Thursday, February 18, 2010

Join us again on March 17, 2010!
Where: ModernFormations 4919 Penn Ave.
When: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 @ 8pm
Cover: $5 or a contribution to our potluck dinner

Adam Kavulic (Reader) graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in 2008 and is going back to school to get his masters in elementary education. He spends his creative time between writing and photography. His top three root beers are as follows: Appalachian Brewery Co. Root Beer, D's SixPax and Dogz 1919 Real Draft Root Beer, and Dominion Root Beer. He is an atheist and currently learning Japanese.


Terry Hawkins (Reader) was born in Uniontown, PA in 1956. He is author of the novel Rage of Achilles. Through a series of administrative errors still the subject of chagrined scrutiny, he was permitted not only to attend but graduate from Yale, where he was publisher of the Yale Daily News. The wind next blew him to Madison, Wisonsin, for law school. After practicing there for three years, he returned to New Haven, where he chases ambulances for a day job. Find out more about Terry here.


Crystal Hoffman (Reader) Crystal Hoffman's poetry is forthcoming or has in appeared in journals such as A Capella Zoo, FRiGG, Weave, Blackbox, and The World According to Goldfish. She fancies herself a revolutionary for a number of reasons, one of which is The TypewriterGirls Poetry Cabaret (typewritergirls.net), where she subverts banalities in order to create living poetic experiences. In order to eat, she teaches English Literature and Composition courses at a community college and works as a pen-wielding mercenary for organized labor. It is her dearest wish is to decrease the amount of concrete in the world.
The Skirt Tasters (Music) Rock and Roll + Poesy Slingin'

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Poet Angele Ellis Celebrates the warmth of TNY Presents!


'Tho forty winters have besieged our 'Burgh,
And buried alleys that never will see a plow,
When from our frozen burrows we emerge,
We'll seek distraction--friends, the time is now!
Then being asked, where all the culture lies,
Point thy chilled fingers toward Penn Avenue--
Modern Formations will make several poets rise,
Hosting this year's premiere New Yinzer revue.
So venture forth next Wednesday, pretty please,
Ramirez, Joseph, Ellis, Elias, and Weird Paul
Will pluck your heartstrings, and calm every sneeze
Bringing the warmth of verse and song to all.
I trust to meet you there, dear yinzers new and old,
For art's our best defense against the cold.

-Angele Ellis



Please come out to this month's The New Yinzer Presents!
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17, 8 P.M., at Modern Formations Gallery, 4919 Penn Avenue.
Performing are Adriana Ramirez, Diana Joseph, Che Elias, Angele Ellis, and musical guest Weird Paul Petroskey.


Thanks, Angele!!

Monday, January 18, 2010

The New Yinzer's Third Season starts up again on February 17, 2010!
Join us at our favorite haunt, Modern Formations, on 2/17 at 8:00p.m.
Readers take the stage at 8:30.
Cover: $5 or free with a contribution to our pot luck spread
Feel free to BYOB!

Adriana Ramirez: (Reader) Adriana E. Ramirez is disposed to skirts over pants, dresses over pantsuits. None of the clocks in her house are set to the right time. Adri secretly considers herself a Texan, although she's far more Mexican and Colombian than anything else. She used to be a performance poet and has over fifteen years experience in theater, spoken word, and advocacy. Once ranked the 26th slam poet in the world (iwps 2006), Adri used to co-host the Latino/Indigenous Showcase at the National Poetry Slam and now hosts the Steel City Slam in Pittsburgh. Her poems and prose have appeared on the internet, on subway station walls, and occasionally, on pieces of dead wood. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, where she works as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh and is finishing a book about her death fantasies, Colombia, and the way we tell stories around violence. She is a Virgo and a Boar, and also has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction writing from Pitt.


Diana Joseph: (Reader) Diana Joseph is the author of the story collection Happy or Otherwise (Carnegie Mellon UP 2003) and the memoir I'm Sorry YouFeel That Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother and Friend to Man and Dog. Her work has been listed in Best American Stories, Best American Essays, the Pushcart Prize Anthology and has appeared in Best Sex Writing, Country Living, and Marie Claire. She teaches in the MFA program at Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Che Elias: (Reader) Che Elias was born in 1980 in Glendale, West Virginia. He spent his formative years in the surrounding Ohio River Valley area...Then relocating to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he is now currently living. He is the author of a novel Rockets Construe Vala and a poetry collection A Lesser Summer: Early Poems. His second novel, Juliet ...,Remember, was published by Six Gallery Press in 2002. His poetry collection Meddles into Preclusion appeared in 2003, and in 2004 he published his novel The Pagan Ellipsis, which is available now. Other Works by CheElias: The Abacus, Wheeling (Poems and Stories), and Death Poems.




Angele Ellis: (Reader) Angele Ellis is the author of Arab on Radar (SixGallery Press, 2007). A 2008 recipient of an Individual Creative Artist fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, her poems have appeared in Mizna, Grasslimb, Encyclopedia Destructica, Rune, Pittsburgh City Paper, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, THEMA, and the anthologies Come Together: Imagine Peace and Voices from the Attic. In September 2009, she won Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ G-20 Haiku Contest; her haiku was displayed on the marquee of the Harris Theatre for the duration of Pittsburgh’s G-20 summit.



Weird Paul: (Music) Weird Paul Petroskey is one good lookin' S.O.B. But, more importantly, he writes the damn catchiest songs. Paul began releasing his own cassettes inthe late 80's. In 1991, Homestead Records released "Lo Fidelity, Hi Anxiety", Paul's now hard-to-find cult classic CD. Since then, Paul is back to releasing his own albums of fun indie-pop/punk, including his latest (and 23rd), AS HEARD IN MY DREAMS. Currently, having written or co-written almost 600 songs, Paul has about 20 albums worth of music available for purchase (see weirdpaul.com). The new album by The Weird Paul Rock Band, "Simulating the Act of Love" will be released in early 2010. On April 21, 2006, the hour-long documentary on Weird Paul- Weird Paul, A Lo Fidelity Documentary- by Chicago filmmaker Stacey Goldschmidt - showed at the Harris Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. It has since played at the Chicago Underground Film Festival and in Leeds, England at the Leeds International Film Festival. It features interviews with Lou Barlow, Calvin Johnson, John S. Hall, BrittDaniel (Spoon), Mr. HCI (Happy Flowers) and more. The film is now also available on DVD.

And 'til we see you, please check out Bob Hoover's wonderful mention of us in the January 17th edition of Post-Gazette!






Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Join us December 11th for a TNY Special Edition!

Our very good friends, poets John Grochalski and Ally Malinenko will be in town for an evening of poesy slinging. Also on tap for the evening are the local favorites Ed Steck, Renee Alberts, Margaret Bashaar, Joel W. Coggins, and Jessica Fenlon.
(Stay tuned for pictures of our guests...)

Where: ModernFormations 4919 Penn Ave.
When: December 11th, 8pm
Cover: $5 or a contribution to our potluck dinner

John Grochalski is a writer formerly from Pittsburgh. He lives in New York now with his wife and two cats. Grochalski's book of poems The Noose Doesn't Get Any Looser After You Punch Out was published by Six Gallery Press in 2009.


Ally Malinenko has been published by Alembic, Blind Man's Review, Small Brushes, Whisky Island Magazine, The Unknown Writer, HeART, Mad Poets Society, Posey, Jack Magazine and Words-Myth. She is also a contributing poet to Reading Ground blogazine, a division of Breeding Ground Productions (http://breedingground.com/reading/). Her first book of poems entitled The Wanting Bone was published in 2009 by Six Gallery Press. She is currently working on a novel for children. Ally lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two cats.

Ed Steck is awaiting World War III. "Hoojy boojy, wumbly tumbly, goody goody, grass grass."

Renée Alberts listens to rivers, talks to the radio, and translates the conversations into poetry, sound and collage. She learned all of this in Pittsburgh. She's been lucky to collaborate with some of the city's finest wordsmiths and musicians, and has participated in and curated many events. Her chapbook is forthcoming from Speed & Briscoe. Witness her in 1s and 0s at http://williamthesilent.blogspot.com/.

Margaret Bashaar is the co-editor of Weave Magazine and co-host of The Typewriter Girls. Her poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming from numerous literary journals including Caketrain, The Pedestal Magazine, Boxcar Poetry Review, So to Speak, and Blue Earth Review. She also writes book reviews for The Multicultural Review and for Weave Magazine's blog.

Joel W. Coggins, a native Ohioan, is a Senior at the University of Pittsburgh, where he majors in Writing. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Three Rivers Review and also serves as an Editorial Assistant for Weave Magazine. His writing has appeared in Collision, Hinge, and Cedarville Review.


Jessica Fenlon lives and works in Pittsburgh PA. She makes art that touches on the currents of violence, everyday joys, and haunting losses that move in her peripheral vision. BFA UW-Madison, MFA School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Her first book of poetry, Spiritual Side Effects was published by Six Gallery Press in 2009. She spends too much time at crossroads with scarecrows. She enjoys playing with fire in her free time. She is probably taller than you.


Thursday, November 19, 2009

Yinzers Kristofer Collins and Savannah Guz will be opening for Stephen Elliott, author of The Adderall Diaries, given a starred review by Kirkus and pronounced 'superb' by Time Out New York.

When? Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 8:30 p.m.
Where? Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh)
Cover? $4

Friday, October 30, 2009

Join us for the TNY Presents season finale on Wednesday, November 18 (psst....still, stay tuned for a special *Holiday Edition* of TNY in December). We’re turning the stage over to our good friends Chuck Kinder, Karl Hendricks, and Brendan Kerr. They’ll be swapping stories, telling jokes, and pretty much whatever else they’d like to do. TNY Presents belongs to them for the evening. In a similar vein our musical guests for the night – Scott Silsbe, Kurt Garrison, and Mark Mangini – will share the stage and trade some of their favorite songs.

Where?: ModernFormations 4919 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh
When?: 8pm
Cover?: $5 or a contribution to our potluck dinner

Chuck Kinder: (reader) Chuck Kinder is the Director of the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of the novels, Snakehunter (Alfred A. Knopf), The Silver Ghost (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) and Honeymooners: A Cautionary Tale (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), a 2001 New York Times Notable Book. Honeymooners was reprinted as a Plume Paperback in 2002, and in June 2009 it was re-issued by the Carnegie Mellon University Press as a part of its Classic Contemporary Series.Kinder’s most recent book is a redneck noir, pulp romance meta-memoir titled Last Mountain Dancer: Hard Earned Lessons In Love, Loss, and Honky-Tonk Outlaw Life, which was published in 2004.

Karl Hendricks: (reader) Karl Hendricks lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife, Megan, and their two daughters, Maeve and Nell. He is the author ofthe chapbook, Stan Getz Isn’t Coming Back (Speed & Briscoe Books). He teaches writing at the University of Pittsburgh and also works at Paul’s CDs. His band, the Karl Hendricks Trio (sometimes Rock Band), has released eight albums, most recently The World Says.



Brendan Kerr: (reader) Brendan Kerr comes to Pittsburgh via Elkins, West Virginia and Brooklyn, New York. He recently completed his MFA at the University of Pittsburgh and his novel, The Uses of Talent, is currently looking for a home. Brendan plays bass with the rock band Workshop. He lives in Polish Hill and can often be found among the crowd in one local establishment or another.




Scott Silsbe: (music)Scott Silsbe was born in Detroit. He now lives in Pittsburgh, where he sells books, writes, and makes rock music.




Kurt Garrison: (music) Kurt Garrison is a member of The Shopkeepers, The Plat Maps and AAA.




Mark Mangini: (music) Mark Mangini is an editor at The New Yinzer.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

It’s time for yet another scary-good installment of TNY Presents!

Join us for a little pre-Halloween hijinks on Wednesday, October 21st. Tricks (of the literary variety) will be provided by Nathan Graziano, Holly Coleman, and Kevin Finn. Elliott Sussman will be on hand with a banjo full of tasty musical treats.

Where: Modern Formations 4919 Penn Ave.
When: 8pm
Cover: $5 or a contribution to our potluck dinner

Nathan Graziano: (reader) Nathan Graziano lives in Manchester, New Hampshire with his wife and two children. He is the author of TeachingMetaphors (sunnyoutside, 2007), Not So Profound (Green Bean Press, 2004),Frostbite (GBP, 2002) and seven chapbooks of poetry and fiction. His workhas appeared in Rattle, Night Train, Freight Stories, The Coe Review, The Owen Wister Review, and others. His third book of poetry, After the Honeymoon, will be published in Fall 2009 by sunnyoutside press. For more information, visit his website: www.nathangraziano.com.


<--Holly Coleman: (reader) Famed 'Wild Woman of the North Side,' hasn’t had a literary piece published since 1999 due to her own laziness, Holly Colemanis getting up off her ass and hummin, comin atcha!

Kevin Finn: (reader) Kevin Finn is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. A poet, as well as a singer-songwriter, his work has gained critical praise world wide. His chapbook, Exit Wounds, was published by Amsterdam Press in 2009.

<-- Elliott Sussman: (music) In 1984, the front porch and the campfire becameconcerned that they weren't being used for their intended musicalpurposes. It was that year that Elliott Sussman was birthed by the two tomake sure that their glorious traditions would never be forgotten. Visit Elliott at http://www.myspace.com/elliottsussman