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May 15th Poetry Night will feature Mary Mackey and Robby Nykodym — grab a jacket and join us on the roof!

Dear Friends of Poetry,

Our May 15th Poetry Night will feature local poets Mary Mackey and Robby Nykodym. We meet at 7 PM on the roof of the John Natsoulas Gallery, and we hope you can join us!

Mary Mackey has published 14 novels, two comic novels, a non-fiction book on the origins of inspiration, and eight volumes of poetry which have earned her numerous awards over the course of her career – including Sugar Zone, winner of the 2012 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence, and The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dream, winner of the Erich Hoffer Award for the Best Book Published by a small press. 

Her latest book of poetry, published today, is In This Burning World: Poems of Love and Apocalypse.

Mackey’s works have appeared on The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller Lists, sold over a million and a half copies, and been translated into twelve foreign languages including Japanese, Russian, Hebrew, Greek, and Finnish. She has been published in hundreds of magazines and journals, including The Tulsa Review which called her a “national treasure.” She co-founded the CSUS Women’s Studies Program and the CSUS English Department Graduate Creative Writing Program, teaching at CSUS for decades before her retirement in 2008.  

Opening for Mackey will be Robby Nykodym.

Robby Nykodym, a poet and scientist, was born and raised in Northern California. Their poetry impresses with deeply personal explorations of relationships and California locales. In addition to writing poetry, Robby spends their time exploring and manifesting creativity through fashion and photography. Published in Open Ceilings literary magazine, and dividing their time between molecular biology research and writing, Robby Nykodym is the producer of the Poetry Night Reading Series. 

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.

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 on Substack: https://andyjones.substack.com/.  

In 2025, we will feature the poets Oswaldo Vargas, Patrick Grizzell, Chris Erickson, Dane Cervine, Brad Buchanan, and many more. 

Upcoming Events:

June 5 – Heather Borbeau and Andrea Ross

June 20 – Summer break from Poetry Night

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.

Fondly yours,

Dr. Andy Jones
Host, The Poetry Night Reading Series