Local Lit - Spring 2019

LITERARY EVENTS

RACE AND KANSAS LITERATURE @ TSCPL MARCH 8 | 5-7P

Celebrate the contributors of African-American writers to Kansas Literature with readings by Annette Billings, Simone Savannah and Gary Jackson plus talk with playwright Darren Canady. Sponsored by Humanities Kansas.

MAR 6 | 6:30-8p

SPEAK EASY: OPEN MIC

NOTO Burrito (First Wednesday / Month) Longest running poetry open mic in Topeka, hosted by the Speak Easy Poetry Group.

MAR 12 | 10-11:30a

JOURNALING WITH WORDS + IMAGES

Topeka + Shawnee Country Public Library Workshop for the use of visual journaling in your personal writing.

MAR 16 | 12:30-1:30p

EXAMINING TRUTH WRITING WORKSHOP

Topeka + Shawnee Country Public Library An interactive workshop examining the truth and honesty in our poetry and prose writing. Workshop will be lead by Kansas Notable Book Award winning poet Melissa Fit Johnson.

MAR 16 | 2-3:30p

POET MELISSA FIT JOHNSON

Topeka + Shawnee Country Public Library Kansas Notable Book Award winning poet reads from her debut collection "While the Kettles On" [Little Balkan Press] and her collaborative work "Ghost Sign" [39 West Press].

MAR 17 | 6-8p

INSIDE THE CASTLE FEATURE

Decade in Lawrence Small Press, Inside the Castle hosts a reading showcasing published work from Mike Kleine, Grant Maierhofe, JoAnna Novak and Candice Wuehle.

MAR 19 | 7-9p

BOOK RELEASE FOR DANNY CAINE

Eighth Street Taproom in Lawrence Book release party and reading to celebrate the release of Danny Caine's new collection of poems "Continental Breakfast" [Mason Jar Press].

MAR 21 | 7-8p

OPEN EXPRESSION OPEN MIC NIGHT

PT's at College Hill Recorded live by local poetry radio program "Sunflower Sutras"

MAR 26 | 7-8:30p

BOOK BITES

Pizagels Pizza + Bakery Book group for readers in their 20s or 30s. Discussion: the winner of the 2017 National Book Award for fiction, "Sing, Unburied, Sin" [Scribner] by Jesmyn Ward.

APR 3 | 6:30-8p

SPEAK EASY: OPEN MIC

NOTO Burrito (First Wednesday / Month) Longest running poetry open mic in Topeka, hosted by the Speak Easy Poetry Group.

MAY 1 | 6:30-8p

SPEAK EASY: OPEN MIC

NOTO Burrito (First Wednesday / Month) Longest running poetry open mic in Topeka, hosted by the Speak Easy Poetry Group.

LIKE KANSAS

The powerful chapbook from Simone Savannah, enlists the erotic as a means of deconstructing the structural oppression around us. Autonomy is reconceptualized through the explicit use of body and language. Much like Audre Lorde, she is aware of the power her eroticism possesses; sexuality becomes sovereignty. In the face of racism, colonialism, sexism, and the everpresent street harasser, dominion over self is retained through feminine force. Simone Savannah holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of Kansas. Her areas of research include black feminist criticism, 20th century African American women's literature and African American poetry. Her poem “Look,” also in this collection, was a finalist for the 2017 Rita Dove Award in poetry. To read more on "Like Kansas" and Simone, visit biglucks.com. To see and hear Simone Savannah be sure to attend "Race and Kansas Literature" on March 8 at Topeka + Shawnee County Public Library. -by Huascar Medina