July 2016

Midstream Reading Series  đźŚ‰ 

When: Thursday July 7, 7:30–8:30pm.    2016  Where: Blue Moon building,  corner of 39th and (3820) East Lake. Upstairs. Entrance just west of the Blue Moon coffee house; up the stairs and to the left. Not wheel-chair accessible. Plentiful street parking. Air conditioned.               [first Thursday this time]  Best to arrive 10-20 minutes early to get coffee and food/dessert from the Blue Moon, and to be seated by 7:30 so we can begin on time. And, the venue will easily hold about 30; after that, standing or floor-sitting room only. The early bird gets the seat. Please occupy the close seats first. Be an up-front person.Special Song Prelude 6:45-7:15  Jess and John Wenstrom have been playing and singing country and Appalachian songs together for as long as Jess can remember (John being Jess’s dad). Their current name for their band is 39 Brackets. đźŽµ

Original poems and stories read/performed by their creators:Jim Bohen, Lucia May, John Wenstrom, Jasmin Ziegler  
Jim Bohen is a poet and songwriter/singer living in St. Paul. His poems have appeared in the Minnesota Daily, Red Paint Hill, Conclave, Third Wednesday and elsewhere. He seeks a publisher for his poetry manuscript “In Transit.” He’s short-listed for the 2016 erbacce prize. His music CD, “Never Too Late,” contains 12 of the hundreds of songs he’s written. (Samples can be heard at iTunes and cdbaby; search for “J B and the Phantom Band.”)  
Lucia May is a poet and violinist in St. Paul, MN. She is the author of Blond Boy, a 2014 finalist for the Helen Kay Chapbook Prize at Evening Street Press. She is a contributor to The Widows’ Handbook Anthology: Reflections on Grief and Survival; she was a Pushcart Prize nominee from Verse Wisconsin in 2013. Her poems have appeared in Paper Darts, the Prose-Poem Project, Pemmican, Talking Stick, Tall Grass, Burnt Bridge, The Awakenings Review, Moon Magazine, The Mom Egg, and the Little Red Tree International Poetry Prize 2010: Anthology, among others. She was offered a chapbook publication and the Starting Gate Award from Finishing Line Press.

John Wenstrom has been reading a lot in the local poetry scene. He has also been making books, publishing several of his own under the imprimatur, Hucklenut Press, and working on chapbooks for the New and Nearby reading series at Trotters Cafe. A few of his 64 Change Poems have appeared in the local zine, unarmed. He has a PhD in English from the University of Minnesota. [and see songs above]

Jasmin Ziegler teaches Writing at Anoka Ramsey Community College. She also serves as an Editor for Poetry City, USA. She is living the dream in South Minneapolis with her partner, their one year old son, and two Siamese cats. 

Before and after: The Blue Moon, downstairs, has coffee, sandwiches, desserts. Merlin’s Rest, a bar/restaurant 3 blocks west, has a full bar, good food, a late hours kitchen, reserved seating.. 
For further information:David Shove shove001@umn.edu651-636-5672