an acting member of the Dietrich Children’s Theatre, a group in which she has played a fox, a wolf, and a few cats. Her poetry has been recognized by the Mulberry Poets & Writers Association and she is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Goddard College.

Shelby Fisk is a former staff writer and photographer for The Times Leader Scranton Edition and Abington Journal. She graduated with a M.A. and MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University, where she studied fiction and poetry. She writes incorporating the two genres in her writing, teaches English at Keystone College, where she received her B.A., and is currently working on a multi-narrative novel.

Chris Campion holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. His short stories can be found through Fiction365.com and the East Meets West, American Writers Journal. He is currently an M.F.A. candidate at Wilkes University.

Heather M. Davis has been a film buff since the beginning of her life on Earth. She received a B.A. in Film Studies and Production from Hofstra University and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She works full-time as Marketing and Communications Specialist for Johnson College and adjuncts at Johnson College and Lackawanna College. She’s a screenwriter, essayist, and fiction conjurer who currently lives in Scranton.

Andrea McGuigan has been hosting poetry readings in the greater Scranton area for more than ten years, including the Test Pattern reading series, the Anthology Books reading series, and the current Prose in Pubs series. Andrea is a rostered artist-in-residence with the NEIU #19 and has taught poetry workshops and residencies in schools and at Arts Alive and Arts Alive Intermediate. She is a regular judge for Poetry Out Loud, a national performance poetry competition in which local schools participate. Her book of poems, Spinning with the Tornado, was published by Paper Kite Press in 2003. Once upon a time, she owned a bookstore called Anthology. Andrea lives in Scranton with her husband, Conor, and their cat, Kiki Ray Simone.

Scranton ZineFest

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, you should stop at New Visions Studio and Gallery in Scranton Saturday for the second Scranton ZineFest. From noon-6, there will be tables filled with zines, journals, books, arts and crafts. This year, the vendors are coming from all along the East Coast, and there is even one coming from Canada. Following the tabling, there will be a poetry reading at 7 p.m. featuring Jason Lucarelli, Steve Keating, Rachael Goetzke, Alexis Czencz Belluzzi, Rich Howells, William James, and I. This poetry reading is unique because most of the work we share will be music-oriented.

For more info about ZineFest, click here. For more info about the readers, click here.

You can also check out the Weekender’s cover story on ZineFest here, and the article from Go Lackawanna here.

I have a feeling that this year’s festival will top last year’s, when we had to deal with gloomy weather and on and off rain that limited the number of participants that came, since we had the festival outside, on Center Street. We’re grateful that New Visions has opened its doors to us and has allowed us to host the festival indoors this year.

New Visions Writers Showcase

As promised, here is some more info about the New Visions Writers Showcase. It will take place this Saturday at 7 pm at New Visions Studio and Gallery, located at 201 Vine Street in Scranton. Jason Lucarelli and I will host it, and we have a wonderful line-up of readers this month. You can read an article about the event here.

Here is some info about the readers.

Lisbeth Herr Gelatt is an undergraduate student at Keystone College who has taken community poetry workshops in Scranton and creative writing classes at Keystone. I’ve had her in class a few times, and she’s a great reader.

Rich Howells is an award-winning journalist, longtime blogger, and short fiction writer. In addition to his daily work for Scranton newspaper Go Lackawanna, his articles are also regularly published in The Times Leader, The Abington Journal, and The Weekender. Online, he maintains two main blogs and several smaller websites, and he is currently working on expanding into comic book writing. A good sampling of his portfolio can be found at www.RichHowells.net.

Trica Kinney is a senior at Keystone College. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in Word Fountain, WritingRaw.com, and Indigo Rising Magazine.

Dawn Leas is the author of the chapbook I Know When to Keep Quiet, published by Finishing Line Press.  Her work has appeared online, in print and in buses including goldwakepress.org, Willows Wept ReviewLiterary Mama, Interstice, and Poetry in Transit.  Currently, Dawn Leas teaches middle-school English at Wyoming Seminary. Visit her at www.dawnleas.com.

Frank Sabina has taught English at Keystone College. (We are actually still waiting for his full blurb to come in!)

Jennifer Bokal lives in Upstate New York with her husband, John, and their three daughters. Originally, a romance writer, Jennifer switched her focus to young adult novels while pursuing a degree in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. When not writing, Jennifer can be found practicing yoga, having lunch with friends or shopping for shoes. King’s Crossing is her first novel for young adults.

Bridget McIntyre is a GLBT writer who holds her MFA in creative writing from Wilkes University.  Currently, she teaches in the English department at Marywood University and is working on her first novel, Stonewall Girl.

We also have one other writer on the list, Beth Burke. Jason has the blurb for her. This Writers Showcase is unique in the sense we have a broader range of genres compared to the last showcase, which was poetry heavy. I’m confident all of the writers will do a wonderful job, so come on out and enjoy the work of local and regional writers! The event is free, though donations to the gallery are encouraged.

 

A Wonderful Weekend Reading

This weekend,  I hosted a mixed genre reading at New Visions Studio and Gallery in Scranton with my friend and fellow writer Jason Lucarelli.We launched the reading not only to showcase local writrs, but also to get people in  New Visions, a quaint space about two blocks down from Lackawanna College. The owners host music shows, comedy acts, and an array of art shows. But this was the first literary event they’ve had.

 Our other featured readers, Amye Archer, Tom Borthwick,Norma Bernstock, Alexis Czencz Belluzzi, and Steve Keating, all did a fantastic job, earning laughs and OOOs from folks in the audience.  The audience itself was also very receptive and attentive, and a wide range of different ages. I hope they continue to support the gallery and its various events.

Because the first event was successful, we decided to schedule another reading for Saturday, January 14 at 7 pm. We are currently in the process of booking the readers. Like the first showcase, the next one will feature a mix of genres.