Sunday, January 4th, 2009

The New Year begins on the Fourth of January at 7:30 p.m. at Lit Live. Poetry calls and we've answered!

Jeramy Dodds brings us Crabwise to the Hounds, his breakout collection from Coach House Books.

Linda Frank guides our audience into Kahlo: The World Split Open, her second book from Buschek Books.

Ross Belot reads from his first book Swimming In the Dark, new poetry from Black Moss Press.

Valerie Nielsen takes us into Green Light, her latest collection of poetry from Potlatch Publications.

Jeramy Dodds

Jeramy Dodds lives in Orono, Ontario. His poems have been translated into Finnish, French, Latvian, Swedish, German and Icelandic. In 2007 he held a residency at the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators on the island of Götland, Sweden. He is the winner of the 2006 Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award and the 2007 CBC Literary Award in poetry. He works as a research archaeologist and co-edits for littlefishcartpress. His first collection of poetry Crabwise to the Hounds was published by Coach House Books in 2008.

Linda Frank

Linda Frank grew up in Montreal but has lived in Hamilton since 1977. She holds a BA from McGill and an MA in Sociology from McMaster. She is an executive member of the Hamilton Poetry Centre and is presently the Coordinator of the General Arts and Science Program at Mohawk College in Hamilton where she also teaches social science. She attended the Sage Hill Poetry Colloquium in 1998 and the Banff Writing Studio in 2008. Linda has won several poetry contests and a Hamilton and Region Arts Council Award. She has published three chapbooks: Taste the Silence; ...It Takes A Train To Cry; and Orpheus Descending. Her first full collection of poetry, Cobalt Moon Embrace came out in 2002. Her most recent book Kahlo: The World Split Open (from Buschek Books) is a poetic reflection on the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo who broke ground for women painters in much the way Sylvia Plath or Anne Sexton broke ground for female poets.

Ross Belot

Ross Belot lives in Hamilton. His poetry has been published in local literary journals such as Hammered Out and The Tower. He started writing seven years ago by taking classes at McMaster's Creative Writing Program and credits teachers there such as Bob Neilsen and Marilyn Gear Pilling with encouraging his writing. In 2006 he was accepted into the Banff Centre's Wired Writing Studio. The result was his first poetry collection, Swimming in the Dark, published in 2008 by Black Moss Press.

Valerie Nielsen

Born in England, Valerie Nielsen immigrated to Canada with her family in 1951. She has a background in teaching, counseling and ministry, and for many years has led workshops on personal growth, creativity and spirituality. She currently facilitates a writing circle group at The First Unitarian Church of Hamilton. Her most recent book of poetry is Green Light from Potlatch Publications.