SpeakEasy 28: Homecoming with Rena Priest

The SpeakEasy poetry series is honored to feature Rena Priest, the new Washington State Poet Laureate, at SpeakEasy 28: Homecoming. Presented on Zoom on Saturday, April 24, 2021, at 7:00pm Pacific, the reading will also include Rena’s poet/mentors James Bertolino, Anita K. Boyle, Nancy Pagh, and Jeanne Yeasting. For a Zoom link, please send an email to othermindpress AT gmail.com.

an exclamation point on December

The ever-prolific James Bertolino has a brand-new book of poems, Galaxy in Thrall, just published by Goldfish Press. Jim will regale the audience with a selection of readings from this new collection at 4:00pm on Sunday, December 29, 2019, at Village Books in Fairhaven. It is sure to be an exclamation point on December, and on 2019!

celebrating Bertolino

TODAY, October 4, is Jim Bertolino’s birthday.

TOMORROW, October 5, 2019, you can help Jim celebrate at SpeakEasy 26: Reading Bertolino, an evening of poetry honoring this prolific and influential poet. It’s free, in Bellingham, at the Mount Baker Theatre Encore Room. Please join us!

Reading Bertolino

SpeakEasy 26: Reading Bertolino will be a lively evening of poetry written by James Bertolino and honoring this prolific and influential poet.

Jim’s poetry has been published internationally in hundreds of magazines, scores of anthologies, and dozens of books over the past 50+ years. He holds an MFA from Cornell University, has won numerous awards, and taught creative writing for more than 36 years. Jim’s first book was published in 1968, and his recent publications include Ravenous Bliss: New and Selected Love Poems (MoonPath Press, 2014) and Last Call: The Anthology of Beer, Wine & Spirits Poetry (World Enough Writers, 2018), which he edited. Bertolino’s poem “A Wedding Toast” was featured on Ted Kooser’s syndicated column, American Life in Poetry, on June 29, 2019.

This free, public event will be held at the Mount Baker Theatre Encore Room in Bellingham, Washington on Saturday, October 5, 2019, at 7:00pm. Please join us.

tonight at Village Books

This evening, Saturday, May 4, 2019, join poets (clockwise from top left) Anita K. Boyle, James Bertolino, Richard Widerkehr, and Gayle Kaune, as they read new and favorite poems. 7:00pm in the Village Books Readings Gallery.

Clover, today!

Clover: A Literary Rag celebrates Sweet 16 today as a selection of contributors to volume 16 share their words. Featured authors are Luther Allen, James Bertolino, Jennifer Bullis, Nancy Canyon, Susan Chase-Foster, Michael Daley, Victoria Doerper, Paul Hunter, Andrew Shattuck McBride, C.J. Prince, Betty Scott, Gary Wade, and Bob Zaslow.

Join in the celebration at 4:00pm at Village Books in Bellingham. It’s free, and copies of Clover will be available for purchase and signing.

Last Call!

Belly up to the podium for a lively evening of poetry, exuberance, and wild abandon. Between the covers of Last Call: The Anthology of Beer, Wine and Spirits Poetry (World Enough Writers) is a party that never ends. This is a poetry reading that is sure to lift your spirits. Come toast editor/emcee Jim Bertolino and an intemperate group of contributing poets at a Village Books Literature Live event on Saturday, November 17, 2018, at 7:00pm.

book launch

Celebrate the art of poetry and the poets who make it happen on Friday, July 20, 2018, as Village Books hosts a book launch and reading.

Award-winning poet Jed Myers will read from his new book, Between Dream and Flesh, a handmade limited-edition publication from Egress Studio Press. He will be joined by poet and fiction writer Lana Ayers (founder, publisher, and managing editor of MoonPath Press) who will read from her illustrated handmade book, The Moon’s Answer (Egress Studio Press), as well as other poems. James Bertolino will read selections from a variety of his poetry publications.

sidewalk poetry in Bellingham

Mark your calendar for the first Sunday of the month at 5:00pm, as a series of summer sidewalk readings present the voices of Bellingham poets. If you show up at 1507 Larrabee, in Fairhaven, look for the book box and that’s where the the readings will be held.

June 3 ~ Shannon P. Laws
July 1 ~ Donna Rushing
August 5 ~ Jim Bertolino & Anita K. Boyle
September 2 ~ Nancy Canyon

See you there!

poetry in Kirkland

In what is now a legendary commitment to poetry, Christopher Jarmick, poet and owner of BookTree in Kirkland, Washington, is scheduling monthly workshop/reading/open mic sessions that are free and lively.

For National Poetry Month, the featured poets will be Anita K. Boyle and James Bertolino. The program, on Saturday, April 21, 2018, will begin at 4:30pm with a workshop on Collaboration (Boyle and Bertolino have collaborated on a number of chapbooks, among other projects), to be followed at 6:15pm by a reading and open mic. See further details and poet bios on the BookTree event page and on Facebook.