Dear Friends of Poetry,
The Poetry Night Reading Series is excited to feature Sacramento poets Mario Ellis Hill and Bill Carr at 7 PM on Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis.
Mario Ellis Hill is a dynamic poet, writer, spoken word artist, slam poet, musician, vocalist, performance artist, dj, and capoeirista. Also a longtime poetry series host, Hill with his performances embodies imagination, energy, and originality, provoking listeners at his live events to explore new heights of realization and delight. First performing at the Luna’s Poetry Unplugged Open Mic in 1995, Hill utilizes life experience, current events, fellow artists, music, and those who came before him as inspiration for his curated poems and songs. In February of this year, Hill hosted and featured at the “Love for Social Justice” Poetry Reading and Open Mic at Delta of Venus in Davis, astounding attendees.
Hill is the founder & leader of the Poetry Machine – a performance group of rotating artists that fuses spoken word, live music, movement & song. Mario served as a co-host of Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged! Open Mic Series in Sacramento, CA, and host of Open Stage Open Mic Series in Davis, CA. Besides featuring at poetry venues and open mics, Mario also delved into the world of slam poetry. He was crowned the 1994 San Francisco ‘Aloud’ Anthology Poetry Slam Champion, and 1998 KALX FM Poetry Slam Champion. He also served as a slam team member representing San Francisco (1995) & Chico/North Valley (1997) in the National Poetry Slam. Events & venues that Mario has performed at include the Nuyorican Poets Cafe (NYC), The Knitting Factory (NYC), University of the Philippines – Diliman, California State Fair, Yoshi’s (Oakland), San Francisco Jazz Festival, Sacramento Music Festival, Floricanto Poetry Festival, UC Davis Whole Earth Festival, Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival, and California State Summer School for the Arts. Published works by Mario Hill can be found in Sacramento Anthology: One Hundred Poems, Jive’s In The Jug, Poetry Now, Paleoanthology, Sex In Public, The Flatlander, New Poets Revolution, and Nevada County Poetry Series: Year 2001 Anthology.
Bill Carr has nurtured a lifelong passion for poetry and the arts. When a student at UC Davis, Carr majored in English and actively participated in plays, poetry readings, and public speaking opportunities. His undergraduate accomplishments earned him a fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in English language and literature from California State University, Sacramento. Thereafter, with a teaching credential in hand, he embarked on a 20-year career educating students from elementary school to college. Carr has honed his sensitivity to academic, socioeconomic, physical, and multicultural diversity by working for more than a decade with programs supporting underrepresented students, such as the College Assistance Migrant Program and Equal Opportunity Program. Bill Carr’s poetic journey underscores an enduring commitment to empowering students and celebrating diverse voices through education, language, and poetry.
This event will take place on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery (521 1st Street in Davis) at 7 PM on Thursday, May 2nd, 2024. An open mic will follow the featured performers. Open mic performances will be limited to four minutes or two items, whichever is shorter. As Robert Southey says, “Be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams – the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.” The open mic list typically fills by 6:45 PM, so please arrive early if you would like to perform something during the 8 o’clock hour. Attendees who request to be added to the list after 7 PM will be invited to try again at a subsequent event.
Find the Facebook event for this much anticipated evening of poetry and stories at https://www.facebook.com/events/848373847130739.
The Poetry Night Reading Series, taking place on first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM, is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, by John Natsoulas, and by Thea and the other members of the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, the poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis. This event is made possible by Katerina Hanks, producer of The Poetry Night Reading Series, with support from Helaina Flores and Cami Rothmuller.
Find out more about the Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting https://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, check out his weekly podcast at https://poetrytechnology.buzzsprout.com/.
Future readers will include Julia Connor, Katie Peterson, Clarence Major, Bob Stanley, Kacper Bartczak, Murray Silverstein, Mercedes Ibanez, and other favorites.
The Poetry Night Reading Series has been committed to serving the literary and arts community in the city of Davis since 2006. Happening every 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at the Natsoulas Gallery, each reading contains two featured poets followed by an open mic. Poetry in Davis was voted “Best Open Mic” in The California Aggie’s “Best of Davis″ edition and has been featured in Davis Life Magazine. The more than 375 featured poets have included UC Davis faculty Francisco X. Alarcón, John Boe, Zinzi Clemmons, Joshua Clover, Jack Forbes, Sandra Gilbert, Laurie Glover, Brad Henderson, Pamela Houston, Dr. Andy Jones, Clarence Major, Sandra McPherson, Maceo Montoya, Katie Peterson, Kim Stanley Robinson, Margaret Ronda, Joe Wenderoth, and Alan Williamson, as well as many regional and traveling poets, including Molly Peacock, Jane Hirshfield, Dana Gioia, and James Ragan.
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