Paging Columbus! (a poetry reading)

Thursday, April 14, 2011 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Join us for the first event of this literary series in which Columbus-based (and OSU alumni) poets Maggie Smith, Jason Gray, Jen Town and Hannah Stephenson will read recent work. Stick around after for refreshments and conversation. Warning: poems may contain wild animals, references to Jersey Shore, and delicious sound play.

Paging Columbus is a literary arts-themed event series with a local focus. Taking place on the first Thursday evening of every month (from 6 to 8pm), events will feature readings and panel discussions, as well as networking events to strengthen our already-flourishing community of writers, readers and artists. Events will be curated by Hannah Stephenson. She welcomes your ideas and questions: hannahjstephenson@gmail.com. You can also check out Paging Columbus on Facebook.

About the readers:

An Ohio native, Maggie Smith is the author of Lamp of the Body (Red Hen Press), The List of Dangers (Kent State University Press) and Nesting Dolls (Pudding House). Smith has received three Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council and a 2011 Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit her site: http://maggiesmithpoet.com/

Jason Gray is the author of Photographing Eden (Ohio UP, 2009), winner of the Hollis Summers Award. He co-edits the online journal, Unsplendid (www.unsplendid.com). Find him online at http://jason-gray.net.

Jen Town grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. She graduated with highest distinction with an honors degree in English from Penn State University in 2004, and with her MFA in poetry from The Ohio State University in 2008. Jen's poetry and prose has appeared in Lake Effect, Third Coast, Mid-American Review, Epoch, and Rhino Literary Journal, among others. Her professional interests also include editing, publishing, and design: http://www.jen-town.com/.

Hannah Stephenson is a poet, editor, instructor, and singer-songwriter. You can read her poems at her daily poetry site, The Storialist: http://www.thestorialist.com. Her poems and songs have been featured in various publications, including qarrtsiluni, Lazy Gramophone Press anthologies, Spoonful, and Far Away Literary Magazine.

Image credit: Stephanie Bair-Garant