Tue 9/8 @ 7:30pm
Readers and writers of Northeast Ohio, this new organization is for you. Literary Cleveland is a new group with a vision to create a stronger community of writers and readers in the greater Cleveland area by offering classes, workshops, readings and other events.
The group’s first official event is an evening with D.M. Pulley, author of atmospheric mystery The Dead Key, at Happy Dog west.
But the group unofficially started last month after the successful Cleveland Inkubator Conference in which 300 people flocked to the Cleveland Public Library for a day of writing workshops, talks and networking.
“We’ve rarely seen so many Cleveland writers in one place, and we don’t want to let that energy simply dissipate into the air!” says the Lit Cleveland committee in a press release. “That’s why a group of us are launching Literary Cleveland, a new, fledgling organization whose vision is to create a stronger community of writers and readers in the Greater Cleveland area through classes, workshops, readings and other events. Our goal is to bring you Inkubator-style programming year-round.
“By starting small and being intentional about how we build our efforts, we believe Lit Cleveland can be a sustainable organization for writers and readers.”
As someone who attended the conference, I can attest to the energy and zeal many Northeast Ohioans have for writing. From talking about protest poetry to making a living as a freelance writer, people were eager to talk shop about the written (and spoken) word, no matter what their skill level was.
After the conference the general feeling was “what now?” It’s good to see that question answered in the form of new organization Literary Cleveland.
Of course this won’t be some dormant organization created just for the heck of it. As mentioned earlier, the first official event happens at Happy Dog where author D.M. Pulley will discuss the story behind her compelling first novel, the research she conducted for the story, and her upcoming works. Grab a beer and hot dog and have a listen.
Aside from author events, Lit Cleveland has plenty of workshops coming in the next few months for writers of all ages and backgrounds — even people who don’t consider themselves Writers, but wish to gain some skills.
Coming up: a personal essay writing workshop with Lit Cleveland co-founder, nonfiction writer and poet Lee Chilcote; a class teaching the art of ekphrastic poetry (poems that respond to art) at Heights Arts; a workshop focused on building oral storytelling skills; a poetry workshop with Susan Grimm and more.
Get out from behind that computer screen, momentarily put down that book and gather with other local lovers of the written and spoken word with Literary Cleveland.
Cool Cleveland correspondent Sarah Valek studied art and writing at Ithaca College. After graduation, she came back to Cle and served two years as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. She can be found on all sides of the city in pursuit of homeschooling activities for her son and the perfect soy latte. Contact her at CoolEditor@CoolCleveland.com or via Twitter.
Cleveland, OH 44102