August 12, 2025 (Carson, Corpuz, Crago, Marcum, Montanez)

 Featured Readers 

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Front Row: Virginia Montanez, Jay Carson & Joan Bauer

Back Row (L-R): Carl Marcum, Kristofer Collins, Elisabeth Crago & Veronica Corpuz

 

Kristofer Collins is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Low Ghost Press founded in 2008 and the longtime Books Editor for Pittsburgh Magazine. He is also the co-curator of the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series. His latest book, Roundabout Trace, was published in 2022 by Kung Fu Treachery Press. His latest project, The Pittsburgh Book Review can be found at https://pittsburghbookreview.blogspot.com/. He lives in Stanton Heights with his wife, son and daughter.

Opening Comments by Kristofer Collins - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Joan E. Bauer is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Fig Season (Turning Point, 2023), The Camera Artist (Turning Point, 2021), and The Almost Sound of Drowning (Main Street Rag, 2008). Recent work has appeared in Paterson Literary Review, Slipstream and Chiron Review. She divides her time between Venice, CA and Pittsburgh, PA where she co-curates the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series with Kristofer Collins. 

 

Additional Opening Comments by Joan Bauer - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Jay Carson taught for many years at Robert Morris University where he was a founding advisor for the literary magazine Rune. He has published more than 100 poems and short stories in national journals, anthologies and collections. Jay is also the author of Irish Coffee (Coal Hill Review) and The Cinnamon of Desire (Main Street Rag). His hybrid memoir, A Legacy of Myth, was published in 2025. He considers his work to be Appalachian, accessible, the ongoing problem-solving of a turbulent life, and just what you might need.

Jay Carson - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

 

Veronica Corpuz is an interdisciplinary poet who explores themes of grief, memory and family in her work. A member of the Madwomen in the Attic at Carlow University and the #notwhite collective, she facilitates writing workshops that invite discovery and delight through guided imagery and grounding, embodiment exercises. 

Veronica Corpuz - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

 

Elisabeth Crago holds an MFA from Carlow University with a dual focus on poetry and creative non-fiction. She has degrees in English and Nursing. In a former life, life, Crago administered a large breast health services program in Eastern, PA. She then spent 12 years involved in farming and aquaculture in New Zealand. In 2014 she relocated to Pittsburgh where she volunteers at Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, the Center for Women, and is active in the Madwomen in the Attic program of Carlow University. Her work has been published in Voices in the Attic, Eye on the Telescope, Dreamers Creative Writing, One Art Poetry, and Carlow University’s MFA anthology.

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Carl Marcum is a Latino poet from Tucson, Arizona. He is the author of Cue Lazarus, and A Camera Obscura, winner of the Letras Latinas / Red Hen Poetry Prize. His poems have appeared in The Wind Shifts: An Anthology of New Latino Poets, and Latinx Rising: An Anthology of Latinx Sci-Fi and Fantasy among other journals and anthologies. Marcum earned his MFA from the University of Arizona and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. He has been a recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Illinois Arts Council and served as a Canto Mundo Fellow. He taught for several years at DePaul University in Chicago and now lives in Pittsburgh where he teaches in the BXA Intercollege Degree Program at Carnegie Mellon University.

Carl Marcum - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Virginia Montanez, formerly known under her anonymous alias PittGirl, is a longtime writer who once spent the day as one of the most-Googled names in the country when she was fired from her nonprofit Pittsburgh job after revealing her identity as the writer of the popular humor site The Burgh Blog. Montanez went on to publish a successful follow-up blog about Pittsburgh and then became the humor columnist for Pittsburgh Magazine before leaving to focus on writing novels. Her debut novel Nothing. Everything was published in 2023 by Winding Road Stories. She is the volunteer founder of Make Room for Kids at Mario Lemieux Foundation, a program that has placed hundreds of XBOXes in nearly every in-patient room at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. She is the creator of the history mapping project Pittsburgh Remains to be Seen. Additionally, she authors the history column for Pittsburgh Magazine and teaches the Pittsburgh History to World War II class for the Osher continuing education program at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been profoundly hearing impaired since birth.

Virginia Montanez - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Open Mic

Open Mic - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Entire Event from Start to Finish

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July 22, 2025 (Beeson, Davoudi, Ickes, Sineni & Walicki)

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Front Row: Bahar Davoudi, Alyssa Sineni & Joan Bauer

Back Row (L-R): Lou Ickes, Kristofer Collins, Kelley Beeson & Robert Walicki

 

Kristofer Collins is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Low Ghost Press founded in 2008 and the longtime Books Editor for Pittsburgh Magazine. He is also the co-curator of the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series. His latest book, Roundabout Trace, was published in 2022 by Kung Fu Treachery Press. His latest project, The Pittsburgh Book Review can be found at https://pittsburghbookreview.blogspot.com/. He lives in Stanton Heights with his wife, son and daughter.

 

(Note that the following audio clip picks up part way through Kristofer's recollections about Ozzy Osbourne.)   

Opening Comments by Kristofer Collins - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Joan E. Bauer is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Fig Season (Turning Point, 2023), The Camera Artist (Turning Point, 2021), and The Almost Sound of Drowning (Main Street Rag, 2008). Recent work has appeared in Paterson Literary Review, Slipstream and Chiron Review. She divides her time between Venice, CA and Pittsburgh, PA where she co-curates the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series with Kristofer Collins. 

 

Additional Opening Comments by Joan Bauer - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Kelley Beeson holds a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Library and Information Science from The University of Pittsburgh. She is the recipient of the 2023 Lefty Blondie Press Chapbook Award for her book, Undress. Her work appears in Kestrel, Four Way Review, Rogue Agent, Kaliope, and has been twice-nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Kelley grew up in Pittsburgh and left only once for graduate school. She lives in the city, works as a crackerjack librarian, and writes as a mad-proud member of the Madwomen in the Attic Writing Workshops since 1992.

Kelley Beeson - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Bahar Davoudi is an Iranian-Canadian poet and writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her work has been published in Voices from the Attic, The Poet, Barzakh Magazine, Writer’s Foundry Review, Fresh Air, The Gulf Tower Forecasts Rain Anthology and is forthcoming in Stone Poetry Quarterly. She is a member of (sub)Verses Social Collective as well as Madwomen in the Attic Workshop at Carlow University in Pittsburgh. Bahar is a scientist holding a PhD in Medical Biophysics.  

Bahar Davoudi - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Lou Ickes Luther grew up on the tough streets of West Hempfield. He majored in Philosophy at IUP’s world renowned Philosophy and Religious Studies department. Luther has no books or publications to his name. He enjoys painting. Luther writes whenever it’s time.  He once owned a bar [Brillobox], maybe he still does? For more: https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/stories-of-our-neighbors-i-miss-the-wildness/ 

Lou Ickes - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Alyssa Sineni is an artist and writer. She is a member of Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange, The Porch Poets, The Pittsburgh Society of Artists, and The Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh. She has poems published in The Ekphrastic Review,; They Call Us, Uppagus, Voices from the Attic Vol 28 and Vox Populi.  In addition, Alyssa works as the Director of Programming for Art and Inspiration, a non-profit, which celebrates artists and writers.  

Alyssa Sineni - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Robert Walicki's poems have appeared in over 50 journals including Chiron Review and Vox Populi. A two-time Pushcart and a Best of The Net nominee, Robert's second chapbook. The Almost Sound of Snow Falling was included in the exhibition catalog for New York's Poet's House, and his latest full-length poetry collection is Fountain from Main Street Rag Press. His forthcoming poetry collection, Watershed, will be published by Broadstone Press. 

Robert Walicki - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Open Mic

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Entire Event from Start to Finish

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July 8, 2025 (Hyer, Langstroth, Nieson & Triplett)

 Featured Readers

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Front Row: Halsey Hyer, Gail Langstroth & Joan Bauer

Back Row (L-R): Marc Nieson, Kristofer Collins & Steffan Triplett

 

Kristofer Collins is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Low Ghost Press founded in 2008 and the longtime Books Editor for Pittsburgh Magazine. He is also the co-curator of the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series. His latest book, Roundabout Trace, was published in 2022 by Kung Fu Treachery Press. His latest project, The Pittsburgh Book Review can be found at https://pittsburghbookreview.blogspot.com/. He lives in Stanton Heights with his wife, son and daughter.

Opening Comments by Kristofer Collins - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Joan E. Bauer is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Fig Season (Turning Point, 2023), The Camera Artist (Turning Point, 2021), and The Almost Sound of Drowning (Main Street Rag, 2008). Recent work has appeared in Paterson Literary Review, Slipstream and Chiron Review. She divides her time between Venice, CA and Pittsburgh, PA where she co-curates the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series with Kristofer Collins. 

 

Additional Opening Comments by Joan Bauer - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Halsey Hyer (they/them) is the author of the full-length hybrid collection, Divorce Garter (Main Street Rag, 2024).Their micro chapbook of micro poems, Everything Becomes Bananas (Rinky Dink Press, 2022), was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2023, and their chapbook, [deadname] (Anhinga Press, 2022), won the 2022 Rick Campbell Chapbook Prize. Previously an MFA in Creative Writing candidate at Florida International University, they’re currently earning their MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University as the 2022-2024 Margaret L. Whitford Fellow. 

Halsey Hyer - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Gail Langstroth. Raised under the Big Skies of Montana, Langstroth spent 38 years in Europe. She is a tri-lingual lecturer, international eurythmy performer, translator, poet, filmmaker, and visual artist. As a graduate of Drew University’s M.F.A. in poetry and winner of the Patricia Dobler Poetry Prize Langstroth’s book publications to date, firegarden / jardín-de-fuego (Get Fresh Books, 2020), and Ghost Friends in Praise of Jean Valentine (Lefty Blondie Press, 2025) are both bilingual. Her passions: Argentine Tango, writing with her feet, collage making, and cardinals. Her favorite fruit: ripe Spanish figs. www.wordmoves.com.

Gail Langstroth - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Marc Nieson is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and NYU Film School. His background includes children’s theatre, cattle chores, and a season with a one-ring circus. His memoir is SCHOOLHOUSE: Lessons on Love & Landscape (Ice Cube Press). He’s received a Raymond Carver Short Story Award, Pushcart Prize nominations, and been noted in Best American Essays. He teaches at Chatham University’s MFA, edits The Fourth River, and is at work on the novel, HOUDINI’S HEIRS.  More @ www.marcnieson.com

Marc Nieson - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Steffan Triplett is the author of the hybrid memoir Bad Forecast (Essay Press 2024) and the essay chapbook Constraints (DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press 2024). His recent work is forthcoming or appears in Obsidian, Foglifter, Poetry Daily, and It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror (Feminist Press 2022). He is the Managing Director of the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics and a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Steffan has been a fellow for Canem, Callaloo, Outpost, and Lambda Literary and has received support from Tin House, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Blue Mountain Center, and Advancing Black Arts Pittsburgh. 

Steffan Triplett - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Open Mic

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Entire Event from Start to Finish

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June 24, 2025 (Dilworth, Smith, Collins)

 Featured Readers

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Front Row: Ellen McGrath Smith, Joan Bauer & Jen Ashburn

Back Row (L-R): Sharon Dilworth & Kristofer Collins

 

Jen Ashburn is a poet and nonfiction writer. She’s the author of The Light on the Wall and has work published in numerous venues, including The Fiddlehead, The Writer’s Almanac, and Pedestal Magazine. She is the recipient of the 2023 Lori White Non-Fiction Fellowship and has been nominated for several Pushcart Prizes. Her current projects include a poetry manuscript, "Cracked Paraffin," and a memoir, "Borax, Cornmeal and Cherry Blossoms." She holds an MFA from Chatham University and lives in Edgewood.

Opening Comments by Jen Ashburn - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Joan E. Bauer is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Fig Season (Turning Point, 2023), The Camera Artist (Turning Point, 2021), and The Almost Sound of Drowning (Main Street Rag, 2008). Recent work has appeared in Paterson Literary Review, Slipstream and Chiron Review. She divides her time between Venice, CA and Pittsburgh, PA where she co-curates the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series with Kristofer Collins. 

 

Additional Opening Comments by Joan Bauer - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

 

Sharon Dilworth is an award-winning fiction writer. She's the author of three short story books including Year of the Ginkgo, Women Drinking Benedictine, and The Long White. Her work is also featured in the collection of short stories, Here: Women Writing on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She's the recipient of numerous awards including The Iowa Award in Short Fiction, a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant, a Pushcart Prize in Fiction, a Hopwood Award. Currently, Sharon lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she is the Director of Carnegie Mellon University's Creative Writing program.  Her latest novel, To Be Marquette, was published by Carnegie Mellon University Press in 2024.

Sharon Dilworth - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download) 

 

Kristofer Collins is the Books Editor for Pittsburgh Magazine as well as co-curator of Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series. He lives in Stanton Heights with his wife and two children. His latest poetry collection, "The Vesper Room" is forthcoming from Kung Fu Treachery Press.

Kristofer Collins - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Ellen McGrath Smith teaches at the University of Pittsburgh and in the Carlow University Madwomen in the Attic program. Her poetry has appeared in The Georgia Review, The New York Times, The American Poetry Review, Talking Writing, Los Angeles Review, and other journals and anthologies. Books include Scatter, Feed (Seven Kitchens 2014) and Nobody's Jackknife (West End Press 2015). Her chapbook Lie Low, Goaded Lamb was published in January 2023 by Seven Kitchens Press as part of its Keystone Series.  

Ellen McGrath Smith - Click to Play (Right-Click to Download)

Open Mic

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Entire Event from Start to Finish

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