Don Bogen: The second Greetings from Cincinnati Review reading—at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle—was a grand success. Thanks to our fabulous contributors in the Pacific Northwest (especially Carolyne Wright, Martha Silano, and Jeannine Hall-Gailey who did the legwork) a standing-room-only crowd was on hand to hear seven—count ’em, seven—poets on Wednesday, August 1st. I was asked to introduce the readers and serve as general emcee and poem jockey—just call me Dr. Don.
We heard poems about radioactive cesium and electromagnetism; about bridges and the bridge pose; about love, death, gravy, and a Victorian museum, all from the pages of CR. Along with the three folks above, Kelly Davio, Rebecca Hoogs, Priscilla Long, and Megan Snyder-Camp took part. Former tireless volunteer Suzanne Warren, who’s now a visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Puget Sound, turned up for the occasion. Contributors’ books sold out, free copies and subscription forms were snatched up, and the small bar at the Hugo House was hopping. After the reading, we moved on to a large bar in the neighborhood to continue the festivities.
CR will return to the scene of the crime for our tenth-anniversary celebration at the 2014 AWP conference in Seattle. Before then, we hope to do more of these readings at cafés, bookstores, literary centers, and bars large and small. Word is out to St. Louis and points east, including Boston and Washington, DC. We’ve got great fiction and poetry contributors across the US and abroad, and we’re always happy to send copies and maybe throw in an editor or two.
Click here to see the video on YouTube.
