I'll have what she's having! Imani Sims and Victoria Redel taste their custom #literarycocktails—Wonderland and Make Me Drink This, respectively—before the reading. Martha Hughes, editor of Letting Go, and her essayists Evalyn Lee, Mina Samuels, and George Farrell sipped the Let It Go. Spirits seem a good way to prepare before taking the stage. For other photos, click:
3/8/16: Imani Sims, Victoria Redel, with Evalyn Lee, Mina Samuels, George Farrell
Imani Sims
Imani's poetry reading was like a performance piece, full of drama and life. Her voice and presence were as important as the words. She even lent poetry to her custom cocktail, penning an impromptu verse the day of our event:
Low bass bourbon swings it's hips
against indigo night sky, the glow
of lunar light stills the music, egg white
silk gown ruffles against citrus saxophone
notes, the trumpet honey toned deep against
walnut rafters. Jazz creates magic served on the rocks.
Victoria Redel reads "Make Me Do Things"
This title story of her collection presents the relationship between a mother and her young son with humor and dismay. Sometimes neglect has nothing to do with food or shelter, or the availability of flotation devices by the pool.
Evalyn Lee reads from "Throwing Out the Trash"
In a her powerfully emotional piece, Evalyn gives voice to a difficult subject.
Mina Samuels reads from "The Wooden Spoon"
What we remember and misremember from childhood can make all the difference.
George P. Farrell reads from "Hoarding Memories"
George likens memories to belongings forgotten in an attic. Writing for him is a form of mental housekeeping, a way of uncovering and cleaning out even the most traumatic clutter.
Jhon Sanchez reads during #LateNightMic
Jhon's contribution to Letting Go is "Album for a Poem," a prose memory of his mother that reads like poetry.
