Dear Friends of Poetry,
Our January 16th, Poetry Night will feature local poets Amanda Hawkins and Mischa Kuczynski. We meet at 7 PM at the John Natsoulas Gallery, and we hope you can join us!
Amanda Hawkins’ debut book of poetry, When I Say the Bones I Mean the Bones is out January 7th, 2025 with Wandering Aengus Press. They are a Tin House, Bread Loaf, and Mellon Public Scholar, and winner of both the Editor’s Prize for poetry from The Florida Review and the Emerging Writer Award from Key West Literary Seminar. Their poetry and creative nonfiction have been published in Orion, Boston Review, The Cincinnati Review, The Cortland Review, Honey Literary, Terrain, and Image. They hold an MA from Regent College, an MFA from UC Davis, and are at work on their PhD.
Opening for Hawkins will be Mischa Kuczynski. A finalist for the Ruth Lilly Fellowship and the Oxford Poetry Prize, Mischa Kuczynski’s work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Pleiades, Fence, Sinister Wisdom, Honey Literary and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from UC Davis.
Hawkins and Kuczynski appeared on my January 15 episode of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour. You are also invited to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode.
The open mic tonight starts at 8. Performers will be asked to limit their sharings to two items or four minutes whichever is shorter. The open mic list is typically full by 6:45. People who show up early to help set up chairs will always earn a spot on the open mic list. Thanks to the new producer of Poetry Night, Robby Nykodym.
Find out more about the Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting https://www.poetryindavis.com. Encourage 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/. Also, see some of his recent essays, including brief remembrances of past Poetry Night featured performers Sandra Gilbert, Sandra McPherson, and John Boe, on Substack: https://andyjones.substack.com/. Dr. Andy’s Substack is almost to 250 subscribers. Perhaps you will help him reach his goal.
In 2025, we plan to feature the poets Coco Blossom, Robby Nykodym, Oswaldo Vargas, Patrick Grizzell, Clarence Major, April Ossmann, Julia Levine, Susan Browne, Dane Cervine, and new UC Davis creative writing professor Cindy Juyoung Ok. Our February 6 event will be a wide open mic.
Upcoming Events:
February 6 – Wide Open Mic
February 20 – Coco Blossom
March 6 – Cindy Ok
March 20 – National Storytelling Day
April 3 – Clarence Major and April Ossmann
April 17 – Julia Levine and Susan Browne
May 1 – Patrick Grizzell and Oswaldo Vargas
Please plan to join us on every first and third Thursday of the month at 7 PM at the John Natsoulas Gallery for the Poetry Night Reading Series.
During and after Poetry Night we will remember Sacramento’s first Poet Laureate, Viola Spencer, who passed away on January 9, 2025.
Fondly yours,
Dr. Andy Jones
Host, The Poetry Night Reading Series
