Kevin Simmonds
The October Over The Edge: Open Reading takes place in Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street, Galway on Thursday, October 27th, 6.30-8pm. The Featured Readers are Kevin Simmonds, Luke Morgan & Jessie Lendennie. This is one of a series of readings this Autumn which will mark Salmon Poetry’s 30th anniversary.
Kevin Simmonds is a San Francisco-based writer, musician and filmmaker originally from New Orleans. His writing appears in journals such as
Asia Literary Review, Callaloo, jubilat, Kyoto Journal and
Poetry. His edited works include
Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion & Spirituality and
Ota Benga Under My Mother's Roof. His music and performances have been featured on BBC Radio 3, PBS and Japan's NHK Television and at London's Royal Festival Hall, Japan's Nakano Sun Plaza and the National Black Theatre Festival.
feti(sh)ame, his genre-defying short film, based entirely on his poetry, has screened internationally and been hailed by Los Angeles film critic Ernest Hardy as "an elegantly profane meditation on desire".
Mad for Meat - his debut collection of poetry, has just appeared from Salmon.
Luke Morgan is a poet based in Co. Galway. He began writing from a very young age and had poems published in the school magazines. At fifteen, he became the youngest ever contributor to
Crannóg, the literary journal in Galway, with his poem "Moving On". Since then he has enjoyed publications in journals such as Limerick's
Revival,
ROPES 2011, and earlier this year,
Poetry Ireland Review and the
Poetry Ireland Newsletter. He won first place in the 2011 Windows Publications Student Poetry Awards. Apart from writing poetry, he loves writing plays and short stories.
Jessie Lendennie was born in Arkansas, USA. After years of travel, she settled in Ireland in 1981. Her previous publications include a book-length prose poem
Daughter (1988); reprinted as
Daughter and Other Poems in 2001. She compiled and edited:
Salmon: A Journey in Poetry, 1981-2007;
Poetry: Reading it, Writing It, Publishing It (2009) and
Dogs Singing: A Tribute Anthology (2010). She is co-founder (1981) and Managing Director of Salmon Poetry. She has given numerous readings, lectures and writing courses in Ireland and abroad, including Yale University; The Irish Embassy, Washington D.C; The University of Alaska, Fairbanks and Anchorage; MIT, Boston; MN; Café Teatre, Copenhagen, Denmark; the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; The Irish American Cultural Centre, Chicago and The Bowery Poetry Club, New York City. She is currently working on a memoir
To Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky. Jessie’s second collection of poetry
Walking Here is just published by Salmon Poetry; this reading will be its Galway launch.
There will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.
Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing generous financial support of Galway City Council and The Arts Council.
