Friends,

During our last open mic, we saw that there was an interest in poems dealing with PTSD among the veteran community in Akron. We’ve also been interested in having an open mic that celebrates the North Hill community. Join us on December 2nd to hear poems at The Exchange House, the North Hill Cultural Hub. Special emphasis will be placed on poems dealing with PTSD within the veteran community in Akron, as well as poems by our friends in North Hill.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

~ Guest Speaker: Yuyutsu Sharma

Recipient of fellowships and grants from The Rockefeller Foundation, Ireland Literature Exchange, Trubar Foundation, Slovenia, The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature and The Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature, Yuyutsu RD Sharma is an internationally acclaimed South Asian poet and translator.

~ Guest Speaker: Tom Saal

Tom grew up on a family farm in Mogadore. He graduated from Hoban High School in 1963 and received his BS in Education and MA in English at Kent State University. He retired 1st Lieutenant, USMC. He was wounded in Vietnam. After returning from service, he taught high school English for Akron Public Schools until 2006, when he retired. Tom has case managed homeless veterans in Kent and Akron and currently volunteers with hospice veterans for Summa Hospital. He has four daughters and he lives in Tallmadge with his cat, Willow, who is his bestest friend.

~ Gum-Dip Theater will be doing a 10 minute play.

~ Short open mic will follow. Limit 10 people. (Each person gets 3-5 minutes).

Thanks!

~ Katie Beck, Tessa Gaffney, and Noor Hindi