Poetry Reading at Hilltop Books: Rahul Mehta | Ted Rees | Raena Shirali | Stan Mir
Apr
20
3:00 PM15:00

Poetry Reading at Hilltop Books: Rahul Mehta | Ted Rees | Raena Shirali | Stan Mir

  • 84 Bethlehem Pike Philadelphia, PA, 19118 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Readings are in the side yard (we'll move inside in case of rain)

*Hilltop is a short walk from the Chestnut Hill West regional rail station on the CHW line.

There are a few steps to access the yard.

Free! Optional donations collected for the readers.

Light snacks provided at the break.

Facebook event here.

About the Readers:

Rahul Mehta is the author of the novel No Other World , the short story collection Quarantine, and most recently the poetry collection Feeding the Ghosts. Their work has received a Lambda Literary Award and an Asian American Literary Award and has appeared in numerous publications including the Kenyon Review, the Massachusetts Review, the Georgia ReviewThe Sun, and the New York Times Magazine. Born and raised in West Virginia in a Gujarati-American household, they currently live in Northwest Philly and teach in the BFA creative writing program at the University of the Arts. 

Ted Rees is a poet, essayist, and editor living and working in Philadelphia. He is the author of DOG DAY ECONOMY (Roof Books, 2022, THANKSGIVING: A POEM (finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, Golias Books, 2020), and In Brazen Fontanelle Aflame (Timeless, Infinite Light, 2018). His essays have been published in The Back RoomThe Poetry Project NewsletterLibertines in the Ante-Room of Love: Poets on PunkFull Stop Quarterly, and ON Contemporary Practice's monograph on New Narrative. He is Associate Editor for The Elephants, as well as founder and co-editor of Asterion Projects with Levi Bentley.

Raena Shirali is the author of two collections of poetry. Her first book, GILT, was released by YesYes Books in 2017 and won the 2018 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award. Published by Black Lawrence Press in October 2022, her second book, summonings, won the 2021 Hudson Prize and was shortlisted for the 2022 Julie Suk Award. She holds an MFA in Poetry from The Ohio State University and is an Associate Professor of English at Holy Family University in Philadelphia.

 

Stan Mir is the author of two full-length collections, Song & Glass (Subito, 2010) and The Lacustrine Suite (Pavement Saw, 2011). His art and poetry reviews have appeared in Asian-American Literary Review, Hyperallergic, and Jacket2. He lives in Philadelphia and teaches writing and literature at Temple University. 

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NO SPARE PEOPLE BOOK PARTY & Black Lawrence Press Showcase at Tattooed Mom!
Nov
14
7:00 PM19:00

NO SPARE PEOPLE BOOK PARTY & Black Lawrence Press Showcase at Tattooed Mom!

Card-carrying Philiterati, fellow poets and poetesses, bookish types, and imaginative people who like fun, come through Tattooed Moms for a night of readings to celebrate No Spare People, the new poetry collection by Erin Hoover.

As part of a special Black Lawrence Press poetry showcase, Hoover will read from No Spare People alongside her press mates local and near to Philly: Claudia Cortese (Wasp Queen), Nancy Reddy (Acadiana), and Raena Shirali (summonings).

The night will feature a specially created custom cocktail, ‘Name TBD,’ by Sean McKnight of Rose’s Bar and Grill in Brooklyn, NY, courtesy of Tattooed Mom. Feed your heads, hearts, and tummies at a Philadelphia institution.

NO COVER // FREE FUN

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Apr
14
7:00 PM19:00

Poetry Society of South Carolina: Reading and Seminar

“Near” Persona vs. “Far” Persona: Writing the Other, Writing the Self

Writing from the perspective of another requires great investment and momentous risk, all with no promise of reward. So why do poets continue to explore persona as a creative approach in our work? In this seminar, we will explore Shirali’s scholarship on the persona spectrum—discussing “near” persona and “far” persona as ways of conceiving of our poems’ speakers, and ultimately engaging in philosophical exploration of the ethical stakes and creative potential inherent in stepping outside our own subjectivities.

More info here.

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Mar
11
1:45 PM13:45

AWP Seattle (Panel): “INCANT, INVENT, ILLUMINATE: FORMAL INNOVATION UNDER COLONIAL PATRIARCHY.”

1:45-3pm, Room 331, Summit Building
Seattle Convention Center, Level 3

Panelists: Raena Shirali, Irène Mathieu, Kiran Bath, Desiree C. Bailey

Description: In poetry as in prose, language can function both to illuminate our experiences and as a form of spell-casting against forces that seek to control it. How might a poem or essay be an antidote to respectability, ancestral incantation, or psychic shield? Through invented forms, lyrical experimentation, and negotiation of archival material, four poetry and prose writers trouble and hex colonial and patriarchal paradigms in a discussion about writing within, through, and against Western empire.

Statement of Value (shortened to fit AWP guidelines): Panelists will discuss how their craft decisions and, indeed, manipulations, trouble Western forces of oppression.This discussion will be grounded in the use of formal approaches as literal power that we wield as writers of color, in an effort to reify subversive writing as first and foremost grounded in craft. We will address representation candidly and from diverse perspectives, in a discussion where ethical authorship and thoughtful formalism coalesce and each, in turn, evolve.

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AWP Seattle: KUNDIMAN Presents A Night of Asian American Poetry: They Will Rise Like A Wave Anthology Launch
Mar
9
5:30 PM17:30

AWP Seattle: KUNDIMAN Presents A Night of Asian American Poetry: They Will Rise Like A Wave Anthology Launch

KUNDIMAN Presents A Night of Asian American Poetry: They Will Rise Like A Wave Anthology Launch!

Featured Readers: Christine Kitano, Shelley Wong, Su Cho, Maria Isabelle Carlos, Manahil Bandukwala, Maw Shein Win, Megan Pinto, Raena Shirali, CE Shue, Jihyun Yun, and Carlina Duan. 

Coffee and Light Snacks will be served (plus it’s a cafe if you need more sustenance!)

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Writing the Other, Writing the Self: A Workshop at The Ruby SF
Mar
7
7:00 PM19:00

Writing the Other, Writing the Self: A Workshop at The Ruby SF

Writing from the perspective of another requires great investment and momentous risk, all with no promise of reward. So why do poets continue to explore persona as a creative approach in our work?

In this in-person workshop at The Ruby in San Francisco, CA, Shirali, author of new poetry collection summonings, will present her scholarship on the persona spectrum, discussing “near” persona and “far” persona as ways of conceiving of our poems’ speakers. Through discussing the process of writing her own “near” and “far” persona poems in summonings, students will engage in philosophical exploration of the ethical stakes and creative potential inherent in stepping outside our own subjectivities. Students will then write the other, or write the self, or—better yet—collapse that distinction entirely.

Writers of all levels and genres are welcome! Register at the Eventbrite.

More info here.

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WXPN LIVE! At Kelly Writer's House
Jan
30
6:30 PM18:30

WXPN LIVE! At Kelly Writer's House

Join us today, Monday, January 30 at 6:30 PM for a recording of Live at the Writers House, our collaboration with 88.5 WXPN. This episode was curated by undergraduate assistant Nik Donoughe and will feature readings by seven Philly writers including Veronica Bennett, David Jones, Alina Pleskova, Trina Sanyal, Parker Sera, Raena Shirali, and Alex Smith. They'll be joined by musical guest Riverby

This episode will air on WXPN (88.5) on Thursday, February 9, 2023, at 10:00 PM.

View the event on Facebook here. Register to attend in-person here.

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You Can't Kill A Poet
Nov
30
7:30 PM19:30

You Can't Kill A Poet

Join us for the November installation of Philly’s queer & trans reading series, You Can't Kill A Poet, at Tattooed Mom! Readers include Mónica Gomery, Quinn Rodriguez, Raena Shirali, Alina Pleskova, Cam Simmons, Boston Gordon, Kareal Amenumey, and Monica Huang!

Doors at 7:30pm. Reading at 8pm.

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SUMMONINGS Book Launch Party: The Philly Edition!
Nov
6
6:00 PM18:00

SUMMONINGS Book Launch Party: The Philly Edition!

Join local poet Raena Shirali and friends to celebrate the launch of summonings with a night of poetry and art at Tattooed Mom!

summonings investigates the ongoing practice of witch (“daayan”) hunting in India. These poems explore how antiquated and existing norms surrounding female mysticism in India and America inform each culture’s treatment of women, concepts that will be in conversation with the rest of the work from this incredible lineup of compelling Philadelphia poets. 

In addition to readings from this collection and the work of Emma Brown Sanders, Cindy Arrieu-King, Kathy Fagan, Kim Gek Lin Short, and Alina Pleskova, the night will feature paintings by Brooklyn based artist Meera Dugal. All together, it will be a night of delicious drinks, tasty bites, and riveting art at a Philadelphia institution.

Readings and a conversation between Alina and Raena from 6:00pm-7:30pm. Cocktails and book signings from 7:30pm-9pm.

21+ with valid ID.

Facebook Event here

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Book Signing at Bluestockings Cooperative, NYC
Nov
4
3:00 PM15:00

Book Signing at Bluestockings Cooperative, NYC

Join us for an in-person book signing with Black Lawrence Press with authors Raena Shirali and Christopher Locke!

The authors will be out in front of the store if weather allows, and if it's too cold/raining, the authors move inside. Masks will be required to enter the store. No need to RSVP, just feel free to stop by! More info here.

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NYC Voices: Black Lawrence Press SUMMONINGS Book Launch!
Nov
3
7:00 PM19:00

NYC Voices: Black Lawrence Press SUMMONINGS Book Launch!

NYC folks, please join us for the New York launch of Raena Shirali's summonings! Performers and artists featured include:

Poet Kiran Bath (Brooklyn)

Interdisciplinary Artist/Writer Jayson P. Smith (Bronx)

Poet/Essayist Gala Mukomolova (Brooklyn)

Painter Meera Dugal (who did the book's cover art) (Brooklyn)

Violinist Natie Barret-Mas (Brooklyn)

Get your tickets here! Facebook event here. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Limited Open Mic starts promptly at 7PM. Time limit for each slot is a strict 5 minutes. Poetry and Spoken Word only!

Produced by the long-running Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word, which has featured Grammy, Golden Globe, Tony, Obie, and Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as Emmy nominees, American Idol finalists, America's Got Talent finalists, and HBO Def Poetry stars.

Directions

Take the F train to 2nd Avenue, go up the 1st Avenue stairwell and walk east. 

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