July CSWRS and Poetry in the Garden

Happy July! Once the 4^th passes, it seems that summer’s about gone – or in Colorado, it’s only just begun!

May’s CSWRS featured reader was Jessy Randall and it was literally standing room only! It was great to have so many different folks from the community come together for a local writer. Jessy’s poetry is both playful and tender and the crowd adored her. Thanks for a wonderful reading!   

There are a couple literary events in the month of July. The CSWRS featured poet is Karen Rigby, visiting us from AZ. Her collection of poetry Chinoiserie, winner of the Sawtooth Poetry Prize, is described as “…disrupting the boundaries between tribute and theft, reinvention and repetition. It evokes the fanciful as well as a darker potentiality, seeking a language ‘of pearl and roaring.’” She is also the author of chapbooks Savage Machinery and Festival Bone.  The reading will be held at the BAC (515 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs), Friday, July 12^th from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Then the following week on Wednesday, July 17th, the Pikes Peak Poet Laureate Project and the Pikes Peak Library District present Poetry in the Garden. Regional poets will read their work beginning at 7 – 8:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Penrose Library (20 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs), in the Carnegie Reading Garden.

See you soon!

CSWRS Full Moon Fever/May

This Friday, May 10^th at 7:30 p.m. at the BAC, local author Jessy Randall is the CSWRS featured writer. Her work has appeared in publications such as Asimov’s, McSweeney’s, and Sentence. Her collection A Day in Boyland was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, and her young adult novel The Wandora Unit is about high school poetry nerd romance! Her new collection of poems, Injecting Dreams into Cows (Red Hen Press), is full of tenderness and surprises. 

Looking forward to seeing you! It's a full moon so who knows what kinda trouble we'll get into!

3rd Friday Artwalk/Poetry Reading

April 19th, 2013 is the Third Friday Artwalk at the BAC (513 Manitou Avenue) from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Come take in exciting exhibits and bring a poem to share! Scope out the awesome art work and take a poetry break at the Colorado Springs Writers Reading Series open mic session in the Hagnauer Gallery from 6:30 – 7:30. 

This event is co-sponsored by the PPCC English Department, the CSWRS, The PPCC Downtown Studio Art Gallery, and the BAC.

For more information, contact Laura BenAmots, PPCC Gallery Director, 719-459-9999; or Mandy Solomon, PPCC English Faculty, 719.502.3507.

Hope to see you there!

Let spring begin (already)!

Let’s bring in spring with some music and storytelling!

Come on out this Friday, March 8^th, to the BAC (513 Manitou Avenue) at 6:30 p.m., to hear classic guitarist Michael Galvin perform.  Then, stay for the Colorado Springs Writers Reading Series, starting at 7:30 p.m. The featured reader is local writer Althea Smith.  

January’s featured reader was Amie Sharp, poet and writing instructor at Pikes Peak Community College. Here’s a (fuzzy) picture of us toasting a wonderful evening!

Happy Holidays!

Thank you to all who came out to the BAC in November to hear Tom Bonfiglio read. He thoroughly enjoyed his evening with the CSWRS. It was great to see my friend, too! 

Here's Tom reading "That Far Ahead"

On January 11^th, 2013 (It sounds so far away!) Amie Sharp will share her poetry with the CSWRS. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at the BAC (513 Manitou Avenue.) 

In the meantime, here’s wishing you all a safe and joyful holiday season! I’ll be spending it in the Land of Lincoln with family and friends. 

November News!

New and familiar faces gathered at the BAC in September to share their writing. Featured reader, Price Strobridge, Poet Laureate of the Pikes Peak Region, captivated the crowd. He’s quite the raconteur! Thanks to all who came out!

There are a few local literary events happening in November.  The Writers Reading at the Gallery, featuring PPCC students, will be held at the Downtown Studio Art Gallery, 100 W. Pikes Peak Avenue, November 2^nd from 7 – 9 p.m. 

And...drum roll please...on November 9th, the CSWRS will feature Tom Bonfiglio, a fiction writer from sunny Arizona. The CSWRS will meet at the BAC, 513 Manitou Avenue, 7:30 p.m. I'm thinking about making pumpkin' cookies! 

See you then!  

Upcoming Events

Looking for something to do the last weekend of September?

Author Fest of the Rockies, the statewide literary conference, meets on Friday and Saturday, September 28th and 29th, from 9 a.m. -- 4 p.m. at the Business of Arts Center in Manitou Springs. Here's a link to their website:
http://www.authorfestoftherockies.org/

100, 000 Poets and Musicians for Change is taking place Sept. 29th at The Movement of Arts Community Studio, 525 E. Fountain Blvd,., Suite 150, just east and south of downtown, from 3 --8. 
Check it out:
http://100tpcmedia.org/100TPC2012/2012/08/julianza-shavin-colorado-springs-colorado/

Hope you're able to take advantage of one these community events!