Join us for a poetry marathon with Mimi Ch enfeld\, Fred Andrle\, and friends! Enjoy an afternoon of poetry at the li brary from some of Columbus's most revered and celebrated poets\, includin g: Jerry Roscoe\, Charlene Fix\, Jacqueline Smith\, MJ Abell\, Linda Fulle r-Smith\, Karen Scott\, Rikki Santer\, Paula Lambert\, Rose Smith\, Jack B urgess\, Kathleen Burgess\, Fred Andrle\, and Mimi Chenfeld.
\nPoet Bios:
\nMimi Chenfeld \;- Raised in NYC\, Mimi and family moved to Columbus in 1970. A teacher\, dancer\, writer\, she ha s been actively involved in the arts community for decades. Beside her lif elong teaching career and dance activities\, she writes poetry\, fiction\, essays\, and education books. Her latest \; book\, \;Still Teachi ng in the 'Key of Life\,' \;was published by NAEYC and is widely used. Her poems are included in the recently published \;Pudding Magazine&n bsp\;- The Journal of Applied Poetry. Her creative writing sessions at Cul tural Arts Center and Bexley Library are always enjoyed.
\nF red Andrle is a poet \; and journalist. His current poetry co llection is &ldquo\;Rocking in the Cradle of the Moment\,&rdquo\; (XOXOX P ress\, Gambier\, Ohio\, 2019). His previous collections: &ldquo\;Love Life \,&rdquo\; (XOXOX\, 2008)\, and &ldquo\;What Counts\, (XOXOX\, 2012). \; Fred&rsquo\;s poetry was featured in the anthology &ldquo\;Prayers to P rotest: Poems that Center and Bless Us&rdquo\; \; (Pudding House Press )\, and his poem &ldquo\;The Book&rdquo\;\, was read on the public radio s eries &ldquo\;The Writer&rsquo\;s Almanac.&rdquo\; \; He is a member o f the &ldquo\;House of Toast\,&rdquo\; a Columbus poetry writing and perfo rmance group. Fred was Executive Producer and Host of &ldquo\;Open Line\,& rdquo\; a daily public affairs talk show on WOSU\, a National Public Radio affiliate in Columbus. He retired in May\, 2009\, after 20 years hosting the program.
\nRikki Santer&rsquo\;s poetry has bee n published widely and has received many honors including several Pushcart and Ohioana book award nominations\, a fellowship from the National Endow ment for the Humanities\, and in 2023 she was named Ohio Poet of the Year. \;Her twelfth poetry collection\, \;Resurrection Letter: Leonora\ , Her Tarot\, and Me\, is a sequence in tribute to the surrealist artist L eonora Carrington. \; Please contact her through her website\, \;h ttps://rikkisanter.com.
\nPaula J. Lambert&rsquo\;s fourth full-length poetry collection\, \;As If This Did Not Happen Ev ery Day\, \;is forthcoming from Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. She has author ed five chapbooks\, including \;Uncertainty (The Only Hope We Have)\, just out from Bottlecap Press. Lambert is also a visual artist\, small-pre ss publisher\, and literary translator. Her work has been recognized by PE N America and supported by the Ohio Arts Council\, the Greater Columbus Ar ts Council\, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She lives in Colum bus\, Ohio\, with her husband Michael Perkins\, a philosopher and technolo gist. More at \;https://paulajlambert.com.
\nJerry Rosco e \;is the author of three collections and a chapbook. He has received an Ohioana Book Award\, two Individual Artist Fellowships from t he Ohio Arts Council\, published widely in literary magazines\, given nume rous readings\, and had poems read by Garrison Keillor on \;The Writer 's Almanac. \; \;For ten years he was poetry reviewer and columnis t for the \;Columbus Dispatch.
\nCharlene Fix&r squo\;s poetry collections are \;Jewgirl \;(Broadstone Books 2023) \, \;Taking a Walk in My Animal Hat \;(Bottom Dog 2018)\, \;Fr ankenstein&rsquo\;s Flowers \;(CW Books 2014)\, and \;Flowering Br uno \;(XOXOX 2006). \;Her prose homage/film criticism is \;Har po Marx as Trickster \;(McFarland 2013). Emeritus English Professor at Columbus College of Art and Design\, co-coordinator of Hospital Poets at OSU Medical Center\, and activist for peace and justice\, Charlene is moth er of three and grandmother of two. Her website is \;charlenefix.com.< /p>\n
Jacquelin Smith \;won the Chiron Review Chapb ook Contest in 2000 for \;My G-Rated Life. \; \;She has been p ublished in a variety of literary magazines. Jacquelin has given readings and taught classes on creativity and poetry at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center as well as at local bookstores.
\nMJ Abell&n bsp\;is a catalyst for personal growth and creativity\, drawing on her exp erience as a poet\, SoulCollage®\; \;facilitator and leader of prof essional development workshops. \; She has received an OAC Individual Artist Fellowship for Poetry and won the Thurber House humorous essay cont est.
\nJack Burgess \;has been a soldier\, seco ndary teacher of English &\; social studies\, labor relations practitio ner\, political organizer\, pre-history researcher\, political consultant\ , \;and writer whose columns on education\, politics\, and government appear in \;The Chillicothe Gazette \;and other Ohio newspapers\, as well as online. He believes poetry should be\, like government\, democ ratic and accessible. His chapbook entitled \;It&rsquo\;s Always Getty sburg \;was published by Pudding House.
\nKathleen Burge ss \;has \;received national awards as well as four Pushc art and two Best of the Net nominations for poems in \;many journals a nd anthologies. Editor of \;Reeds and Rushes&mdash\;Pitch\, Buzz\, and Hum\, Burgess has authored four poetry collections including \;The Wo nder Cupboard \;and \;What Burden Do Those Trains Bear Away\, whil e serving over 20 years on editorial staff for two journals. The retired p ublic school music teacher and husband Jack Burgess live amid Hopewell Wor ld Heritage Site earthworks. \;kathleensburgess.com.
\nK aren Scott \;is a poet living in Columbus\, Ohio. She is a me mber and ardent supporter of the Ohio Poetry Association (OPA)\, a past pa rticipant in the Women of Appalachia Project\, and a proud member of the S ALON writing group. Her work has been published in \;Common Threads&nb sp\;[annual OPA members anthology]\, \;Women Speak \;[Women of App alachia anthology]\, \;Delirious: A Poetic Celebration of Prince \ ;(2016)\, the inaugural issue of the \;Northern Appalachia Review \;(2020)\, \;Quaranzine \;published by OPAWL (https://www.opawl.or g/quaranzine). She has also been included in the anthologies \;America n Graveyard: Calls to end gun violence \;(Read or GreenBooks)\; \; The Dead Pets Poetry Anthology \;(Transcendent Zero Press)\; and the F inal issue of \;Pudding Magazine.
\nLinda Fuller-Smith \;- Once a professional ballet dancer\, Linda Fuller-Smith now enjoys a more sedentary writers&rsquo\; life. A Central Ohio native\, she also lived a decade in Southern California and nearly a year in Florence\ , Italy. Linda&rsquo\;s poems engage with both personal experience and his tory\, and she is currently writing a book of poems related to the 1927 sc hool bombing in Bath\, Michigan that killed her grandmother&rsquo\;s siste r. The poet received an Ohio Arts Council&rsquo\;s Individual Excellence A ward and has two grown daughters who amaze her.
\nRose Smith &rsquo\;s work has appeared in The Examined Life\, p luck!\, Naugatuck River Review\, Snapdragon\, M inola Review\, Dying Dahlia Review\, Main Street Rag\, T he Pedestal Magazine\, Pavement Saw\, Passager\, Boston Literary Magazine< /em> and other journals. She is author of four chapbooks Shooting the Strays (Pavement Saw\, 2003)\, A Woman You Know (Pudding Hou se\, 2010)\, a Poets&rsquo\; Greatest Hits chapbook (Kattywompus Press)\, and most recently Holes in My Teeth (Kattywompus Press\, 2016). Her work appears in the anthologies Mourning Sickness (Om ni Arts LLC\, 2008) and 50/50: Poems and Translations by Womxn Ov er 50 (Quills Edge Press\, 2018) and other anthologies. Her collection\, < em>Unearthing Ida\, won the 2018 Lyrebird Prize from Glass Lyre Press . She was a Senior Editor with Pudding Magazine and has served se veral years as a state competition judge and often as coach to student cha mpion for Ohio Arts Council&rsquo\;s Poetry Out Loud program. Rose is an I T requirements analyst by day and completed a fellowship with Cave Canem F oundation in 2015.
\nJoin us in person\, or live stream this \;p rogram \;on \;BPL's YouTube channel.
\nLib rary Parking &\; Entrance Information:
\nWhile the libra ry's main entrance is under construction\, we remain open. Clear signage w ill guide visitors to a temporary\, fully accessible entrance via a ramp i n the southeast alley\, leading to the dock entrance.
\nThe library& nbsp\;parking \;lot also remains open\, with temporary entry and exit available via \;Euclaire Avenue only. \;Parking \;may be limit ed\, so we encourage you to arrive early and use street \;parking \;on Euclaire\, Mound\, and other nearby streets.
\nFor more informa tion about the Outdoor Reading Room project\, visit \;www.BexleyLibrary.o rg/ORR.
\nhttps://bexley.libnet.info/event/15759791 URL;VALUE=URI:https://bexley.libnet.info/event/15759791 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/bexley/Poetry_Marathon_Com munico.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR