September 11, 2018
Reading: 6 p.m.
Craft Lecture: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Hear two Kansas writers read their original poetry on September 11 at 6 p.m. HC Palmer and Al Ortolani will use haiku, free verse and other forms of poetry to share about a broad range of experiences, including environmental inspiration, hospice and the Vietnam war. This reading is free and open to the public.
In addition, Palmer and Ortolani will lead a craft lecture titled “Poets in Conversation” from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. on September 11. Cost for this lecture is $20 for Watermark members and $25 for nonmembers. Register by September 9.
H.C. Palmer’s work has appeared in New Letters, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, War Literature and the Arts, Narrative Magazine, The New Mexico Poetry Review, I-70 Review, Flint Hills Review, Gray’s Sporting Journal among other journals and anthologies. His first book of poems, Feet of the Messenger, explores Palmer’s experiences as a medical doctor, especially as an army surgeon in the Vietnam War. Feet of the Messenger was a finalist for the 2017 Balcones Poetry Prize and was chosen as a 2018 Kansas Notable Book. Palmer works with a veterans writing program in partnership with the Kansas City Public Libraries, The Writers Place and the Moral Injury Association of America.
Al Ortolani’s poetry has appeared in journals such as Rattle, Prairie Schooner, and Tar River Poetry. His newest collection, On the Chicopee Spur, was recently released from New York Quarterly Books. A previous collection, Ghost Sign, co-authored with J.T. Knoll, Adam Jameson, and Melissa Fite Johnson, was selected as a Kansas Notable Book for 2017. Ortolani is the Manuscript Editor for Woodley Press in Topeka, Kansas, and directs a memoir writing project for Vietnam veterans across Kansas in association with the Library of Congress and Humanities Kansas.
This event is hosted by the Spoken Word Committee of Watermark Art Center and is sponsored, in part, by a generous donation from Bemidji Woolen Mills. Both the reading and craft lecture will be held at Watermark, located at 505 Bemidji Ave N.