Rodman Library Hosts an Afternoon of Poetry Reading

Join us for a relaxed afternoon of poetry reading on Saturday, October 21, from 2 to 4 p.m., in Rodman Main Auditorium. Six Ohio poets will read from their published works and at the conclusion of all reading will invite attendees to ask questions. The poets participating in this event include Mary Biddinger, Molly Fuller, Dianne Borsenik, Steve Brightman, Noor Hindi, and Azriel Johnson. Mary Biddinger is the author of five full-length collections of poetry, most recently Small Enterprise and The Czar (both from Black Lawrence Press). She is a professor of English at the University of Akron, where she teaches poetry writing and literature and edits the Akron Series in Poetry at the University of Akron Press. Biddinger is the recipient of a 2015 National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship in poetry and is currently working on a new book of prose poems. Molly Fuller is a prose and poetry writer from Northeast Ohio. She was co-winner of the 2016 Storygami project through Lit Youngstown. You can find her work in Kestrel, 100 word story, NANO fiction and elsewhere. Her sequence, "Hold Your Breath," was published in the 2016 Nothing to Declare anthology (Robert Alexander/White Pine Press). Dianne Borsenik is active in the northern Ohio poetry scene and regional reading circuit. Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in numerous journals and anthologies, including Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Rosebud, Slipstream, Pudding Magazine, The Offbeat, and Chiron Review. She is the author of several chapbooks and one full-length collection, Age of Aquarius (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2016). Lit Youngstown chose her poem, “Disco,” to appear on its tee shirts, which makes her feel like a rock star. Since founding NightBallet Press in 2011, Borsenik has published over one hundred books for poets across the U.S. She lives in Elyria, Ohio with husband James and dogs Bodhisattva and Michel-Angelo. Learn more at www.dianneborsenik.com. Steve Brightman lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife and parrot. He firmly believes in two seasons: winter and baseball. He has written eight chapbooks and one full length work of poetry, The Wild Gospel of Careening and Other Sermons from the Rumble Strip (Red Orchid Press). A graduate of Mount Union College, he always appreciates the chance to read in and revisit his ties to Alliance. Noor Hindi is currently pursuing her MFA through the NEOMFA. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Jet Fuel Review, Diode Poetry, Whiskey Island Magazine, Flock Literary Journal, and Foundry. Hindi is also a poetry reader for BOAAT Journal. She writes for The Devil Strip Magazine. Check out her poetry review blog at nervouspoodlepoetry.com. Azriel Johnson is the founder and director of Writing Knights Press. He coordinates a 2nd Friday reading in Downtown Canton along with various other special events. His accomplishments include four books of poetry and three finished novels (two that are published) with more to come. No registration is needed. This event is supported by the Friends of Rodman Library and is free and open to the public ages 13 through adult. Refreshments will be available. For more information, call the Main Library at 330-821-2665, ext. 216.