Last week we held the fifth Feats of Poetic Strength, and it was such a beautiful day outside of Brandywine Workshop’s windows, just a gorgeous August evening.

Our beneficiary for the evening was Girls Rock Philly, a group that empowers women, girls, and non-binary individuals through music and other activities. They are a truly great organization that I believe in wholly. And the great news is that, despite a lower attendance than normal, most likely due to the wonderful weather outside, we raised $319 for their cause! This is a tremendous deal, and wouldn’t be possible without all of our donors, including major donor Franny Forsman, my good friend from grad school and fabulous patron of the arts, as well as one heck of a writer herself. Big thanks also to Larry Robin of Moonstone Arts and Brandywine Workshop for hosting us.

The one down part of the evening was that Celeste Doaks was unable to read, due to serious illness, so I sent her flowers and we all wish her a speedy recovery. I read in her place, opening the show, and while I was no Celeste, I think I did okay. Not pictured: me going “Yak Yak Yak Yak Yak”

Next was Violet LeVoit (link to her Goodreads page, which has some naughty words on it, just for those of you reading this at work!), who performed some amazing feats of tongue-twisting poetry. Her sound is super well-honed, as are the dynamics she creates between the figures in her poems. It was such a joy to hear her read!

(a note on some of the photos: depending on height, the reader may appear to be wearing a winged cap, akin to Mercury, the god of poetry, so this can feel appropriate to the occasion. It may also be funny.)

Next Cat and Noelle gave us background on Girls Rock Philly (they serve on the board), and did a great job representing the organization while a shoebox (can someone please donate a hat to me? I have collected money at these events in the oddest containers) was passed around the VERY generous crowd. (But seriously, when we were fundraising for Ysabel to go on her residency in Feats of Poetic Strength III, I passed around a crumpled paper wine bag. Only the finest).

Next was Gwendolyn Mintz, who took a bus for three days to attend the reading! I think she may have beaten Kita, who traveled from Los Angeles, but on what was, I suspect, a plane. Gwendolyn forego the mic, and read her poems about her daughter, her grandmother, quilting, what connects one person to another, one square to another, her poems, if you’ll forgive me, interwove magically.

Carrie Reilly, who had a slightly shorter journey, what with living fifteen minutes away from the reading site or so, read following Gwendolyn, and blew me away with the romanticism and beauty in their work. They only read four poems, but each evoked the bonds that connect people to each other (this was sort of the theme of the reading), whether they be romantic, or familial. The third poem they read about their mother was particularly moving, and I was so glad to hear Carrie read it.

When we got to our last reader, Lori Wilson, I was genuinely disappointed the evening was coming to a close. But Lori gave it such a great send-off! She read poems about journeys, about returning, about leaving, people, places, pausing with your hand on a gate. It was a perfect way to close a reading. Thank you alphabet for blessing us with this order!

I was excited because Lori’s daughter was able to see her mom read for the first time in five years. It felt wonderful to make that happen.

And then we closed out the reading with some group photos (disclaimer, I hate my hair in this picture, wish I were wearing a winged cap instead)

It was a great night. Next one takes place October 24th, same 7 pm, same Brandywine Workshop. See you there!

So I got another finalist placement, this time with DISTRICT LIT‘s contest judged by Sarah Vap. She chose my poem “Everyone Love Me All the Time” as one of four finalists, along with my friend Laura Madeline Wiseman and her poem, “When We’re Not Hiking.” Congrats to winner Sarah Katz for selection of her poem, “The Beginning of Prayer.”

I am super grateful to have my work recognized four times this year with a finalist status, and actually do kinda like that dress…

I have a new poem, “Stars–They’re Just Like Us,” up at The Good Men Project.

It is about the same man as these poems, “Local Church at Area Library,” “Ode to Kingsessing,” “Thin Walls” and many others that haven’t yet been published.

Exhibit A:

That’s me pictured with my muse, Joe. He is also very supportive of my reading series, and is just in general a great advocate for me and my craft. I am so grateful to him.

My 2015 Booth Poetry Prize finalist placing poem, The Daughter, is up at the following URL for a brief week, before it is archived, so check it out before it is replaced with another creative piece. The folks at Booth were so kind, I highly recommend submitting to them.

The next link will be to a PDF of The Tishman Review, featuring my finalist poem in their 2015 contest, “Interior with Snow” on pg. 12, there is also the option to click here and buy a print copy. I can’t speak highly enough of The Tishman Review. First off, it is run by some of the best creatures ever to graduate from Bennington (which I believe was ranked top three in creative writing programs in the history of mankind, check Poets & Writers though to be sure), secondly they are so responsive and kind to issues, thirdly, THEY DONATED TO MY FUNDRAISER, fourthly, the journal is print and online, and I just can’t say highly enough to SUBMIT to them, because they are good, good people who will treat your work well. Oh! and they pay!

These poems are two of my favorites I’ve written this year, so I am happy to share them in the same blog post. They are also both finalist poems, and these, plus The Feminist Wire’s Honorable Mention poems, mark the third time I placed in a literary contest this year. OR IS IT?

I may have a fourth to announce soon. I’ll keep y’all posted.

and can be found here. Please consider donating or sharing, it is such a worthy cause!

The Facebook event is here. You should come!

I’m going to jump straight to the important business here, that is, how much we raised for Women Against Abuse, a local domestic violence shelter in Philadelphia, and the answer is: $270!!! I am so excited, that’s the most we’ve ever raised at a Feats event. If you missed your chance to donate, please visit this page. They are especially interested in monthly givers. $5 a month can really make a difference to a woman and her children in need!

Special thanks made again to all of our friends who made this evening possible, including Larry Robbin for cohosting as Moonstone Arts, Brandywine Workshop for allowing us to use their gorgeous space, and all of the donors, including major donors Franny Forsman and MaryAnn L. Miller.

Now, a recap of the reading in pictures. You can watch the “clouds cavort” (to quote Cynthia Atkins, our first reader) in the background, preparing to unleash a torrential rain later that night. Below, Cynthia reads her beautiful poems on the themes of mental illness.

Next was JoAnn Balingit, who read poems touching on, in part, family dynamics. She read poems both hilarious and moving.

Then Julie Kseleman, a supervisor at Women Against Abuse, spoke about the healing power of poetry she’d seen with the workshops I lead at the shelter, and how the women left the workshops feeling strong and empowered. It really touched me. $270 will make a big difference to these amazing women.

*Intermission. The clouds grew darker*

We regrouped with Sarah B. Boyle, who read us poems from her hot off the Porkbelly Press chapbook, available for purchase here. She too read poems rooted in humor and family, but her poem based on the pathology report of her miscarriage had me tearing up.

Next was Anne Harding Woodworth, who does work at her own local domestic violence shelter, so the evening’s beneficiary held great meaning for her. My favorite poems of hers were on the themes of great female athletes, and they included visual aids! I love when a reading includes visuals. You can see her holding up one of the athlete’s pictures below. Special thanks also to her husband Fred for playing a wonderful part in her reading.

The evening closed with Kita Shantiris, a poet and psychologist who was on a tour from Los Angeles! She was a wonderful closer, reading erotic poetry that explored themes of power, humorous poetry, and then two poems at the close that were especially moving. Then she said the nicest things about the series and the work it does for women! I was so appreciative.

Anne had to duck out before the obligatory group photo, but I share it here below with the hopes someone will photoshop her smiling, generous face in!

It was a wonderful evening all around, and learning that we raised $270 for Women Against Abuse makes me excited all over again!

Until the next one,

Shevaun Brannigan

The next Feats of Poetic Strength is fast approaching, which means so are my stress dreams! Will a bottle of water explode all over one of the guests? (This has happened) Will one of the readers be hit by a car? (This has happened) Will the heat be out at the venue and the audience have to huddle together for warmth (This has also happened but is less likely to be an issue for this reading, crap air conditioning could go out, crap)?

I really encourage you to come, it is June 20th at the Brandywine Workshop in South Philly. We have some amazing readers and I am very excited about it!

I also have a call for submissions for the August reading! Please submit! Call appears below:

Feats of Poetic Strength, an all female poetry reading series, is seeking an additional reader for August 22nd, 7 PM reading at Yell Gallery in Philadelphia. Spots may also be offered for a to-be-scheduled October reading. To apply for this reading, please send 3 poems on any theme in the body of the email or as an attachment to featsofpoeticstrength@gmail.com by 6/10/15. Notification will follow shortly thereafter.

Friends of Shevaun Brannigan, the curator, are asked to submit under a pseudonym. All poets who do not identify as a cismale are invited to apply, particularly poets of color.

It is possible a small honorarium may be offered, pending crowdfunding results. Poets are asked to read for 8-10 minutes. The event also typically functions as a fundraiser for a local organization which benefits women. The next reading (details found here:https://www.facebook.com/events/874628345931101/) benefits Philadelphia’s local domestic violence shelter, Women Against Abuse.

Past readers have included: Hila Ratzabi, Kimberly Ann Southwick, Dawn Lonsinger, Chloe Martinez, Liz Solms, Catherine Bancroft, Elliott BatTzedek, Ysabel Y. Gonzalez, Jennifer Hook, Elizabeth Hoover, Sheila McMullin, MaryAnn L. Miller, Anne-Adele Wight, Elizabeth Langemak, and K.T. Landon. The June 20th reading features Cynthia Atkins, Sarah B. Boyle, JoAnn Balingit, Kita Shantiris, and Anne Harding Woodworth.

I look forward to receiving your submission by 6/10/15 to featsofpoeticstrength@gmail.com. Thanks!

Shevaun Brannigan

Hello! My poems are live at Storyscape, I have three: Thin Walls, Ode to Kingsessing, and Engagement. I also got to travel to NYC to do a reading at the KGB bar for this journal, and take some very dark pictures of me with friends from all walks of my life!

From left to right, that’s my friend Rachel from college, me, Marcia from grad school, and Rachel from when I was in Girl Scouts ages 5-12 or something! That is why we are all doing the girl scout pledge. Oath. Hand signal.

It was so much fun, and I had a wonderful time in NYC. I love doing readings there! I WILL DO YOUR NEW YORK READING. I’m sorry, that was really forward and Philly of me.

Anyway, there is a lot of good to read in Storyscape, including work by Kimberly Ann Southwick, who broke my heart by reading her poems about her dog who passed away, as well as Diane Simpkin’s Mrs Hoppleman, which I also got to hear read aloud and cracked up at the persona she creates in her story. The whole journal is a delight, and I recommend spending some time with it.

I think that is all to report on the publication front, as May was a slow month for me (as slow as you can be when you are at a dead stop), but I hope to have more news to report soon!

Click here for my NSFW review of Alexis Rhone Fancher’s erotic poetry collection “How I Lost My Virginity to Michael Cohen.” I had fun writing it, despite two computers dying on me in the process.

Super cool Brooklyn based journal Prelude published two of my poems online this week. I share them with you here: Jackpot, which is an ode to the body, and Why My Mother is Still Afraid of Heights, which is a companion piece to “Why My Mother is Afraid of Heights” (link goes to video of me reading it), and the two poems together track my empathy and then growing frustration with my mother and her fears. It is a terrible thing to post on Mother’s Day.