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CONTACT:
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513.369.6967
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513.369.3259
Visit our press room at:
http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/press/
March 21, 2014
Poetry in the Garden Series celebrates contest winners,
honors local poets
Celebrate National Poetry Month during the Library’s 16th Annual Poetry in the Garden Series, held
in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati Writers League. Local poets Cathy Hale, Rae Hoffman,
Beth Szymanski and Nick Bascom, whose verses won the Third Annual Poetry in the Garden
Contest, will share their work during the first of five poetry sessions held at 7 p.m. in the Main
Library’s Reading Garden Lounge. The series will take place every Tuesday in April (April 1, 8, 15,
22, 29) at the Main Library, located at 800 Vine St. On Monday, April 21 at 7 p.m., an additional
poetry reading event will feature Dos Madres Press poets.
After featured poets read at each session, there will be an open mic for all guests. An open mic
signup sheet will be available at 6:45 p.m. and there is a five minute, two poem maximum per reader.
2014 Poetry in the Garden Series Lineup
April 1
Timothy Riordan pays tribute to the legacy of Poetry in the Garden; Winners of the Third
Annual Poetry in the Garden Contest will recite their poems; Open Mic
April 8
Pauletta Hansel, Claudia Skutar, Tyrone Williams; Open Mic
Pauletta Hansel is a poet, teacher and author of four poetry collections, most recently The Lives We
Live in Houses (Wind Publications, 2011) and What I Did There (Dos Madres Press, 2011). She leads
community poetry workshops and retreats in the Greater Cincinnati area and beyond, and is Writer-in
Residence at Thomas More College in her native Kentucky. She is co-editor of Pine Mountain Sand &
Gravel, the literary publication of Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative. Hansel received her
MFA from Queens University of Charlotte.
Claudia Skutar is a poet, essayist and scholar with creative work published in the Red Cedar
Review; Express Cincinnati; and in the anthologies Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes
and Telling Our Own Stories. She teaches creative writing, literature and composition at the
University of Cincinnati and has given readings and conducted workshops at Michigan State
University, Wright State University and community venues in the region.
Tyrone Williams teaches literature and theory at Xavier University. He is the author of five books of
poetry, c.c., On Spec, The Hero Project of the Century, Adventures of Pi, and Howell. He is also the
author of several chapbooks, including a prose eulogy, Pink Tie.
April 15
Joanne Greenway, Jerry Judge, Mary Ann Reese; Open Mic
Joanne Greenway holds a master’s degree in French literature from Indiana University. She retired
from a 30-year civil service career with the Hamilton County Department of Human Services in 2003.
She began writing poetry in 2004.
Jerry Judge is a Cincinnati-based poet and social worker. He has published seven poetry chapbooks
with the latest being Night Talk in the Barracks (2011) by Pudding House Publications. He has
published poems in over 50 journals and has read his poetry in many public venues, including
television and radio.
Mary Anne Reese is a Cincinnati attorney. Her second poetry chapbook, Down Deep, recently came
out from Finishing Line Press. She holds graduate degrees in theology and English, and has
published poetry in journals including Sojourners, St. Anthony Messenger, The Licking River Review,
and Still.
April 22
Karen George, Bucky Ignatius, Terry Petersen; Open Mic
Karen George, author of Into the Heartland (Finishing Line Press, 2011) and Inner Passage (Red
Bird Chapbooks, 2014), has work published in Memoir, Tupelo Press 30/30 Website, Louisville
Review, Permafrost, Border Crossing, and Wind. She has been awarded grants from The Kentucky
Foundation for Women and The Kentucky Arts Council. She holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding
University, and reviews poetry at Poetry Matters: readwritepoetry.blogspot.com.
Bucky Ignatius is a Cincinnati native, and has been writing compulsively, if not skillfully, for more
than 50 years. He began sharing his poetry with strangers in the 1990s, and started serious study of
the craft after a prize-winning entry in the 2004 Greater Cincinnati Writers’ League contest earned
him membership in that group, where he has served as president (and occasional critic) for the past
five years. His work has appeared in numerous publications, and several of his poems have been set
to music by Cincinnati composer Rick Sowash.
Terry Petersen's motto is dive through the muck of real life and come up with a gem. Her web page:
terrypetersen.wordpress.com focuses on positive thinking. Her short story, Doing Right By Mama and
the Lord was published in Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel in March. Her poetry will be featured in
AEGAI online at the end of this month.
April 29
Greater Cincinnati Writers’ League Read-around; Open Mic
For more information on the Poetry in the Garden Series or contest winners, visit
www.CincinnatiLibrary.org or call (513) 369-6919.