<html><body><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Cleveland Public Library,</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> in recognition of <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">National Poetry Month,</B> will host the </SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">free and open to the public</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">debut reading from a new book</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> on the poets and poetry of Cleveland, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cleveland Poetry Scenes: A Panorama and Anthology,</I> <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Sunday, April 27, 2:00 p.m., L<SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium, Main Library, 6th Street and Superior Avenue. </SPAN></B></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-language: EN">The editors and many of the poets whose writings appear in the book will read from their work. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-language: EN"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Edited by Clevelanders <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Nina</B> <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Freedlander Gibans </B>and<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> Mary E. Weems,</B> and <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Bottom Dog Press</B> publisher <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Larry Smith,</B> it is a collection of writings and essays on the city’s historic and current literary scene, and profiles of poets from World War II to the present. The book is supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and the AHS Foundation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Historically important poets included are Langston Hughes, </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-language: EN">Hart Crane, Alberta Turner, Robert Wallace, James C. Kilgore, d.a.levy, and the late Daniel Thompson. More recent poets included are Tom Kryss, Amy Sparks, Ray McNiece, Michael Salinger, Katie Daley, Kelly Harris, Daniel Gray-Kontar, Bree Bodnar, Sara Holbrook, Mwatabu Okantah, and others.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT size=3><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-language: EN">Besides Editor Smith’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Chronology of Cleveland Poetry Scenes 1945-2008, </I><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>there are articles on the Cleveland Underground Poetry of the 1960’s by Kent Taylor, a poetry scene memoir by Diane Kendig, a recollection from Mac’s Backs Bookstore’s Suzanne DeGaetano, and profiles of other venues. Editor Weems writes about performance poetry. Slam poetry is covered by Michael Salinger and Ray McNiece. Poetry organizations include the Black Poetic Society, The Lit: <st1:City w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City>'s <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Literary</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType>, and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Poetry</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">For more information, call</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">(216) 623-2881.</B><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></body></html>