Tag: Scranton

A promotional poster for the Creature Feature Weekend Horror Convention in Scranton, PA

What I’m Most Excited for at Creature Feature Weekend

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For several years, Creature Feature has hosted an awesome horror convention in Gettysburg, celebrating the actors, directors, writers, and artists who bring the genre to life. Creature Feature will still hold conventions in Gettysburg every March, but for the first time ever, they’re going to host a convention at the Hilton in downtown Scranton!

Creature Feature Scranton will take place from November 7-9. The guest list is pretty stacked and includes Jerry Wallace, one of the actors who played Jason in Friday the 13th Pt. 2, Quinn Lord (Sam from Trick ‘r Treat), Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, 3 from Hell), Clint Howard (Ice Cream Man), John Dugan (grandpa from the OG Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Edwin Neal (the hitchhiker from the OG Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and several others.

A production still of Quinn Lord as Sam from Trick 'r Treat

What makes Creature Feature specifically unique is that besides the usual actor photo-ops, autograph tables, and vendor fair, they host several other events. Here’s a few I’m most excited about:

  • Live commentary screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. With some of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre cast in attendance, along with the film’s cinematographer Daniel Pearl, this should be an unforgettable and eye-opening screening. It will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at 6 pm at the Scranton Art Haus movie theater. A weekend or VIP pass is required.

  • Live commentary screening of My Bloody Valentine. Again, this sounds like a really fun and unique event. Considering director George Mihalka and the miner actor Peter Cowper are convention guests, I assume they’ll be handling the live commentary. This event takes place on Saturday, November 8 at 8 pm, also at the Scranton Art Haus. A weekend pass or VIP ticket is required.

  • Film panels: some of the film discussion panels include Friday the 13th Pt. 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and solo Q & As with Quinn Lord, Clint Howard, and Bill Moseley. For film lovers, these panels are always one of the best aspects of any convention. You never know what behind-the-scenes tidbits and stories the actors/directors/screenwriters may share.

  • Pumpkin carving contest: I just think this sounds rad. I’ve never been to a convention that had a pumpkin carving contest. This takes place November 8 at 2 pm.

  • Costume contest: horror conventions aren’t complete without a costume contest. It’s always a good time watching these and seeing the craft and creativity that goes into the costumes and cosplay. This will occur on November 8 at 5 pm.

These are only my must-sees at Creature Feature Weekend, but there are a ton of other events occurring over the weekend. For a full event schedule and to purchase tickets, click here. I can’t stress enough the importance of supporting this event, so it becomes a yearly occurrence in the area.

Upcoming Literary Events

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I’m taking a break from the film reviewing this week to spread the word about two literary events.

Currents in the Electric City Reading, Nov. 2 at 7 pm, The Gathering Place

This event will be another reading/book signing to celebrate Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology. Featured readers include Mandy Pennington, David Elliott, Ted LoRusso, Jess Meoni, Amye Archer, Bonnie Markowski, Daryl Fanelli, Barbara J. Taylor, fellow co-editor Joe Kraus, and I. This event is free and will take place at the Gathering Place in Clarks Summit, PA.

Open Mic at the Albright Memorial Library, Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 pm

Lackawanna College’s Professional Writing Program, in conjunction with the Albright Memorial Library, is hosting an open mic. This will feature student and faculty readings, but it’s also open to the public! Bring a piece to share. Admission is free, and there will be food, too.

Currents in the Electric City in Beacon, NY/Stanza Books

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On Saturday, we had a wonderful and inspiring launch for Currents in the Electric City. About a dozen contributors read their work from the anthology at the Albright Memorial Library before a packed house. The momentum will continue into the late summer and fall months. Next up, some of us will be reading at Stanza Books in Beacon, NY on Saturday, August 17.

Stanza Books is co-owned by one of the anthology’s contributors, Andrea Talarico. She’ll be reading, along with Mandy Pennington, Daryl Fanelli, Joe Kraus, Dawn Leas, and I. It should be a lot of fun, and we’ll have copies of the book for sale.

For more info about the reading, click here. We’re in the process of planning some events for the fall months, too, so stay tuned!

Happy Publication Day to Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology

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Yes, I know, I know that this is self-promotional, but I want to say Happy Publication Day to Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology (Belt Publishing)! I was fortunate enough to edit this book with Joe Kraus, and working with over two dozen contributes was a real pleasure.

Yes, yes, there’s “The Office” and the city’s political history, including President Biden’s endless references to it, but I think this anthology showcases Scranton’s layered history, struggles, and revitalization. This anthology houses a unique chorus of voices writing about their relationship to the hardscrabble city. I’m really proud of the work in this book.

Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology officially came out today and we’ll be having a launch/reading on Saturday, July 27 at the Albright Memorial Library in downtown Scranton! If you’re in the area, come hear some of the contributors share their work.

Then, on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Stanza Books in Beacon, NY, there will be another reading celebrating the anthology. The event starts at 6:30 pm and you can find more info on the bookstore’s website.

Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology & Upcoming Events

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A little less than two years ago, Joe Kraus, an English Professor at the University of Scranton, asked me to co-edit an anthology with him for Belt Publishing’s City Anthology Series on Scranton, my hometown. Yes, I was born and raised in North Scranton, and though I left it for college and stuck around in the Philly area for a while after, it’s my home turf. I’m really thrilled with this anthology, which officially releases on July 16! You can preorder a copy through the publisher’s website by clicking here.

The anthology, which features nearly 30 contributors, contains an honest and multi-faceted look at the city of Scranton, from its place in pop culture on shows like “The Office,” to its labor/coal mining history, to poems and essays about very specific neighborhoods. More than anything, this anthology documents Scranton’s place and history as a hardscrabble, blue-collar city to a place that’s clawed its way out of its coal mining past and continues to undergo major revitalization.

To celebrate the anthology, we’re having a kickoff event on Saturday, July 27 at 3 pm at the Albright Memorial Library in downtown Scranton. Contributors will read their pieces, and we’ll have copies of the book for sale. More events will be coming, but the launch on the July 27 is the first.

Speaking of literary events, on Saturday, June 22 at 7 pm at The Gathering Place in Clarks Summit, PA, I’m giving a poetry reading. I’ll be joined by novelist Barb Taylor, and following our featured readings, there will be an open mic. I’ll have copies of some of my books for sale, and Barb will have copies of her new novel, Rain Breaks No Bones. If you’re in the area, come on out, and bring a piece to read for the open mic!

It’s certainly shaping up to be a literary summer!

In Defense Of…

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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.

The Writers Showcase Spring 2017 (1)-page-001.jpg

When it gets closer to the date, I will post the bios of our featured writers for April.

New Review

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I wanted to share a review written by Dante Di Stefano for Waiting to the Dead to Speak, published by Arcadia Press. I am grateful for this thoughtful review and the context Dante places the book in, post-election, namely the class issues. You can check it out here.  Here is an exert:

The Scranton, Pennsylvania of Waiting for the Dead to Speak, a place freighted with pasts and vanishings, could be anywhere in Middle America; Fanelli’s poetry mainlines anthracite and coal dust, caked in creosote and lye, in order to deliver a rustbelt bucolic in which empathy outflanks hate.

Next post, I’ll reflect on 2016, and share some of my favorite films and books of the year.

Something Worth Celebratin

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writers-showcase-december-2016-1-page-001

Tonight, we’re celebrating five years of the Writers’ Showcase Reading Series in Scranton. I hear that there will be cupcakes. There will also be featured readers taking  the stage to share their work. I’m going to get a little sentimental for a moment. The Writers’ Showcase has undergone three different venue locations. Yes, three! We started out at New Visions Studio and Gallery, a wonderful space in downtown Scranton that closed its doors about two years after we started the reading series. Then, we moved to the Vintage Theater, also downtown. Unfortunately, that venue closed a few months after we relocated. Last year, we found a new venue, the Olde Brick Theatre. They have been incredibly supportive of everything we do.

Since the series started, we’ve mixed local writers with regional and national writers. We’ve had features come from as far away as Boston and Chicago, yes Chicago, to take part in a reading series in Scranton, of all places. My original co-host and co-organizer, Jason Lucarelli, wanted to start this series with me because there were few reading series in Scranton back in 2011. The city was also in MUCH worse financial condition than it is now. At the time, Scranton made national headlines because the mayor had to temporarily pay city workers minimum wage, due to the city’s debt and distressed status. Now, five years later, the city is almost out of distressed status, in part, because it sold off a lot of its assets, including the Parking Authority and Sewer Authority. There are no more headlines on NPR or Fox News about the city’s crisis, thank goodness.

Perhaps more importantly, the downtown has a different look. Back in 2011, there were entire blocks of downtown with vacant storefronts, especially on Lackawanna Avenue. Now, most of those empty storefronts have been filled. Last night, after I had a reading during the First Friday Art Walk, I marveled at how many boutiques have spread through the downtown, from Penn Avenue to Spruce Street. I also took a moment to feel grateful that a poetry reading on a Friday night had so many people at it. Even more people flooded  a holiday market held at the location of a former popular department store, The Globe. This says something about the potential this city has.

Scranton’s future still has yet to be determined. It still has many obstacles to overcome, namely matters of long-term employment prospects for young people, but the city has changed since the Writers’ Showcase Reading Series started five years ago. The downtown has more businesses and restaurants. There is a community of young artists trying to create something here. The city is moving forward with paying off its debts and getting out of its distressed status.

Tonight, we’re going to celebrate five years of a reading series that has connected national writers with local ones. We’re also going to celebrate the progress the city has made.

New Review/Upcoming Readings

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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!

bostonreading

 

Thinking of NEPA, Thinking of Its Poets

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Thursday evening was a celebration of the northeast, Pennsylvania literary community. The evening marked the release of an anthology I had opportunity to co-edit, Down the Dog Hole: 11 Poets on Northeast Pennsylvania. We gathered at Keystone College in La Plume to read from the book, but also to mark the relaunch of Nightshade Press. An English professor at Lackawanna College, I was happy to see folks from other local colleges present, including Penn State Worthington-Scranton and Wilkes University. My hope is to continue to see this community grow among the colleges because we do far better when we support each other.

I’ve always struggled with my identity as it pertains to NEPA. As a teen, I couldn’t wait to get out of here, especially when the punk rock venues I hung out in  high school closed. They were my only refuge in the area, places I could go where I didn’t feel like an outcast. They got me interested in writing, music, and art. I escaped to college outside Philly and spent most of my weekends hanging in the city, record shopping, book shopping, and reading some of my first poems (very bad drafts) at the Philly area open mics. I cut my teeth in the poetry community in Philly and still keep close connections to that area today. Graduate school brought me back here, and I stayed. At this point, I’m grateful for the chance to teach what I love at Lackawanna College and to help foster the growing literary community here.

As I listened to nine other poets read from the anthology the other night, I was reminded how much there is to mine in this area. One of the poems in the book references John Mitchell, the labor leader who lead mining strikes in the early 20th century and met with Teddy Roosevelt for labor negotiations. Other poems celebrate the natural beauty of this area. Now that I’m older, I’m more comfortable with my place as a poet as it pertains to my native area. As I joined friends the other evening to celebrate this literary community, I was reminded how much has yet to be written about this area. The anthology is a nice start.