This list of poetry readings, workshops, submissions and more comes to you from the women of Poetry Unlocked: Katie Chicquette, Cathryn Cofell, Sarah Gilbert, Bobbie Lee Lovell and Laura Winkelspecht:
Monday, April 11
MARYANN HURTT & LISA VIHOS
6:30 pm
Acoca Coffee & Café
500 West College Avenue, Appleton
Poetry Unlocked is thrilled to be back in person again, but at a new location and new time. Join us to hear our two featured readers, followed by an open mic (we invite you to read one piece, two if they are short). Acoca has a variety of great coffees, wines or beers, with light menu options.
Maryann Hurtt is fascinated by the strange tension between beauty and a harsh world. Now retired after thirty years working as a hospice RN, her chapbook, River, explores issues of resiliency, pain, and beauty. Once Upon a Tar Creek: Mining for Voices was published this past year. Tar Creek has been called the “worst environmental disaster no one has heard of” and she is passionate its stories are remembered. Hurtt traveled to Oklahoma in October to be a featured reader at the Chikaskia Literary Festival. Her books can be ordered through www.maryannhurtt.com, Turning Plow Press, or Amazon and other online book distributors.
The poems of Lisa Vihos have appeared in many poetry journals and she has published four chapbooks. She has two Pushcart Prize nominations and numerous awards from the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters. She is a founding editor of Stoneboat Literary Journal and the Sheboygan organizer for 100 Thousand Poets for Change. In 2020, she was named the first poet laureate of Sheboygan where she hosts the podcast Poetry on Air for Mead Public Library. Her first novel, The Lone Snake: The Story of Sofonisba Anguissola, will be released in May, 2022 from Water’s Edge Press.
ON DECK FOR POETRY UNLOCKED:
5/9/22 Performance Poet & Hip Hop Artist Cujo!
6/13/22 Nancy Austin & Peggy Turnbull
These events are brought to you, in part, by the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP), an organization founded for the creation, promotion and enjoyment of poetry throughout the state of Wisconsin. To learn more, visit www.wfop.org.
OTHER READINGS & EVENTS IN THE AREA
Poetry Alive!
Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
Manitowoc Public Library, Balkansky Room
Seven community leaders will read their favorite poems, and seven local poets will read their poetic responses. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public. Please feel free to contact Peggy Turnbull or Emilie Lindemann (emilieblindemann@gmail.com) with questions.
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Friday, April 8
AUSTIN SEGREST
Half Price Books, Appleton
Poet and Lawrence Professor Austin Segrest will be reading from his new book, Door to Remain, which won the 2021 Vassar Miller Prize. He will be reading along with LU senior students Mads Layton, Carla I. Plascencia, and Molly Ruffing.
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Belonging Through Poetry at the Appleton Public Library
Every 4th Wednesday, the library is supporting a monthly, virtual group that will explore life’s big topics in poetry with the hopes of creating connections and a sense of belonging in the community. To learn more about the April topic, click here: https://bit.ly/3ND59LA
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwoc-qhrj8iGdxObAwqie5iqvYkbKKGobjX
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Are you passionate about education, meeting people from different backgrounds, and helping others? Become a tutor! Fox Valley Literacy is a non-profit organization that provides free, confidential, one-on-one tutoring for adults in reading, writing, English Language, and U.S. citizenship as well as small group English language classes. We currently have a waiting list of +50 students ready to be matched with a volunteer. No teaching background or bilingual skills are required! Tutors receive initial training and ongoing support and education from staff.
Fox Valley Literacy students have a broad range of goals! You will be matched with a student based on your interest and availability. Meet with your student once a week for one hour. Email our volunteer coordinator, Paola, for more information! paola@foxvalleylit.org
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WFOP Spring Conference, April 29-30, 2022
The WFOP is planning for an in-person conference this spring.
Place: The Pointe Hotel and Suites, Minocqua WI
Theme: Getting the Word Out
Features: Keynote Speaker Dasha Kelly, the current WI Poet Laureate, plus panels on publishing and bringing poetry to communities, jails, schools, and other institutions.
Cost: The early bird rate is $65 for members, $95 for non-members, which includes breakfast and lunch on Saturday. After April 15 and at the door, rates go up $10. For more on the event including hotel accommodations, visit here: https://www.wfop.org/conferences
If you would like to attend but would be interested in a carpool, email conference coordinator Nancy Austin at nancy.austin0116@gmail.com
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Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets offers Poetry at Large, a series of writing workshops to complement engaged and active poetry readings and other fellowship events. The workshops are designed to help you take your writing to the next level with the challenge to delve deeper and activate what matters.
Villanelle: The Fine Art of Repeating Yourself
June 16 & July 14, 7-8:30 p.m.
Featuring Marilyn L. Taylor
The real key to writing a memorable villanelle? It lies in mastering the skill of repeating yourself—which is great news for poets. Because every once in a while, a memorable phrase or sentence will spring to mind—something that’s so insightful, so fresh, that your Inner Poet suddenly starts asking: shouldn’t this little gem be transformed into a villanelle, so it can become the repeated refrain? Maybe it should!
So why not give it a shot? It’s going to be intensive, it’s going to be fun, and you may find your poetry striding boldly into places where it’s never gone before.
Workshops are free, a benefit of WFOP membership and part of our mission to promote poets and poetry in Wisconsin. We only ask that you register in advance for both Part 1 and Part 2 to authenticate all participants. Once you register, you will receive a Zoom link to the session.
To learn more and register, click here: https://www.wfop.org/poetry-at-large-events/6/14/2022/6/villanelle-the-fine-art-of-repeating-yourself-part