March 20: Gegick, Guzick, Gwin, Jones

When--Thursday, March 20
Where- ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time- 8:00 p.m.
Cover- $5 or free w/ contribution of potluck dish
Proudly sponsored by Mellingers Beer Distributor
BYOB!

Richard L. Gegick is from Trafford. His work has appeared in Hot Metal Bridge, The Cleveland Review, and Stymie Magazine. He lives in Pittsburgh and waits tables for a living.

SJ Guzik is an oral story telling recorder. Her favorite interviews include getting stoned with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at a Sherton Hotel and a night long debate with Das Racist on 90s r&b. She has published with Bitch and Bust magazines. She edits for publications on diversity and inclusion recently working with the National Arbor Day Foundation. When she's not working for monies, she enjoys delivering babies, tending gardens, and drinking dirty martinis.

Ben Gwin's fiction has appeared in Burrow Press Review, Dark Sky Magazine, Mary: A Journal of New Writing, and others. He lives in Pittsburgh with his daughter.

T.C. Jones is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. His fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in The Monarch Review, The New Yinzer, Gadfly Magazine, and Prairie Gold: An Anthology of the American Heartland. In 2013, Jones won the TAR award for fiction in The April Reader. He currently directs Jam2Jam, a quarterly literary and art series and recently has been named the fiction editor at Lime Hawk Literary Arts Collective, a New York City based literary magazine. He lives in Lawrenceville with his fiancée, poet SJ Guzik.

November 21: Cook, Gaydos, Martinac, Parker

When--Thursday, November 21st 
Where- ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 
Time- 8:00 p.m. 
Cover- $5 or free w/ contribution of potluck dish 
 Proudly sponsored by Mellingers Beer Distributor 
 BYOB! 

Julie Ann Cook, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, is a happily married, joyfully outnumbered mother of five boys, two of whom were stillborn. Between assisting in living room railroad construction and addressing concerns of who would win in a fight between Megatron and Iron Man, Julie is an author, artist, and webmaster. With her mom and dad having been raised in the Pittsburgh area (Carrick and Kennedy Township respectively), Julie grew up in Beaver County until she flew south for college in 1998. A graduate of Winthrop University, Julie has been published in various venues, including Kakalak Anthology of Carolina Poets, Iodine Poetry Journal, moonShine review, MaMaZina.com, and The Wolf. She is celebrating the release of her inaugural poetry book, Love Like Weeds, (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, October 2013).

Raiona Gaydos grew up in a Brooklyn soap-factory-turned-performance-space that, on weekend nights, was commandeered by street poets, topless drummers, and white-faced Butoh dancers who used her childhood lair as their dressing room. When a radio interviewer asked her at eight years old how she felt about all of this, she is reported to have said, “I’m gonna be really weird when I grow up.” She was right. She has studied at the New School in New York City, lived in Paris, and is now back in her birth-town of Pittsburgh running “B.E. Literary” events and publications at Biddle’s Escape. She has finally started to edit and share some of the things she’s been writing over the years.





Paula Martinac is the author of three published novels, including the Lambda Literary Award-

winning Out of Time, which was recently re-released as an e-book. She has also published three nonfiction books on lesbian and gay culture and politics, and numerous articles, essays, and short stories. Her plays have had productions with Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company, Manhattan Theatre Source, the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, No Name Players, and others. Find out more about her writing at
www.paulamartinac.com.

Kelcey Parker’s first book, For Sale By Owner (Kore Press), won the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Award in Short Fiction and was a Finalist for the 2012 Best Books of Indiana. She directs the creative writing program at Indiana University South Bend. During the summer of 2012, she worked as an Ask-Me Guide at Fallingwater, where she asked as many questions as she answered, helped visitors get the perfect photo of Fallingwater, and always kept an eye out for Liliane’s ghost. Visit Kelcey’s website: http://kelceyparker.com/

New Season Kickoff! August 15: Malloy, Patton, Sepe

When--Thursday, August 15th
Where- ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time- 8:00 p.m.
Cover- $5 or free w/ contribution of potluck dish
BYOB!


Patrick Malloy----> is originally from Philadelphia but now calls Pittsburgh home. His debut novel Bang Bang was published in November by Bedlam Press. Other than that, he reads a lot of Reddit and Post Gazette, which is the closest to publishing credits he's accumulated thus far.

 <------Joshua M. Patton is a Pittsburgh native and veteran of the US Army currently attending the University of Pittsburgh thanks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. He is a regular contributor to Veteran Journal, Dadditudes, WhatToExpect.com, and AND Magazine. His fiction has been anthologized in The Sins of the Seven, published by Wicked East Press. His work has taken first-place in the 2011 & 2012 Writer's Cafe/Prosody awards in non-fiction and poetry, respectively. He is a Member Spokesperson for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He spends the rest of his time trying his best to not embarrass his eleven-year-old daughter.







Mark Sepe------> is not from Pittsburgh, but he has lived here for 4 years. He went to West Chester University for a degree in English Education with minors in Art History and Comparative Literature. He currently is rehabiliting a house and has no life.

February 21: Davis, Kauffman, Leitner, McCloskey, Stidle

When--Thursday, February 21st
Where- ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time- 8:00 p.m.
Cover- $5 or free w/ contribution of potluck dish
BYOB!

<-----Laura E. Davis is the author of Braiding the Storm (Finishing Line Press 2012). Her poems have appeared in A-Minor, Super Arrow, and Redactions, among others. The Founding Editor of Weave Magazine, she teaches poetry writing, translation, and recitation in San Francisco, where she lives with her partner, Sal.

ryanKauffman------> is an as yet unpublished poet with a BA in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He resides in Pittsburgh's historic Little Italy neighborhood and hosts a bi-monthly reading series called POESIS which takes place at the Mr. Roboto Project. The manuscript "Ode To Recession" from which he will be reading was a finalist for the National Poetry Series.

<-----Lucy Leitner is the author of the horror-comedy novel Working Stiffs, a satirical take on what happens when zombies invade a corporate office. Raised in Arlington, VA, she adopted Pittsburgh as her hometown when she arrived in 2001 to attend the University of Pittsburgh. Though she earned a masters degree in journalism from Point Park, she estimates that she has earned more money betting on Penguins games than she has as a reporter. By day, she is a writer for a local marketing firm and by night, she is usually sleeping. When not working on her second novel, Lucy covers the burgeoning Pittsburgh film scene on the Hollyburgh blog and is learning Krav Maga.



Daniel McCloskey-----> is a writer, illustrator, and founder of the Cyberpunk Apocalypse project. Recent works include his hybrid novel A Film About Billy, and a collaborative comic seriesBears in Space. His work can be found online at www.gnarlyasiwannabe.com and at finer bookstores and comic shops in the Northeast and Midwest.

<-----Matt Stidle is overly verbose.

November 15th: Alexander, McIntosh, Ramirez

When--Thursday, November 15th
Where- ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time- 8:00 p.m.
Cover- $5 or free w/ contribution of potluck dish
BYOB!


Lisa Alexander holds an MFA in Poetry from Drew University and is a member of the Madwomen in the Attic writing workshop. Her work has been published in various journals including Bloom, The Burnside Review, Girls with Glasses, Pittsburgh's City Paper and anthologized in Voices from the Attic. She's a sound engineer for Prosody, NPR-affiliate WESA's weekly show featuring the work of national writers. Her manuscript throttlebody is being submitted for publication.


Tera McIntosh was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania where she attended Bishop McCort High School. She earned her B.S. degree at Slippery Rock University in Recreation Therapy, where she learned the power and healing of play. Tera earned her M.S. from Carlow University in PRL-Nonprofit Management, and has worked with numerous nonprofit organizations throughout the country and Pittsburgh on creating safe spaces and enriching community. She has performed Slam Poetry at many venues including Club Cafe, Cannon Coffee, Shadow Lounge, Antioch University-Seattle, The University of Pittsburgh, The It Gets Better Project, The Improv, Carlow University, and many living rooms and bathroom mirrors. Most of her writings can be found left in her jean pockets in the dryer on tumble dry while others are usually published in Randomly Accessed Poets, an online poetry magazine downloadable on any kindle or in the Steel City Slam Chapbook. She is a member of the Steel City Slam Poetry team which competed in the National Slam Poetry Competition this past August in Charlotte, NC. She is the co-founder of Project Coffeehouse a nonprofit that opens up coffeeshops in emerging areas whose revenue goes back into the community to continue building it back up. She is also the co-founder of Young Steel Youth Poetry League and the Pittsburgh Poetry Collective, the city’s only spoken word organization for youth and adults. She is finishing up her Doctorate Degree in just two weeks (so if she looks a bit frazzled its because she is) at Antioch University in Leadership and Change where she hopes to finally figure out world peace, free vending machines, equal rights, and smaller lines at the DMV. She is a member of the women’s football team the Pittsburgh Passion and also a habitual coffee drinker and pizza eater.



Adriana E. Ramirez is a nonfiction writer and performance poet with over fifteen years experience in theater, spoken word, and advocacy. Once ranked the 26th slam poet in the world (iwps 2006), she helped found and co-hosted the Latino/Indigenous Showcase at the National Poetry Slam; she now serves as creative director of Pittsburgh Poetry Collective and slammaster of the Steel City Slam. Her poems and writings have appeared on the internet, on subway station walls, and occasionally, on pieces of dead wood. She loves technology and refreshments—mineral water, limes, and cheap Mexican food. Adriana lives in Pittsburgh, where she is writing a book about her death fantasies, Colombia, and the way we tell stories around violence. She roots for el tricolor in the World Cup and teaches in the English Department at The University of Pittsburgh.

April 26: Barber, Boyd, Huber

When - Thursday, April 26th
Where - ModernFormations Gallery, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time – 8:00 p.m.
Cover - $5 or free w/ contribution to potluck


Tessa Barber works as a librarian and writes a blog about teen books and why they are the thing you should be reading. She graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 2004 where she wrote poems about Goya paintings and fake people in history while studying English & Spanish literature. Then she learned how to be a librarian at Pitt. When she's not reading she manages to feed herself and her cat and learn folk ballads, and write poems about cars & dancing & houses.



Eric Boyd is an editor for the Newer York, as well as Pork & Mead magazine. Boyd is a graduate of the Words Without Walls writing program at Chatham Universtiy in Pittsburgh; he was recently awarded second place in the PEN American Center's 2012 Prison Writing contest. Boyd’s fiction work has appeared in several magazines, both online and in print. His first short story collection, WHISKEY SOUR, was released this month by Chatham / Nervous Puppy Publishing.





Rose Huber is a science and technology writer for the University of Pittsburgh. Before moving back to PA, she lived in Baltimore, where she received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts 2010 and wrote a novella, "A Bear's Place." Her work has been featured in Pear Noir, Weave, and The Light Ekphrastic. She is currently working on a science-into-story chapbook where she translates her science press releases into prose-style poetry. She writes about lots of things and stuff at www.bindandcreate.com.

TNY Presents November 17: Alberts, Hoover, Matthews, Stoner

When - Thursday, November 17th
Where - ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time – 8:00 p.m.
Cover - $5 or free w/ contribution to potluck

David V. Matthews was born on Neil Young's 20th birthday. David's writing has appeared in the Pittsburgh City Paper and Unicorn Mountain, and he has given readings at Brillobox and the Andy Warhol Museum. Also, his art has appeared in several Western Pennsylvania galleries, including Garfield Artworks, which held a retrospective of his drawings this June. A documentary about him, directed by Pittsburgh filmmaker Julie Sokolow, is in production. He lives with a couple of orangutans made from coconuts.

Renee Alberts' poetry and visual art have appeared in print, dance performances, live radio shows and at least one tattoo. She is author of the poetry collection No Water and editor of Natural Language: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Sunday Poetry & Reading Series Anthology, a collection of writers featured in the series she founded and curates. She guest hosts 90.5 FM’s Prosody and moderates the Pittsburgh Literary Calendar. She posts writing, photography, and collage, including her Detail a Day Project, at animalprayer.com.

Elizabeth Hoover is a poet, critic, journalist, and, most importantly, a native of Pittsburgh. She has contributed poetry reviews and author interviews to such publications as The Paris Review, The Los Angeles Times, and The Dallas Morning News. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry Northwest, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Natural Bridge, and The Café Review, among others. In 2011, she was a Flight School Fellow, resident at the Virginia Colony of the Creative Arts, and a nominee for Sundress Publications Best of the Net award. She received a combined MFA/MA from Indiana University and is currently working on a biographies of Suzanne Collins and Robert Hayden. You can see more of her work at www.ehooverink.com/poetry.html

Michelle Stoner's first book of poetry, Flats and Riots, was published in 2008 (CustomWords). Her poems have also appeared in The Collared Peccary, The New Growth Arts Review, Weave Magazine, The Carlow Journal, Pittsburgh's City Paper and Natural Language: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Sunday Poetry and Reading Series Anthology, among others. She is a sound engineer for Prosody, NPR-affiliate WESA fm’s weekly show featuring the work of national writers and holds an MFA in poetry from Carlow University.

Two upcoming TNY readings: May 19 & May 20

Read more about the May 19th reading here in our previous post.

And don't miss The New Yinzer Staff Presents, a May 20th reading at Fleeting Pages pop up bookstore.

TNY May 19th: Gershman, Himmer, O'Connor, Pollard

When - Thursday, May 19th
Where - ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time - 8 p.m.
Cover - $5 or free w/ contribution to potluck

Noah Gershman-----> travels frequently. His first collection of poems, The Enthusiast (Snail Press), has recently been published.

<-----Steve Himmer is the author of the novel The Bee-Loud Glade (Atticus Books, 2010), and editor of the webjournal Necessary Fiction. His stories have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies, most recently Hawk & Handsaw, Weber: The Contemporary West, The Collagist, and Re:Telling. He lives near Boston, where he teaches at Emerson College, and he has a website at http://www.stevehimmer.com.

Traci O Connor----> is the author of the short story collection, Recipes for Endangered Species (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2010). She's published fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and other unclassifiable work in many journals and magazines and is currently at work on: a collaborative film/writing project about her Mormon childhood, a series of art dolls, a novel, a live storytelling series, and the formation of a collaborative artist group called The Box Salon.

<------Derek Pollard is co–author with Derek Henderson of the book Inconsequentia (BlazeVOX 2010). His poems, creative non–fiction, and reviews appear in American Book Review, Colorado Review, Court Green, Diagram III, H_ngm_n, Pleiades, and Six–Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak, among numerous other anthologies and journals. He is a contributing editor for Barrow Street, Inc., and is on faculty at Brookdale Community College, at Pratt Institute, and at the Downtown Writer’s Center in Syracuse, New York. More information is available at www.twodereks.com.

Thursday, April 21: Kane, Michalski, Robinson, & Ross

When - Thursday, April 21st
Where - ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time - 8 p.m.
Cover - $5 or free w/ contribution to potluck

<-----Kelli Stevens Kane's poetry appears in numerous journals including The Mom Egg, Kweli Journal, and Mythium Literary Journal. She's the recipient of a Flight School Fellowship, an alum of the VONA and Hurston/Wright poetry workshops, the editor of Planet Saturday Comics, and the author of an oral history manuscript about Pittsburgh's Hill District. She has performed nationally. For more information visit: http://www.kellistevenskane.com/


<----Jen Michalski's first collection of fiction, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, is available from So New (2007), her second is forthcoming from Dzanc (2013), and her novella MAY-SEPTEMBER (2010) was published by Press 53 as part of the Press 53 Open Awards. Her chapbook CROSS SECTIONS (2008) is available from Publishing Genius. She also is the editor of the anthology CITY SAGES: BALTIMORE (CityLit Press 2010), which won a 2010 "Best of Baltimore" award from Baltimore Magazine. She is the founding editor of the literary quarterly jmww, and is co-host of the monthly reading series The 510 Readings in Baltimore.

<-----Adam Robinson lives in Baltimore, MD, where he runs Publishing Genius, a micro press. He also plays guitar in Sweatpants, a rock band, and has written two collections of poetry including Adam Robison and Other Poems which was nominated for the Goodreads Award in 2010, and Say, Poem, a self-published MFA thesis which will be republished this year by Mitzvah Press. CAConrad called his work "marvelous, genius fun." Robinson is also a contributor to HTMLGiant, the literary blog of the future.

<-----Kristin Ross is a freelance writer, musician, and performance artist who has been active in the Pittsburgh cultural scene most of her life. She has been published by The New Yinzer, Zygote in my Coffee, Yawp and The Cerebral Catalyst. She is the author of Day Prize nominated comic book Hate Your Friends and paid her dues in local bands Sing the Evens Play the Odds and the Will Kills. Her current pet project is Literazzi, a poetry and performance troupe that is focused on increasing literacy in Pittsburgh. Literazzi donates partial funds to the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council and expects to release its first anthology at the end of 2011. Kristin can be found on the internet as the Editorial Intern at Pop Damage, a contributor to Soldout Music, and her own blog: http://baronetess.blogspot.com/ (Kristin’s photo by Ashly Nagrant)

Photos: March 17th TNY Reading

Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday to the reading. There was a good crowd to greet three of Pittsburgh's own:

<----Dave Newman read a riveting section from his novel, Please Don't Shoot Anyone Tonight.

Bob Pajich, who will soon be published on Low Ghost Press, read some wonderful Pittsburgh poems------->

And ex-cop Jimmy Cvetic closed the evening with poems both in and out of his new book, Secret Society of Dog.

Shortly I'll be posting about our next reading on Thursday, April 21st: Kane, Michalski, Robinson, Ross. Stay tuned.

Next TNY Reading: Newman, Pajich, Cvetic, March 17th

When - Thursday, March 17th
Where - ModernFormations, 4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh
Time - 8 p.m.
Cover - $5 or free w/ contribution to potluck

Dave Newman---> has published more than 200 poems, stories, essays, and articles in journals and magazines around the world. He is the author of the novel Please Don't Shoot Anyone Tonight (World Parade Books, 2010) and four chapbooks, most recently Allen Ginsberg Comes To Pittsburgh.

<-----Bob Pajich spent the last decade-plus as a professional reporter and even longer than that as an idiot poet. He has a book of poems forthcoming from Low Ghost Press.

Jim Cvetic---> has been writing and performing poetry all his life. A retired county police officer, he is the director of the Pittsburgh Police Athletic League, and founder and director of the Summer Poetry Series at Hemingway's Cafe in Oakland. His poems have appeared in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette and other publications. He is currently previewing readings from Ebony, a play he wrote, celebrating the value of human life, as part of the Three Rivers Peace Project. Jim's first full-length book of poetry, Secret Society of Dog, was published by Awesome Books in 2010.