May 9, 2008: Book signing party and reading at The Lit, Cleveland's Literary Center (Artcraft Building, 2570 Superior Avenue, Suite 203, Cleveland, OH 44114; 216.694.0000). In celebration of the publication of After the Bell (University of Iowa Press), an anthology of short essays about the experience of school, Katie and fellow contributors will read their pieces and sign copies of the book. The reading will feature anthology editors Maggie Anderson and David Hassler and Ohio poets Maj Ragain, Larry Smith and Leonard Kress. The book includes essays by Sherman Alexie, Audre Lorde, Barbara Kingsolver, Henry Louis Gates, Naomi Shihab Nye, Annie Dillard, Mark Doty, Garrison Keillor, and a host of other nationally known writers.
About After the Bell
The sixty-two short essays in After the Bell describe in many voices the emotional complexity and historical record of one experience most of us have in common: elementary and secondary school, from our first day all the way to graduation twelve years later. Whether public or private, rural or urban, school is the first place we navigate on our own, learning how we stand apart, how we stand out, and where we do—or don’t—fit in.
The essays are by emerging as well as established fiction writers, poets, social commentators, and educational theorists. Told from the point of view of students, teachers, parents, and administrators through the multiple perspectives of race, class, physical and intellectual abilities, and sexuality, the stories reveal how memories of our school days haunt and sustain us.
April 27, 2008: Come celebrate the publication of Cleveland Poetry Scenes: A Panorama and Anthology with a reading and book signing by many poets featured in the book, including Katie. Cleveland Public Library, 325 Superior Ave. NE, Louis B. Stokes Auditorium, Cleveland, OH 44114, 216-623-2800. Starts at 2 PM.
About Cleveland Poetry Scenes: A Panorama and Anthology:
Detailed Cultural Chronology; 20 Articles on: 1960s Mimeograph Revolution, Performance Poetry, Slam Teams, Black Poetic Society, Independents, University Writing Programs, Presses & Magazines, Poetry Web Presence, Poetry Organizations, Lists of Cleveland Area Poets, Publishers, Venues, Photos from Jim Lang, Pete Dell, and Others, 40 Poet Anthology with Statements from the Poets: From Hart Crane and Langston Hughes through d.a.levy and Daniel Thompson to Kelly Harris and Adam Brodsky. 304 pages, 50 photos, $19.95, 978-1-933964-17-1
April 12, 2008: Katie performs solos and duets with poet Wendy Shaffer for this Women's History Month Celebration (snow date from last month) at Arabica Coffee House, 818 E. 185th St., Cleveland, OH, 216-486-7777. Show starts at 7 PM. Other female artists include singers, singer-songwriters, dancers, and more.
February 28, 2008: Hathaway Brown Writers Festival. Katie performs along with writers David Hassler and Sarah Willis. Shaker Heights, OH. 7 PM.
February 5, 2008: John Carroll University, Donahue Auditorium in the Dolan Science Center, University Heights, OH. 7 PM. Katie performs with Q Nice and Liberty for the JCU Office of Multicultural Affairs as part of the Shirley S. Seaton Cultural Awareness series. Contact Katie for more info.
January 12, 2008: C-Space, 4323 Clark Avenue, Cleveland, 8:00 PM (watch out-- we're starting on time!). Katie warms up the crowd for the wonderful, incisive Kate Sopko, who'll be reading from her new book, Stewards of the Lost Lands (see below for a description). One of those legendary Tremont DIY dance parties will follow.
A combination of poetry and essays, 'Stewards' looks
at this generation of Americans' inherited social
responsibilities, and the difficulty many people have
shouldering them. Drawing from her experience working
within the anti-nuke and anti-war movements, and on
DIY community projects like C-Space, Sopko looks
broadly at the roadblocks placed in front of people
looking for a more balanced, loving world by our
culture's mental terrain.
Come on out to C-Space for the reading, and help make this the starting point of a larger community discussion about how we relate to social justice nowadays. DANCE PARTY: 10:00-ish (when the reading's over...), The Language Foundry (downstairs), 2335 West 11 Street, Apartment #3. Bring music, bring friends.
January 4, 2008: There Will Be Jazz and Poetry In Cleveland! Barking Spider Tavern, 11310 Juniper Rd. in University Circle (216-421-2863), 10 PM-12:30 AM. Katie reads to jazz along with fellow poets Ben Guylas, Sara Holbrook, Adam Brodsky, Jim Lang, Russ Vidrick, Wendy Shaffer, Michael Salinger and Bree. Jazz by the delightful!
Gene Epstein-a real stand-up gal on stand-up bass
John Richmond-blows them horns, all kinds
Rockin' Robin-legend on them pearly ivories
More info: greenpandapress@yahoo.com
no cover charge www.barkingspidertavern.com
December 20, 2007: Poetry in the Woods. Shaker Heights Public Library, Bertram Woods Branch, 20600 Fayette Road, Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122 (216.991.2421). 7 PM. Come take a break from Jingle Bells and candy canes to get a dose of the real solstice sugar. Katie performs solo numbers as well as duets with one of her favorite poets, Wendy Shaffer. They'll each do a solo portion of the show, then join their voices to perform poems they've written together and/or rewritten to work as duets. By turning off the overhead lights and using warm lamplight brought from home, your poet hosts will transform the library's institutional atmosphere into a nightclubby vibe, and there'll be plenty of homemade refreshments to fortify you for the afterburn. Come on down!
Nov 10, 2007: Katie performs for the Alliance of Artists Communities. Hilton Silver Spring, Silver Springs, MD. 6:30 to 9 PM. Contact Katie for more info.
Oct 20, 2007: Along with an unruly gang of local poets, Katie reads Jack Kerouac at the Barking Spider for the 50th anniversary of the publication of Kerouac's On The Road. All readers backed by live jazz. 5-8 PM, Cleveland, OH.
July 28, 2007: Katie performs duetic poetics with Wendy Shaffer at the Waterloo Arts Festival. Collinwood, Cleveland, OH. 4:30 PM.
July 21, 2007: Katie sits in with Ray McNiece and his band Tongue 'n Groove at the Ingenuity Festival. Euclid Avenue and E. 18th St., Cleveland, OH. 7 PM.
June 22, 2007: The Other War: IRTF Coffeehouse. Katie performs poems at this special event to spread awareness about the US military involvement in Columbia. Also appearing will be poet Kate Sopko, photographs taken in Columbia by Steve Cagan, and a variety of musicians and speakers. Sponsored by IRTF (Inter-religious Task Force). Cleveland, OH. 7 PM.
June 10, 2007: OCAMP benefit (Ohio Committee Against the Misuse of Pesticides). Katie performs poems accompanied by accordioniste Pat Tamburro. Investigative journalist Harvey Wasserman and other environmentalists will also speak. Good food and drink provided! Pay what you can. Cleveland, OH. 2-6 PM.
April 26, 2007: Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA. 8:30 PM. Katie performs new monologues and old favorites at Edinboro University Theater. Contact Katie for more info.
April 14, 2007: Kenneth Patchen Festival at the Barking Spider. Backed by a jazz band made up of exceptional listeners, Katie and other local/national poets will read Kenneth Patchen poems as well as their own work. Cleveland, OH. 7 PM.
April 12, 2007: Katie and C. Allen Rearick perform at the Literary Cafe. Audience is encouraged to heckle and write poems as featured poets perform. A boisterous open mic follows the features. Literary Road, Tremont, Cleveland, OH. 9:30 PM.
March 19, 2007: City Hall Women's History Month Reading. Along with several other local female poets, Katie performs one of her own poems as well as one by an established female poet. City Hall Rotunda, Cleveland, OH. 3:30 PM.
March 15, 2007: NOAC (Northeast Ohio Anti-War Coalition) anti-war vigil. As part of the rally to close this 8-day vigil against the war, Katie will perform her AWOL poem in the voice of a US soldier in Iraq. Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Public Square, Cleveland, OH. 4:30 PM.
March 12, 2007: Touched in the Head Festival, Harry Schwartz Bookstore (Downer store), Milwaukee, WI, 7 PM. Katie performs poetic monologues, including several from her Irish character, Brigid Mulrooney, as part of this weeklong festival "celebrating the fierce genius of the Irish." John Throne will also read from his new novel The Donnegal Woman.
March 11, 2007: Touched in the Head Festival, Broad Vocabulary Bookstore, Milwaukee, WI, 7 PM. Katie performs poems as part of this weeklong festival "celebrating the fierce genius of the Irish." Several other female poets will also read. Milwaukee, WI. 3 PM.
March 10, 2007: Second Saturday Coffeehouse. Katie joins poet Wendy Shaffer, singer-songwriter Amy Fish and a slew of other female artists as they celebrate Women's History Month with plenty of feline vigor. Collinwood, Cleveland, OH. 7 PM.
March 8, 2007: Hathaway Brown Writers Festival kick-off reading. Katie performs along with writers David Hassler and Sarah Willis. Shaker Heights, OH. 7 PM.