|
|
|
Business News
PITTSBURG —
The Pittsburg Public Library and the Little Balkans Press will present a free public poetry reading at 6:30 p.m. today.
Featured will be one of the area’s most recognized poet/songwriter/essayist/performer, along with two internationally known poets who are making their Kansas debut.
Frontenac native J.T. Knoll entertains on a regular basis when not occupied with his duties as Pittsburg State University prevention and wellness coordinator. His column, “True Stories,” appears weekly in the Pittsburg Morning Sun.
The newcomers are George Wallace, an adjunct English professor at Pace University in Manhattan, N.Y., and writer-in-residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, and Geraldine Green, Keswick, Cumbria, the United Kingdom.
They’re finding their way to Pittsburg through the efforts of Al Ortolani Jr., educator, poet, chili cook and a co-editor of the Little Balkans Review.
“I had met George for a journal he edits in Long Island,” Ortolani said.
They found common ground in Wallace’s interest in the history of the Long Island area, including Huntington. Though Ortolani was raised in Pittsburg and has spent much of his life in southeast Kansas, he was born in Huntington.
“Through e-mail we got to know each other, and about a month ago he set up a reading for me and we met in person for the first time,” Ortolani said.
Wallace told Ortolani that he was going to be at the Woody Guthrie festival in Okemah, Okla., and said he was hoping to set up some readings heading up to Kansas City.
“George asked me if I could help, and I said I thought we could set something up,” Ortolani said.
Wallace is the author of 22 chapbooks and editor of “Poetrybay.” He has been hailed as a successor to Beat Generation writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and performed extensively with David Amram, who had collaborated with Kerouac. Wallace performs frequently in Manhattan at places such as the Bowery Poetry Club, Jujomukti Lounge, Tribes Gallery and Cornelia Street Cafe.
He’s also known for his work in building a community for poetry, and Ortolani told him about the writing scene in Pittsburg and southeast Kansas. Wallace has said that he views his trip here as an opportunity to meet with people, poet to poet, and find out what’s going on.
Wallace, who will also perform at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Gordon Parks Museum, Fort Scott, will be appearing with Geraldine Green from Keswick, Cumbria, the United Kingdom. Her first collection, “The Skin,” was published in February 2003 by Flarestack, and other publications include a second collection, “Passio,” also published by Flarestack. She has worked on collaborative projects with visual and digital artists, photographers and musicians.
Green runs creative writing workshops and is a tutor for continuing education at Lancaster University. She’s also an associate editor for Poetrybay, www.poetrybay.com.
Copies of the latest issue of the Little Balkans Review will be available for purchase following the performances.
The Pittsburg Public Library and the Little Balkans Press will present a free public poetry reading at 6:30 p.m. today.
Featured will be one of the area’s most recognized poet/songwriter/essayist/performer, along with two internationally known poets who are making their Kansas debut.
Frontenac native J.T. Knoll entertains on a regular basis when not occupied with his duties as Pittsburg State University prevention and wellness coordinator. His column, “True Stories,” appears weekly in the Pittsburg Morning Sun.
The newcomers are George Wallace, an adjunct English professor at Pace University in Manhattan, N.Y., and writer-in-residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, and Geraldine Green, Keswick, Cumbria, the United Kingdom.
They’re finding their way to Pittsburg through the efforts of Al Ortolani Jr., educator, poet, chili cook and a co-editor of the Little Balkans Review.
“I had met George for a journal he edits in Long Island,” Ortolani said.
They found common ground in Wallace’s interest in the history of the Long Island area, including Huntington. Though Ortolani was raised in Pittsburg and has spent much of his life in southeast Kansas, he was born in Huntington.
“Through e-mail we got to know each other, and about a month ago he set up a reading for me and we met in person for the first time,” Ortolani said.
Wallace told Ortolani that he was going to be at the Woody Guthrie festival in Okemah, Okla., and said he was hoping to set up some readings heading up to Kansas City.
“George asked me if I could help, and I said I thought we could set something up,” Ortolani said.
Wallace is the author of 22 chapbooks and editor of “Poetrybay.” He has been hailed as a successor to Beat Generation writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and performed extensively with David Amram, who had collaborated with Kerouac. Wallace performs frequently in Manhattan at places such as the Bowery Poetry Club, Jujomukti Lounge, Tribes Gallery and Cornelia Street Cafe.
He’s also known for his work in building a community for poetry, and Ortolani told him about the writing scene in Pittsburg and southeast Kansas. Wallace has said that he views his trip here as an opportunity to meet with people, poet to poet, and find out what’s going on.
Wallace, who will also perform at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Gordon Parks Museum, Fort Scott, will be appearing with Geraldine Green from Keswick, Cumbria, the United Kingdom. Her first collection, “The Skin,” was published in February 2003 by Flarestack, and other publications include a second collection, “Passio,” also published by Flarestack. She has worked on collaborative projects with visual and digital artists, photographers and musicians.
Green runs creative writing workshops and is a tutor for continuing education at Lancaster University. She’s also an associate editor for Poetrybay, www.poetrybay.com.
Copies of the latest issue of the Little Balkans Review will be available for purchase following the performances.
