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
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-20th
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
