2016 Piccolo Spoleto Sundown Poetry Series schedule

Barbara G.S. Hagerty and I are happy once again this year to be coordinating the Piccolo Spoleto Sundown Poetry Series, which starts next Tuesday evening. What a roster of talented poets! If you're in the area, we'd love to see you at some of the events. Experience these magical moments at the historic Dock Street Theatre Courtyard, where the readings are free and open to the public, each followed by a lovely art gallery reception.

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2016   P i c c o l o   S p o l e t o  

S u n d o w n   P o e t r y   S e r i e s

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May 31 – Jun. 3  &  Jun 7 - 10     •    6:30 p. m.

Dock Street Theatre Courtyard, 135 Church St., Charleston, SC 

Reception at a nearby art gallery after each reading    •    Free & open to the public  

  

Tue., May 31– “From the Ward to the Word: Nurses as Writers.” Poetry performances by four award-winning and widely published nurse writers coming from various locations to read for us: Cortney Davis, Jeanne Bryner, Veneta Masson, and Muriel A. Murch. Lisa Kerr, facilitator. Brief readings that showcase how nurses translate the mysterious moments they share with patients and their observations of health care into artful poetry and prose. Co-sponsored by the MUSC Writing Center and University Humanities Committee.

Wed., Jun. 1 – Dannye Romine Powell, of Charlotte, NC, is the author of four poetry collections, including her latest, Nobody Calls Me Darling Anymore (Press 53, 2015). Her awards include poetry fellowships from the NEA and the NC Arts Council, as well as numerous book awards. She is a long-time columnist and book reviewer for The Charlotte Observer.

Thur., Jun 2 – John  Milkereit, of Houston TX, is the author of A Rotating Equipment Engineer Is Never Finished (Ink Brush Press, 2015), as well as two chapbooks published by Pudding House Productions. His work has also appeared in San Pedro River Review, Big River Poetry Review, and other journals. A Charleston native, he is completing an MFA degree at Rainier Writing Workshop.

Fri., Jun. 3 – Jaki Shelton Green, of Mebane, NC, is the author of numerous poetry collections, including her latest, Feeding the Light (Jacar Press, 2014). Her work has also appeared widely in publications such as Essence Magazine, Obsidian, and Poets for Peace. A highly regarded literary teacher and consultant, she was the inaugural Poet Laureate of Piedmont NC and  2016 Writer-in-Residence at Lenoir-Rhyne University. In 2014 she was inducted into the NC Literary Hall of Fame.  

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Tue., Jun. 7 – Nick Lindsay is—at 89—a troubadour, expert builder, master storyteller, and accomplished musician. Son of Vachel Lindsay and a longtime resident of Edisto Island, he will read from his book Esau Lanier, a lyrical exploration of race, work, place, the natural world, and more. This epic poem is rendered in Pushkin sonnets, telling of Nick’s African American friend and co-worker Esau, with whom he built houses on Edisto Island in the mid-20^th century.

Wed., Jun. 8 – Jacqueline Johnson, of Brooklyn, NY, is the author of the award-winning poetry collections A Woman’s Season (Main Street Rag Press, 2015) and A Gathering of Mother Tongues (White Pine Press, 1998). She is a Cave Canem fellow and has performed at numerous venues, including the New York Center for Book Arts, St. Marks Poetry Project, Pratt Institute, and Metropolitan Museum.

Thur., Jun 9 – Laurel Blossom is the Poet Laureate of Edgefield, SC. Her new collection, Longevity (Four Way Books, 2015) is a book-length narrative prose poem and companion piece to her book Degrees of Latitude. Her earlier books are Wednesday: New and Selected Poems; The Papers Said; What’s Wrong; and Any Minute. Her many awards include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Fri., Jun 10 – Nikky Finney, of Columbia, SC, is the author of four poetry collections, including her latest, Head Off & Split (Triquarterly Books/Northwestern U Press, 2011), winner of the National Book Award. She is also editor of the anthology The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (Univ. of Georgia Press, 2007) and cofounder of the Affrilachian Poets. She is the John H. Bennett, Jr., Chair in Southern Letters and Literature at the University of South Carolina.

Barbara G. S. Hagerty & Susan Laughter Meyers, Coordinators

2017 applications available in the fall of 2016 at http://www.piccolospoleto.com