June 4, 2019 (Battiste, Collins, Mcilroy, Mohn-Slate & Walicki)

Hemingway's Poetry Series

June 4, 2019

Featured Readers

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 Standing L-R: Leslie Anne Mcilroy & Joan Bauer
Seated L-R: Kristofer Collins, Emily Mohn-Slate, Michele Battiste & Bob Walicki

But First, Scott Silsbe Reads a Poem by Jimmy Cvetic

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Michele Battiste is the author of three poetry collections, including Waiting for the Wreck to Burn, which received the 2018 Louise Bogan Award from Trio House Press and will be published in Spring, 2019. Her other books are Uprising (2014) and Ink for an Odd Cartography (2009), both from Black Lawrence Press. She is also the author of several chapbooks, including Left: Letters to Strangers (Grey Book Press). Her poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, The Rumpus, Memorious, and Mid-American Review, among others. Michele has taught poetry workshops for Wichita State University, the Prison Arts Program in Hutchinson , KS, Gotham Writers' Workshops, and the national writing program Teen Ink. A finalist for the National Poetry Series, she has received grants and awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, AWP, the Center for the American West, the Jerome Foundation, and the NY State Senate. She lives in Colorado where she raises money to save the planet. 

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Kristofer Collins is the Books Editor at Pittsburgh Magazine, as well as being a frequent contributor to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is the publisher of Low Ghost Press and Coleridge Street Books. His latest poetry collection, Salsa Night at Hilo Town Tavern, was published by Hyacinth Girl Press in 2017. He lives in Stanton Heights with his wife Dr. Anna Johnson and their son Cassidy. 

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Leslie Anne Mcilroy won the 1997 Slipstream Poetry Chapbook Prize for Gravel, the  2001 Word Press Poetry Prize for Rare Space and the 1997 Chicago  Literary Awards.  Her second book, Liquid Like This, was published by Word Press in 2008 and Slag by  Main Street Rag Publishing Company in 2014. Leslie’s poems appear in Grist, Jubilat,  The Mississippi Review, PANK, Poetry Magazine, the New Ohio Review, The Chiron Review and more. Leslie works as a copywriter in  Pittsburgh where she lives with her son Silas.  

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Emily Mohn-Slate is the author of FEED, co-winner of the Keystone Chapbook Prize, forthcoming from Seven Kitchens Press (2019). Her poems and essays can be found in New Ohio Review, At Length, The Adroit Journal, Indiana Review, Tupelo Quarterly, and elsewhere. Her manuscript, THE FALLS, was a finalist for the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize offered by Kent State University Press, and the Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize offered by University of Pittsburgh Press.   

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Robert Walicki's work has appeared in over 40 publications including Fourth River, Stone Highway Review, Red River Review, and others. A Pushcart and a Best of The Net nominee, Robert currently has two chapbooks published: A Room Full of Trees (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2014) and The Almost Sound of Snow Falling (Night Ballet Press), which was nominated to the 2016 Poet’s House List of Books in NYC. His first full length collection, Black Angels, is forthcoming from Six Gallery Press.

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Open Mic (With Dean Hazelton, Don Wentworth, Demetre Lardas & Ryan Reagan)

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May 28, 2019 (Memorial Day Reading)

Hemingway's Poetry Series

May 28, 2019

Featured Readers

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Standing L-R: Shawn Jones, Bob Ziller & Joan Bauer

Seated L-R: Matthew Borczon, Romella Kitchens & Kristofer Collins

Matthew Borczon is a poet and Navy sailor from Erie, Pa. He served in the busiest combat hospital in Afghanistan from 2010-11. He writes about war and his struggles with PTSD. His book A Clock of Human Bones won the Yellow Chair Review chapbook contest in 2015. In 2016, his book Battle Lines was published by Epic Rites Press. His book Ghost Train was published by Weasel Press in 2017. He continues to publish widely in the small press. When he is not writing, Matthew is a nurse to adults with developmental disabilities. He has a wife and four children.  

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Bob Ziller Reads the War Poetry of Jimmy Cvetic

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Kristofer Collins Reads the War Poetry of Jimmy Cvetic

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Shawn Jones grew up in Monroeville and joined the Army in 2001 as a combat engineer and paratrooper.  He was deployed in Kosovo 2001-2, Iraq 2003-4 and twice to Afghanistan 2006-7 and 2009-10.  While in Afghanistan, he looked and helped dispose  of bombs and unexploded ordnance.  He was awarded the Army Commendation w/ Valor in 2006 for actions during combat. He writes about his experience in combat and dealing with its long lasting effects. He is a full-time student at CCAC majoring in and hopes to become a therapist to help other veterans. 

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Romella Kitchens Reads the War Poetry of Yusef Komunyakaa 

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Joan Bauer Reads the War Poetry of Bruce Weigl

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Open Mic (With Barry Govenor, Mark Sepe & Christine Telfer)

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May 21, 2019 (Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange)

Hemingway's Poetry Series

May 21, 2019

Featured Readers

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 Standing L-R: Timons Esaias, Christine Telfer, Roberta Hatcher, Stephen Genetti, Gene Hirsch & Joan Bauer

Seated L-R: Joe Kaldon, Stuart Sheppard, Barry Govenor & Kristofer Collins

Kristofer Collins Opens the reading with a poem by Jimmy Cvetic

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Stephen Genetti is a tween library assistant at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and a valet for the Ace Hotel living in Pittsburgh , PA. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh . His poetry has yet to be discovered but he has enjoyed the company of fellow poets in the Pittsburgh area. 

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Barry Govenor was born and raised in the steel town of  Charleroi , PA. He earned his B.A. in biology at California University (PA) and split his healthcare career between Nuclear Medicine and Infection Control & Sterilization Technology. His subject material draws from his mill town roots and outdoor experiences and has appeared in The Pittsburgh  Post Gazette,The  Pittsburgh  Quarterly, Flip Side, The Loyalhanna Review, The  Pittsburgh  Quarterly and Avocet.  He is a longtime member of Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange and has led poetry workshops at Brentwood Public Library, where he formerly served as a member of the Board of Trustees.  

 
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Roberta Hatcher’s poetry has appeared in Main Street Rag, St. Petersburg Review, Storm Cellar and  the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, among others. She has been a finalist for the Patricia Dobler Award, was runner-up for the Arkadii Dragomoshchenko Prize for Innovative Use of Language in Poetry, and her poem French Lesson #3 was nominated for Best American Poets 2014. She is the training coordinator for Literacy Pittsburgh (formerly Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council), where she trains volunteer tutors. Her chapbook French Lessons was published in 2017. 

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As a youngster, Gene Hirsch studied “New” music with Stefan Wolpe. He received an MD degree with an academic career in Cardiology, Geriatrics, and Humanities in Medicine.  He has written poetry since medical school with poems appearing in medical journals, anthologies, Crossing Limits, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and others.  In 1992, Gene initiated a writing program at the John C. Campbell Folk School , Brasstown , NC , in which he teaches and has produced five anthologies featuring students and an active poetry community.  He has been resident poet at the folk school, Consortium Ethics Program (Univ. Pitt.), and Forbes Hospice.  He attends the Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange.

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Joe Kaldon  lives in Aliquippa , Pennsylvania and is the author of Rust Belt. He works as a product manager for a steel company and is a graduate of Penn State . He enjoys writing, ranging from letters-to-the-editor to essays to poetry, and this web site www.joekaldon.com is his latest effort. His poetry has appeared in Taproot Literary Review, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Brentwood Anthology edited by Judith Robinson and Michael Wurster. 

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Squirrel Hill native Stuart Sheppard graduated from Kenyon College , and has worked on Wall Street , Madison Avenue, and as a management consultant.  In 2003 he published a well-reviewed novel, Spindrift.  Stuart writes theatre, art, and book reviews for the Pittsburgh City Paper, and serves on the board of the Animal Care and Assistance Fund.  His most recent work can be seen in U.S. 1 Worksheets,  Pittsburgh Poetry Review, and other publications. 

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Christine Telfer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria (1991-93), where she taught English as a foreign language, and has since made a living mostly by teaching ESL and Citizenship classes to immigrants. She has held part-time jobs in various bookstores, most recently at A.F. Booksellers, where she sometimes organizes events. In the late ‘80’s, she received an Elizabeth Jones scholarship (awarded for a manuscript) from the University of New Hampshire to study with Charles Simic. A member of PPE since the mid ‘90’s, she was founding Editor of The Exchange. Her poems have appeared in various publications, including Along These Rivers: Poetry & Photography from Pittsburgh , The Brentwood Anthology, Poetalk, Nasty Women and Bad Hombres, and Main Street Rag. Recently, she has been a guest artist for Steppin’ Stanzas and has had work accepted for The Boom Project anthology. 

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Timons Esaias is a poet, satirist, essayist, and writer of short fiction whose works have appeared in twenty languages. He has been a finalist for the British Science Fiction Aw.ard, and won the 2005 Asimov's Readers Award for poetry. Literary publications include 5AM, New Orleans Review, Connecticut Review, and Barbaric Yawp. His Louis Award-winning full-length collection, Why Elephants No Longer Communicate in Greek, was released by Concrete Wolf earlier this year. For more, go to www.timonsesaias.com 

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Open Mic (With Jeff Schneider, Ian Heiss, Jesca Leigh, Kevin Finn & Paul Z.)


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May 14, 2019 (Pittsburgh Poetry Society)

Hemingway's Poetry Series

May 14, 2019

Featured Readers

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Standing L-R: Asmita Ranganathan, Christine Pasinski, Christine Aikens Wolfe & Joan Bauer

Seated L-R: Kristofer Collins, Fred Peterson, Judy Yogman & Nancy Esther James

Sally (Sara) Davis’s chapbook, Spent, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2014. Her work has been anthologized in Lavandaria, A Mixed Load of Women, Wash, and Words, published by City Works Press, Voices from the Attic, Riverspeak, Threads, Broad River Review, Evening Street Review, and in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and is forthcoming in Blueline Magazine.

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Nancy Esther James has had her poems published in various journals and literary magazines including Christianity and Literature, Time of Singing, and Poet Lore, as well as in publications such as Friends Journal and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Her poem, “To a Friend,” originally published in Christianity and Literature, was reprinted in the 2003 Poet’s Market.  Her collection of poems, No Time to Hurry, was published by Dawn Valley Press ( Westminster College ) in 1979. She has taught poetry workshops at the St. Davids Christian Writers Conference and The Writing Academy Seminar and has judged poetry contests for St. Davids and for the Pittsburgh Poetry Society. Her chapbook, Resilient Spirit: Poems for Lorraine, was published in March 2013 by Finishing Line Press. 

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A career educator, Christine Pasinski taught secondary English in the West Mifflin Area School District for over 36 years. Following her career in public education, she supervised student teachers for Penn State University . A lifelong devotee of poetry, she took her high school and her university students to the International Poetry Forum, where she served on the Advisory Council for 36 years. Currently, she enjoys membership in the Pittsburgh Poetry Society. Her poems have been published in numerous literary journals, and she has read them at various venues in the city. In 2011 she published a book of her poetry, Rustlings of Regret. 

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Fred Peterson grew up on rice farms throughout  Southeast Arkansas in the 1940's and 1950's, the son of a sharecropper and the seventh of eight children.  His poetry takes one on a journey with a family rich in love.  A teacher early in his career, his life-path took him from  Arkansas to  St. Louis and to  Pittsburgh with his life-partner where they have lived for 30 years.  He is past president of Pittsburgh Poetry Society. His book of poetry, Writing by Flashlight, was published by Awesome Books in 2012. 

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Asmita Ranganathan is a pathologist from Bombay. She moved to Pittsburgh 17 years ago with family, where she does freelance illustrations for magazines, writes poetry and short essays, and teaches Sanskrit to small groups. She is the author of The Râmâyan (Jain Pub. 2008), a retelling in the author's own prose and poetry of the ancient Sanskrit epic which, along with the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Mahâbharat, and the Gitâ, forms the core of Indian literature. 

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Judy Yogman is a retired ESL teacher.  She enjoys trying new poetic forms, misses Anita Byerly's little workshop and recently became a member of the Pittsburgh Poetry Society. Though lazy about submitting poems, she has submitted work that has appeared in the Post-Gazette and in various anthologies, including Out of the Rough: Women's Poems of Survival and Celebration, Along These Rivers, and Written on Water: Writings about the Allegheny River .  She is married, with three sons, three granddaughters and a new grandson. 

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Christine Aikens Wolfe is a reading specialist with the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Christine has published poems in Sonnetto Poesia, a bi-lingual quarterly out of Ottawa since fall 2006.  Her poetry, fiction, and articles have appeared in the publications of the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project, including Parachute, the WPWP Bulletin, Riverspeak, and Threads, and in the Pittsburgh Poetry Society's  bi-annual magazine, The Potter's Wheel.  Her poetry has also been published in Woman Becoming and Poetry Magazine, and the multi-media book, Fission and Form. She is the co-editor of The Poetic Classroom (Autumn House Press) and currently serves as president of the Pittsburgh Poetry Society.  Her full-length book of poetry, Garland Green, was published by Dos Madres Press in 2018.

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Open Mic (With Ian Heiss, Stephen Genetti, Jessi Alperin, Kevin Finn, Alyson, Max Reiver & Paul Z.)


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May 7, 2019 (Madwomen in the Attic)

Hemingway's Poetry Series

May 7, 2019

Featured Readers

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Standing L-R: Daniela Buccilli, Doralee Brooks, Bernadette Ulsamer, Kara Knickerbocker, Valerie Bacharach & Joan Bauer

Seated L-R: Kristofer Collins, Sarah Williams-Devereux & Jamilla Rice

Joan Bauer Opens the Series

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Kristofer Collins Reads a Poem by Jimmy Cvetic

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Jan Beatty Introduces the Madwomen 

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Valerie Bacharach’s poetry has appeared in several publications including Pittsburgh Quarterly, US 1 Worksheets, The Tishman Review, Topology Magazine, Poetica, The Ekphrastic Review, and Voices from the Attic.  She is a member of Carlow University ’s Madwomen in the Attic workshops and conducts weekly poetry workshops at CeCe’s Place, a halfway house for women in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.  Her first chapbook, Fireweed, was published in August 2018 by Main Street Rag. 
 
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Doralee Brooks, a Writing Project Fellow (1995), teaches at the Community College of Allegheny County where she chairs the developmental studies department. Her poems have appeared in Uppagus,  Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Voices from the Attic, and The Paterson Review. Her chapbook, When Damballah Laughs, was a finalist for the 2016 Coal Hill Review Chapbook Prize. In 2017, her poem, “Trending This Fall,” was published in the anthology Nasty Women and Bad Hombres edited by Deena November and Nina Padolf. She writes with the Madwomen in the Attic poetry workshop.

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 Daniela Buccilli’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in publications that include Paterson Literary Review, Cimarron Review, Cider Press Review, US 1 Worksheets, and an anthology. She is completing her second MFA, this time in poetry. She has taught at public high schools for 25 years. Her poetry chapbook How Much It Takes To Carry will be published in 2019 by Main Street Rag. She is also working as an editor for Show Us Your Papers: A Poetry Anthology.

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Kara Knickerbocker is a writer and world traveler from Saegertown , Pennsylvania and the author of the chapbooks The Shedding Before the Swell and Next to Everything that is Breakable. She is currently earning her MFA at Carlow University/Trinity College Dublin. Her most recent poetry and essays appeared in or are forthcoming from: Longridge Review, Moledro Magazine, Pittsburgh Poetry Review,  One Sentence Poems, Uppagus,  and the anthology Voices from the Attic, Vol. XXII, among others.  Knickerbocker lives in Pittsburgh , where she works at Carnegie Mellon University , writes with the Madwomen in the Attic, and co-curates the MadFridays Reading Series. 

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Jamilla Rice dreams of when she can own her days and write. Until then, she squeezes out the time between being an athlete, educator, speaker, aunt, gardener, book nerd, baker, and British detective drama junkie. She’s been published in Voices from the Attic, among other anthologies and periodicals. You may have heard her read at Penguin Bookshop, White Whale Books, Delanie’s Coffee House, on WESA’s Prosody, or that random open mic in Toronto .

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Bernadette Ulsamer earned an MFA from Carlow University where she is a member of  Madwomen in the Attic. She is the author of the chapbook “Trestling” published by Flutter Press. Her poetry has appeared in Pittsburgh City Paper, The Main Street Rag, Cossack Literary Journal, Roar Magazine, The Broken Plate, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, and has been anthologized in Voices from the Attic, and Along These Rivers.

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Sarah Williams-Devereux is a poet and teacher of writing. Her poetry has appeared in Snapdragon: A Journal of Art & Healing, Sampsonia Way Magazine, Pittsburgh City Paper; the anthologies Pittsburgh Love Stories and Nasty Women & Bad Hombres; and WESA-FM’s Prosody. She leads poetry workshops for the Madwomen in the Attic. She is certified in writing group leadership from Amherst Writers & Artists and volunteers for the Transformative Language Arts Network. She is pursuing her MA in teaching writing from Johns Hopkins University .

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Open Mic (With Andy P., John Fantin, Ian Heiss, Kevin Finn, Mark Sepe & Marina Fec)

 

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