The Lansing Poetry Club will begin its fall season by kicking off the Old Town Poetry Series Wednesday at The Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St., in Lansing.
The season starts with a reading and publication party for Lansing Community College’s annual student literary magazine, The Washington Square Review.
Readers for Wednesday’s event include poets Tom Oswald and Anne Pulley and fiction writer Robin Lynch, who is sharing the Best Story prize with Padrick Ritch.
The magazine, which has been published annually since 1975, is part of the Creative Writing Club at LCC and has given students the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Lynch said she was honored to be a part of the publication and it will be her first time attending the series.
“I think it’s wonderful - they (LCC) have an excellent reputation,” Lynch said.
The Old Town Poetry Series, now in its second year, was made possible by a cooperative effort from the City of Lansing’s General Funds Minigrant Program and the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, Inc.
Ruelaine Stokes, coordinator for the series, said this year marks the first in which The Washington Square Review will be affiliated with the series.
“It’s a wonderful piece of literary work,” Stokes said. “We decided to have a publication party for it.”
Stokes feels there is a strong tradition of poetry in this area and would like to see the series become very diverse with as many voices being heard as possible while bringing in some top-notch poets.
“We would really like to link up poets all around MSU and Lansing to bring people together,” Stokes said.
Featured poet Pulley feels the series is a good start for poets who may not feel there is a place for them to read their work.
“There aren’t too many venues in our area,” she said. “I’m happy to see opportunities for poets.”
Oswald, who also works in the media relations department at MSU, is excited about getting his work published for the second year and is excited to see poetry continuing to expand in the community.
“It’s nice to see other authors read their poetry,” Oswald said. “Any promotion for poetry is good.”
He suggested any authors interested in hearing some great poetry or even reading some of their own work should attend the series.
“It’s a really relaxed atmosphere and the people are very supportive.” Oswald said.
The event has open admission to the public, however suggested donations of $2 are appreciated.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. with featured readings beginning at 7:30 p.m.
There will also be an opportunity for open microphone participants at 8:30 p.m. with sign-up beginning at 7 p.m.
The Old Town Poetry Series will continue at The Creole Gallery through May 8 of next year featuring a variety of events and readers on the second Wednesday of every month.
“It’s a time and place where people can come together and generate energy,” Stokes said.
Future events from the Lansing Poetry Club include an open mic poetry night on Sept. 21 and a Writers’ Guild on Sept. 28 at Barnes & Noble, 5132 W. Saginaw Highway, in Lansing.
