poems

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Parachute Literary Arts To Hold Poetry Reading on Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel

From Owen Jones’ Examples of Chinese Ornament (1867), courtesy of the Public Domain Review

Parachute Literary Arts, an organization that celebrates the poetry community of Brooklyn, is hosting Poem-a-Rama on May 8th. The first poetry reading to ever take place on Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel, the event will feature over fourteen poets from New York City. While riding the wheel, they will read their works related to NYC, and more specifically, to Coney Island. The reading will serve as a benefit for Parachute Literary Arts’ writing workshops and for poetry libraries in the area.

Among the writers participating in Poem-a-Rama are Amber Atiya, Patricia Spear Jones, Ian Dreiblatt, Jen Fitzgerald, and Michael Broder. There will also be a performance by Soozee Hwang & The Relastics.

For the complete list of readers, visit Parachute Literary Arts’ website.

Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

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Finalists For Lambda Literary Awards Announced

From Baude Cordier’s “Belle, bonne, sage” (1350-1400), courtesy of the Public Domain Review

The finalists for the 27th annual Lambda Literary Awards have been announced. The Lambda Literary Awards honor the best LBGTQ literature of the year in 24 categories, including fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Among the nominees for 2015 is Augury friend Shelly Oria. Other noteworthy finalists include Ana Castillo, Tom Spanbauer, Danez Smith, Lenelle Moïse, and La JohnJoseph. The winners will be declared at the awards ceremony on Monday, June 1st in New York City.

For the complete list of finalists and their works, visit the Lambda Literary Awards website.

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Frances Justine Post Reads for Poison Pen Series

Taken at the Poison Pen poetry reading, courtesy of Writespace Houston

Augury Books’ Frances Justine Post recently read for the Poison Pen Reading Series, hosted in Houston, Texas on the 29th of January. Several poets were featured, including Scott Blackwood and Tony Hoagland. Post presented pieces from her most recent collection of poems, BEAST. As Tony was her professor and dissertation director, Justine felt the experience of reading together was “extra special.”

Writespace Houston wrote of Justine’s reading:

Taking us backwards through the book, Post began with the darkest poems and worked her way into the light. Poems like “Hannibal,” seethe with both emotion and devastation. Imagery of a body broken into pieces for eating is juxtaposed with lines like “How does it feel to be an object?” The self-portrait series, of which there are twelve in the book, feature titles like “Self Portrait in the Shadow of a Volcano,” “Self Portrait in the Body of the Whale,” and the poem which features the title of her book, “Self Portrait as Beast.”

Read the full article on January’s Poison Pen Reading Series here.

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