Join Marion and Barbara to discuss these powerhouse books by three contemporary poets.

We will begin with When My Brother was an Aztec, by Natalie Diaz, a member of the Mojave and Pima Indian tribes, and move, in the second session, to The Red Suitcase by Naomi Shihab Nye who is known for her generous spirit as she writes about her experiences as an Arab-American. In the final session we will discuss Ukrainian-American poet Ilya Kaminsky’s book, Deaf Republic.

No matter how familiar you are with poetry we invite you to an open and welcoming conversation. In addition, every session will offer several generative writing prompts based on the topics and poetic style illustrated in each of the three books.

Instructor: Marion Starling Boyer is a poet and essayist with three published poetry collections: The Clock of the Long Now (Mayapple Press) and two chapbooks, Green (Finishing Line Press) and Composing the Rain (Grayson Books). Her fourth book, The Sea Was Never Far, was released May 2019 by Main Street Rag. A professor emeritus of Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Boyer has served on the executive board for Kalamazoo’s Poetry Festival and the planning committee for Lit Youngstown’s Fall Literary Festival. Boyer has led workshops for Lit Cleveland, Lit Youngstown, and Wisconsin’s Washington Island Literary Conference. Boyer’s work has been nominated for a Pushcart, the Lenore Marshall Award, and the “Best of the Net.” Her essays have been published by Great Lakes Review, Paddler Magazine, The Tishman Review, Canoe and Kayak and others. She lives in Twinsburg, Ohio.

Barbara Sabol's fourth poetry collection, Imagine a Town, won the 2019 poetry manuscript prize from Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. Her work has appeared most recently in Evening Street Review, One Art, Mezzo Cammin, Literary Accents and Modern Haiku, and in numerous anthologies. Barbara received her MFA from Spalding University. Her awards include an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. She is a retired speech therapist who lives in Akron, OH with her husband and wonder dogs.