Thur., Mar. 27: LILA poetry reading at Circular Church

How I'm looking forward to reading with my talented poet friends tomorrow night at an event sponsored by the Lowcountry Initiative for the Literary Arts (LILA)! Here are the details:

THURS., Mar. 27
READING by poets

• Richard Garcia
• Barbara G. S. Hagerty
• Susan Laughter Meyers
• Marjory Wentworth

7 p.m.
Circular Church 
150 Meeting St., Charleston, SC
Book signing to follow
$5 suggested donation

All four of us have new books out or forthcoming shortly:

• Richard Garcia: The Other Odyssey, winner of the American Poetry Journal Prize (Dream Horse Press)
• Barbara G.S. Hagerty: Twinzilla, winner of the Hilary Tham Capital Collection Prize (Word Works)
• Susan Laughter Meyers: My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass, winner of the Cider Press Review Editors Prize
• Marjory Wentworth: New and Selected Poems (University of South Carolina Press)

 Please join us if you're in the area!

Mar. 11: Reading & workshops at The Cooper School

The morning of Tuesday, March 11, was my time at The Cooper School in West Ashley, near Charleston. First I gave a brief reading to a room full of young students seated before me in a semi-circle on the floor. The room was full of windows, so I had the joy of seeing the children's smiling faces and, behind them, the sun shining on the lovely small campus. I read a few of my poems and a couple by other poets.

Afterward I met with two classes for workshops—a 4th- and 5th-grade class and a 2nd-grade class. The first workshop had about 18 students and the other about 14—ideal for a workshop to generate new poems. We wrote a group poem in each workshop and then spent time starting individual poems. Such delightful, enthusiastic students, who are lucky to have such dedicated, caring teachers. Thank you, Cooper School!

The Columbia Broadside Project celebrates its success

On Friday night the Columbia Broadside Project, directed by Darien Cavanaugh, held a closing reception at Tapp's Arts Center to celebrate its month-long exhibit there. The reception included music, poetry readings, and a panel about the collaboration process. The Project, funded by a Kickstarter campaign, brought about the collaboration of 28 visual artists and poets to result in 14 beautiful broadsides by the participating pairs. Such an imaginative and talented group! I was honored to participate and to collaborate with artist Matt Catoe on our broadside entitled Lately She Falls to Dreaming.

The broadsides, as well as a chapbook of the broadside art and poems, are available for sale. For further information, check at the Columbia Broadside Project page on Facebook.

Monday Night Poetry & Music reading, Feb. 24

What a joy it was to read in the Monday Night Poetry & Music Series last Monday! The Series always has a supportive audience, which includes a lot of talented poets who typically read in the open mic. Thanks to host Jim Lundy for having me—and to all who came to help me continue celebrating the release of My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass.

Poets in the region, this Series is a wonderful place to read. The events are weekly and held at the charming East Bay Meeting House in Charleston, SC. 

Tomorrow's poetry workshop: "Persistence and the Poem"

I'm looking forward to teaching an OLLI at CCU workshop at the Litchfield Education Center tomorrow. Because it's on "Persistence and the Poem," I've been thinking a lot about digging deeper when writing a poem, not giving up on it too soon. It's hard to sit there and keep at it when you don't know which way to turn, or what's working and what's not, or how much of what you've written you'll have to ditch—but the thing is to keep going. All those matters can be dealt with later. I like the idea of being persistent. It's a good life lesson. And, hey, it's fun—if you consider the discomfort of squirming in your seat fun.

It’ll be my first time teaching in the new Litchfield Education Center. We’re a small class so we’ll happily meet in the conference room around a big table. Nothing beats the camaraderie and imaginative thinking that go on when a bunch of poets get together.

Good News from the Columbia Broadside Project

Congratulations to artist Matt Catoe, my talented partner for the Columbia Broadside Project! The following news has been announced by Darien Cavanaugh, director of the project:

"Congratulations to Matt Catoe and Susan Laughter Meyers for selling the original of "Lately She Falls to Dreaming" on opening night at Tapp's Arts Center. All the other originals are still available at Tapp's through the 28th, and I've just made them available at a new pledge level on our Kickstarter page. I know that serious buyers are looking at at least two others, so if you see one you like. . . ." 

Be sure to check out the beautiful broadsides, including "Lately She Falls to Dreaming," at the Kickstarter page. And I hope to see those of you in the Columbia, SC, area at the closing reception on February 28. Details later.

The Columbia Broadside Project

I am honored to be included in the Columbia Broadside Project, an art-and-poetry collaborative project whose month-long exhibit opened last night at Tapp's Arts Center, Columbia, SC. The project director is Darien Cavanaugh.

For the project, twenty-eight poets and artists from Columbia and other cities throughout South Carolina paired up and collaborated to create 14 original broadsides, each consisting of an image and poem that correspond to one another. Many of the poets and artists were present at the opening. There will be a closing reception on February 28 that will include readings by some of the poets and a panel discussion with some of the poets and artists.

The participating poets and artists are:

Gil Allen and somethingRed
Betsy Breen and Ashley Berendzen
Jonathan Butler and Alejandro Garcia-Lemos
Juan David Cruz and Thomas Crouch
Worthy Evans and Allan Anderson
Will Garland and Alex Coco
Keith Higginbotham and Kristyn Larsen
Julia Koets and Dre Lopez
Ed Madden and Rachel Parker
Ray McManus and Josh Drews!
Susan Laughter Meyers and Matt Catoe
Brandi L. Perry and Michael Krajewski
Nicola Waldron and Lee A. Monts
Susan Levi Wallach and Sammy Lopez

This closing reception is free and open to the public. For more information, visit The Columbia Broadside Project on Facebook or email colabroadside@gmail.com.

Please visit these participants' personal websites:

Ashley Berendzen
Josh Drews
Alejandro Garcia Lemos
Kristyn Larsen
Dre Lopez and Sammy Lopez
Ray McManus
Lee A. Monts
Brandi L. Perry
Susan Levi Wallach

*This project is funded by the Cultural Council of Richland & Lexington Counties and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation of SC.

Jasper review of My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass is now online

The review of My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass published in Jasper: The Word on Columbia Art is now available online. The review, written by Jonathan Butler, appears in vol. 3, issue 2, on page 58; and here is the link.

I'm so pleased! Thank you, Jonathan Butler and Jasper.