Poetry+ to feature Bill Yarrow & Laura Grace Weldon, 2/18 in Lakewood

Bill Yarrow

Poetry Plus at Art on Madison will triple your pleasure in February with readings by two acclaimed featured poets - Bill Yarrow and Laura Grace Weldon - plus an open mic. See artist Jessie Herzfeld's fantastic Arthur Rimbaud-inspired exhibition, Illuminations and Visions, while you're there.

Bill Yarrow of Chicago is the author of five full-length books of poetry and five poetry chapbooks. His poems have been published in Confrontation, Gargoyle, PANK, Contrary, Diagram, Thrush, RHINO, Chiron Review, and many other journals. His most recent book is ACCELERANT from Nixes Mate Books. More info: billyarrow.wordpress.com

Laura Grace Weldon

Laura Grace Weldon has published two poetry collections, Blackbird (Grayson 2019) and Tending (Aldrich 2013). She was named Ohio Poet of the Year for 2019. She's written poems on the soles of children’s feet and painted poems on beehives but her work appears in more conventional places such as Verse Daily, One: Jacar Press, Neurology, J Journal, and Amsterdam Quarterly. Laura works as a book editor and teaches community-based writing workshops. More info: lauragraceweldon.com

Open mic to follow the features, emceed by John Burroughs, Ohio Beat Poet Laureate 2019-2021.

Please note: Poetry+ usually happens on the third Tuesday of each month. For more information, visit our website at https://poetrypluscleveland.weebly.com/.

Other upcoming Poetry+ features:

3/17 - Leah Mueller (Tacoma, WA) & Rikki Santer (Columbus, OH)
4/21 - Terry Provost (Lakewood, OH) & Nick Gardner (Mansfield/Bowling Green OH)

Art on Madison
14203 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107

Ekphrastacy: Artists Speak + Poets Respond (2/13 at Heights Arts)

Me reading at a previous Ekphrastacy in 2018
(photo courtesy of Heights Arts)

This Thursday, 13 February at 7 p.m. I will be one of four poets sharing new work in response to Heights Arts' new Point-Line-Pattern-Plane exhibition. The others will be Ray McNiece, Carson Evans and Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Damien McClendon.

From the Heights Arts website:

"An exhibition of textile art curated by Janice Lessman-Moss, [Point-Line-Pattern-Plane] highlights a range of work being done by artists in NE Ohio using the distinctive materiality and processes associated with the medium of Fibers.  Although building on a foundation of traditional techniques, all the artists use the language of textiles to create objects of beauty and meaning, reflecting the sensibilities of our time.  Processes such as weaving, stitching and dyeing are used to develop form and surface, while repetition, accumulation, color and pattern are mined for content and character."

Artists featured in the exhibition are Laurie Addis, Elena Brebenel, Si-Yun Chang, Rebecca Cross, Hildur Asgeirsdottir Jonsson, Andrea Myers, Jessica Pinsky, and Katlin Shae.

Ekphrastacy: Artists Speak + Poets Respond

Heights Arts
2175 Lee Road
Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
https://www.heightsarts.org/

Jessie Herzfeld: Illuminations and Visions at Art on Madison

A fantastic Arthur Rimbaud-inspired exhibition by artist Jessie Herzfeld will open on February 7th from 6 to 9 pm at Art on Madison in Lakewood, Ohio. Refreshments provided. Hope to see you there! The show will run through March 7th. Check out Cool Cleveland's feature about it.

For more info, see Jessie Herzfeld: "Illuminations and Visions" Opening Reception on Facebook or visit the artist's website, JessieHerzfeld.com.

Art on Madison
14203 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107

Also coming up at Art on Madison:

February 18th: Poetry+ featuring Bill Yarrow & Laura Grace Weldon
March 17th: Poetry+ featuring Leah Mueller & Rikki Santer
April 21st: Poetry+ featuring Terry Provost & Nick Gardner

John Burroughs’ 2020 Poetry Events (Scheduled So Far)

I'm starting to put together my 2020 Poetry calendar and I'd love to read for/with you if we can make it happen. Still touring behind my latest book, Rattle & Numb: Selected & New Poems, 1992-2019 [Venetian Spider Press], I’ll read at your bar, festival, living room, bookstore, gallery, university or spacecraft - especially if you’re in Ohio (since I’ll still be the Beat Poet Laureate for our fair state through 2021), though I’m always open to travel for the right gig. For booking, please email jc@crisischronicles.com.

Saturday 4 January at 1 p.m. in Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Poetry reading and discussion with John Burroughs at Riddlehaven.

Monday 6 January at 8 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Bowled Over by Holbrook/Burroughs, hosted by Terry Provost at Mahall’s 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Wednesday 8 January at 7 p.m. in Youngstown, Ohio
Lit Youngstown presents John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin at The Soap Gallery, 117 S. Champion Street, 44503.

Saturday 18 January at 7 p.m. in Wadsworth, Ohio
Poetry Night and Open Mic featuring John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin at Manic on Main, 136 Main Street, 44281. 

Sunday 19 January at 2 p.m. in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie County Poet Laureate Chuck Joy presents a staged reading of Spoon River Anthology, Selected Poems (including John Burroughs in the role of Theodore the Poet) at the Erie County Public Library 160 E Front Street, 16507.

Tuesday 21 January at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Chuck Salmons and Renay Sanders plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Thursday 13 February at 7 p.m. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Ekphrastacy: Artists Speak + Poets Respond (to the Point Line Pattern Plane exhibit) featuring Ray McNiece, John Burroughs and Carson Evans at Heights Arts, 2175 Lee Road, 44118.

Tuesday 18 February at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Bill Yarrow & Laura Grace Weldon plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Sunday 8 March at 6 p.m. in Toledo, Ohio
Uncloistered Poetry featuring John Burroughs, Sam Wright and others at Calvino’s Restaurant & Wine Bar, 3143 W Central Avenue, 43606.

Tuesday 17 March at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Leah Mueller and Rikki Santer plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Thursday 9 April at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio

Meet the Author featuring John Burroughs at the Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Avenue, 44107.

Friday 10 April at 7 p.m. in Buffalo, New York
Second Stage Writers at Grindhaus, 160 Allen Street, 14201. More info forthcoming.

Friday 17 April at 6:30 p.m. in Pomeroy, Ohio
Poetry at the Brickhouse: Kari Gunter-Seymour & John Burroughs at the Brickhouse Apothecary, 105 Butternut Avenue, 45769.

Tuesday 21 April at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Terry Provost and Nick Gardner plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Tuesday 19 May at 7 p.m. in Evansville, Indiana
Poetry Speaks featuring John Burroughs, hosted by Indiana Beat Poet Laureate William Sovern at the Bokeh Lounge, 1007 Parrett Street, 47713.

Saturday 13 June at 5 p.m. in Amherst, Ohio
Poetic Expressions from the Heart featuring a workshop, John Burroughs, and open mic hosted by Debra Rose at Arabica Coffee Bistro, 254 Park Avenue, 44001.

Thursday 9 July at 7 p.m. in Shaker Heights, Ohio
Broadsides & Ephemera featuring John Burroughs, plus open mic, at Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Boulevard, 44120.

Saturday 25 July at 7 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio
Annual Cleveland Inkubator festival sponsored by Literary Cleveland at the Cleveland Public Library, Superior Avenue, 44114. More info forthcoming.

4 through 6 September in New Hartford, Connecticut
2020 National Beat Poetry Festival. More info forthcoming.

25 through 26 September in Youngstown, Ohio
Lit Youngstown’s Fall Literary Festival 2020. More info forthcoming.

2 through 3 October in Frostburg, Maryland
The Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival hosted by the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts. More details forthcoming.

Stay tuned. More to be added.

[Originally published 1/1/2020. Updated 2/11/2020.]

Poetry+ to feature Chuck Salmons and Renay Sanders, 1/21 in Lakewood

Poetry Plus at Art on Madison will triple your pleasure in January with readings by two acclaimed featured poets - Chuck Salmons and Renay Sanders - plus an open mic. Doors open at 7 p.m.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Chuck Salmons is a poet and currently President of the Ohio Poetry Association. He earned a B.A. from Otterbein College and a M.A. from Northern Michigan University.

Chuck's poems have appeared in several journals and anthologies, including Pudding Magazine, Evening Street Review, Olentangy Review, Common Threads, The Fib Review, Red Thread Gold Thread, Everything Stops and Listens, and Appleseeds. His chapbook, Stargazer Suite, was released in December 2016 and is available from 11th Hour Press. His second chapbook, Patch Job, was published by NightBallet Press in 2017.

He won the 2011 William Redding Memorial Poetry Contest, sponsored by The Poetry Forum of Columbus, and has garnered awards from Ohio Poetry Day. Most recently, he is a recipient of a 2018 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for his poetry. Chuck regularly gives readings throughout Ohio, both solo and as part of the poetry trio Concrete Wink. He also leads workshops for various groups and audiences.

Chuck has worked in a variety of fields, including construction, education, and retail. He loves science, which often influences his poems, and is thrilled about the discovery of water on Mars and gravitational waves. He works as a science editor in Columbus.

S. Renay Sanders learned to love the spoken word amidst a family of storytellers. She began secretly writing her own stories as poems. She came out of the poetry closet in 2010 with a poem in the Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology. She subsequently had poems published in a variety of anthologies. Her most recent accomplishment is the publication of her first chapbook, Dancing in Place. Coming full circle, she has ventured into storytelling and proudly performed her story "Cemetery Run" in the Women of Appalachia Project, Spoken Word, 2019. Today she proudly lives the poetic lifestyle. Continuing to enjoy the local poetry scene as an open mic-er and occasional feature. A native Clevelander, her poems are inspired by the characters she encounters in life and the beauty of the Cuyahoga Valley, where she now resides.

Open mic to follow the features, emceed by Ohio Beat Poet Laureate John Burroughs.

Please note: Poetry+ usually happens on the third Tuesday of each month. For more information, visit our website at https://poetrypluscleveland.weebly.com.

Other upcoming Poetry+ features:

2/18 - Bill Yarrow (Chicago) & Laura Grace Weldon (Litchfield)
3/17 - Leah Mueller (Tacoma WA) & Rikki Santer (Columbus)

Art on Madison
14203 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107

Performing in Spoon River Anthology, Selected Poems on 1/19 in Erie PA

This Sunday, 19 January 2020, I will be part of a diverse cast in a staged reading of Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, Selected Poems, presented by Erie County Poet Laureate Chuck Joy and the Erie County Public Library. You can call me Theodore the Poet.

More info:
Spoon River Anthology, Selected Poems
2:00 to 3:30 p.m.

Erie County Public Library
H.O. Hirt Auditorium
160 E Front Street
Erie, Pennsylvania 16507

My poem "Food for Thought" featured 1/15 in Winedrunk Sidewalk

I am pleased to report that my short poem "Food for Thought" is featured today (day 1092) in Winedrunk Sidewalk. It's another that I wrote at the Hill Billy Grill in West Jefferson, North Carolina, during my recent Tiny Cabin, Big Ideas residency. Many thanks to editor John Grochalski for including it—and for keeping up the good fight!

For daily resistance poems, follow winedrunksidewalk.blogspot.com.

Permalink to just my poem: here.

And they're still accepting submissions of poems and art as we speak. So send them something!

SUBMIT2RESIST: winedrunksidewalk@gmail.com.

Burroughs and Chernin to Read in Wadsworth this Saturday 1/18

I will have the honor of reading with Shelley Chernin again this Saturday at Manic on Main in Wadsworth, Ohio. Many thanks to Cat Russell and Kristin LeFever Beck for putting this special event together!  I have fond memories of Wadsworth from visiting family there on lots of weekends as I was growing up.

This will be part of my ongoing Rattle and Numb poetry tour. We'll also be celebrating the fact that my Crisis Chronicles Press has just reprinted Shelley's chapbook, The Vigil. 

Poetry Night & Open Mic
featuring John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin
Saturday 18 January 2020 at 7 p.m.

Manic on Main
136 Main Street
Wadsworth, Ohio 44281
www.maniconmain.com
(330) 245-6751

Poet of the Week on the Super Highway

Honored that Jefferson Carter and I have been selected as Poets of the Week (January 13-19) by the Poetry Super Highway​! The poem they selected of mine ("Faith Without Works Is Dead") is a short one written at the Hill Billy Grill in West Jefferson, North Carolina during my recent Tiny Cabin, Big Ideas​ residency.

Read it here: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/poetry-from-john-burroughs-and-jefferson-carter/.

Chernin and Burroughs Return to Youngstown January 8th

On the second Wednesday of 2020, I will have the honor of returning to Youngstown to read with Shelley Chernin at The Soap Gallery as part of my Rattle and Numb poetry tour. Many thanks to Karen Schubert and Lit Youngstown for inviting us! Crisis Chronicles Press will reprint Shelley's 2012 chapbook, The Vigil, to honor the occasion. An open mic emceed by Rae McCann will follow our readings. And we'll be celebrating National Toffee Day! (Toffee is my favorite candy.)

John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin
Wednesday 8 January 2020 at 7 p.m.

The Soap Gallery
117 S. Champion Street
Youngstown, Ohio 44503

Hope to see you there! 

Though Youngstown is one of my favorite poetry cities, I've only read there two times before:

• 4 May 2016 with Dianne Borsenik & Mathew Minicucci at Susie's Dogs & Drafts
• 1 May 2011 with Dianne Borsenik, Shelley Chernin, Karen Schubert, Steve Thomas, Mindi Kirchner-Greenway and many more during the Ward Bakery Open Studio Reading.