My first night at the Bell Arts Factory, I heard Cathryn Andresen read a pantoum and was mesmerized. That experience, in part, helped me realize some of the potential of formal poetry in my own work. Tonight she read a wide range of forms: rhyming, free verse, limericks, and kimo, showcasing poems largely forged in local workshops. The mood varied from light sexy humor to aching trauma, and she demonstrated a strong commitment to vulnerability, insight, and craft.
This series has emerged as a strong supportive force in the community thanks to Friday Lubina. She has just the right mix of poise, humor, and tireless cheerleading to keep the evening focused yet relaxed and above all highly positive. I’m really looking forward to reading there next month.
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A good reader is a real energy rush. Glad you could find such a rich community outside of LA. Being a reader yourself should be pretty cool. Too bad I don’t live closer.
Yeah, I think you’d dig it, Pearl. Fun, unpretentions crowd. With a streak of zany.
I realized the other day this is my first featured reading in like four years or something. I told someone that and they said, “What’s wrong with you?” I dunno, but it’s fixed now.