To anyone local who reads this blog, here are some announcements about upcoming literary events.
Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.
Open Mic Night for Writers
Cafe Sevda, Scranton
FREE, though it is encouraged you purchase a drink or snack.
Saturday, Sept. 30, 7-9 p.m.
Writers Showcase Fall Edition
Olde Brick Theatre, Scranton
Featuring: Pat Farnelli, Tara L. Marta, Shawna Hogan, Alex Lotorto, and Kevin McDonough
$4 at the door
I hope that everyone is enjoying mid-summer! I’m going to be doing a few events around northeastern, Pennsylvania that I wanted to share. If you’re local, I hope that you can attend some of these.
Saturday, July 22 7 P.M.
Just Words: An Evening with NEPA Poets
Loose Leaf Pages Bookstore, Honesdale
I will be reading with Daryl Sznyter and Nancy Dymond.
Facebook event page here.
Saturday, July 29 9-3 p.m.
2017 Authorfest at the Dorflinger Factory Museum
I will be on a poetry panel in the morning and then selling books.
This is a free event and a means to network and meet other writers.
Aug. 4-5 Pennsylvania Writers Conference at Wilkes University
I will be on a panel entitled Pressing the Issue: Working with an Independent Press.
Our panel actually runs both days! Natasha Tretheway will give the keynote address on Saturday evening.
For more info or to register, go here.
So, if you’re in NEPA, there are a lot of literary events coming up. I hope that you can attend! Special sidenote: I really encourage people to shop at Loose Leaf Pages in Honesdale. Let’s give this new independent bookstore and tea house all the support that we can!
Confession: for a few months, I pondered ending the reading series that I’ve been running for over five years, The Writers’ Showcase. The series has undergone a lot since its inception, including three venue changes and a co-host who moved to Philadelphia. However, after talking to writer friends from across the county, I’ve decided to keep it going. I’m grateful to them for sparking my motivation to keep doing this thing. We’ve had a lot of conversations about the Trump age and what this means for the arts, namely if the NEA and NHE are totally defunded, which has been proposed in the Trump budget. No matter the fate of those organizations, it is imperative that we keep these local reading series going as a means to give a voice to writers. Writers have always been a form of resistance, and we need to ensure that we have spaces and series to make their work available to the public. With that in mind, I am going to host another edition of the Writers’ Showcase in April, and we’re thrilled about the line-up, which is included on the flyer below. I am also committing myself to continue writing book reviews for other writers. My goal is to write 4-6 reviews a year, a schedule I’ve been able to keep up with over the last few years and one I think I can maintain. Here is a new review I wrote of Patrick T. Reardon’s book Requiem for David, which I highly recommend. I was not familiar with his work until the editor of At the Inkwell asked me if I wanted to review it. Another goal for me is to review books of authors I’m not familiar with, as a way to expose myself to work outside of my usual circle and do the same for others.
Let’s think about ways that we can continue supporting our local art scenes because we really need that right now.
When it gets closer to the date, I will post the bios of our featured writers for April.
This post is going to be short, but I wanted to share that I have two upcoming readings in the next week and a half, one in Philly and one in Lancaster. Here is the info:
Lancaster Poetry Exchange: Featuring Dawn Leas and Brian Fanelli
Barnes & Noble, 1700 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, PA
7:30-9
FREE
Museum of Americana Lit Mag Philly Reading
Featuring: Shevaun Brannigan, Grant Clauser, Brian Fanelli, Irène Mathieu
University City Arts League
4226, Spruce St, Philadelphia
FREE
Lastly, I have a new poem in a post-election anthology put together by Birds We Piled Loosely Press. It will be out in print in a few months, but for now, you can read it for free online. My lovely lady, Daryl Sznyter, also has a poem in it.
I have some reflections from the Women’s March in DC, but I am writing about it for As It Ought to Be, and when it posts, I will share it.
I hope that everyone is having a safe, happy, and healthy 2017 so far! This January, I’m doing a few poetry readings around the tri-state area. If you’re in northeastern, PA, NYC, or Lancaster, perhaps I’ll see you at one of these events:
Thursday, January 12 2017 7-9 p.m.
Wilkes University M.F.A. Alumni Reading/Maslow Foundation Salon Reading Series
Dorothy Dickson Darte Center Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Saturday, January 14 2017 5:45-7:45 p.m.
Italian American Writers Association Reading
Corneila St. Cafe, New York, New York
I will be reading with Phillip Giambri.
Wednesday, January 25 2017 7-9 p.m.
Lancaster Poetry Exchange
Red Rose Commons, 1700 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, PA
I will be reading with Dawn Leas. There will be a short open mic, too.
For more info about the Maslow Foundation Series, click here.
For more information about the Italian American Writers Association reading, click here.
May everyone’s new year be creative and productive.
My never-ending book tour for Waiting for the Dead to Speak is continuing, with a lot of events scheduled over the next few weeks. I’m eager to be reading at some of my favorite book stores on the East Coast in the next few weeks. If you happen to be in any of these areas, I encourage you to come on out!
Friday, October 28 2016 7-9 p.m.
Midtown Scholar Bookstore, 1302 N. 3rd Street, Harrisburg PA
I will be the feature, and an open mic will follow.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016 6:30-8:30 pm.
RiverReads Bookstore, 5 Court Street, Binghamton NY
I will be reading with Dawn Leas and Jason Allen
Saturday, November 5 2016 3 p.m.
Buffalo Street Books 215 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY
I will be reading with Dawn Leas. Ocean Vuong will also read at 5:30 p.m.
It’s been a whirlwind last few days, after a reading in Reading, PA on Thursday, the book launch for Waiting for the Dead to Speak Friday, and a second book launch in Boston on Sunday. This book has put me back in touch with a lot of old friends, and venturing to different cities has allowed me to step into other literary scenes and communities to see and support what they’re doing. It reaffirmed for me that poetry is alive and well, due to the time and energy people are willing to invest in it and in their community spaces. I’ve been thrilled to celebrate poetry with a wide range of friends. Over the last 72 hours, the news cycle has been depressing and disgusting, to the point where I almost didn’t tune into the second presidential debate, even as a politico. But the poetry readings/events have been such a positive contrast. I am so grateful for these types of communities that exist and to everyone who came out to these readings over the last few days.
I also want to note that I will be reading at the KGB Bar in NYC this Wednesday at 7 p.m.
In addition, I want to share some links to various interviews I’ve done over the last few weeks. I meant to share these earlier but had little time between teaching, writing, and readings for the book.
Thanks to The Scranton Times-Tribune/570 for this article.
Thank you to Erika Funke and WVIA Radio for this interview on ArtScene, which aired a few days ago.
Thank you to E.W. Conundrum for this podcast.
I want to thank fellow poet Matthew Hamilton for this new review of Waiting for the Dead to Speak. Since Matthew is a vet, I appreciate his close analysis of some of my poems that deal with war from the perspective of a civilian who had friends that had to do two or three tours in Iraq. I am also grateful for the closing words of his review:
I admire Fanelli’s bravery enormously. This is not an arrogant poet seeking recognition. Fanelli writes from a sympathetic and forgiving heart. He encourages us to stand fast, to claw our way out of the disillusioned and absurd world of the rabbit hole.
I also want to note that the Scranton book launch is coming up this Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Olde Brick Theatre. This month, specifically within the next two weeks, I have readings in Reading, Scranton, Boston, and NYC. Here are the dates and info:
Thursday, October 6 2016 6-8 p.m.
First Thursday Poetry Night
GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA
Friday, October 7 2016 7-9 p.m.
Scranton Launch Party for Waiting for the Dead to Speak
Old Bricke Theatre, 126 W. Market Street, Scranton, PA
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Newtown Publishing Center Showcase
289 Elliott Street, Newtown Upper Falls, MA
Thursday, October 12 2016 7-9 p.m.
Poetry Night at the KGB Bar
KGB Bar, New York, New York
I will be one of the featured poets this evening.
Here is a flyer for the reading in Boston. I’m grateful to have two book launches within one weekend!
There are still weeks of summer left, but with August halfway over, I am looking towards fall. I’ll be on the road, doing a lot of readings for Waiting for the Dead to Speak, which comes out Sept. 12 through NYQ Books. I will have the pleasure of reading at the Jersey Shore, Philly, Boston, Ithaca, Binghamton, Lancaster, York, and a number of other spaces and communities. When the fall is a little closer, I will post a list of full reading dates here and on my social media accounts.
I am also thrilled to announce a special Writers’ Showcase at The Scranton Fringe Festival during the first weekend of Oct. This is a wonderful line-up.
I don’t want to give too much away about my forthcoming book of poems with NYQ Books entitled Waiting for the Dead to Speak, but it will drop in September. I’m doing a lot of readings for it. Stay tuned, and bam, here is the cover art! Thanks to Mikayla Lewis for the cover image!
Brian Fanelli 