Celebrate Poetry

Join us at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 2, at the Millhopper branch of the Alachua County Library as we celebrate National Poetry Month with two of Gainesville’s most talented local poets and authors, Jenna Nishida and Reinfred Addo.

Nishida will discuss “Found Poetry” — from poet’s helper to high art. Whether as an end unto itself or as an exercise in creative thinking, found poetry can be enriching, enlivening, and freeing for poets—especially poets who might be feeling depleted or blocked. Learn about a variety of forms of found poetry, as well as tips and methods for how to write (and cite) and perform found poems.

Nishida, who served as Fiction Editor of WAG’s 2021 Bacopa Literary Review, is one of the co-hosts of Gainesville’s Thursday Night Poetry Jam at the Civic Media Center. An educator by vocation, she earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in literature at the University of Florida. She also has an educational specialist degree in the teaching of secondary English and has taught language arts to children, teens, and adult learners. She has made a lifelong study of poetry from multiple cultures and has explored contemporary poetry through events such as the Dodge Poetry Festival.

Reinfred Addo will explain how to do a poetry book launch.

Addo is a Ghanaian-American writer, and author of the poetry collections Washed Over (finalist for Eyelands Book Awards) and The Dedicadas (recipient of the Royal Palm Literary Awards). His works, including his health humanities creative writing, have been published by various organizations such as Tampered Press and in publications such as Signs of Life: An Anthology.

He has headlined a series of programs centering on poetry and prose. Performances at many local venues in Gainesville have included works published in Washed Over (such as a crowd-favorite poem “Life’s Students”) as well as unpublished works.

Addo currently lives in Gainesville and enjoys the area’s arts initiatives, including Bacopa Literary Review (he’s the poetry co-editor), Thursday Night Poetry Jam (host), DOPEnmic, and ARTSPEAKS.

A book signing will follow the program.