Woodland Pattern

Thank you for the wonderfully full past month of final programs at our Locust Street location. Hugs abounded and hearts were warmed during our Homecoming Farewell: A Weekend of Readings and Reunions; It was truly a beautiful sendoff.

Our Book Center will remain open through July 10 for browsing and to provide a stable spot for our two weeks of Poetry Camp. And we invite you to join us this summer for our off-site programming. . . starting with our June events (at Juneau Park 😉🌻)!

[Event links in bio]

🍀📖 Poetry Reading: Poetry in the Park 📖🍀

TUES, June 9, 6:30 pm // Rain date: Wed. Jun. 10
*IN PERSON at Juneau Park
[Link in profile]

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Bring your blankets and chairs, snacks and drinks, and friends, and join us at the Solomon Juneau statue for this beloved summer reading series. Poetry in the Park takes place in Juneau Park on the second Tuesday of June, July, August, and September, with rain dates scheduled on the second Wednesday of each month. This season’s events are made possible with support from Juneau Park Friends.

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Shana Wilson, who goes by the name Blue Lotus, is a lover of words, good music, and creativity. She is a poet, spoken-word artist, photographer, and massage therapist, who uses her voice and sound to encourage healing, reflection, and hope. The healing power of poetry was introduced to her around age 7; she’s been an active listener, reader, and writer of it ever since. When the weather allows, she can usually be found near a body of water playing one or more of her singing bowls or her Djembe named Ocean.

Gina Cornejo is a Milwaukee-born, raised, and reunited autobiographical writer, immersive storyteller, solo performer, actor, and self-proclaimed professional feelings-haver. The daughter of a Peruvian mariachi singer and a professional jazz dancer from Chicago, Gina’s captivation with the arts began in her bloodline. She believes our distinct path of artistic expression is based on the risk of venturing out to seek within.

Nick Demske is the author of Nick Demske (Fence Books, 2010). A librarian at the Racine Public Library and County Supervisor for Racine County’s First District, Demske is the co-founder of the BONK! Poetry and Music series and co-founder of the Joshua Glover Justice Fund, a bail fund for people incarcerated pretrial in Racine County.

[Bios continues in comments]

Welcome to our 🔎 More About 🔎 series and celebrate with us the small presses, authors, and books from our Small Press Subscription Program!

Presenting our second small press, author, and book from the July Bundle, which you can sign up for by June 15th [link in profile]:

📚 Bench Editions 📚 A young press (started in 2024) based in Cincinnati, “Bench Editions is an independent publisher of contemporary fiction and poetry. We hold no allegiance to any particular aesthetic, genre, or form, but are dedicated to ambitious, energizing, imaginative writing, both in English and translation. We release 2-4 books per year.”

✨ Kylan Rice ✨ is the author of An Image Not a Book (2023), Name & Earth (2026), and Cloud on Page Opposite (forthcoming 2027). He edits Thirdhand Books and teaches as an assistant professor at Utah State University.

🍃 Name and Earth (2026) 🍃 To quote Cass Donish’s praise for the book: “Intellectually lush, channeling chicory and Keats, Kylan Rice’s poetic voice pries open a mirror; we step through it into an inverted world that belongs to this unique mind, this distinctively ardent language.”

Check out our full micro-interview with Kylan in the comments below!

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kylan.rice