The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP) Fox Valley Poetry Series meets at Harmony Cafe in Appleton (233 E. College Ave) on the third Monday of most months. Each evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with the featured reader(s), followed by an open mic open to anyone who wishes to read 1-2 poems.
Monday, February 18, 6:30 p.m. – Fiction Like Poetry: Abby Frucht and Don Jesse Wydeven
Abby Frucht lives in Oshkosh. Her first book of stories, Fruit of the Month, won the Iowa Short Fiction prize for 1987. She has since published five novels and just recently a new collection, The Bell at the End of a Rope, from which she will read to us a story about a poet. She has been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, a New Voices Award, a Kay W. Levin Short Non-Fiction award from Council for Wisconsin Writers, and has served on the faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts for nearly 20 years.
Don Jesse Wydeven is an Appleton area short story writer and poet. He is a long time member and the facilitator of the Pros On Prose writers group, and has read his short stories and poetry at the Atlas Coffee Mill & Café Dinner Theater, as well as at other coffee houses and area libraries. He has been published in Pet Buzz Magazine and Irish Stew. Don finds inspiration in frequent visits to Door County and our National Parks, as well as in everyday life, love, and death. Don has published a chapbook of poetry, titled Blood Red Roses, and is currently working on a second chapbook, tentatively titled Blessings and Curses of Greater and Lesser Gods. Here is a sample poem:
Lost
I was just seven years old
When I lost both my parents.
It was at the Milwaukee Zoo
Near the lion’s cage.
I walked around the enclosure
To get a better look.
My parents wandered off
In the opposite direction.
When I looked around
They were nowhere to be found.
I saw a sign that read:
“Lost children in the Lion House.”
Deciding that lost parents
Might also be found there
I went inside.
And there they were
Both looking very worried
That they would be lost forever.
But, of course, I found them.
And to this very day they insist
That I was the one who was lost!
ON DECK AT HARMONY – 2013
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Mar 18 Bobbie Lovell and Michael Koehler
Apr 15 Marilyn Annucci and Susan Elbe
May 20 Laurel Mills and Marilyn Potter
OTHER READINGS IN THE REGION
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FEBRUARY 18 (MON) LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY: NEED MORE POETRY AFTER HARMONY? Lawrence University is featuring a poetry reading by C. S. Giscombe, Monday, February 18, 8 pm at Kohler Gallery, Wriston Art Center, 613 E. College Ave, Appleton. The reading will be followed by a book signing and reception. C.S. Giscombe earned degrees from Cornell and SUNY Albany, before going on to write several collections of poetry and to edit the magazine Epoch. He has taught at Cornell, Syracuse University, and Penn State, and he is currently on the English faculty at UC Berkeley. His poems have appeared in Callaloo, Another Chicago Magazine, and New American Writing among other places. His most recent collection is Prairie Style (Dalkey Archive, 2008).
F
EBRUARY 26 (TUES), APPLEBLOSSOM BOOKS, OSHKOSH FEATURES DR. ALFRED KISUBI: Distinguished professor of Education and Human Services at UW-Oshkosh, Dr. Kisubi was born in Uganda. He survived the Idi Amin regime, made his way to Kenya, and in 1985, to the U.S. where he became a citizen in 2002. His award-winning poetry collections include Time Winds, Maybe It’s a Dream, Storms: Poems of Azania, and Hi. His reading will focus chiefly on poems from his latest collection, Drums of Liberation. The reading takes place at 6:30 pm at Apple Blossom Books, 200 E City Center, Oshkosh. An open mic will follow where participants may read one or two of their own poems or poems by others that they love. Come early and enjoy a meal or grab a cup of coffee at Caramel Crisp and Café whose inner doors connect with the bookstore.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE FOX CITIES BOOK FESTIVAL APRIL 17 – 24: Featured poets this year will appear over the weekend (Apr 19-21) and will include Joyce Sutphen, Minnesota Poet Laureate; Max Garland, Wisconsin’s NEW Poet Laureate; WI Poet Laureate Finalists B. J. Best and Karla Huston; National Slam Champion Guante; regional favorites Sarah Gilbert, Chuck Rybak and Laurie McDiarmid, a tribute to Ellen Kort and a publishing panel featuring Tom Montag, Doug Flaherty and Charles Nevsimal. And that’s just poetry!!
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CLASSES AT THE MILL: Classes have begun, but some space is still available! Each class will meet for two hours, once a week for ten weeks. All classes will be held at the Atlas Coffee Mill on South Water Street in Appleton. The fee for each class: $250.
Fiction Writing with Steve Polansky: Introduction to Fiction Writing, Monday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m. And Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop Wednesday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m. Contact Steve to register or for more information at smpolansky@hotmail.com.
Poetry Writing with Karla Huston: Wednesday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m. Contact Karla to register or for more information at karlahuston@gmail.com
Memoir Writing with Mike Magnuson: Monday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m. Contact Mike to register or for more information at themikemagnuson@gmail.com