Sat 6/24 @ 2-4PM
Probably no individual has done more to shine a light on poetry in northeast Ohio than Ray McNiece, whose work as a writer, performer and educator always feels creative, fresh and unforced (He’s one of the few non-hip hop performance poets who doesn’t sound like he wishes he were a beat poet in the 50s.) He is the immediately past Poet Laureate of Cleveland Heights, has worked with musicians, released books and overseen community poetry projects in which he leads people to use poetry to talk about their own lives.
Now Heights Arts, the Cleveland Public Library and the Center for the Book, along with funding from the Academy of American Poets, are presenting his A Poem for Cleveland project, which will debut at the main auditorium of the Cleveland Public Library’s downtown branch Saturday June 24.
For this project he gathered a group of Clevelanders of all ages, backgrounds and locations in the city to make poetry together. The book blends heir work together to tell the story of Cleveland in seven parts. The release party will feature performance by the poets who contributed to the book, along with the Tongue in Groove Band. It’s free and open to all.
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