Poetry Reading by M. L. Liebler

Friday, December 11th – Reading by M. L. Liebler
12:15-1:00 p.m. International Students Reading Area, 3rd Floor, SE Quadrant

M. L. Liebler is a internationally known & widely published Detroit poet, university professor, literary arts activist and arts organizer, and he is the author of 13 books including the Award winning Wide Awake in Someone Else’s Dream (Wayne State University Press 2008) featuring poems written in and about Russia, Israel, Germany, Alaska and Detroit. Wide Awake received both The Paterson Poetry Prize for Literary Excellence and The American Indie Book Award for 2009. He has just been awarded, along with Maxine Hong Kingston & Junot Diaz, the prestigious 2010 Barnes & Noble/Poets & Writers 2010 Writers for Writers Award. Past recipients were Russell Banks, A.M. Homes, Stanley Kunitz, Bob Holman, Edward Albee, Judy Blume, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, Wally Lamb, Walter Mosley, Susan Sontag, Amy Tan and others.

This event is sponsored by The American Sojourn Learning Community and the University College Dean’s Office.

Image Making with Poems and Photographs

On September 30th, the Rooftop Poetry Club featured Image Making with Poems and Photographs, a workshop led by teaching artist Karen Lee Lewis.  Exploring the connections between  photography and poetry,  Karen led the group through a series of writing exercises which inspired participants to create poems from photographic images.   Over 25 poets participated in the workshop; if you were in attendance, please feel free to post your poem in the comment box below.  Click here for more information on upcoming Rooftop Poetry events.

Rooftop Poetry Club Announces Fall Schedule

The Rooftop Poetry Club is happy to announce a poetry-packed fall schedule!

September 9th – Welcome Back Open Mic
Join us on the rooftop with your poems or songs! All are welcome.
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. E. H. Butler Rooftop Garden (in case of inclement weather, workshop will be held in the International Students Reading Area, 3rd floor, SE Quadrant).

September 30th – Image Making with Poems and Photographs
Workshop with Karen Lee Lewis, Teaching Artist
How can the art of photography help us explore image making and ‘imag’ination in poetry? In this workshop we will explore imagery beyond visual reproduction. Bring a photograph to the workshop that you’d like to write to, or choose one that inspires you from photographs the instructor will bring.
4:30- 6:00 p.m. E. H. Butler Rooftop Garden
(in case of inclement weather, workshop will be held in the International Students Reading Area, 3rd floor, SE Quadrant).

October 7th – Nate Graziano and David Hadbawnik
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. E. H. Butler Rooftop Garden
(in case of inclement weather, workshop will be held in the International Students Reading Area, 3rd floor, SE Quadrant).

October 21st – Chris Fritton and Jessica Smith
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. International Students Reading Area, 3rd Floor, SE Quadrant

November 10th – Barbara Hollender and Irene Sipos
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. International Students Reading Area, 3rd Floor, SE Quadrant

December 9th – Winter Themed Open Mic
Bring your chilliest poems or songs to this winter themed open mic. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. International Students Reading Area 3rd Floor, SE Quadrant

Spring Song: Earth Poems by The Rooftop Poetry Club

This exhibit was on display May 2009.

In honor of Earth Day, the Rooftop Poetry Club sponsored an Earth Day poetry contest through the E. H. Butler blog. All of the submissions, including the winning poem by Irene Sipos, are on display in the library’s lobby display case for the month of May. (Look to the wall to your left as you walk in the main doors). Ahhh…the sweet songs of spring!

Check out the lobby display case for poems by Rooftop Poetry Club members.

April Showers & May Flowers: Spring Themed Open Mike

The Rooftop Poetry Club invites you to attend April Showers & May Flowers: Spring Themed Open Mike on Wednesday, May 6th. Gather up your spring themed poems and join us for our last event of the Spring semester.
International Students Reading Area, 3rd Floor, SE Quadrant, Butler Library, 4:30 pm. (If the weather is nice, we’ll meet in the library’s rooftop garden area.)

Rooftop Poetry Club Announces Earth Day Poetry Contest

The contest is closed. Thank you to all who participated and special congratulations to Irene Sipos!

Ah, the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. Is there anything better than spring in Buffalo? It’s been a long winter, so join us in celebrating by writing a poem for our first annual Earth Day Poetry Contest. Interested in entering? Here are the contest rules:

1. The contest is open to all Rooftop Poetry Club members. If you’re not a Rooftop member, but wish to enter a poem, e-mail Lisa Forrest at forresla@buffalostate.edu (and she’ll tell you how to become a member).
2. The poem must be nature/earth themed, and preferably about Buffalo, New York.
3. Only one poem per person please. Please submit your poem via this blog post. Submission deadline is April 15th.
4. Winner will be announced on April 22nd via the E. H. Butler Blog.
5. Your entry may be put on display in the library for the month of May.

Mark your calendars for our upcoming spring themed open mic!
May 6, 2009: April Showers & May Flowers
Spring Themed Open Mic
Gather up your spring themed poems and join us for our last event of the spring semester.
International Students Reading Area, 3rd Floor, SE Quadrant, Butler Library, 4:30 p.m.
(If the weather permits, we will meet on the rooftop of the library!)

Summer Rooftop News: The Good and the Bad

Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?  Ok, the good news is that the library will be getting a new roof top this summer!  The bad news is that this means our summer reading series will not be held on the rooftop.   After much consideration (who wants to really sit inside and listen to poetry on a beautiful summer evening?), Dennis & I have decided to do something unconceivable:  We are taking the summer off!  We promise to return in the fall with a full roster.  So, enjoy the upcoming Buffalo summer (keep writing) and we’ll see you in September!

Buffalo State’s “Elm Leaves Magazine” seeking Submissions

Elm Leaves Magazine is currently accepting submissions of all forms of writing and media. This is open to all Buffalo State students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

Submission deadline is March 1, 2009. Multiple submissions are encouraged!

Submit to:

elmleaves@gmail.com

Hard copies can be submitted to Ketchum Hall, Room 309

To view past issues:

www.buffalostate.edu/library/elmleaves

All You Need is Love: Rooftop Poetry Club Valentine Day Poem Contest

We’re sorry…the contest is closed.

Congratulations to this year’s winners: David Lampe, Peter Grieco, and Tom Renzi!

Calling all love-struck poets!  The Rooftop Poety Club is hosting our 3rd annual Love Poem contest.  Ok, forget about the structure of the sonnet, and just send us your best free-form stuff.  One love poem per poet please (well you can submit more than one to the blog, but let us know which one you want as your “official submission”).  Sorry– you must be associated with Buffalo State (student, faculty, or staff) to be eligible for the big prize,  but anyone is welcome to post a love poem!  We know, we know…but times are tough.  Contest deadline: February 14th.

Wanted: Inaugural Poems

Poets!  Are you excited about the inauguration?  Why not write a poem saying so?   David Lampe sent us his poem “An Iaugural Occassion”  and we thought it was just grand.  Please share your presidential poems with us through the comment link below.  Happy Inauguration!

An Inaugural Occasion : What will we have? by Dr. David Lampe

An inventory a la Angelou,

an analysis milled by an Arkansas

Williams, or an after event party piece

of Southern strum and drink by Dickey?

Or a frosty memory piece

when prepared cranky couplets

blew away in blinding January gleam?

No, no instead Elizabeth Alexander

who announces”I believe

in symbols; symbols bear power;

symbols demand power”and looks

to Auden and Gwendolyn Brooks

will “attend to the moment itself”

for all of us to add celebration

and cerebration to ceremony.