Book Fair time at Barnes and Noble
18/08/09 Filed in: Announcements
PRESS RELEASE
Morgantown Poets to celebrate anniversary Aug. 28-30 at Barnes & Noble
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Morgantown Poets is celebrating its first anniversary this weekend (Aug. 28-30) with a special book fair event at Barnes & Noble.
The three-day event will feature free and open public readings by West Virginia authors. In addition, several area musicians will be performing throughout the weekend.
Barnes & Noble is located at the University Town Center, 3000 University Towne Centre Drive, just off the Star City exit off I-79, near Morgantown.
The book fair will serve as a fundraiser for Morgantown Poets so that the group can continue to conduct its regular monthly community-based literary arts gathering at the Monongalia Arts Center (MAC).
The book fair kicks off with a reception from 6-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28. Wayne Rowand, a classically trained guitarist, will be performing. Refreshments will be provided.
Immediately following the reception, West Virginia poet Mary Lucille DeBerry (author of "Bertha Butcher's Coat") will read from 7-7:30 p.m., followed by poet Cheryl Denise ("I Saw God Dancing") from 7:30-8 p.m.
On Saturday, Aug. 29, events begin with an 11-11:30 a.m. reading by Cari Carpenter ("Seeing Red: Anger, Sentimentality, and American Indians," a non-fiction book), which will be followed by poet Bonnie M. Brown from 11:30 a.m.-noon. Carpenter is a faculty member in the Department of English at West Virginia University, specializing in 19th century American literature and Native American literature. Brown is the coordinator of the Native American Studies Program at WVU. A published poet, Brown has performed her work throughout the country.
Musician Ben Harki will be performing from noon-1 p.m.
George Lies, fiction author and steering committee member for the Morgantown Writers Group (MWG), with stories published in Mountain Voices, Mist on the Mon, and Hamilton Stone Editions, will read from 2-2:30 p.m. Then, fiction author T.W. McNemar ("Ragdoll Angel") will read from 2:30-3 p.m. McNemar is president of West Virginia Writers, Inc., the statewide organization that supports and encourages writing activities throughout West Virginia.
Also on Saturday (Aug. 29), fiction and non-fiction author Patricia Patteson will read from 5-5:30 p.m., followed by Mark Brazaitis (author of the recently released poetry book, "The Other Language") from 5:30-6 p.m. Brazaitis directs the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing in the Department of English at WVU.
Poet Lori Wilson ("House Where a Woman", Autumn House Press) will read from 7-7:30 p.m., and Suzanne Heagy (author of the novel "Meridian Inn," which has been recently accepted for publication by Diversion Press) will read from 7:30-8 p.m. Wilson is a computer systems analyst and a Master of Fine Arts student at Drew University. Heagy is a faculty member in the Department of Language and Literature at Fairmont State University.
On Sunday, Aug. 30, events begin with a special reading from 1-1:30 p.m. by Joey Madia (author of the fantasy/adventure novel, "Jester-Knight: Book One of the Ambir Dragon Tales"). Madia's reading of "Jester-Knight" will be enjoyed by older children and teens (ages 10 and up), as well as adults. In addition to his literary pursuits, Madia is the artistic director/resident playwright for New Mystics Theatre Company, Inc., which, according to its Web site, "uses the performing arts as a means of engaging young people, faculty, families, and communities in explorations of cultural and social issues affecting our lives."
Immediately following the reading of "Jester-Knight," from 1:30-2 p.m., poet, artist and craftswoman Tonya Madia will conduct a special children's reading in the children's section at Barnes & Noble (ages 4-10). She will read from the well-known children's books, "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak and "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub" by Audrey Wood.
Musician and songwriter Jim Savarino, facilitator of the Songwriters Circle at the MAC, will perform from 3-4 p.m. on Sunday.
Rounding out the weekend, Morgantown Poets will host an open reading with a sign up sheet for writers in the community from 4-5 p.m. Sunday. Poetry and short excerpts of fiction, non-fiction, essays and other forms of writing/literature suitable for the general public are acceptable for the open reading.
To assist Morgantown Poets, Barnes & Noble is providing vouchers in advance of the book fair which visitors should bring in for presentation when they check out over the weekend. Barnes & Noble will use the vouchers as a way to donate directly to the MAC, a local, non-profit, community arts organization, to help cover costs associated with Morgantown Poets.
Vouchers may be physically picked up at the MAC, 107 High St., Morgantown, or participants can print them out via their home computers by visiting the home page of the MAC Web site, http://monartscenter.com. Just click on the voucher icon in the center that says "Barnes & Noble Book Fair Supporting Monongalia Arts Center and Morgantown Poets." Vouchers will also be available via Morgantown Poets on Facebook and may be requested via e-mail by contacting info@monartscenter.com. Please note, book fair vouchers are not coupons and do not provide any type of discount for customers. The vouchers are simply an established way for Barnes & Noble to help support local organizations.
Morgantown Poets is an informal group in the community that regularly meets from 7-9 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the MAC, providing literary enthusiasts the opportunity to express themselves, share their work, network and to connect up-and-coming writers with more established authors. New writers are welcome. Meetings usually begin with a spoken reading by a featured author that is followed by readings from attendees. Join Morgantown Poets listserve by going to groups.yahoo.com/group/motownpoetry or join the group on Facebook by entering "Morgantown Poets" in Facebook’s search.
-end-
Schedule
Friday, Aug. 28
6-7 p.m. - Reception with cookies & drinks provided by Barnes & Noble & Music, Wayne Rowand (Ted Webb hosting)
7-7:30 p.m. - Public reading, Mary Lucille DeBerry, "Bertha Butcher's Coat" (poetry) (Ted Webb hosting)
7:30-8 p.m. - Public reading, Cheryl Denise, "I Saw God Dancing" (poetry) (Ted Webb hosting)
Saturday, Aug. 29
11-11:30 a.m. - Public reading, Cari Carpenter, "Seeing Red: Anger, Sentimentality, and American Indians" (scholarly, poetry) (Casie Fox hosting)
11:30-noon - Public reading, Bonnie M. Brown (poetry) (Casie Fox hosting)
1-2 p.m. - Music, Ben Harki
2-2:30 p.m. - Public reading, George Lies (fiction) (Casie Fox hosting)
2:30-3 p.m. - Public reading, Terry McNemar, "Ragdoll Angel" (fiction) (Casie Fox hosting)
4-5 p.m. - Music (musician to be determined)
5-5:30 p.m. - Public reading, Patricia Patteson (fiction) (Charlotte Firestone hosting)
5:30-6 p.m. - Public reading, Mark Brazaitis, "The Other Language" (poetry) and "An American Affair" (fiction) (Charlotte Firestone hosting)
6-7 p.m. - Music (musician to be determined)
7-7:30 p.m. - Public reading, Lori Wilson, "House Where a Woman" (poetry) (Charlotte Firestone hosting)
7:30-8 p.m. - Public reading, Suzanne Heagy, "Meridian Inn" (fiction) (Charlotte Firestone hosting)
Sunday, Aug. 30
1-1:30 p.m. - Public reading, Joey Madia, "Jester-Knight" (teen and adult fiction) (Ro Brooks hosting)
1:30-2 p.m. - Children's reading Tonya Madia, "Where the Wild Things Are" and "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub" (children's fiction, ages 4-10) (Ro Brooks hosting)
3-4 p.m. - Music, Jim Savarino
4-5 p.m. - Open reading (Casie's plan; pending feedback/approval from Barnes & Noble)
Print this voucher and bring it to Barnes and Noble
