The University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room announce the next roster of poets for Poetry Stacked, a semi-regular poetry reading series held in the 6th floor east stacks of the Walter C. Langsam Library.
At the next event, scheduled for Wednesday, November 1 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:
Alecia Beymer – poet and educator whose work has appeared in The Inflectionist Review, Sugar House Review, SWWIM, Rust & Moth, Radar Poetry, among others. She was a finalist for the Marica and Jan Vilcek Prize for Poetry for her poem, “Tree Surgeon,” which appeared in Bellevue Literary Review. She was also a semi-finalist for the Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers from Nimrod Journal. She won second place in the Wisconsin People & Ideas contest; first place in the Kay Saunders Emerging Poet Award through The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and was a runner-up in the Ohio Writer’s Contest through Gordon Square Review. Alecia has worked at the Center for Poetry at Michigan State University, as an assistant editor at Autumn House Press, and as an assistant editor in Poetry for Fourth River. Several of her articles discussing variations on poetics, pedagogy, and methodology have published in English Education, Art/Research International, English in Education, Research in the Teaching of English among others. She graduated with her PhD in Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education at Michigan State University. Currently, she is assistant professor – educator in the Department of English at the University of Cincinnati.
Kristen Renzi – associate professor of English at Xavier University, where she teaches classes in Victorian and Transatlantic Literature, feminist and queer theory, and poetry. She has published a critical monograph, An Ethic of Innocence (Suny Press 2019) and two books of poetry, The God Games (Main Street Rag press, 2017) and Saudade for a Breaking Heart (Dos Madres, 2022). She’s working on a new critical project involving Victorian-era love letters and a poetry collection on motherhood. She loves to create artist books and zines in her spare time.
Violeta Orozco – author of three poetry collections in English, The Broken Woman Diaries (Andante Books 2022), Stillness in the Land of Speed (Jacar Press 2022) and Atlas of An Ancient World, available for preorder by Black Lawrence Press. An internationally multi-award-winning writer from Mexico City, Violeta Orozco is a bilingual Latina poet and fiction writer who has earned an honorific mention by the Academy of American Poets, The Latino Book Award, and The Rising Stars Award. Her first nonfiction collection in Spanish was published this year in Mexico City. She is currently studying her Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Latinx Literature with a creative writing concentration at the University of Cincinnati.
This session of Poetry Stacked will be cross-disciplinary and feature artists from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) who will do live illustrations as each of the poets read their work. The visual artists are:
- Kyle Angel (he/him/his) is an adjunct instructor at UC DAAP in the Schol of Arts and the School of Design, as well as the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He is an interdisciplinary artist constantly reimagining his identity through fabulously zany ways. Through the art of drag and performance, Angel transforms himself into a playful and quirky persona named Crystal Tubes (she/her/they/them) – to question/defy limitations around queerness and gender expression. Working with textiles, fashion, video, sound, installation, illustration, and text allows him to create a utopia and bring his persona to life!
- Pedal Gabrielle Teresa Miranda is an organizer and artist based in Cincinnati. They moved across the continental US as a child and grew up primarily in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn/Lenape ancestral land. They write, paint, curate, and research, with interests in care work and prison abolition. They are currently pursuing their Master of Fine Arts at DAAP and co-lead Box Elder Community Room in Northside. pedalmiranda.com
- Kelsey/SLiNK Linder is a multi-disciplinary artist and is happy to be here 💜 you can find more about her projects, residencies and curations at www.slink.love
The mission of Poetry Stacked is to celebrate poetry and raise awareness of the collections of both UC Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room.
Each reading engages audiences via exposure to contemporary poetry and increases appreciation for both the talents of UC and community poets, as well as for poetry itself. Poetry Stacked is free and open to all to attend. Following each reading, guests are invited to tour the Elliston Poetry Room.
The intent of the series is to enrich and engage the UC campus and Cincinnati communities in accordance with the Libraries’ Strategic Framework and the Next Lives Here Strategic Directions in support of Academic Excellence and Community Engagement. It aligns with the Libraries’ vision as the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation, and scholarly endeavor on campus and beyond.
Can’t make it to Poetry Stacks in person? It will be live streamed via the Elliston Poetry Room’s Instagram. And look for information soon about the November 1st Poetry Stacked.
