In a talk that touches on issues of craft, narrative, and inspiration, the biographer Megan Marshall (’77, RI ’07) will discuss her work on past and current subjects, including Elizabeth Bishop, Elizabeth Hawthorne, and Elizabeth Peabody. She is the recipient of many awards, such as the Francis Parkman Prize, the Mark Lynton History Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award, and a Pulitzer Prize in Biography.

The lecture will be held at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University in the Sheerr Room of Fay House (10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138).

This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-megan-marshall-lecture.

Muchmore’s

Elizabeth Devlin

Muchmore’s audience

Emily Smith

Muchmore’s

Jessica Reidy

Brandon Lewis

Muchmore’s audience

Norma Szokolyai

Rita Banerjee

Audience

Jonah Kruvant

Matty Marks

Audience

Quite the literary delight occurred at Muchmore’s in Brooklyn on Sunday night. As part of the Brooklyn Book Festival, which is the largest free book event in New York City catered to both established and emerging writers, the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop held a Brooklyn Bookend Reading. The reading was moderated by CWW Executive Artistic Director Diana Norma Szokolyai, who shared some of her own work, and included readings from CWW Executive Creative Director Rita Banerjee, CWW Executive Board Members Jonah Kruvant and Jessica Reidy, Brandon Lewis, Elizabeth Devlin, Matty Marks, and CWW Managing Editorial & Communications Intern Emily Smith.

The warm, yet eclectic atmosphere of Muchmore’s was the perfect venue for friends, family members, fellow writers, and those who simply love all things literature to enjoy a night of fantastic talent.

Being a part of the audience at this event was a great treat, since we had the opportunity to hear from seasoned and published authors, many of whom have won distinguished literary awards. It was also wonderful to be in the midst of those new to the literary scene, since they are among some of the most fresh and invigorating voices of today.

While obviously entertaining, the reading also served a greater purpose – that is, it benefited the writing community at large by offering a creative outlet for writers of all different genres to share their works. While this was the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop’s first time at the Brooklyn Book Festival, it will not be the last.

You can read more about the featured writers below.

Diana Norma Szokolyai is writer/interdisciplinary artist/educator and Executive Artistic Director of Cambridge Writers’ Workshop who has had her works published in Quail Bell, International Who’s Who in Poetry 2012, Lyre Lyre among others. She shared a story inspired by her two-week visit this past summer to Hungary where, like she has done for the past decade, she interviewed her grandmother.

Rita Banerjee, co-director of the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop, is a writer who holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Harvard University and whose writing has been published in Poets for Living Waters and Riot Grrrl Magazine to name a few. She shared a personal nonfiction piece she had been working on.

Jonah Kruvant is one of Cambridge Writers’ Workshop’s NYC area program organizers. Jonah read from his novel The Last Book Ever Written and has been published in Digital Americana.

Brandon Lewis, who was this year’s winner of the Sundog Lit Poetry Contest and a finalist for The Brittingham Prize and the Crab Orchard Review Series, recited his poetry. Brandon’s writing has appeared or will soon appear in The Missouri Review, The Massachusetts Review, Salamander, Drunken Boat, American Poetry Review, and Spork.

Jessica Reidy is a staff writer for Quail Bell Magazine, a teacher of creative writing and yoga, and managing editor of VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts. She is in the process of writing her first novel and read some of her own works of fiction. Jessica’s pieces have appeared in Narrative Magazine, The Los Angeles Review and other journals.

Elizabeth Devlin, music composer for her singer-songwriter act entitled ELIZABETH DEVLIN, is an illustrator and graphic creator at DEVLIN DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION. She is also a bass player and singer. During the reading, she recited a few poems of her own.

Matty Marks is a musician, writer, and sports enthusiast. He read aloud excerpts from his debut novel Dunks, a book that follows its main character, Duncan, through a series of various adventures.

Emily Smith is the Managing Editing & Communications Intern for the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop who also writes for publications such as Opposing Views and Highbrow Magazine. Her poetry has been published in Walleyed Press, Essence Poetry, and Ayris. She shared a fictional short story.

The Brooklyn Book Festival in collaboration with the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop is proud to announce New York’s Exciting New Voices, a Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Reading at Muchmore’s (located at 2 Havemeyer Street, Brooklyn, NY) on Sunday September 20 from 7 – 9 pm.

The event will be moderated by Diana Norma Szokolyai and features writers Rita Banerjee, Jonah Kruvant, Brandon Lewis, Elizabeth Devlin, Lisa Marie Basile, Jessica Reidy, Gregory Crosby, Matty Marks, and Emily Smith.  Enjoy a drink and a bite to eat in the heart of Williamsburg as you hear from some of New York’s most exciting, new voices, many of whom are faculty members for the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop.  The Brooklyn Book Festival is the largest free book event in New York City and presents established as well as emerging writers each year.  The Bookend Events kick off the week’s festivities each year with literary themed events at clubs, bookstores, parks, etc.

Featured Readers:

Diana Norma Szokolyai is a writer/interdisciplinary artist/educator and Executive Artistic Director of Cambridge Writers’ Workshop. She frequently records her poetry with musicians and has collaborated with several composers, such as Jason Haye (UK), Sebastian Wesman (Argentina), Peter James (UK), Julie Case (US), Jeremie Jones (Canada), Claudio Gabriele (Italy) and David Krebs (US). Her poetry-music collaboration with Flux Without Pause led to their collaboration “Space Mothlight” hitting the Creative Commons Hot 100 list in 2015, and can be found in the curated WFMU Free Music Archive. Her writing on literary communities was the subject of a monthly feature on HER KIND by VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts and an interview on the same topic was featured in Quail Bell Magazine in May 2014. Author of the poetry collections Parallel Sparrows (honorable mention for Best Poetry Book in the 2014 Paris Book Festival) and Roses in the Snow (first runner-­‐‑up Best Poetry Book at the 2009 DIY Book Festival), she has also been published in Quail Bell, International Who’s Who in Poetry 2012, Lyre Lyre, The Boston Globe, Dr. Hurley’s Snake Oil Cure, Polarity, The Fiction Project, Up the Staircase Quarterly and elsewhere. Her writing has been anthologized in Always Wondering, The Highwaymen NYC #2, Other Countries: Contemporary Poets Rewiring History, The Cambridge Community Poem, and Teachers as Writers. She co-­curates a poetry-music series, performs in CHAGALL PAC, and is an interdisciplinary performance artist with the Brooklyn Soundpainting Ensemble. She lives in Brooklyn, NY and holds an Ed.M degree in Arts in Education from Harvard, as well as an M.A. in French literature from UConn.

Rita Banerjee is a writer, and received her PhD in Comparative Literature from Harvard University. She holds an MFA in Poetry and her writing has been published in Poets for Living Waters, The New Renaissance, The Fiction Project, Jaggery, The Crab Creek Review, The Dudley Review, Objet d’Art, Vox Populi, Dr. Hurley’s Snake-Oil Cure, and Chrysanthemum among other journals. Her first collection of poems,Cracklers at Night, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2010 and received First Honorable Mention for Best Poetry Book at the 2011-2012 Los Angeles Book Festival. Her novella, A Night with Kali, was digitized by the Brooklyn Art-house Co-op in 2011. She is a co-director of the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop, and her writing has been recently featured on HER KIND by VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and on KBOO Radio’s APA Compass in Portland, Oregon.

Jonah Kruvant is one of the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop’s  NYC area program organizers and is also a teacher, performer, writer, and student of the world.  He used to live in Costa Rica, where he wrote a popular blog, “From Gaijin to Gringo: Living Abroad in Costa Rica.”  His writing has been published in Digital Americana, and you can read about his adventures in Latin America here: http://costaricagringo.blogspot.com/

Lisa Marie Basile is the author of APOCRYPHAL, along with two chapbooks, Andalucia (Poetry Society of NY) and War/lock (Hyacinth Girl Press, February, 2015). She is the editor-in-chief of Luna Luna Magazine and her poetry and other work can be seen in PANK, the Tin House blog, Coldfront, The Nervous Breakdown, The Huffington Post, Best American Poetry, PEN American Center, Dusie, and the Ampersand Review, among others. She’s been profiled in The New York Daily News, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, Poets & Artists Magazine, Relapse Magazine and others. Lisa Marie Basile was the visiting poet at Westfield High School and New York University, and she was a visiting writer at Boston’s Emerson College. Her work was selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler for inclusion in the Best Small Fiction 2015 anthology and was nominated for inclusion in the Best American Experimental Writing 2015 anthology. She holds an MFA from The New School and works as an editor and writer.

Brandon Lewis lives and teaches in NYC. He received an MFA in poetry at George Mason, and his writing has appeared or is forthcoming in such places as The Missouri Review, The Massachusetts Review, Salamander, Drunken Boat, American Poetry Review, and Spork. This year he won the Sundog Lit Poetry Contest and was recently a finalist for The Brittingham Prize and the Crab Orchard Review Series.

Elizabeth Devlin is a modern day renaissance woman.  If she is not composing music for the solo, autoharp wielding, singer-songwriter act, ELIZABETH DEVLIN, she can be found crafting Illustrations/Graphics at DEVLIN DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION, playing electric bass and singing as front woman for Brooklyn based rock band, VALVED VOICE, or curating a fresh new line-up for the THE HIGHWAYMEN NYC, a Brooklyn based, monthly, poetry reading series that meets on the full moon.

Jessica Reidy earned her MFA in Fiction at Florida State University and a B.A. from Hollins University. Her work is Pushcart-nominated and has appeared in Narrative Magazine as Short Story of the Week, The Los Angeles Review, Arsenic Lobster, and other journals. She’s a staff-writer and the Outreach Editor for Quail Bell Magazine, Managing Editor for VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts, Art Editor for The Southeast Review, and Visiting Professor for the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop retreats. She teaches creative writing and is a certified yoga instructor and Reiki Master. Jessica also works her Romani (Gypsy) family trades, fortune telling, energy healing, and dancing. Jessica is currently writing her first novel set in post-WWII Paris about Coco Charbonneau, the half-Romani burlesque dancer and fortune teller of Zenith Circus, who becomes a Nazi hunter. You can learn more at www.jessicareidy.com.

Gregory Crosby‘s poems have appeared in Court Green, Epiphany, Copper Nickel, Leveler, Ping Pong & Rattle, among others. He is co-curator of the long- running EARSHOT reading series and is co-editor, with Jillian Brall, of the online poetry journal Lyre Lyre.  He has served as a host and panelist for several Cambridge Writers’ Workshop events, including 2012 & 2013 Brooklyn Lit Crawl, the 2012 Mass Poetry Festival, and  our live radio shows.

Matty Marks is a 30 yr old musician, writer and sports enthusiast.  Creating art has been a lifelong endeavor that is a constant source of fun and pride.  Dunks is his first and only novel.  It combines many elements of his own life to create a rated R young adult novel that today’s teenagers can relay relate to.  However, it’s also a fun book for anyone of any age who can relate to the wild side of life, resulting from pushing boundaries to find yourself.

Emily Smith is an Editing and Communications Intern for the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop. Originally from Sarasota, Florida, she currently attends school at the New Hampshire Institute of Art where she studies Creative Writing and Art History. She writes for Opposing Views, Highbrow Magazine and a number of health websites run by Deep Dive Media. Her poetry has been published in Walleyed Press, Essence Poetry, and Ayris.