WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.810 align:middle line:90% 00:00:00.810 --> 00:00:02.860 align:middle line:90% Thank you, Cybele. 00:00:02.860 --> 00:00:04.710 align:middle line:84% I'm so excited for tonight's reading 00:00:04.710 --> 00:00:08.280 align:middle line:84% and for the chance to introduce tonight's three rock stars, 00:00:08.280 --> 00:00:11.550 align:middle line:90% Samuel Ace, Polly Rosenwaike-- 00:00:11.550 --> 00:00:14.460 align:middle line:84% There you are. --and Dexter L. Booth. 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.760 align:middle line:84% For those of you who've been to a reading before here 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:19.260 align:middle line:84% at the Poetry Center, I think you'll 00:00:19.260 --> 00:00:21.630 align:middle line:84% agree that it's a great opportunity to hear poetry 00:00:21.630 --> 00:00:25.090 align:middle line:84% and to hear prose read by amazing local, national, 00:00:25.090 --> 00:00:26.873 align:middle line:90% and international talent. 00:00:26.873 --> 00:00:28.290 align:middle line:84% And these readings, these readers, 00:00:28.290 --> 00:00:30.780 align:middle line:84% are presented as poets, as writers, 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:33.090 align:middle line:84% and we listen to their poems, their writing. 00:00:33.090 --> 00:00:36.150 align:middle line:84% But in addition to connecting to these poets and writers 00:00:36.150 --> 00:00:38.280 align:middle line:84% through their work, through their presentations, 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:40.740 align:middle line:84% and performances here tonight, I hope 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:44.220 align:middle line:84% that you'll also connect to them as people because they 00:00:44.220 --> 00:00:48.540 align:middle line:84% are indeed human, even though I heard 00:00:48.540 --> 00:00:52.050 align:middle line:84% that Dexter likes to dress up like a robot 00:00:52.050 --> 00:00:54.570 align:middle line:90% for costume parties. 00:00:54.570 --> 00:00:57.690 align:middle line:84% So I did a little Facebook investigation. 00:00:57.690 --> 00:01:00.930 align:middle line:84% And while Polly lives in Michigan, 00:01:00.930 --> 00:01:03.090 align:middle line:84% she's our current Summer resident in fiction 00:01:03.090 --> 00:01:04.290 align:middle line:90% here at the Poetry Center. 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:07.170 align:middle line:84% She's living in right across the way in our guest cottage 00:01:07.170 --> 00:01:12.235 align:middle line:84% until the end of August, so you can ring her doorbell, or not. 00:01:12.235 --> 00:01:13.350 align:middle line:90% Polly says no, yes. 00:01:13.350 --> 00:01:16.650 align:middle line:90% 00:01:16.650 --> 00:01:18.960 align:middle line:84% And she's also generously offered 00:01:18.960 --> 00:01:21.330 align:middle line:84% to host some office hours while she's here, 00:01:21.330 --> 00:01:25.290 align:middle line:84% and she's hosting her last session this upcoming Monday, 00:01:25.290 --> 00:01:27.420 align:middle line:84% August, 26th from four to seven PM 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:28.860 align:middle line:90% in the Poetry Center's library. 00:01:28.860 --> 00:01:34.020 align:middle line:84% And I brought her sign-up sheet for her last session, 00:01:34.020 --> 00:01:35.610 align:middle line:84% and it's over at the reading table 00:01:35.610 --> 00:01:41.430 align:middle line:84% right here, info table over there with the lamp. 00:01:41.430 --> 00:01:44.400 align:middle line:84% And you can sign up for half-hour shifts 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.250 align:middle line:90% to talk to Polly. 00:01:47.250 --> 00:01:50.190 align:middle line:84% This one-on-one time, you can talk to her, 00:01:50.190 --> 00:01:52.290 align:middle line:90% get to know her as a writer. 00:01:52.290 --> 00:01:54.740 align:middle line:84% You can talk about writing, book reviewing, teaching, 00:01:54.740 --> 00:01:56.400 align:middle line:84% the MFA experience, submitting 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:01.170 align:middle line:84% work for publication, or just bitch about the heat 00:02:01.170 --> 00:02:02.970 align:middle line:84% because Polly's visiting us from Michigan, 00:02:02.970 --> 00:02:06.360 align:middle line:84% so I'm sure she'll be happy to commiserate about the heat 00:02:06.360 --> 00:02:09.587 align:middle line:84% and other relatable stuff like monster-sized cockroaches 00:02:09.587 --> 00:02:10.754 align:middle line:90% living in the guest cottage. 00:02:10.754 --> 00:02:11.980 align:middle line:90% - Not anymore. 00:02:11.980 --> 00:02:14.757 align:middle line:90% - Not anymore [INAUDIBLE]. 00:02:14.757 --> 00:02:17.340 align:middle line:84% But really, we're delighted to share this opportunity with you 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:19.320 align:middle line:84% all and hope that you'll take advantage 00:02:19.320 --> 00:02:20.760 align:middle line:90% of this great opportunity. 00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:23.220 align:middle line:84% As I said, Polly is visiting from Ann Arbor, Michigan, 00:02:23.220 --> 00:02:25.680 align:middle line:84% and there, she teaches English and creative writing 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:27.630 align:middle line:90% at Eastern Michigan University. 00:02:27.630 --> 00:02:30.450 align:middle line:84% And her stories have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Indiana 00:02:30.450 --> 00:02:32.910 align:middle line:84% Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, and elsewhere. 00:02:32.910 --> 00:02:34.890 align:middle line:84% And her story "White Carnations" will 00:02:34.890 --> 00:02:40.980 align:middle line:84% be included in the PEN/O Henry Prize Stories later this year. 00:02:40.980 --> 00:02:44.610 align:middle line:84% Yeah, so I encourage you all to chat with our readers tonight, 00:02:44.610 --> 00:02:46.500 align:middle line:84% and to get to know them, and to realize 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:50.130 align:middle line:84% what gems they are to Tucson, to Arizona, and to the larger 00:02:50.130 --> 00:02:53.800 align:middle line:84% national and international writing community. 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:55.650 align:middle line:84% So the way the reading will work tonight 00:02:55.650 --> 00:02:59.220 align:middle line:84% is that we'll have Samuel read first, followed by Polly, 00:02:59.220 --> 00:03:01.350 align:middle line:90% and then followed by Dexter. 00:03:01.350 --> 00:03:04.350 align:middle line:84% So please, join me in welcoming Polly Rosenwaike, Dexter L. 00:03:04.350 --> 00:03:08.390 align:middle line:84% Booth, and tonight's first reader, Samuel Ace. 00:03:08.390 --> 00:03:10.000 align:middle line:90%