Karen Swenson

Downtown/Uptown Series
at the Baldwin Library for March and April
International Women’s Month

Sunday March 26, 2006 at Baldwin Public Library

300 West Merrill / Downtown Birmingham 48009 / (248) 647-1700
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

We are proud to present: National Book Award Winner Karen Swenson from New York City, Detroit Poet Aurora Harris and Metro Detroit Poet Zilka Joseph. Karen (Carin) is a political poet of action, Aurora performs with emotion, and Zilka truly has a voice of silk. Karen will present a workshop the day before at the Scarab Club (see wkshp. article)

Karen Swenson is the author An Attic of Ideals, East-West, A Sense of Direction and The Landlady in Bangkok, which won the National Poetry Series. Her poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, Paris Review, American Poetry Review, and her frequent travels in Southeast Asia have been the subject of articles for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Leader.

Aurora Harris is a Detroit poet, educator, mentor and community activist. She is the founder of World Voice Cultural Arts, Inc., which provides poetry and creative writing workshops, and promotes emerging poets, writers, musicians and DJs. Harris is also the SlamMaster for Detroit, running four venues for the National Poetry Slam competition. Her poems have been published in Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Writing, DrumVoices, Brooding the Heartland: Poets of the Midwest, Abandon Automobile and Michigan Feminist Studies.
Zilka Joseph is a longtime member of MDW’s Master level Poetry Workshop with Mary Jo Firth Gillett. She has placed in our annual MDW Members Only Literary Contest.
Zilka is originally from Calcutta, India. She is published in India, and also in the U.S. in journals such as The Driftwood Review, Rattle, Paterson Literary Review, the Connecticut River Review, The Iconoclast, The MacGuffin. Zilka has two finished chapbook manuscripts.

Zilka Joseph is a longtime member of MDW’s Master level Poetry Workshop with Mary Jo Firth Gillett. She has placed in our annual MDW Members Only Literary Contest.
Originally from Calcutta, India. She moved to the Chicago in 1997, then to Michigan in 2000. An English teacher since 1990, Zilka taught at the Roeper School, and was Writer-In-Residence with InsideOut. She is currently a tutor at Oakland Community College. Published in India, and also in the U.S. in journals such as The Driftwood Review, Rattle, Paterson Literary Review, the Connecticut River Review, The Iconoclast, The MacGuffin. Zilka has two finished chapbook manuscripts.

Herbert Metoyer is a great local and nationally acclaimed (via New Orleans) singer/songwriter . Herb started playing in the early 60’s on the Greenwich Village Scene with his friends Fred Neil, Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and others. His first album was released on the classic Verve/Folkway Records.

Downtown/Uptown at the Baldwin Library
National Poetry Month Celebration

Sunday April 23, 2006

Baldwin Public Library, 300 West Merrill / Downtown Birmingham from 2– 4p.m. as part of Springfed Arts Metro Writers Poetry Month Celebration, we gift Metro Detroit with: A. Van Jordan (National Acclaimed Poet & author of award winning MacNolia), Vivian Shipley (former Connecticut Poet Laureate & Acclaimed Author) and Gerry LaFemina (WV Poet & Director Frostburg University Creative Writing Program)

A. Van Jordan received his MFA Warren Wilson College. His first book, Rise, won the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award and was a selection of the Academy of American Poets book club. His newest book MacNolia has received critical acclaim and many award nominations. He is an assistant professor at The University of Texas in Austin. Van Jordan will be presenting a workshop as we as reading for us.

Vivian Shipley (our poetry contest judge) is editor of Connecticut Review She has twice been nominated for a Pulitzer: in 1996 for Devil’s Lane, and in 2000 for Fair Haven. When There Is No Shore is the 2002 recipient of the Word Press Poetry Prize, while Crazy Quilt was the 2000 Paterson Poetry Finalist. Vivian’s workshop will be at the Scarab Club on Saturday, April 23 from 10-12. Don’t miss it!

Gerry LaFemina is co-translator with Sinan Toprak of Voice Lock Puppet, poems by contemporary Turkish poet Ali Yuce. Gerry’s latest book, The Parakeets of Brooklyn, received the 2003 Bodighera Prize in poetry, and was published in a bilingual edition of Italian and English.  His other books include The Window Facing Winter and Graffiti Heart.  A long time resident of Michigan he now directs and teaches in the Frostburg Center for Creative Writing at Frostburg State University in Maryland.

Again—Readings Are Free. The Baldwin Library located at 300 Merrill Street in Downtown Birmingham. Maps are located at www.springfed.org. These readings are sponsored by The Friends of the Baldwin Public Library, The Metro Detroit Writers Literary Arts Organization, Springfed Arts, Inc. and The Scarab Club of Detroit.

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