Final Spring Spectra reading April 24 with Nate Pritts, Jennifer H. Fortin, Zach Savich

The final Spectra Spring Series event will be held Thursday, April 24, to close National Poetry Month with a bang with Nate Pritts, (poet, owner/operator of H_NGM_N), Jennifer H. Fortin & Zach Savich.

The show will start at 8 p.m. at Rozz-Tox, 2108 3^rd Ave., Rock Island, IL, 8 p.m. , and will be free.

The 2014 season of Spectra manifests thanks to the generous support of the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Riverboat Development Authority. 

Read Local 2014: Nancy Ann Schaefer April 9 @BettendorfLib

Read Local 2014 – Nancy Ann Schaefer

April 9^th at Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf, at 7 p.m.

Listen to local authors read from their work. Free and open to everyone. Light refreshments provided.

April’s author is Nancy Ann Schaefer, author of the poetry chapbook, In Search of Lode (2012, 918studio).

See Lode review at Story Circle.

MWC's Young Emerging Writers summer internship program now accepting applications

Applications now are being accepted for the Young Emerging Writers (YEW) summer internship program through the Midwest Writing Center.

The six-week program is for teens ages 15-19 who are interested in creating and publishing works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and/or drama. The program will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. June 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, June 30; July 1-2, 7-19, and 14-16, culminating with The Atlas Launch Party at 7 p.m. Aug. 13.

Students who worked on the school newspaper, school literary magazine or yearbook, or who just love writing, or page layout and graphic design, are ideal candidates for YEW.

The ultimate goal of the program is the development of writing abilities, professional skills and the production and distribution of a literary journal, The Atlas, which represents the best work of the participants, and more.

Internships feature intensive seminars in poetry, narrative prose and collaborative writing and more. Interns will learn about magazine design and layout, as well as gain editorial and copy-editing experience, the release states.

Ten to 15 interns will be selected based on applications, writing or design samples, and interviews. The writing and editing of stories, essays, poems and/or plays at home is required, as is reading and responding to work by other interns.

Each intern also will receive a small stipend, a free full-conference registration to the David R. Collins Writers' Conference at St. Ambrose University June 26-28, a one-year membership to the Midwest Writing Center and three copies of The Atlas.

 Applications are available and the deadline for submission is May 17. For more information, contact Ryan Collins, 563-324-1410, or mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org

SPECTRA continues April 3 at Rozz-Tox

Happy National Poetry Month in April!

 The Spectra Reading Series, voted a top 10 reading series in the Midwest by LitBridge, returns to Rozz-Tox on Thursday, April 3, to kick off National Poetry Month with the return of Shane McCrae, whose third book will be out later this year from Factory Hollow Press, Hannah Gamble, whose first book Your Invitation to a Modest Breakfast was selected for the National Poetry Series by Bernadette Mayer, and multi-talented poet/writer Joshua Young, author of several plays-in-verse.

 Spectra will return at the end of the month, April 24, to close National Poetry Month with a bang with Nate Pritts, (poet, owner/operator of H_NGM_N), Jennifer H. Fortin & Zach Savich. The show will start at 8 p.m., and will be free.

Spectra is also accepting submissions from local poets to read at future events. To submit, email up to 3 poems to mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org with the phrase "SPECTRA Submission" in the subject line. Contact Ryan Collins at Midwest Writing Center to be a speaker or for more information: (563) 324-1410 | mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org.

The 2014 season of Spectra manifests thanks to the generous support of the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Riverboat Development Authority. 
All SPECTRA events are at Rozz-Tox, 2108 3^rd Ave., Rock Island, IL, 8 p.m.

Free & open to the public.

Midwest Writing Center presents Spectra March 13 at Rozz-Tox

The Spectra Reading Series, voted a top 10 reading series in the Midwest by LitBridge, returns to Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave., Rock Island, at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 13th with the return of two Spectra alums, Adam Fell and Caryl Pagel, who have new books out, and a multi-talented poet/nonfiction author Lisa Wells.

The show is free.

Spectra is also accepting submissions from local poets to read at future events. To submit, email up to 3 poems to mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org with the phrase "SPECTRA Submission" in the subject line.

Contact Ryan Collins at Midwest Writing Center to be a speaker or for more information: (563) 324-1410 | mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org.

The 2014 season of Spectra manifests thanks to the generous support of the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Riverboat Development Authority.

2014 READ LOCAL kicks off with Carl Herzig 7 pm February 12 @BettendorfLib

The READ LOCAL February author is Carl Herzig, author of The Fearless Passage of Steven Kim: The True Story of an American Businessman Imprisoned in China for Rescuing North Korean Refugees.

When: Wednesday, February 12, 7 pm

Where: Junior League Room, Bettendorf Public Library

What:  A presentation featuring the book THE FEARLESS PASSAGE OF STEVEN KIM: The True Story of an American Businessman Imprisoned in China for Rescuing North Korean Refugees. Herzig, a native New Yorker and Quad-City resident since 1990,has authored and edited numerous works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. He leads service-learning trips to India; has taught writing workshops for the Martin Luther King and Midwest Writing Centers; gives presentations on Hinduism at local churches, libraries, and schools; and is professor of English at St. Ambrose University, where he teaches courses in modern American literature, contemporary fiction and science fiction, and creative and expository writing.

READ LOCAL is a partnership between the Bettendorf Public Library and the Midwest Writing Center in support of reading local authors. Listen to local authors read from their work. READ LOCAL events are free and open to everyone. Light refreshments provided.

SPECTRA returns for 2014

SPECTRA Spring 2014 Schedule

 

Thurs., 2/13 “Local Lovers” Open Mic

Thurs., 3/13 SPECTRA 010 – Adam Fell, Caryl Pagel, Lisa Wells

Thurs., 4/3 SPECTRA 011 – Joshua Young, Shane McCrae,  & Hannah Gamble

POETRY WORKSHOP – “Poetry Publishing 101” w/ Ryan Collins – Sat. 4/19 at MWC, 1-3pm, $20 for MWC members, $25 for non-members

Thurs., 4/24 SPECTRA 012 – Nate Pritts, Jennifer H. Fortin, Zach Savich  

All SPECTRA events are at Rozz-Tox, 2108 3^rd Ave., Rock Island, IL, 8 p.m.
Free & open to the public.

Poetry December 11 at Dewey's Copper Cafe @MolineLibrary

MWC-affiliated poets, Trisha Georgiou, Jane VanVooren Rogers, Nancy Ann Schaefer, Jodie Toohey, and Robin Throne will offer an evening of poetry Wednesday, December 11, at Dewey’s Copper Cafe at the Moline Public Library

The writers will read from their published and recent work. The event is free and open to the public.

6-7:30 pm.

3210 41st Street | Moline, IL

READ LOCAL December 4: Lyle Ernst

READ LOCAL is a partnership between Midwest Writing Center and Bettendorf Public Library to encourage people to read local authors. The final Read Local event of the year will feature Lyle Ernst. The author will provide a presentation and then sign and sell books. 

 

Free and open to everyone!

Wednesday, December 4 7-8:30 p.m.
Bettendorf Public Library, Malmros Conference Room

Call 563-324-1410 or the Bettendorf Public Library 563-344-4179 for more details.

 

RIPL & MWC to host Banned Books Week Reception & Reading

When	Tuesday, September 24, 2013, 6-9 pm
Where	Rock Island Public Library - Main Library
Event	Banned Books Week Reception & Reading
Address	401 19th St.
	Rock Island, IL
Phone	309-732-7300
	Co-sponsored by the Rock Island Public Library and the Midwest Writing Center; local-celebrity readers will read from their favorite "banned" or "challenged" books throughout the night; attendees can also win great Banned Books merchandise like cups, bookmarks, pins, bags, t-shirts, and more; free; for information and to register, call 309-732-7300

SPECTRA Poetry Reading Series returns September 12

The SPECTRA Poetry Reading Series returns to Rozz-Tox on Wednesday, September 12th with featured readers CM Burroughs, Dora Malech and Jennifer Perrine (see bios below). There will also be a slate of QC-based readers opening the show, including Erin M. Bertram.

This fall, SPECTRA will also be including musical performances after the readings, to continue to bridge the gap between creative communities and audiences. For our first musical guest, we are pleased to welcome local outfit Busted Chandeliers to be our first musical feature.

The show will start at 8 pm, and will be free & open to the public.

SPECTRA is also accepting submissions from QC area poets/writers to read at future events. To submit, email up to 3 poems to mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org with the phrase “SPECTRA Submission” in the subject line.

Please contact Ryan Collins at the Midwest Writing Center for more information about SPECTRA and other MWC programs: (563) 324-1410 | mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org.

About Burroughs, Malech, Perrine:
CM Burroughs has been awarded fellowships and grants from Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Cave Canem Foundation. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in journals including Columbia Poetry Review, Court Green, jubilat, Ploughshares, VOLT, Bat City Review, and Sou’wester. Burroughs is a graduate of Sweet Briar College and the MFA program at the University of Pittsburgh. She is an Assistant Professor of Poetry and Literature at Columbia College of Chicago, and her first book, The Vital System, is available from Tupelo Press.

Dora Malech is the author of two collections of poetry, Say So (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2011) and Shore Ordered Ocean (Waywiser Press, 2009). Her poems have appeared in publications that include The New Yorker and Poetry, and they are forthcoming in the anthology The New Census (Rescue Press, 2013). She has been a Writing Fellow at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Italy, a Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellow, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, a Distinguished Poet-in-Residence at Saint Mary's College of California, a Teaching-Writing Fellow at Augustana College, and a Visiting Writer in China through the International Writing Program's "Life of Discovery" initiative. She lives in Iowa City, where she directs the Iowa Youth Writing Project, a nonprofit language arts outreach organization.

Jennifer Perrine’s first collection of poems, The Body Is No Machine (New Issues), won the 2008 Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award in Poetry. Her second book, In the Human Zoo (University of Utah Press), received the 2010 Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize. In 2014, she will serve as a member of the U.S. Arts and Culture Delegation to Cuba. Perrine teaches in the English department and directs the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Drake University, and was also an inaugural recipient of the MWC's Great River Writer's Retreat.

Rozz-Tox
2108 3rd Ave, Rock Island, IL

Coming October....

The next SPECTRA reading will manifest Thursday, October 10th, 8:00 p.m. at Rozz-Tox, featuring poets Russell Dillon, Amanda Smeltz and Matt Hart, with a special set from MWC Poet-in-Residence Aubrey Jane Ryan and musical guest Sanctified Grumblers.

The 2013 season of SPECTRA manifests thanks to the generous support of the Scott County Regional Authority.

Read Local to feature Trisha Georgiou August 7

Quartered Enlightenment
(Poolboy Publishing, 2013)

Poet and writer Trisha Georgiou Nelson will read from her new chapbook of poetry, Quartered Enlightenment (Poolboy Publishing, 2013) Wednesday, August 7, from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Malmros Conference Room of the Bettendorf Public Library as part of Read Local. She will also share her journey and experiences in writing the collection. Her other works include "Show Up" in the MWC Creative Writing Primer (MWC Press, 2012) and she serves as the MWC Board vice president. 

Follow her @Trisha_Georgiou