Norwalk Poet Laureate - Laurel S. Peterson
Photo by Ute-Christin Photography
Laurel S. Peterson is a Professor of English at Norwalk Community College. Her poetry has been published in many small literary journals. She has published two poetry chapbooks, That’s the Way the Music Sounds, from Finishing Line Press (2009) and Talking to the Mirror from The Last Automat Press (2010). She also co-edited a collection of essays on women’s justice titled (Re)Interpretations: The Shapes of Justice in Women’s Experience (2009). Her mystery novel, Shadow Notes, will be released by Barking Rain Press in May 2016, and a full length collection of poetry, “Do You Expect Your Art to Answer You?” will be released by Futurecycle Press in 2017. She is the poet laureate of Norwalk, CT for the 2016 – 2017 year.
News from Laurel:
I've been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for the following poem: https://paddockreview.com/2017/08/06/a-poem-by-laurel-s-peterson/
Tuesday, April 3: NORWALK'S ANNUAL LITCRAWL: Join us, starting at 5:30 at the Wall Street Theater, and moving from there to Peaches, Ajit10, BancHouse and Fat Cat for an evening of shared words!
WEDNESDAY, April 4, 11:30 AM - 12:50 PM: If you're free during the day, join us in the East Campus Atrium at Norwalk Community College, where NCC's literary magazine is hosting a Peace Poetry Reading as part of NCC's annual Academic Festival. Special guest, Ralph Nazareth. Students, staff, and faculty will read poems and songs around the theme of creating peace. The event is free and open to the public.
April 6 - FIRST FRIDAY OPEN MIC POETRY at Fountainhead Wines, One Knight Street, Norwalk: 6:30 - 8 PM. Come, bring a friend, read a poem--yours or else's--taste a little wine. It's a great atmosphere, and all are welcome! Hope to see you there.
For anyone interested in selling a longer work to an agent, check this out:
“The Art of The Pitch”
Saturday, April 21, 10 am – 4 pm
In this two-part event, participants will work with agent Katharine Sands or editor Ron Hogan to hone the “pitch” for a manuscript that is ready for publication. After a break for lunch during which writers will revise based on the morning’s feedback, each participant will have a one-on-one opportunity to pitch to Sands or Hogan and gain further feedback.
Barat House
REGISTRATION IS AT: community.mville.edu/mfa
Anyone interested in volunteering to help plan events this year should contact me (email Laurel).
WHAT IS POETRY?
This is a question I begin all my Poetry Workshops with at Norwalk Community College, and I thought it might be a good way to get our discussion going this year. Read on....
Poetry:
Thirteen by Laurel Peterson
The Literary Nest Vol 2 Issue 4 Winter 2017
GATEWAY TO NORWALK
Sculpture, West Avenue, Norwalk, CT by Laurel S. Peterson
GATEWAY: NORWALK NIGHTS by Jack Powers
OYSTER SHELL PARK
Norwalk, CT by Laurel S. Peterson
The Garden Shukkei-En - Poem by Carolyn Forché - Poem Hunter
Prairie Dawn by Willa Cather - A Fourth of July Poem Bus Poems
Blog Posts:
In the Press:
The South Florida Poetry Journal - Interviews - - June 2017
The Sunday Hour - Arts & Life - Pg. C1 & C6 - April 3, 2016
by Frances Carr, Jr., Hour Staff Writer
Photo by Alex von Kleydorff
The Connecticut Post - April 25, 2016
by Christina Hennessy
Photo by Ute-Christin Photography
The Stamford Advocate - June 1, 2016
by Laurel Peterson
Photo by Ute-Christin Photography
Events:
Writers Resist YouTube Videos - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
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Poets in Conversation Series 2016 Participants:
Kevin Pilkington (http://www.kevinpilk.com/#!bio/c1ktj) and Van Hartmann (Van Hartmann is a Professor of English at Manhattanville College, in Purchase, New York. He received his A.B. in History from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina. He has published two books of poetry (Shiva Dancing, Texture Press, 2007, and Riptide, Texture Press, 2016) and a chapbook (Between What Is and What Is Not, The Last Automat Press, 2010). His poetry has been published in numerous literary journals, including Slant, Fourth River, Red Wheelbarrow, and Confluence.)
Shanna T. Melton http://shatamel.wix.com/poeticsoularts-net#!biography and Jerry T. Johnson. https://jtjohnpoet.com/about/ This evening may appeal to those who prefer spoken word poetry.
Joseph Fasano https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/joseph-fasano, who has been nominated for a Pulitzer http://josephfasano.net/ ; and Alan Walowitz, another Manhattanville connection (Joe teaches there as well). Register Online
David K. Leff http://davidkleff.typepad.com/home/about-david.html and Marianela Medrano https://marianelamed.wordpress.com/about/. Register Online
Sally Blumis-Dunn http://sallybliumisdunn.com/content/ and Susan Moorhead, She has a chapbook from Finishing Line Press: https://finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=2320. Register Online
Interesting Poetry Articles:
- A Few Questions of Poetry NY Times Book Review: Critic's Take - by Daniel Halpern - December 30, 2016
- Laurel S. Peterson op-ed: Of what use is poetry in the face of tragedy? The Hour - September 11, 2016.
- The Lost Gardens of Emily Dickinson NY Times Science Section - 13. 2016.
NIcE festival--Paul--with his mom Cecile Tomaselli
Kids making the Poet-tree at the Aquarium on Feb. 27, 2017
Pictures from the Artist Market Event on Sept. 15, 2016
Poems from the NICE/Poetry Reading:
I AM
by Louikenson Paul
I’m a fast, unbreakable lion;
I feel free most when I’m running or lifting something heavy.
I’m yellow cause I feel freedom from everything
I am strong because it’s somewhere I can feel free, think things really deep.
I just don’t like technology that much;
I am Africa because that is where most lions are.
My family is from Haiti;
I am energetic and I love participating in sports.
I’m a watermelon, juicy and hard on the outside, soft on the inside.
I am Thanksgiving because of family, joy, and feelings.
I’m a bicycle because I’m fast and free as a lion.
The reason I chose a lion was that’s the way my family comes together;
it expresses us and how we think and make decisions.
Louikenson Paul: Louikenson is 13 years old, and a 9th grader at Brien McMahon High School. He grew up in Haiti with his mom. In 2013, Louikenson moved to Norwalk with his father. He enjoys playing football and soccer in his free time.
Hameedo Angawi
Andrew Zhong, age 10 & Angela Zhou, age 6
Other Works:
Shadow Notes: A Clara Montague Mystery
From Amazon:
Clara Montague didn’t want to go home to Connecticut for Christmas. Her mother Constance never seemed to like her—or her intuitive dreams about the people she loved. Clara tried to warn her mother that her father was about to have a heart attack, but Constance wouldn’t listen—and her father died.
Now living in Europe, Clara dreams her mother is in terrible danger, and can’t ignore it. Shortly after she returns, her mother’s therapist (and former lover) Hugh Woodward is murdered—and Constance is jailed for the crime.