The Inspired Word in NYC - July 6!

The Inspired Word: Passionate Readings of Poetry & Prose

When: Monday, July 6

Location: Tierra Sana Restaurant
http://www.tierrasana.com/
100-17 Queens Blvd & 67th Road
Forest Hills, Queens
New York City

By subway, take the local R or V to 67th Avenue stop (and it's right there between 67th Road and 67th Avenue along Queens Boulevard).

Time: 7:00-10 PM (though you're welcome to stay until closing time)

Awesome ambience and food! A great collection of writers and their work!

Performer Bios:

Melissa Febos is the author of the memoir WHIP SMART, forthcoming from Thomas Dunne Books in 2010. Her fiction and essays have been published in The Southeast Review, Redivider, The Rambler, Storyscape Journal, and Bitch Magazine among others. She co-curates and hosts the Mixer Reading and Music Series in Manhattan, and teaches at SUNY Purchase College and The Gotham Writers’ Workshop. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. More information can be found at melissafebos.com.

Shannon Elizabeth Hardwick is a native Texan who is now discovering the excitement of New York City. Between riding the Metro North while listening to Brahms, writing blogs and recording her writing online, Shannon is working toward her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College. Shannon previously worked as a Title Agent, researching wills and various other legal documents in dusty courthouses across Texas before moving to New York. She found reading Warranty Deeds surprisingly inspiring material for her poetry. Now, she's finding inspiration while wandering NYC, shooting photography and writing strangers' conversations down in her notebook. Her Myspace page can be found at: www.myspace.com/shannonhardwickpoetry

Valerie Jupe originally hails from Texas and wrote her first poem around age 5. She has been featured in high school and college poetry journals as well as the book "Shattered Fragments of my Soul." Like many artists, Val's life is heavily influenced by her own depression and anxiety though her poetry also trends toward love, philosophy, and constant questioning. She has worked as a film and video editor for seven years and enjoys tirelessly (for her) though tiresomely (for her family) documenting her life through photos. Valerie recently returned from a two-month trip around Europe.

David Lawton is a performer and writer, originally from Woburn, Massachusetts. After graduating from the theatre program at Boston University, he was a Guest Artist in the graduate playwrighting classes taught there by Nobel Laureate (in poetry) Derek Walcott. He has appeared as an actor Off-Broadway, had his plays performed Off-Off Broadway, and spent ten years as a featured vocalist with the New York underground band Leisure Class. Mr. Lawton has a poem in the Americana anthology Appleseeds, currently available from Sacred Fools Press. In January 2009 he co-produced and served as a reader for Downtown Does Huncke for His Birthday, a program of stories by his friend and beat godfather Herbert Huncke.

Refusing to characterize her poetic style as either academic or performance, LisaAnn LoBasso considers herself most at home among artists. With over 20 years experience, she has produced countless readings and collaborative arts events, such as the Up Close, Let Loose Traveling Poets’ Reading Series, and Operation Soapbox, while still racking up her own credentials, including Poet Ambassador of Kern County in California, as well as appearances at venues and universities from West Coast to East. LisaAnn’s work has been lauded as both dynamic and boundary-breaking; dubbed a poetry minstrel by Las Vegas City Life Weekly, she has featured with diverse and noteworthy poets, such as Nicholas Roerich Prize winner Lee McCarthy, California Poet Laureate Al Young, and Paterson Award Winner Indran Amirthanayagam. Twice nominated for California Poet Laureate 2008, she has two poetry books in print: In the Swollen a poetry collection (2003), and Oleander Milkshake, (2008). In her spare time, LisaAnn develops creative writing programs, theatre scripts, arts-education programs, and public arts installations with artists as far as England. She travels worldwide and recently just returned from living in India for three months. LisaAnn has worked closely with Gluck Award winner Frances Mconnel, National Book Award finalist and critically acclaimed author Susan Straight, and Pulitzer Prize nominee Maurya Simon.

Terri Muuss is an actor, poet, teacher, director, and social worker. She is the writer and performer of the one-woman show Anatomy of a Doll, which she performed at the Abingdon Theatre, Pulse Ensemble Theatre, 14th Street Y, 63rd Street Y, Producer’s Club, Theatre for the New City, Cornelia Street Café, and St. Clement’s Theatre. She was also the co-producer and host of the monthly poetry series Poetry at the Pulse for two years, and has read her poetry throughout NYC, at the 14th Street Y, Blue Stockings, Makor Theatre, and Cornelia Street Café.

Jane Ormerod was born on the south coast of England and now lives in New York City. She is the author of the chapbook "11 Films" (Modern Metrics, 2008,) a spoken word CD "Nashville Invades Manhattan", and her work also appears in numerous print and online publications, most recently in Inscribed, O Sweet Flowery Roses, and BigCityLit. She is host of the reading series Emotional Rescue at The Cornelia Street Café, performs throughout the United States, and is a founding editor at Uphook Press. Her website is www.janeormerod.com.

Taína is the Founder/Producer of The Latino Poets' Society Spoken Word Tour, a national spoken word tour consisting of an all Latino cast, a TV producer/Independent filmmaker, writer, photographer, and performing poet in NYC. She is a consummate artist with an observant eye, a passion for her culture and an undying drive to showcase the social ills of a lopsided society, Always on a quest to reach individuals in less than fortunate circumstances, she draws from her own experiences and never runs out of hope or inspiration. Through her work, she intends on changing people’s lives with one piece of art at a time.

MC/Host: Marron Cox

All you need to bring is your love for the written word.

Best,

Mike