Events
Upcoming…
Prodigal Poetry Reading: Dr Robert Roddy
Just in time for your preparation for St Patrick’s, we again welcome Belfast-born Robert Roddy (as is becoming tradition) to read for us from the vast font of Irish poetry - what exactly, I do not know, but rest assured it will be both wondrous and cathartic, as all the best Irish poetry is. Consider it your warm-up for St Patrick’s Day!! Sunday March 10th, 4pm!!
Come for the Poetry, stay for the discussion, the atmosphere, hospitality, & the drink (and the FOOD)!!
FREE!!! Plus Open Mic!!
…and Previously
Debuts and Discoveries: a Poetry Roundtable with Olatunde Osinaike, Ariana Benson, & Taylor Byas
Every artist dreams of the first time their child that is their art greets the world. For some, it is a moment that provokes quiet. For others, it is a venture brimming with a feeling not unlike the warmth they carried to their art in the first place. It is no small feat to behold and yet we do. But how do we prepare our art to witness? How do we?
Join us for a reading by three debut poets - Taylor Byas, Ariana Benson, and Olatunde Osinaike - and a roundtable discussion led by Bryan Byrdlong on discovery and how it appears in each of their debut collections of 2023.
A Book Release Celebration of Subhaga Crystal Bacon’s Transitory
Grounded in protest and solidarity, Subhaga Crystal Bacon’s Isabella Gardner Award-winning Transitory is a collection of elegies memorializing 46 transgender and gender-nonconforming people murdered in the US and Puerto Rico in 2020.
Epistolary in nature, these commemorative poems are “gleaned sketches” attempting to reconstruct lives and deaths from the typically scarce information made available on the internet.
Subhaga will be reading along with noted Minneapolis-based trans poet Hal Sansone (he/him).
Poetry & Age: a Reading/Roundtable
Poets Rennie McQuilken, Mary Moore Easter, Annette Gagliardi, & Charlie Curry engage in a roundtable disussion of how the issue of age and aging affects both their poetry and how it is reflected within their work. In the course of that discussion, they will read from both their own work and the work of others important to their development of these concepts.
Tuesday, May 30th at 7pm CT - suggested ticket price $20, but sliding fee available.
What is Poetry?
New releases by Anthony Sutton, K Iver, Su Cho, & Joshua Burton
Join poet Anthony Sutton and friends K Iver, Su Cho, & Joshua Burton for a reading and discussion of their recently published debut collections - "Particles of a Stranger Light", "Short Film Starring My Beloved's Red Bronco", "Symmetry of Fish", & "Grace Engine" respectively. No charge, though reservations required via EventBrite.
Queer Identities in Poetry: a Reading/Roundtable
What does it mean to be Queer? As LGBTQ+ people live into greater clarity about who and how we are, we recognize that we embody a variety of identities. How do those identities shape and show up in our poetic expressions? Join us for a conversation and reading about Queer identities in Poetry.
Subhaga Crystal Bacon leads a discussion with poets Derrick Austin, Han VanderHart, Benjamin Garcia, & Hal Sansone - online, 3pm CT Sun September 25th - $20, sliding fee. All sales go directly to the participating poets! #SupportPoetryPayPoets
Performative Poetry:
a Reading/Roundtable LIVE!!!
This month, in conjunction with Cracked Walnut's flagship reading series, Poets&Pints, we present our first LIVE Reading/Roundtable - Performative Poetry!! In a sense, every poem is a performance as it is read, whether the poet may see it or not. How do poets & spoken word artists approach this issue? How is a poem different from its performance - or is there even any difference at all?
These are among the questions & topics to be discussed by local luminaries Desdemona, King October, da Black Pearll Warren, and Poets&Pints' own Tony Plocido, in this very special poetry event - special in that it is Poets&Pints’ first ever reading to feature a roundtable discussion, and for us in that this is our first ever LIVE! Reading/Roundtable!!
HUMOR + POETRY: a Reading/Roundtable
Can serious poetry be funny? Limericks are funny, but are hardly considered "serious poetry". Ogden Nash is funny, often in a quite sly way, but is hardly considered a "serious poet". Wit has long been considered an important attribute for a poet, and wit is certainly indespensible to humor. Shakespeare was the heighth of wit in his day, as was Dorothy Parker in hers - so what of their poetry? Does humor cheapen poetry, or embellish, or even deepen, it? Can a poem have both humor and weight?
These questions and more shall be discussed & thoroughly elucidated as a seriously fun group of poets gather to explore Humor & Poetry, featuring Brett Elizabeth Jenkins, Esther Marcella Hoffmann, Banji Lawal, & Lewis Mundt!
The Prodigal Reading Series continues - LIVE, plus Open Mic!
This month, something a little different - we’re gonna Open Mic all evening, BUT - we got a theme this time, and everything’s gotta fit that theme.
It’s December, and mainstream popular culture is want to hype its celebration of mass consumerism - but in fact there are a plethora of significant holidays going on in December - like, really, more than is warranted! From World AIDS Day, Natl Bartender Day, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Festivus, Yule, and even Beethoven's Bday (and John Lennon’s death day). It’s truly crazy - like the calendar was a rug and the World shook it and all the holidays gathered at the end. For a partial list of what we feel are significant December holidays for 2021, CLICK HERE!!
So join us Wednesday, December 8th, 7pm, in the friendly confines of Prodigal Pub’s back room for a truly wide open OPEN MIC!!! FREE, as always! Bring your poems, and bring your friends - they will thank you (truly)!!
LIVE!!! Our First Ever Fundraiser!!!
YES!!! We are throwing ourselves a party - and YOU are invited!!
And what an awesome party it will be! There'll be readings by Paula Cisewski, Joe Davis, Tony Plocido, and our own Katie Vagnino (class facilitator extraordinaire, and a Board member!) - incredible Twin Cities poets all. Featuring new music from the inimitable Andrea Halverson - and all capped off by the style and swagger of Annie & the Bang Bang!!
Plus, all that delectable Gardens of Salonica food - a specially prepared dinner featuring a choice of entree and an array of Greek appetizers, dips, and salads!
LIVE at Gardens of Salonica! Thursday September 30th, 7pm - dinner seating begins at 6:30.
Art to Art: Ekphrastic Poetry
As the author of the groundbreaking guidebook on Ekphrasis, Janée J. Baugher believes that engaging with the visual arts can be an important portal to a person’s creativity. A common definition of Ekphrasis is descriptive writing influenced by the visual arts. Ekphrasis has a long literary tradition dating back to Homer’s description of Achilles’ shield in the Iliad. Join Baugher and some of her favorite contemporary ekphrastic poets as they discuss modern approaches to interfacing with the visual arts. How can writers make creative use of visual stimulation? What are the ekphrastic conventions? As an aesthetic pursuit, what currency does ekphrasis hold—in academia, to the art world, to the general public?
Featuring, along with Janée J. Baugher, poets David Wright, Gerard Wozek, & Hedy Habra. Thursday, July 8th, from 7-9pm CT, on Zoom.
Baseball & Poetry: Beyond Casey at the Bat
Toward the end of the movie Moneyball, Brad Pitt's character, the real-life GM of the Oakland A's, Billy Beane, remarks "How can you not be romantic about baseball?" Why is this so? Why so much poetry, so much prose, so much literature devoted to one of arguably the slowest sports in the world (not as slow as cricket, but actually slower than chess)?
Poets Clarence White, Julia Klatt Singer, Bill Meissner, & Michael Kleber-Diggs read from their own work, along with some of their favorites, and discuss with Gris Literatura’s David Bayliss why this fascination - and why the devotion to a sport that celebrates its failures as much, if not more, than its triumphs - after all, in the end Casey struck out. Online, via Zoom, Thursday, June 24th, from 7 - 9pm CT.
Motherhood & Poetry
For the month of May, we are happy to present a very special event for Mother’s Day. The amazing & brilliant Athena Kildegaard, co-editor of last year’s incredible collection Rocked by the Waters, has put together an equally incredible Reading/Roundtable: Motherhood & Poetry. And what an amazing roundtable has she put together – Jenn Givhan, Hope Wabuke, Molly Sutton Kiefer, as well as herself!
Thursday, May 27th, from 7-9pm CT, on Zoom!
Poetry & the Intuitive Arts:
Astrology, Labyrinths,
the I Ching, & Tarot
What do Astrology, the I Ching, Tarot, & Labyrinths have to do with Poetry? What does intuition have to do with Poetry? Does intuition inform the practice of poetry? What routes can we take to access such a fount of imagery and meaning?
For this very special Reading/Roundtable, four intuitive readers from four distinct intuitional/esoteric practices – Paula Cisewski, Andrea Grace, Moray, & David Bayliss – will discuss the relevance of intuition, and the paths we take to get in touch with it, to the poetic arts and the deeper expression of ourselves. On Zoom, Sunday, April 25th, 4 to 6pm CT. $20 sliding fee (excluding ticketing fees), no one turned away!
A Virtual Book Launch: Imitation Crab! poems by Katie Vagnino
Join us for a virtual book launch celebrating the publication of Imitation Crab, the debut poetry collection by Masters of Poetry instructor Katie Vagnino. Imitation Crab, available now from Finishing Line Press and other retailers (Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc), explores the tension between authenticity and artificiality and the slipperiness of identity through the lens of female experience. And it's full of formal poems -- villanelles, sestinas, sonnets, pantoums, and even a ghazal! Katie will read from the book and then Gris Literatura founder, David Bayliss, will ask her some questions about her process, inspiration, and what it's like to publish a book during a pandemic. The event is FREE and will be streamed live on Gris's YouTube channel, Thurs Mar 11th, 7pm CT: Imitation Crab Book Launch - YouTube
Healing in the midst of Crisis
The third of our Reading/Roundtables on the topic of Crisis Poetry focuses this time on Healing in the midst of Crisis. How can Poetry help to heal communities in the midst of struggle, anguish, & pain? And how do we as poets and members of those communities find space & healing for ourselves and our loved ones in such times?
Join us and our incredible panel - Lisa Marie Brimmer, Isela Xitlali Gomez, Paula Cisewski, & Joe Davis - for what promises to be a most fascinating evening, as we discuss these issues & more! Thursday, Jan 21st, 7-9pmCT.
Joy in the midst of Crisis
The second of our Reading/Roundtables returns to the topic of Crisis Poetry, focusing this time on Joy in the midst of Crisis. How does poetry, and how do poets, find & express Joy when all about is conflict, brutality, & upheaval?
And once again we will be joined by a most august panel of amazing poets: Hawona Sullivan Janzen, Glenn North, Bryan Thao Worra, & Michael Kleber-Diggs!!
So join us, Thursday December 17th, 7-9pm CT, on Zoom!
Emerging Voices: A Zoom Reading
COVID-19 has unfortunately affected writers at all stages of their careers. While some writers may have access to virtual platforms to still share their words, writers without books or access to others resources may not have the needed audiences for their words.
Emerging Writers: A Zoom Reading is an opportunity to feature some really unique up-and-coming voices from around the US, in the hopes that we can share their words with a broader audience. Reading all the way from New York City, Miami, Tempe, and Minneapolis, these five authors represent different genres, backgrounds, and communities. Hosted by Roy G. Guzmán - plus a Q&A session to follow reading.
Crisis Poetry: the Poetry of Witness
William Butler Yeats wrote The Second Coming - “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born” - in response to the crises of WWI, the Influenza epidemic of 1918, and the Ulster uprising of 1921. We face at least as many crises now - rising white fascism, the persistent exercise of 400 years of institutional racism, perpetuations of sexism, homophobia, & transphobia, looming catastrophes of climate change & zoonotic pandemic that we have, in our hubris, let loose upon us. How do we as poets respond? How should we respond?
Carolyn Forché calls Crisis Poetry “the Poetry of Witness”. Sunday, October 4th, a panel of local luminaries - Keno Evol, Roy Guzmán, Lisa Marie Brimmer, & Rosetta Peters - led by our moderator, Michael Kleber-Diggs, will discuss just that.