Featured "LIVE" Musicians

LIVE at the Writers House

Episode 156 - April 2023 — Undergraduate Writers

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Nik Donoughe - Introduction
  3. Nik Donoughe - Performance
  4. Margarita Matta - Introduction
  5. Margarita Matta - Performance
  6. Mikel J. Saralegui - Introduction
  7. Mikel J. Saralegui - Performance
  8. Jake-Anthony Diaz - Introduction
  9. Jake-Anthony Diaz - Performance
  10. Gemma Hong - Introduction
  11. Gemma Hong - Performance
  12. Erin Bass - Introduction
  13. Erin Bass - Performance
  14. Dylan Fritz - Introduction
  15. Dylan Fritz - Performance
  16. Kendall Owens - Introduction
  17. Kendall Owens - Performance
  18. Katie Chen - Introduction
  19. Katie Chen - Performance
  20. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 155 - March 2023 — Next In Line Comedy

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Manny Brown - Introduction
  3. Manny Brown - Set
  4. Tyler Wolf - Introduction
  5. Tyler Wolf - Set
  6. Manny Brown and Tyler Wolf - Next In Line Comedy Interview
  7. Setoiyo - Introduction
  8. Setoiyo - Set
  9. Setoiyo - Interview
  10. Emily Epstein White - Introduction
  11. Emily Epstein White - Set
  12. Emily Epstein White - Interview
  13. Jay Simpson - Introduction
  14. Jay Simpson - First Set
  15. TaTa Sherise - Introduction
  16. TaTa Sherise - Set
  17. TaTa Sherise - Interview
  18. Jay Simpson - Second Set
  19. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 154 - February 2023 — Philadelphia artists

  1. Zach Carduner - Opening Remarks
  2. Raena Shirali - Introduction
  3. Raena Shirali - Performance
  4. Veronica Bennett - Introduction
  5. Veronica Bennett - Performance
  6. Trina Sanyal - Introduction
  7. Trina Sanyal - Performance
  8. Parker Sera - Introduction
  9. Parker Sera - Performance
  10. David Jones - Introduction
  11. David Jones - Performance
  12. Riverby - First Introduction
  13. Riverby - Heavy To Hold
  14. Alina Pleskova - Introduction
  15. Alina Pleskova - Performance
  16. Alex Smith - Introduction
  17. Alex Smith - Performance
  18. Riverby - Second Introduction
  19. Riverby - Fall In Love
  20. Zach Carduner - Closing Remarks

Episode 153 - January 2023 — Students from Mighty Writers

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Anushka Dhar - Introduction
  3. Anushka Dhar - Performance
  4. Michai Smith - Introduction
  5. Michai Smith - Performance
  6. Alexander Moragne - Introduction
  7. Alexander Moragne - Performance
  8. Kevin Leonard - Introduction
  9. Kevin Leonard - Performance
  10. Imani Ayala - Introduction
  11. Imani Ayala - Performance
  12. Grace Bernicker - First Introduction
  13. Grace Bernicker - First Performance
  14. Ta'Hajjiah Williams - Introduction
  15. Ta'Hajjiah Williams - Performance
  16. Marely de la Cruz Castro - Introduction
  17. Marely de la Cruz Castro - Performance
  18. Ashling McAtamney - Introduction
  19. Ashling McAtamney - Performance
  20. Grace Bernicker - Second Introduction
  21. Grace Bernicker - Second Performance
  22. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 152 - October 2022 — The Excelano Project

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Mila Carty - Introduction
  3. Mila Carty - Performance
  4. Jack Starobin - Introduction
  5. Jack Starobin - Performance
  6. Wahid Sarwar - Introduction
  7. Wahid Sarwar - Performance
  8. Hudson River - Introduction
  9. Hudson River - First Performance
  10. Alison Yau - Introduction
  11. Alison Yau - Performance
  12. Andrés Gonzalez-Bonillas - Introduction
  13. Andrés Gonzalez-Bonillas - Performance
  14. Hudson River - Second Performance
  15. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 151 - September 2022 — Walking Around Philadelphia / Ways of Walking

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Ann de Forest - Introduction
  3. Ann de Forest - Performance
  4. Justin Coffin - Introduction
  5. Justin Coffin - Performance
  6. West Philadelphia Orchestra - Introduction
  7. West Philadelphia Orchestra - First Performance
  8. Kabria Rogers - Introduction
  9. Kabria Rogers - Performance
  10. David Hallock Sanders - Introduction
  11. David Hallock Sanders - Performance
  12. Christine Nelson - Introduction
  13. Christine Nelson - Performance
  14. West Philadelphia Orchestra - Second Performance
  15. JJ Tiziou - Introduction
  16. JJ Tiziou - Performance
  17. Temwa Wright - Introduction
  18. Temwa Wright - Performance
  19. West Philadelphia Orchestra - Third Performance, with closing remarks

Episode 150 - April 2022 — Class of 2022 Undergraduate Writers

  1. Zach Carduner - Opening Remarks
  2. Jessica Bao - Introduction
  3. Jessica Bao - Performance
  4. Rowana Miller - Introduction
  5. Rowana Miller - Performance
  6. Mehek Boparai - Introduction
  7. Mehek Boparai - Performance
  8. Jamie Albrecht - Introduction
  9. Jamie Albrecht - Performance
  10. Gabriel Garcia-Leeds - First Introduction
  11. Gabriel Garcia-Leeds - First Performance
  12. Erinda Sheno - Introduction
  13. Erinda Sheno - Performance
  14. Chelsey Zhu - Introduction
  15. Chelsey Zhu - Performance
  16. Gabriel Garcia-Leeds - Second Introduction
  17. Gabriel Garcia-Leeds - Second Performance
  18. Zach Carduner - Closing Remarks

Episode 149 - February 2022 — Comedy Night

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Yvie Rocks - Introduction
  3. Yvie Rocks - Performance
  4. Leigh Hopkins - Introduction
  5. Leigh Hopkins - Performance
  6. Mike Ingram - Introduction
  7. Mike Ingram - Performance
  8. Jillian Markowitz - First Introduction
  9. Jillian Markowitz - First Performance
  10. Brandon Vincent Jackson - Introduction
  11. Brandon Vincent Jackson - Performance
  12. Martha Cooney - Introduction
  13. Martha Cooney - Performance
  14. Jillian Markowitz - Second Introduction
  15. Jillian Markowitz - Second Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 148 - January 2022 — You Can't Kill a Poet

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Boston Gordon - Introduction
  3. Boston Gordon - Performance
  4. Prakash Mishra - Introduction
  5. Prakash Mishra - Performance
  6. Quinn Rodriguez Williams - Introduction
  7. Quinn Rodriguez Williams - Performance
  8. Foster Longo - Introduction
  9. Foster Longo - First Performance
  10. Alina Pleskova - Introduction
  11. Alina Pleskova - Performance
  12. Lauren Yates - Introduction
  13. Lauren Yates - Performance
  14. Foster Longo - Second Performance
  15. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 147 - December 2021 — Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Fran Wilde - Introduction
  3. Fran Wilde - Performance
  4. Alex Butler - Introduction
  5. Alex Butler - Performance
  6. Elektra Hammond - Introduction
  7. Elektra Hammond - Performance
  8. Raven Green - Introduction
  9. Raven Green - Performance
  10. Janel - First Introduction
  11. Janel - First Performance
  12. Gerard St. George - Introduction
  13. Gerard St. George - Performance
  14. Hector Cruz - Introduction
  15. Hector Cruz - Performance
  16. Janel - Second Introduction
  17. Janel - Second Performance
  18. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 146 - November 2021 — West Philly Community Poem

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Marhsall James Kavanaugh - Introduction
  3. Marshall James Kavanaugh - Performance
  4. Carlos José Pérez Sámano - Introduction
  5. Carlos José Pérez Sámano - Performance
  6. LindoYes! - Introduction
  7. LindoYes! - Performance
  8. Karen Smith - Introduction
  9. Karen Smith - First Performance
  10. Cashmere Harper - Introduction
  11. Cashmere Harper - Performance
  12. K.P. Brown - Introduction
  13. K.P. Brown - Performance
  14. Karen Smith - Second Performance
  15. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 145 - October 2021 — The Cannery Reading Series

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Matt Jakubowski and Christine Kendall - Interview
  3. Christine Kendall - Introduction
  4. Christine Kendall - Performance
  5. Elaine Crauder - Introduction
  6. Elaine Crauder - Performance
  7. Vichet Ou - Introduction
  8. Vichet Ou - Performance
  9. Emily Bates - First Introduction
  10. Emily Bates - First Performance
  11. Athena Nixon - Introduction
  12. Athena Nixon - Performance
  13. Matt Jakubowski - Introduction
  14. Matt Jakubowski - Performance
  15. Emily Bates - Second Introduction
  16. Emily Bates - Second Performance
  17. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 144 - April 2021 — Undergraduate Readings

  1. Alli Katz and Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Opening Remarks
  2. Wes Matthews - Introduction
  3. Wes Matthews - Performance
  4. Sof Sears - Introduction
  5. Sof Sears - Performance
  6. Devon Inman - Introduction
  7. Devon Inman - Performance
  8. Karen Kim - First Introduction
  9. Karen Kim - First Performance
  10. Lizzy Lemieux - Introduction
  11. Lizzy Lemieux - Performance
  12. Ollie Kim Dupuy - Introduction
  13. Ollie Kim Dupuy - Performance
  14. Karen Kim - Second Introduction
  15. Karen Kim - Second Performance
  16. Alli Katz and Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Closing Remarks

Episode 143 - March 2021 — Comedy Night

  1. Alli Katz and Ronald Metellus - Opening Remarks and Conversation
  2. Jasmine Ellis - Introduction
  3. Jasmine Ellis - Performance
  4. Kyle Harris - Introduction
  5. Kyle Harris - Performance
  6. Milly Tamarez - Introduction
  7. Milly Tamarez - Performance
  8. Brandon Mitchell - Introduction
  9. Brandon Mitchell - Performance
  10. Al Maralen - Introduction
  11. Al Maralen - Everything I Need
  12. Cassandra Dee - Introduction
  13. Cassandra Dee - Performance
  14. Al Maralen - Moments
  15. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 142 - February 2021 — Sports Narratives

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Kerith Gabriel - Introduction and Performance
  3. Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Introduction and Performance
  4. Kevin Kinkead - Introduction and Performance
  5. Ghosh - First Performance
  6. Dan McQuade - Introduction and Performance
  7. Ghosh - Second Performance
  8. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 141 - November 2020

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Mara Gordon - Introduction and Performance
  3. Jules Lipoff - Introduction and Performance
  4. Knifeplay - First Performance: "Tears"
  5. I. W. Gregorio - Introduction and Performance
  6. Knifeplay - Second Performance: "Held My Hand"
  7. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 140 - October 2020

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Angel Hogan - Introduction
  3. Angel Hogan - Performance
  4. Daniel Nathan Horn - Introduction
  5. Daniel Nathan Horn - Performance
  6. Leah Mele - Introduction
  7. Leah Mele - Performance
  8. Lexi Reader - Introduction
  9. Lexi Reader - Performance
  10. Seraiah Nicole - Introduction
  11. Seraiah Nicole - Performance
  12. Beth Ann Downey - Introduction
  13. Beth Ann Downey - Performance
  14. Jeanine Cook - Introduction
  15. Jeanine Cook - Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 139 - April 2020 — Undergraduate Writers at Home

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Farah Sayed - Introduction and Performance
  3. Annabelle Williams - Introduction and Performance
  4. Chidi Nwgobaga - Introduction and Performance
  5. Anika Prakash - Introduction and Performance
  6. Kaliyah Dorsey - Introduction and Performance
  7. Zoe Braccia - Introduction and Performance
  8. Griffen Handshake - First Performance: "Complicated"
  9. Husnaa Hashim - Introduction and Performance
  10. Sophia DuRose - Introduction and Performance
  11. Alaina Pomykacz - Introduction and Performance
  12. Griffen Handshake - Second Performance: "Tunnels"
  13. Alli Katz - Closing

Episode 138 - One Book One Philadelphia

  1. Part 1: Diente
  2. Part 2: Herman Agoyo
  3. Part 3: Shelby Settles Harper

Episode 137 - 01/27/2020 — Comedy Night

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Cassandra Dee - Introduction and Performance
  3. Dan Vetrano - Introduction and Performance
  4. Jillian Markowitz - Introduction and Performance
  5. Hannah and Josh - First Performance
  6. John Deary - Introduction and Performance
  7. Nicole Phoenix - Introduction and Performance
  8. Hannah and Josh - Second Performance
  9. Alli Katz - Closing

Episode 136 - 11/18/2019 — The Word and the World

  1. Part 1: Erik Ruin performing two crankies, with Myles Donovan
  2. Part 2: "Sloughing" by Eli Nixon and Izzy Sazak
  3. Part 3: A performance by Persephone

Episode 135 - 10/28/2019 — Dead Parents Society

  1. Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Introduction
  2. Emily Harnett - Introduction
  3. Emily Harnett - Performance
  4. Zoe Osbourne - Introduction
  5. Zoe Osbourne - Performance
  6. Gianna DeMedio - Introduction
  7. Gianna DeMedio - Performance
  8. Ali Awan - Introduction
  9. Ali Awan - Performance
  10. Rachel Levy Lesser - Introduction
  11. Rachel Levy Lesser - Performance
  12. Ali Awan - Introduction
  13. Ali Awan - Performance
  14. Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Closing Remarks

Episode 134 - 9/23/2019 — Philly Game Mechanics

  1. Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Introduction
  2. Jake O'Brien - Introduction
  3. Jake O'Brien - Performance
  4. Jessica Creane - Introduction
  5. Jessica Creane - Performance
  6. Shawn Pierre - Introduction
  7. Shawn Pierre - Performance
  8. Grant Bouvier - First Introduction
  9. Grant Bouvier - First Performance
  10. Corey Waite Arnold - Introduction
  11. Corey Waite Arnold - Performance
  12. Grant Bouvier - Second Introduction
  13. Grant Bouvier - Second Performance
  14. Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Closing Remarks

Episode 133 - 3/18/2019 — Penn Undergraduate Writers

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Carolyn Liu - Introduction
  3. Carolyn Liu - Performance
  4. Torinn Fennelly - Introduction
  5. Torinn Fennelly - Performance
  6. Chelsey Zhu - Introduction
  7. Chelsey Zhu - Performance
  8. Earthboy - First Introduction
  9. Earthboy - First Performance
  10. Izzy Lopez - Introduction
  11. Izzy Lopez - Performance
  12. Christian Warrick - Introduction
  13. Christian Warrick - Performance
  14. Earthboy - Second Introduction
  15. Earthboy - Second Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 132 - 2/25/2019 — One Book, One Philadelphia

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Mary Baxter - Introduction
  3. Mary Baxter - Performance
  4. Latyra Blake - Introduction
  5. Latyra Blake - Performance
  6. Toyz - Introduction
  7. Toyz - Performance
  8. Faith Bartley - Introduction
  9. Faith Bartley - Performance
  10. Faith Bartley and Latyra Blake - Performance
  11. Toyz - Introduction
  12. Toyz - Performance
  13. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 131 - 1/28/2019 — Algorithmic and Digital Narrative Modes

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Nabil Kashyap - Introduction
  3. Nabil Kashyap - Performance
  4. Emily Abendroth - Introduction
  5. Emily Abendroth - Performance
  6. Nick Montfort - Introduction
  7. Nick Montfort - Performance
  8. Murayama - Introduction
  9. Murayama - Performance
  10. Alice McGrath - Introduction
  11. Alice McGrath - Performance
  12. Murayama - Introduction
  13. Murayama - Performance
  14. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 130 - 11/26/2018 — Art Blog

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Roberta Fallon - Introduction
  3. Roberta Fallon - Performance
  4. Morgan Nitz - Introduction
  5. Morgan Nitz - Performance
  6. Imani Roach - Introduction
  7. Imani Roach - Performance
  8. Shelf Life - Introduction
  9. Shelf Life - Performance
  10. Matt Kalasky - Introduction
  11. Matt Kalasky - Performance
  12. Carlos Roa - Introduction
  13. Carlos Roa - Performance
  14. Shelf Life - Introduction
  15. Shelf Life - Performance

Episode 129 - 10/29/2018 — Blue Stoop

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Joshua Demaree - Introduction
  3. Joshua Demaree - Performance
  4. Boston Gordon - Introduction
  5. Boston Gordon - Performance
  6. Raena Shirali - Introduction
  7. Raena Shirali - Performance
  8. Joey Sweeney - First Performance
  9. Berry Grass - Introduction
  10. Berry Grass - Performance
  11. Thomas Devaney - Introduction
  12. Thomas Devaney - Performance
  13. Joey Sweeney - Second Introduction
  14. Joey Sweeney - Second Performance
  15. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 128 - 9/24/2018 — “The Rider,” an original play by Mona Washington

  1. Introduction and Part 1
  2. Part 2
  3. Part 3

Episode 127 - 1/29/2018 — STAND-UP COMICS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Cassandra Dee - Introduction
  3. Cassandra Dee - Performance
  4. Christian Mangual - Introduction
  5. Christian Mangual - Performance
  6. Hannah Ceisler - Introduction
  7. Hannah Ceisler - Performance
  8. Naeemah Z. Maddox - Introduction
  9. Naeemah Z. Maddox - Performance
  10. Brandon Vincent Jackson - Introduction
  11. Brandon Vincent Jackson - Performance
  12. Naeemah Z. Maddox - Second Introduction
  13. Naeemah Z. Maddox - Second Performance
  14. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 126 - 11/27/2017DAYDREAMERS MAGAZINE

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Bria Kiara - Introduction
  3. Bria Kiara - Performance
  4. Jay Raheem - Introduction
  5. Jay Raheem - Performance
  6. Novari Montese - Introduction
  7. Novari Montese - Performance
  8. Aleana - First Introduction
  9. Aleana - First Performance
  10. Aaron Ball - Introduction
  11. Aaron Ball - Performance
  12. Melonee Rembert - Introduction
  13. Melonee Rembert - Performance
  14. Aleana - Second Introduction
  15. Aleana - Second Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 125 - 10/30/2017

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Marc Anthony Richardson - Introduction
  3. Marc Anthony Richardson - Performance
  4. Vi Khi Nao - Introduction
  5. Vi Khi Nao - Performance
  6. Caren Beilin - Introduction
  7. Caren Beilin - Performance
  8. Elias Rodriques - Introduction
  9. Elias Rodriques - Performance
  10. Rob'n Delaine - First Introduction
  11. Rob'n Delaine - First Performance
  12. Raquel Salas Rivera - Introduction
  13. Raquel Salas Rivera - Performance
  14. Rob'n Delaine - Second Introduction
  15. Rob'n Delaine - Second Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 124 - 9/25/2017

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Lee Mokobe - Introduction
  3. Lee Mokobe - Performance
  4. Kirwyn Sutherland - Introduction
  5. Kirwyn Sutherland - Performance
  6. Otter Jung Allen - Introduction
  7. Otter Jung Allen - Performance
  8. Maya Simone - First Introduction
  9. Maya Simone - First Performance
  10. Marquis Wright Lee - Introduction
  11. Marquis Wright Lee - Performance
  12. Imani Davis - Introduction
  13. Imani Davis - Performance
  14. Maya Simone - Second Introduction
  15. Maya Simone - Second Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 123 - 3/27/2017 — WOMEN WRITING ABOUT CONFLICT REGIONS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Uddipana Goswami - Introduction
  3. Uddipana Goswami - Performance
  4. Wazhmah Osman - Introduction
  5. Wazhmah Osman - Performance
  6. Destiny X - Introduction
  7. Destiny X - Performance
  8. Fatemeh Shams - Introduction
  9. Fatemeh Shams - Performance
  10. Destiny X - Introduction
  11. Destiny X - Performance
  12. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 122 - 2/27/2017 — PHILADELPHIA TEACHERS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Matt Kay - Introduction
  3. Matt Kay - Performance
  4. Regina Hastings - Introduction
  5. Regina Hastings - Performance
  6. Nick Gregorio - Introduction
  7. Nick Gregorio - Performance
  8. Lauren Holguin - Introduction
  9. Lauren Holguin - Performance
  10. Cait Miner Kay - Introduction
  11. Cait Miner Kay - Performance
  12. Little Strike - Introduction
  13. Little Strike - Performance
  14. Sam Reed - Introduction
  15. Sam Reed - Performance
  16. Anissa Weinraub - Introduction
  17. Anissa Weinraub - Performance
  18. Little Strike - Introduction
  19. Little Strike - Performance
  20. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 121 - 1/30/2017 — THE WITCHING HOUR

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Kenna O'Rourke - Introduction
  3. Kenna O'Rourke - Performance
  4. Rive Cadwallader - Introduction
  5. Rive Cadwallader - Performance
  6. Amanda Prager - Introduction
  7. Amanda Prager - Performance
  8. Shaina Joelle - Introduction
  9. Shaina Joelle - Performance
  10. Katarina Troutman - Introduction
  11. Katarina Troutman - Performance
  12. Maya Arthur - Introduction
  13. Maya Arthur - Performance
  14. Shaina Joelle - Introduction
  15. Shaina Joelle - Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 120 - 11/28/2016 — LOCAL WRITERS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Alyssa Songsiridej - Introduction
  3. Alyssa Songsiridej - Performance
  4. Hila Ratzabi - Introduction
  5. Hila Ratzabi - Performance
  6. Sarah Marshall - Introduction
  7. Sarah Marshall - Performance
  8. A Day Without Love - Introduction
  9. A Day Without Love - Performance
  10. Meg Pendoley - Introduction
  11. Meg Pendoley - Performance
  12. A Day Without Love - Introduction
  13. A Day Without Love - Performance
  14. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 119 - 10/31/2016 — PHILLY POETS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Nicole Steinberg - Introduction
  3. Nicole Steinberg - Performance
  4. Frank Sherlock - Introduction
  5. Frank Sherlock - Performance
  6. Ambient Asian Space - Introduction
  7. Ambient Asian Space - Performance
  8. SCRAAATCH - Introduction
  9. SCRAAATCH - Performance
  10. Jason Zuzga - Introduction
  11. Jason Zuzga - Performance
  12. SCRAAATCH - Introduction
  13. SCRAAATCH - Performance
  14. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 118 - 9/26/2016 — SCIENCE WRITERS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Maddie Stone - Introduction
  3. Maddie Stone - Performance
  4. Aatish Bhatia - Introduction
  5. Aatish Bhatia - Performance
  6. Shelly Peiken - Introduction
  7. Shelly Peiken - Performance
  8. Matt Soniak - Introduction
  9. Matt Soniak - Performance
  10. Audra J. Wolfe - Introduction
  11. Audra J. Wolfe - Performance
  12. Shelly Peiken - Introduction
  13. Shelly Peiken - Performance
  14. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 117 - 3/28/2016 — TIREFIRE READING SERIES

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Sarah Rose Etter - Introduction
  3. Sarah Rose Etter - Performance
  4. Carmen Maria Machado - Introduction
  5. Carmen Maria Machado - Performance
  6. Gina Myers - Introduction
  7. Gina Myers - Performance
  8. tinmouth - Introduction
  9. tinmouth - Performance
  10. Jaime Fountaine - Introduction
  11. Jaime Fountaine - Performance
  12. tinmouth - Introduction
  13. tinmouth - Performance
  14. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 116 - 2/29/2016 — ONE BOOK, ONE PHILADELPHIA: COLD MOUNTAIN

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Saundra Gilliard - Interview
  3. Dr. Caroliese Frink Reed - Introduction
  4. Dr. Caroliese Frink Reed - Performance
  5. Charlotte Blake Alston - Musical Performance
  6. Charlotte Blake Alston - Introduction
  7. Charlotte Blake Alston - Performance
  8. Queen Nur - Introduction
  9. Queen Nur - Performance
  10. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 115 — 1/25/2016 - LIVE AT THE KELLY WRITERS HOUSE

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Jennifer Yu - Introduction
  3. Jennifer Yu - Performance
  4. Mahalia Hensey - Introduction
  5. Mahalia Hensey - Performance
  6. Dalton Kamish - Introduction
  7. Dalton Kamish - Performance
  8. Kyra Schulman - Introduction
  9. Kyra Schulman - Performance
  10. Amanda Silberling - Introduction
  11. Amanda Silberling - Performance
  12. Maggie Lily - Introduction
  13. Maggie Lily - Performance
  14. Kyra Schulman - Introduction
  15. Kyra Schulman - Performance
  16. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 114 - 11/30/2015 — PHILADELPHIA WRITERS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. P.E. Garcia - Introduction
  3. P.E. Garcia - Performance
  4. Amanda Miska - Introduction
  5. Amanda Miska - Performance
  6. Laura A. Warman - Introduction
  7. Laura A. Warman - Performance
  8. Rachel Milligan - Introduction
  9. Rachel Milligan - Performance
  10. Sunny Ali - Introduction
  11. Sunny Ali - Performance
  12. Die Ashley - Introduction
  13. Die Ashley - Performance
  14. Madeleine Dubus - Introduction
  15. Madeleine Dubus - Performance
  16. Sunny Ali - Performance
  17. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 113 - 10/26/2015 - PHILADELPHIA ART CRITICS

  1. Alli Katz - Introduction
  2. Roberta Fallon - Introduction and Performance
  3. Andrea Kirsch - Introduction and Performance
  4. Evan Paul Laudenslager - Introduction and Performance
  5. City Love - Introduction and Performance
  6. Matt Kalasky - Introduction and Performance
  7. Suzanne Seesman - Introduction and Performance
  8. Zachary Rawe - Introduction and Performance
  9. City Love - Performance
  10. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 112 - 9/28/2015 - METROPOLARITY

  1. Alli Katz - Opening Remarks
  2. Ras Mashramani - Introduction
  3. Ras Mashramani - Performance
  4. Alex Smith - Introduction
  5. Alex Smith - Performance
  6. M. Eighteen - Introduction
  7. M. Eighteen - Performance
  8. Moor Mother Goddess - Introduction
  9. Moor Mother Goddess - Performance
  10. Rasheedah Phillips - Introduction
  11. Rasheedah Phillips - Performance
  12. Moor Mother Goddess - Performance
  13. Alli Katz - Closing Remarks

Episode 111 - 3/30/2015 - YA WRITERS

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Katherine Locke - Introduction
  3. Katherine Locke - Performance
  4. Eric Smith - Introduction
  5. Eric Smith - Performance
  6. Lauren Saft - Introduction
  7. Lauren Saft - Performance
  8. E.C. Myers - Introduction
  9. E.C. Myers - Performance
  10. Birdie Busch - Introduction
  11. Birdie Busch - Performance
  12. Tiffany Schmidt - Introduction
  13. Tiffany Schmidt - Performance
  14. I.W. Gregorio - Introduction
  15. I.W. Gregorio - Performance
  16. Birdie Busch - Introduction
  17. Birdie Busch - Performance
  18. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 110 - 2/23/2015 - PHILADELPHIA WRITERS

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Nathaniel Popkin - Introduction
  3. Nathaniel Popkin - Performance
  4. Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Introduction
  5. Jamie-Lee Josselyn - Performance
  6. Sam Apple - Introduction
  7. Sam Apple - Performance
  8. Jonagold - Introduction
  9. Jonagold - Performance
  10. Julia Bloch - Introduction
  11. Julia Bloch - Performance
  12. Lee Klein - Introduction
  13. Lee Klein - Performance
  14. Jonagold - Introduction
  15. Jonagold - Performance
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 109 - 1/26/2015 - LOCAL JOURNALISTS

Episode 108 - 12/01/2014 - NANOWRIMO

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Sarah Sawyers-Lovett - Introduction
  3. Sarah Sawyers-Lovett - Performance
  4. Jason M Jones - Introduction
  5. Jason M Jones - Performance
  6. Chenda Cope - Introduction
  7. Chenda Cope - Performance
  8. Kristen Pearson - Introduction
  9. Kristen Pearson - Performance
  10. Justin Southern - Introduction
  11. Justin Southern - Performance
  12. Chenda Cope - Introduction
  13. Chenda Cope - Performance
  14. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 107 - 10/27/2014 - CARTOONISTS AND ILLUSTRATORS

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Box Brown - Introduction
  3. Box Brown - Performance
  4. JC Cloutier - Introduction
  5. JC Cloutier - Performance
  6. Emi Gennis - Introduction
  7. Emi Gennis - Performance
  8. Lantern - Introduction
  9. Lantern - Performance
  10. Hawk Krall - Introduction
  11. Hawk Krall - Performance
  12. Lantern - Introduction
  13. Lantern - Performance
  14. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 106 - 9/29/2014 - FOR WOMEN COLLECTIVE

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Deporah Powell-Wright and For Women Collective - Introduction
  3. Deborah Powell-Wright and For Women Collective - Performance
  4. Sandra Turner-Barnes - Introduction
  5. Sandra Turner-Barnes - Performance
  6. Karen L. Smith - Introduction
  7. Karen L. Smith - Performance
  8. Darlene Godwin - Introduction
  9. Darlene Godwin - Performance
  10. Kia Knight - Introduction
  11. Kia Knight - Performance
  12. Jaz - Introduction
  13. Jaz - Performance
  14. Karen L. Smith - Performance
  15. Pat McLean - Introduction
  16. Pat McLean - Performance
  17. Debra Powell-Wright - Introduction
  18. Debra Powell-Wright - Performance
  19. For Women Collective - Introduction
  20. For Women Collective - Performance
  21. Karen L. Smith - Performance
  22. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 105 - 3/24/2014 - MUSIC WRITERS

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. John Vettese - Introduction
  3. John Vettese - Performance
  4. Kate Bragcalia - Introduction
  5. Kate Bragcalia - Performance
  6. Elliott Sharp - Introduction
  7. Elliott Sharp - Performance
  8. Dotun Akintoye - Introduction
  9. Dotun Akintoye - Performance
  10. Janelle McDermoth - Introduction
  11. Janelle McDermoth - Performance
  12. Beth Ann Downey - Introduction
  13. Beth Ann Downey - Performance
  14. Patrick Rapa - Introduction
  15. Patrick Rapa - Performance
  16. Janelle McDermoth - Introduction
  17. Janelle McDermoth - Performance
  18. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 104 - 2/24/2014 - WARRIOR WRITERS

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Lovella Calica - Introduction
  3. Lovella Calica - Performance
  4. Jeremy Stainthorp Berggren - Introduction
  5. Jeremy Stainthorp Berggren - Performance
  6. Chantelle Bateman - Introduction
  7. Chantelle Bateman - Performance
  8. No Good Sister - Introduction
  9. No Good Sister - Performance
  10. Kevin Basl - Introduction
  11. Kevin Basl - Performance
  12. No Good Sister - Introduction
  13. No Good Sister - Performance
  14. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 103 - 1/27/2014 - PRINCIPLE HAND

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Marion Bell - Introduction
  3. Marion Bell - Performance
  4. Andrew Dieck - Introduction
  5. Andrew Dieck - Performance
  6. Munsen Muntz - Introduction
  7. Munsen Muntz - Performance
  8. Amelia Bentley - Introduction
  9. Amelia Bentley - Performance
  10. Mark Johnson - Introduction
  11. Mark Johnson - Performance
  12. Aaron Winslow - Introduction
  13. Aaron Winslow - Performance
  14. Munsen Muntz - Introduction
  15. Munsen Muntz - Performance
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 102 - 12/02/2013

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Hillary Plum - Introduction
  3. Hillary Plum - Performance
  4. Siduri Beckman - Introduction
  5. Siduri Beckman - Performance
  6. Maggie Grabmeier - Introduction
  7. Maggie Grabmeier - Performance
  8. Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela - Introduction
  9. Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela - Performance
  10. Erin Peraza - Introduction
  11. Erin Peraza - Performance
  12. Hannah White - Introduction
  13. Hannah White - Performance
  14. Maggie Grabmeier - Introduction
  15. Maggie Grabmeier - Performance
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 101 - 10/28/2013 - FIRST PERSON ARTS FESTIVAL PREVIEW

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Beth Kephart - Introduction
  3. Beth Kephart - Performance
  4. Ross Bellenoit - Introduction
  5. Ross Bellenoit - Performance
  6. Andrew Panebianco - Introduction
  7. Andrew Panebianco - Performance
  8. Katie Samson - Introduction
  9. Katie Samson - Performance
  10. Raphael Xavier - Introduction
  11. Raphael Xavier - Performance
  12. Yaba Blay - Introduction
  13. Yaba Blay - Performance
  14. Ross Bellenoit - Introduction
  15. Ross Bellenoit - Performance
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 100 - 9/30/2013 - LIVE 100th EPISODE!

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Thomas Devaney - Introduction
  3. Thomas Devaney - Performance
  4. Fletcher VanVliet - Introduction
  5. Fletcher VanVliet - Performance
  6. Erin Gautsche - Introduction
  7. Erin Gautsche - Performance
  8. John Carroll - Introduction
  9. John Carroll - Performance
  10. Alli Katz - Introduction
  11. Alli Katz - Performance
  12. Fletcher VanVliet - Introduction
  13. Fletcher VanVliet - Performance
  14. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 99 - 3/25/2013 - Tell Me a Story

From sumo sweatpants to feral cats, iPhone withdrawal to Full House, tonight's episode of LIVE tapped into all the horrors and humors of real life as storytellers, comedians, and singers relayed true stories to an energetic audience. Comedy show host Hillary Rea, a bit of a drama queen, wailed "I'm HOMELESSSS!" from a tree stump after accidentally locking herself out of her house in her "primitive" (ehem, comfy) XXXL sweats and Eagles-adorned fleece slippers in her introductory story. Rather than finding herself exposed to the world in baggy clothes, stand-up comic Carolyn Busa, who punctuated her tale with song, found her college self completely exposed — topless, in fact — to the virtual world. "Toiling in Obscurity" host Jaime Fountaine gasped at Paul McCloud's devotion to Elvis (McCloud even named his son after the man), while K-12 curriculum developer Andrew Whitmore cringed with each of his mother's new "piano baby" doll purchases (think: Elf on the Shelf to a whole new level). Cofounder of Philly Sketchfest Dave Terruso and musical guests Emily and Micah McGraw poked fun at classmates, teachers (a grave mistake), and Philly accents. Bursts of laughter rang out in the Arts Café as our guests told tale after tale of comical mishaps and mistakes.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Hillary Rae - Introduction
  3. Hillary Rae - Performance
  4. Carolyn Busa - Introduction
  5. Carolyn Busa - Performance
  6. Jaime Fountaine - Introduction
  7. Jaime Fountaine - Performance
  8. Emily and Micah McGraw - Introduction
  9. Emily and Micah McGraw - Performance
  10. Andrew Whitmire - Introduction
  11. Andrew Whitmire - Performance
  12. Dave Terruso - Introduction
  13. Dave Terruso - Performance
  14. Emily and Micah McGraw - Performance
  15. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 98 - 2/25/2013 - Apiary

On tonight's episode of LIVE, Apiary, a local magazine devoted to celebrating and nurturing the literary arts, graced the Arts Café with passionate writers from a host of genres. Food writer Christina Perucho, who believes in dance therapy, olive oil, and red lipstick, observed that cranky folks get decaf and boys never actually call you by your real name, while Dorkabetic author Hannah McDonald shrilly warned the audience to never fall in love with boys with common names. In a breathy and passionate voice, author Frank Sherlock proclaimed that public toilets are "rank with territorial piss" and questioned the meaning of life. Eclectic musical guest Strawberry Hands and English teacher Mathew Kay shared melancholic and shutter-inducing songs and poems about life's struggles. Contemporary poet Carlos Soto Roman could only say, say, say, say before an overwhelming beeping cut off his words and left an unsettling silence in the air. The Arts Café truly burst with passion and performance in this evening's LIVE.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Cristina Perachio - Introduction
  3. Cristina Perachio - Performance
  4. Frank Sherlock - Introduction
  5. Frank Sherlock - Performance
  6. Strawberry Hands - Introduction
  7. Strawberry Hands - Performance
  8. Hannah McDonald - Introduction
  9. Hannah McDonald - Performance
  10. Matthew Kay - Introduction
  11. Matthew Kay - Performance
  12. Carlos Soto-Roman - Introduction
  13. Carlos Soto-Roman - Performance
  14. Strawberry Hands - Performance
  15. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 97 - 1/28/2013 - Philly Love Notes

Monday's readers, participants in the online blog project "Philly Love Notes," read to remind Philadelphians how great their city is. John Paul Titlow honored his father's memory polishing off milkshakes at the old-fashioned counter of Little Pete's Diner in Center City, and Andrew Thompson paid tribute to the eco-farm in southwest Philly where life is still made from dirt. Edith Mulhern and Katie Sweeney's love of Philly intertwined with their running routes — Woodland Cemetery, an accessible slice of Philly's rich history, and the Kelly Drive loop, with its rusty water fountain, were not to be overlooked. Gretchen Lohse, whose most inspirational Philly site is her own house in Fishtown, sung "All Around the River" with a voice piercing in its insistence. Shadia Cooper and Visheera Muhammad from Tree House Books, whose mission is to grow and sustain a community of readers, writers, and thinkers in North Central Philadelphia, joined us with their own letters to the city they love: Cooper revealed the dreamland in her head, and Muhammad talked about creamy walls, like Twix ice cream, in her grandmother's bedroom. Emma Fried-Cassorla, creator of the blog, read a story by Emma Eisenberg entitled "The Last City I Loved: Philadelphia." And in each of their testimonies, we saw the truth in Cassorla's claim that "people like to pretend they don't like Philadelphia, but when you get them talking about it they can't stop."

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. John Paul Titlow - Introduction
  3. John Paul Titlow - Performance
  4. Andrew Thomson - Introduction
  5. Andrew Thomson - Performance
  6. Gretchen Lohsi - Introduction
  7. Gretchen Lohsi - Performance
  8. Treehouse - Introduction
  9. Treehouse - Performance
  10. Edith Mullhern - Introduction
  11. Edith Mullhern - Performance
  12. Katie Sweeney - Introduction
  13. Katie Sweeney - Performance
  14. Emma Fried-Cassorla - Introduction
  15. Emma Fried-Cassorla - Performance
  16. Gretchen Lohsi - Performance
  17. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 96 - 11/26/2012 - Emerging Philadelphia Writers

Episode 95 - 9/12/2012 - 10th Anniversary of Quirk Books

Philadelphia publishing house Quirk Books celebrated its tenth anniversary with the Writers House and WXPN at today's edition of LIVE. Eric Smith, Quirk's social media and marketing coordinator, explained the history of Quirk, from The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook in 2002 to The Peanut Butter Cookbook in 2009. Dougie Horner, proclaimed "the funniest guy in Philly" by Philadelphia Magazine, read an excerpt from The History of the Berenstain Bears, proving through snappy one-liners and bizarre plot lines that Philadelphia Magazine chose right. Don Steinberg taught us jokes every man should know, and Caroline Tiger informed us how to spot the serial long-distance dater (hint: "when you joke about his weekday girlfriend, there is a long pause before he laughs"). Musical guest Emily Bate provided lively tunes about her new subject of interest, lady criminals. And Michael Rogalski, creative director at Quirk Books, ended the night by sharing his experience and expertise. While most known for the international bestseller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the authors and staff at Quirk demonstrated that talent extends to every corner of the publishing house.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Eric Smith - Introduction
  3. Eric Smith - History of Quirk Books
  4. Dougie Horner - Introduction
  5. Dougie Horner - Short Stories
  6. Emily Bate - Introduction
  7. Emily Bate - Performance
  8. Caroline Tiger - Introduction
  9. Caroline Tiger - Reading
  10. Don Steinberg - Reading
  11. Don Steinberg - Introduction
  12. Michael Rogalski - Introduction
  13. Michael Rogalski - Reading
  14. Emily Bate - Performance

Episode 94 - 3/26/2012 - Principal Hand Presents

Local experimental poets from Steve McLaughlin's monthly reading series enlivened the Writers House this March evening in an abundance of exuberant verse. Each performer tipped their hat to their fellow readers, resulting in a number of energetic collaborations as the night progressed. It was difficult to discern the difference between Eddie Hopely's lilting poetry and his ordinary speech; he seemed to edit his work in real-time as he warped language in repetition. Trisha Low claimed that performance studies, a field in which she is pursuing an MFA at Tisch, doesn't really exist, an assertion that was hard to believe as her reading took a surprising theatrical turn. Musical guest Corey Duncan of Oh! Pears showcased spirited acoustics in his song "Under the Olive Trees"; later in the night, his malleable, whinnying voice went soft in a cover of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony (movement #2). "Corroded philosophic algorithm" John Paetsch evidenced his verbal alacrity in snappy changes of tone, alternating between textbook recitation, gangsta-speech, diatribe, falsetto, stuttered name-dropping, and even interjected song as if flicking through channels on a TV. Cecilia K. Corrigan enlisted the help of the other poets in attendance to pay tribute to HBO's "Luck" with a surreal screenplay about horseracing, intrigue, and threatening poems. Gauss PDF founder Gordon Faylor wrapped up the poetic portion of the night; his voice grew unsettling and gravelly as he spouted medical analyses, creating a diseased effect.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Eddie Hopely - Introduction
  3. Eddie Hopely - Performance
  4. Trisha Low - Introduction
  5. Trisha Low - "Conversation"
  6. Corey Duncan - Introduction
  7. Corey Duncan - "Under the Olive Trees"
  8. John Paetsch - Introduction
  9. John Paetsch - "Novel"
  10. Cecilia K. Corrigan - Introduction
  11. Cecilia K. Corrigan - "Luck"
  12. Gordon Faylor - Introduction
  13. Gordon Faylor - "I've Got a New Hat"
  14. Corey Duncan - "Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony"
  15. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 93 - 2/23/2012 - Philly's Up-And-Coming

A few of Philadelphia's finest young writers read a selection of fiction and poetry in this edition of LIVE. Pattie Russo, who began writing stories while working with lab animals in a cancer research lab, started the evening off with a fresh, dystopian take on a "lost dog" story, while Sam Allingham continued the theme of absence with an exploration of deluded parental dynamics and art museums. The Old-Fashioneds proceeded to charm with their traditional bluegrass style; plucky, heartening fiddle balanced mournful vocals in "Who's Going to Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?" and "Single Girl." Bridget Talone changed the pace with a measured, mesmerizing reading of Prince-inspired poems. Next, MFA poetry candidate Timothy Leonido delved into inter-workplace tension as it relates to pharmaceuticals, dairy mishaps, and illicit scratch-off dealings. Mathew Jakubowski's "Chilling Out Raya Potta" rounded out the night with gripping character development, both written and oral: the earnestness of Raya Potta, executor of "emblematic public experiences," was clear in Jakubowski's voice.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Pattie Russo - Introduction
  3. Pattie Russo - "Serious Work Indeed"
  4. Sam Allingham - Introduction
  5. Sam Allingham - "Sunflowers," "Field," and "Your Name Here"
  6. The Old Fashioneds - Introduction
  7. The Old Fashioneds - "Whose Going to Show Your Pretty Little Feet"
  8. Bridget Talone - Introduction
  9. Bridget Talone - Nine Poems
  10. Timothy Leonido - Introduction
  11. Timothy Leonido - Short Story
  12. Matthew Jakubowski - Introduction
  13. Matthew Jakubowski - "Chilling Out Raya Potta"
  14. Old Fashioneds - "Single Girl"
  15. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 92 - 01/23/2012 - Friends of the Writers House

For the 92nd episode of LIVE, we invited valued members of the Writers House community to come share their poetry. We were joined by writers Anne-Adele Wight, Frank Sherlock, Susanna Frye, Michelle Taransky, and Ryan Eckes, as well as the musical group Honey Watts, comprised of folk artists Liz Fullerton and Carl Cheeseman. Many of the poets expressed themselves through natural imagery, as in Taransky's "No, I will be in the Woods" and Wigh''s commentary on environmental issues in "Sidestep Catapult." The poets also voiced their concerns with social issues and educating people, as we saw in Sherlock's piece on the Occupy Wall Street movement. We concluded the session close to home, with Eckes' series of poems about Philadelphia, finishing appropriately with a poem exploring what the word "friend" really means.

  1. Erin Gautsche - Opening Remarks
  2. Anne-Adele Wight - Introduction
  3. Anne-Adele Wight - "Sidestep Catapult"
  4. Frank Sherlock - Introduction
  5. Frank Sherlock - "Great Meetings in History"
  6. Susana Frye - Introduction
  7. Susana Frye - Reading
  8. Michelle Taransky - Introduction
  9. Michelle Taransky - "No, I will be in the Woods"
  10. Honey Watts - Introduction
  11. Honey Watts - "No Promises"
  12. Ryan Eckes - Introduction
  13. Ryan Eckes - "Old News"
  14. Honey Watts - "Charlotte"
  15. Erin Gautsche - Closing Remarks

Episode 91 - 11/28/2011 - Leeway Foundation Grant Winners

Episode 91 of LIVE featured grant winners from the Leeway Foundation, a group that focuses on female and transgender artists in Philadelphia who work to promote social change and resist oppression. During the event, the winners described the projects funded by the Leeway grants. These works ranged from books to artistic portraits to plays. The final winner, Reverend Dr. Beverly Dale, performed one-woman shows on women's liberation from sexual opression. Genne Murphy, playwright and grant winner, was unfortunately unable to join us; however, prior to the event, she worked with two actresses – Anjoli Santiago and Leyla Eraslan – on a reading of Scenes Three and Four of her play-in-progress, "Giantess." Poetry by Shari Tobias and Debra Powell-Wright was also shared during this episode, as well as the introduction to Ondartza Polita's "Legend of Nahia."

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Shari Tobias - Introduction
  3. Shari Tobias - "Tomb of the Unkown Mother"
  4. Debra Wright - Introduction
  5. Debra Wright - "Love Letter to Mother"
  6. Debra Wright - "Woman Just Be"
  7. Lizanne Knott - Introdution
  8. Lizanne Knott - "Three Steps Shy"
  9. Genne Murphy - Introduction
  10. Genne Murphy - "Giantess"
  11. Ondartza Polita - Introduction
  12. Ondartza Polita - "Legend of Naya"
  13. Reverand Dr. Beverly Dale - Introduction
  14. Reverand Dr. Beverly Dale - "Buns"
  15. Reverand Dr. Beverly Dale - "Song of Songs"
  16. Lizanne Knott - "Angels"
  17. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 90 - 10/24/2011 - First Person Festival Preview

As a precursor for the 10th anniversary First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art, LIVE hosted its 90th episode with poets and spoken word artists set to perform at the festival. The storytelling began with comedian Hillary Rea sharing stories of her celebrity encounters, told in backwards chronological order. Among the rest of the storytellers were Michelle Myers and Kao Kue, who each performed works that brought out their distinctly Asian American heritage, paying special attention to their ancestors. Erik Thomas shared his funny, captivating, yet emotional poem, "Daddy Issues," which offered his perspective on growing up gay. Hip-hop artist and poet Native Son, as well as musician and self-proclaimed "teaching artist" Jack Drummond, shared stories as well.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Hillary Rea - Introduction
  3. Hillary Rea - "Celebrity Encounters"
  4. Michelle Myers - Introduction
  5. Michelle Myers - Three Poems
  6. Jack Drummond - Introduction
  7. Jack Drummond - "Freedom"
  8. Erik Thomas - Introduction
  9. Erik Thomas - "Daddy Issues"
  10. Kao Kue - Introduction
  11. Kao Kue - Stories and Poems
  12. Native Son - Introduction
  13. Native Son - Poems
  14. Jack Drummond - "Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child"
  15. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 89 - 9/26/2011 - Philadelphia Stories Contributors

The Writers House welcomed contributors to the literary journal Philadelphia Stories as well as musician Adrien Reju to the 89th episode of LIVE. To start off the evening, Christina Delia read us her short story "The Robbery" from the journal, as well as a story about dreams called "All Through the Night." Next, we heard James W. Morris's ridiculous yet chilling "The Captive," and Chad Willemborg's creepy and emotionally charged "The Boat." Quaker writer Helen W. Mallon shared a few of her unique stories featuring a spiritually lost, bi-racial mother of twins and a girl's father that refuses to come out of the bathroom for weeks. Finally, Debrah Morkun shared a series of poems called "IDA." With the exceptions of Morkun and Reju, the works read by the writers present can be found in print in Philadelphia Stories.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Christina Delia - Introduction
  3. Christina Delia - "The Robbery"
  4. James W. Morris - Introduction
  5. James W. Morris - "Captive"
  6. Chad Willemborg - Introduction
  7. Chad Willemborg - "The Boat"
  8. Hellen W. Mallon - Introduction
  9. Hellen W. Mallon - "Did You Put the Cat to Bed"
  10. Adrien Reju - Introduction
  11. Adrien Reju - "Under the Moonlight"
  12. Deborah Morkun - Introduction
  13. Deborah Morkun - Performance
  14. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 88 - 3/28/2011 - Philadelphia Noir Contributors

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.

Who knew Philly was so full of intrigue? In this episode of LIVE contributors to the anthology Philadelphia Noir tested the limits of radio with scandalous, suspenseful stories set in delightfully familiar landscapes. Carlin Romano, occasionally adopting a Russian accent for added effect, began with a University City tale about a man with an affinity for seducing real estate agents. Dennis Tafoya revealed his taste for desperation and anxiety in a story about a kleptomaniac, saying, "I'm not a criminal, but I'm a parent, so I understand." Elliot Harvey of A Stick and A Stone introduced the audience to "haunted folk therapy"; enchanting banjo and the raspy edge to his clear soprano lent his music an appropriate level of sorrow and pain. Ansali Solomon followed with a segment from "Secret Pool," in which the disappearance of a teenager's Walkman coincides with her discovery of a shadowy swimming pool. Solomon Jones's emphatic, poetic voice accented the sensory trauma of "Scarred," a short fictional piece brimming with military conspiracy, while Jim Zervanos lightened the mood in "Your Brother Who Loves You," a story rich with satire and comical aspirations to badassery.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Carlin Romano - Introduction
  3. Carlin Romano - Performance
  4. Dennis Tafoya - Introduction
  5. Dennis Tafoya - "Above the Imperial"
  6. A Stick and a Stone - Introduction
  7. A Stick and a Stone - "Moving Slowly"
  8. Ansali Solomon - Introduction
  9. Ansali Solomon - "Secret Pool"
  10. Solomon Jones - Introduction
  11. Solomon Jones - "Scarred"
  12. Jim Zervanos - Introduction
  13. Jim Zervanos - "Your Brother Who Loves You"
  14. A Stick and a Stone - "Muscle Memory"
  15. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 87 - 2/28/2011 - Leeway Foundation Grant Winners

This edition of Live at the Writers House featured the Leeway Foundation's 2010 Arts and Change Grantees. Catzie Villayphonh arrived at the program straight from teaching 5th-7th graders poetry; though she claimed to be underprepared, Villayphonh delivered a confident, high-speed performance of "You Bring Out the Laos in the House," a poem that covered everything from fertilized duck eggs to elephant tattoos. Dr Tanji Gilliam, whose Leeway project was designed to empower women impacted by domestic violence, encouraged those afraid to speak up to "speak in"; as she delivered a troubling and frank family history her voice trembled only twice. Musical guest Emily Ana Zeitlyn – who, host Michaela Majoun explained, was born on a kitchen table in Fairmount Park – sung two of her "lyrically spare... and emotionally volcanic" songs in clear, soft tones. The first of these songs, "Take Me Back," was followed by several poems from Monique E. Hankerson: Hankerson's mild-mannered voice grew righteous and strong as she recounted injustices both universal and personal. Filipino-American Lorelai Narvaja followed with excerpts from family interviews, exploring the conflicting attitudes with which her family regards the past. Finally, Benita Cooper revealed how her grandmother's amazing stories brought her the ability to trust her own voice and ultimately start a large-scale intergenerational storytelling project.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Catzie Vilayphonh - Introduction
  3. Catzie Vilayphonh - Reading
  4. Dr. Tanji Gilliam - Introduction
  5. Dr. Tanji Gilliam - "For Clark"
  6. Dr. Tanji Gilliam - "My Voice"
  7. Emily Ana Zeitlyn - Introduction
  8. Emily Ana Zeitlyn - "Take Me Back"
  9. Monique Hankerson - Introduction
  10. Monique Hankerson - "The Wayward"
  11. Lorelei Narvaja - Introduction
  12. Lorelei Narvaja - "My Cousin"
  13. Benita Cooper - Introduction
  14. Benita Cooper - "One More Story"
  15. Emily Ana Zeitlyn - "Follow"
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 86 - 1/24/2011 - UPenn Excelano Project

Michaela Majoun's voice expressed her excitement about this "return to the classic radio play," and compelling storytelling left the audience, too, hungry for more. Actors Ames Adamson, Zura Athena Johnson, Mary Lee Bednarek, Amanda Schoonover, and Keith Conallen demonstrated their versatility as they shifted from character to character throughout the episode. Rain filled the Arts Cafe in Seth Bauer's drizzly "Umbrella Play," mingling with the sighs of its bewildered, love-struck characters. The precipitation gave way to accents of affluence in a scene from Quinn D. Eli's "The Golden Ladder"; the excerpt ended just as the audience's curiosity peaked. Farm girl Carsie Blanton updated a traditional country sound in her simile-strewn musical interludes, while Jacqueline Goldfinger evoked a deep-South sensibility in her dark comedy "The Terrible Girls." Next, Genne Murphy returned to the local in a Philadelphia play that expertly juxtaposed blas&ecaute; recollections from a former dope addict with trepidation and uncertainty. Classical music characterized the final theatrical piece as a closeted Earth Sciences teacher used Tchaikovsky to bridge an awkward age gap in a scene from Mike Whistler.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Justin Ching - Introduction
  3. Justin Ching - Performance
  4. Marion Smallwood - Introduction
  5. Marion Smallwood - "Pandora"
  6. Matt McAndrew - Introduction
  7. Matt McAndrew - "Motorbike"
  8. Cortney Charleston - Introduction
  9. Cortney Charleston - "Mona Lisa"
  10. Simone Stolzoff - Introduction
  11. Simone Stolzoff - Performance
  12. Alice Liu - Introduction
  13. Alice Liu - "Baby Grand"
  14. Matt McAndrew - "In My Youth"
  15. Tiffany Kang - Introduction
  16. Tiffany Kang - "Home" and "Blasphemy"
  17. Sarah Richter - Introduction
  18. Sarah Richter - "Wakes" and "Museum"
  19. Justin Ching and Marion Smallwood - Introduction
  20. Justin Ching and Marion Smallwood - "Inverse"
  21. Cortney Charleston and Simone Stolzoff - Introduction
  22. Cortney Charleston and Simone Stolzoff - "Everclear"
  23. Matt McAndrew - "Down to You"
  24. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 85 - 11/29/2010 - InterAct Theatre Company Playwrights Forum

Michaela Majoun's voice expressed her excitement about this "return to the classic radio play," and compelling storytelling left the audience, too, hungry for more. Actors Ames Adamson, Zura Athena Johnson, Mary Lee Bednarek, Amanda Schoonover, and Keith Conallen demonstrated their versatility as they shifted from character to character throughout the episode. Rain filled the Arts Cafe in Seth Bauer's drizzly "Umbrella Play," mingling with the sighs of its bewildered, love-struck characters. The precipitation gave way to accents of affluence in a scene from Quinn D. Eli's "The Golden Ladder"; the excerpt ended just as the audience's curiosity peaked. Farm girl Carsie Blanton updated a traditional country sound in her simile-strewn musical interludes, while Jacqueline Goldfinger evoked a deep-South sensibility in her dark comedy "The Terrible Girls." Next, Genne Murphy returned to the local in a Philadelphia play that expertly juxtaposed blasé recollections from a former dope addict with trepidation and uncertainty. Classical music characterized the final theatrical piece as a closeted Earth Sciences teacher used Tchaikovsky to bridge an awkward age gap in a scene from Mike Whistler.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Seth Bauer - Introduction to "Umbrella Play"
  3. Seth Bauer, Keith Conallen, and Mary Lee Bednarek - Excerpt from "Umbrella Play"
  4. Quinn D. Eli - Introduction to "Golden Ladder"
  5. Quinn Eli, Ames Adamson, and Amanda Schoonover - Excerpt from "Golden Ladder"
  6. Carsie Blanton - Introduction
  7. Carsie Blanton - "Buoy"
  8. Jacqueline Goldfinger - Introduction to "Terrible Girls"
  9. Jacqueline Goldfinger, Zura Johnson, Amanda Schoonover, and Mary Lee Bednarek - Excerpt from "Terrible Girls"
  10. Genne Murphy - Introduction to "Hope Street"
  11. Genne Murphy, Amanda Schoonover, Zura Johnson, and Keith Conallen - Excerpt from "Hope Street"
  12. Mike Whistler - Introduction to "Nutcracker"
  13. Mike Whistler, Keith Conallen, and Ames Adamson - Excerpt from "Nutcracker"
  14. Carsie Blanton - Closing Performance Introduction
  15. Carsie Blanton - Closing Performance
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 84 - 10/25/2010 - Philadelphia Food Writers

For the 84th episode of LIVE, the Writers House invited food writers from around Philadelphia to share reviews, blog posts, and stories about the art of cooking. Our first guest was food and wine writer Brian Freedman, who shared a negative restaurant review (the restaurant remained unnamed) and an excerpt from a series of essays detailing an embarrassing incident at summer camp involving a vanilla éclair and a cabin full of thirteen campers. Other guests included Kirsten Henri, who told an unconventional story about trying to learn to cook with her Italian grandmother; Drew Lazor, who shared a cleverly titled piece about Philly pizza joints; Felicia D'Ambrosio, who described her growth from a city paper writer to running an online review site by reading pieces from her past and present; and Collin Keefe, who read a series of humorous blog posts describing a highly anticipated food truck's reluctance to open. Also present for the event was musician John Francis, who played his non-food-related but stirring "Who" and "Johnny Cash on the Radio."

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Brian Freedman - Introduction
  3. Brian Freedman - Reading
  4. Kirsten Henri - Introduction
  5. Kirsten Henri - Reading
  6. Drew Lazor - Introduction
  7. Drew Lazor - Reading
  8. Felicia D'Ambrosio - Introduction
  9. Felicia D'Ambrosio - Reading
  10. John Francis - Introduction
  11. John Francis - Performing "Who"
  12. Collin Keefe - Introduction
  13. Collin Keefe - Reading
  14. John Francis - Closing Performance Introduction
  15. John Francis - Performance "Johnny Cash on the Radio"
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 83 - 9/27/2010 - First Person Arts Story Slam Stars

Guest host Erin Gautsche assured the audience that tonight's First Person Arts Story Slam winners were "the best of the best" in this edition of LIVE. Angel Hogan, whose rural childhood consisted of "a heap of multicultural embarrassments," started the night off by detailing the transformation of her white rooster, Mr. Chick, from mild-mannered house-pet to terrifying attack bird. Leah Walton revealed why her typically charming grandfather was nicknamed "Hank the Crank" in a story that recounted their late-night ice-cream-and-casaba-melon run; her gruff, silly grandpa voice added investment to the escapade. Musical guest Ross Bellenoit's deep, resonant guitar was complemented by natural rhyme as he sang about "victories of blood and gold"; a sharp contrast, to be sure, to the cheeseburger song he once wrote for Craig LaBan. Quirky strains of awkwardness punctuated R. Eric Thomas's piece about a road trip with his parents, while Katonya Mosely addressed her complicated bladder in a recollection of her crazy law school days. Mike McCarry's struggles with terminal lateness were almost too incredible to believe in his account of "the day I figured out they were never gonna fire me": his mishaps were balanced by profound reflections in Tre Rials's "How I Spent My Summer Evacucation," in which Rials thanked Katrina for lending him new perspective.

  1. Erin Gautsche - Introduction
  2. Angel Hogan - Introduction
  3. Angel Hogan - "Chicken"
  4. Leah Walton - Introduction
  5. Leah Walton - "Hank the Crank"
  6. Ross Bellenoit - "To Be Free"
  7. Ross Bellenoit - Performance
  8. R. Eric Thomas - Introduction
  9. R. Eric Thomas - "Where Was I?" from "Lost and Found"
  10. Katonya Mosley - Introduction
  11. Katonya Mosley - Reading
  12. Mike McCarry - Introduction
  13. Mike McCarry - "The Day I Figured Out They Were Never Gonna Fire Me"
  14. Tre Rials - Introduction
  15. Tre Rials - "My Summer Evacucation"
  16. Ross Bellenoit - Closing Performance Intro
  17. Ross Bellenoit - "Behind an Open Door"
  18. Erin Gautsche - Closing Remarks

Episode 82 - 3/29/2010 - Mighty Writers Students

LIVE welcomed a different set of readers than typical for this endearing episode. Writing (along with video games and sports) was a shared interested for the 7th and 8th grade alumni of Mighty Writers' "Scary Stories" workshop, and their enthusiasm for the craft was reflected in a series of imaginative readings. Soccer player Imani Kunle's collected air lent an almost cavalier tone to the devastations of an apocalypse story, while Antoniyah Ben T'om's "Deep Roots" made a compelling case against feeding plants tasteless fertilizer. Anthony Oliver's creative similes ("like two bald-headed Milk Duds," among others) were a highlight of "A Walk Down the Street," a story which fused time travel and a near-death experience. Eighth-grader Tiaira Rodgers confronted "Thomas Jefferson with his big mouth" in another time-travel narrative about changing the constitution's stance on slavery; her choice of first person made the tale read like a personal recollection. Musical interludes from Nicole Reynolds showcased the innocent, meandering quality of her voice even as she asked "would you cut off your ear / if I needed it to hear...?" And Naur Collins concluded the readings with a grisly ghost story set in the Eastern State Penitentiary, growling and whispering for additional creepiness.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Imani Kunle - Introduction
  3. Imani Kunle - Reading
  4. Adoniyah Ben T'om - Introduction
  5. Adoniyah Ben T'om - "Deep Roots"
  6. Caroline Bean - Talks about Mighty Writers
  7. Anthony Oliver - Introduction
  8. Anthony Oliver - "A Walk Down the Street"
  9. Tiaira Rodgers - Introduction
  10. Tiaira Rodgers - "The Constitution"
  11. Nicole Reynolds - Introduction
  12. Nicole Reynolds - "Wonderin"
  13. Naur Collins - Introduction
  14. Naur Collins - "Eastern State Penitentiary"
  15. Jonathan Marcin - Talks about Mighty Writers
  16. Nicole Reynolds - "Here Right Now"
  17. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 81 - 2/22/2010 - Leeway Foundation Winners

Another round of Leeway grant recipients graced the Writers House for this edition of LIVE, navigating the depths of documentary and memoir in a night with equal parts emotion and humor. Elizabeth Castiglione illustrated how unsettling the ordinary can become in an exploration of bipolar disorder, equating her situation to a 6th-grade writing assignment involving PB&J. Esteemed gluten-free author Jax Peters Lowell offset the dread of her husband's brain-surgery recovery with a slew of quirky characters – from a Cockney-speaking crossing guard to an elite "Connecticut preppy" – in "Coconuts." Indah Nuritasari asked audience members to pardon her accent as she recounted her migration from Indonesia to Philly, emphasizing the small miracles of everyday life. The Swimmers followed with a fresh take on the synthesizer; the progressive combination and separation of male and female vocals mesmerized. Yowei Shaw, a Penn senior, shared a scene from her radio documentary about The People's Revolutionary Party in Philly, proving that even communists eat cookie cream pie. A reporter's composure and clarity distinguished a final reading from Barbara Ann Grant, in which the humiliation and frustration of securing care for her elderly mother was balanced by small comic details (a 75-year-old boy toy and the redefinition of "HONDA," for instance).

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Elizabeth Castiglione - Introduction
  3. Elizabeth Castiglione - From the first chapter of Stumbling in the Dark
  4. Jax Peters Lowell - Introduction
  5. Jax Peters Lowell - "Coconuts"
  6. Indah Nuritasari - Introduction
  7. Indah Nuritasari - "Relying on Miracles"
  8. Swimmers - Introduction
  9. Swimmers - "Anything Together"
  10. Yowei Shaw - Introduction
  11. Yowei Shaw - Reading
  12. Barbara Ann Grant - Introduction
  13. Barbara Ann Grant - Reading
  14. Swimmers - Closing Performance Introduction
  15. Swimmers - "Save Me From the Brightness"
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing

Episode 80 - 1/25/2010 - Philly Fiction 2 Contributors

"A deafening audience" joined us this night to celebrate our very own "city of inspiration" and its fiction-writing inhabitants. Christine Flanagan began with a story about an ad man fighting to keep his anger in check in settings ranging from the Schuylkill banks to the local 7-11. Former Writers House fundraiser and experimental mailman John Carroll followed with an amusing account of a Phillies game in which harassment of Cubs fans featured prominently. The young narrator of Elise Juska's "Northeast Philly Girls" drew laughs from the audience as she marveled at the tight-jeans pride of her "grown-up" middle-school cousin. Scotch-Irish "musical cooperative" Flora Lee couldn't seem to help themselves from leaning into a cheerful, sweet, head-bobbing sound, reminiscent of an earlier musical time. Kelly McQuain told an Italian Market tale in which a freehand tattoo undertaking goes horribly awry, while Benjamin Matvey ended on a bizarre note with a story of young love and brains in the Mütter Museum.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Christine Flanagan - Introduction
  3. Christine Flanagan - Reading from "Return to Ithaca"
  4. John Carroll - Introduction
  5. John Carroll - "Baby Blue"
  6. Elise Juska - Introduction
  7. Elise Juska - "Northeast Philly Girls"
  8. Flora Lee - Introduction
  9. Flora Lee - "I'm Beginning to See the Light"
  10. Kelly McQuain - Introduction
  11. Kelly McQuain - "Erasing Sonny"
  12. Benjamin Matvey - Introduction
  13. Benjamin Matvey - "Peace of Mind"
  14. Flora Lee - Closing Performance Introduction
  15. Flora Lee - Untitled Song
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing

Episode 79 - 11/30/2009 - Local Fiction Writers

This episode of LIVE demonstrated the benefits of listening locally in a tribute to the city's homegrown literary talent. Jeff Bender defined Jesus Christ's character by his prowess on the wrestling mat, while Rachel Cantor turned an in-flight flirtation into a desperate, operatic confrontation. Tim Leonido's "Difference Tone" channeled all of the precision of an automaton in its playfully overwrought vocabulary. Rachel Carpenter, originator of such words as "faukward" and "expatitis," preoccupied the audience with the past in a reading from The Return of Mr. Davies. Zach Djanikian's speaking voice was transformed by song: its emphatic fluidity met simple, soothing guitar. Finally, novel-juggler Jeremy Rosenberg drew laughter with the musings of a pro-pyramid-scheme cheese-factory worker and a loony amateur astronomer.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Jeff Bender - Excerpt from The Weight
  3. Rachel Cantor - Introduction
  4. Rachel Cantor - "White Sky"
  5. Tim Leonido - Introduction
  6. Tim Leonido - "Difference Tone"
  7. Rachel Carpenter - Introduction
  8. Rachel Carpenter - "Things Begin Again" from The Return of Mr. Davies
  9. Zach Djanikian - Introduction
  10. Zach Djanikian - I Think They're Out to Destroy
  11. Jeremy Rosenberg - Introduction
  12. Jeremy Rosenberg - "Pyramid Scheme" and "Moon"
  13. Zach Djanikian - Closing Introduction
  14. Zach Djanikian - Love of My Life
  15. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 78 - 10/26/2009 - "Local Journalists Write Philadelphia" Features

Some of Philadelphia's most intriguing stories hit the radio waves in this episode of LIVE, which was comprised of feature articles from local journalists. Daniel Denvir's opening piece was ringed with a sad, twisted humor as he detailed the desensitized virtual violence of a "military Dave and Buster's"; Mattathias Schwartz followed with an appetizing look into an old-style bakery (South Philadelphian dialects rose through slowly, like dough). Penn PhD candidate David Faris explained that "one-hundred and fifty dollars goes away much more smoothly when you kiss it goodbye in stackable red chips" in his underground exploration of illegal no-limit poker, while Bruce Schimmel extolled the merits of driving a "mature vehicle." Twin brothers Rich and Rob Kwait of Cabin Dogs provided a musical interlude about a ghost train before Tara Murtha took a dark look at the abuses and paradoxes of the teen prostitute "game" in the US. Isaiah Thompson managed to lighten the mood by chronicling South Philly residents' cohabitation with a self-sustaining feral chicken pack; fittingly, Cabin Dogs concluded the night with a plaintive song inspired by the sunset on a chicken farm.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Opening Remarks
  2. Daniel Denvir - Introduction
  3. Daniel Denvir - "Game Theory"
  4. Mattathias Schwartz - Introduction
  5. Mattathias Schwartz - "Nothing Fancy"
  6. David Faris - Introduction
  7. David Faris - "Take it to the Limit"
  8. Bruce Schimmel - Introduction
  9. Bruce Schimmel - "Driving Down"
  10. Cabin Dogs - Introduction
  11. Cabin Dogs - "Blue Train"
  12. Tara Murtha - Introduction
  13. Tara Murtha - "Traffic Stop"
  14. Isaiah Thompson - Introduction
  15. Isaiah Thompson - "Coop d'état"
  16. Cabin Dogs - Closing Intro
  17. Cabin Dogs - "Twilight"
  18. Michaela Majoun - Closing Remarks

Episode 77 - 9/21/2009 - Keystone Chapbook Prize Winners

Pennsylvania poets exhibited the fruits of their prize-winning chapbooks in tonight's episode of LIVE. Harry Humes started the night off in deep tones, his poems evocative of the coal-mining country where he was raised. The music began early in the episode with singer-songwriter-cardiologist Suzie Brown's soothing "Side Streets"; later, Brown warned against falling for a drifter in her Johnny-Cash-inspired "Longest Road." Katherine Bode Lang's work addressed overheard vegetable chopping, divorce, her mother, and the view from her front porch; her "Lament for Pluto" was an audience favorite. Lisa Sewell read from her series of book-inspired poems and arrested listener attention with a bleak look into the Super Dome during Hurricane Katrina; Deborah Burnham concluded with snow, peaches, migraines, and mirror metaphor.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Harry Humes - Introduction
  3. Harry Humes - Reading
  4. Suzie Brown - Introduction
  5. Suzie Brown - Performance
  6. Katherine Bode Lang - Introduction
  7. Katherine Bode Lang - Reading
  8. Lisa Sewell - Introduction
  9. Lisa Sewell - Reading
  10. Deborah Burnham - Introduction
  11. Deborah Burnham - Reading
  12. Suzie Brown - Closing Remarks
  13. Suzie Brown - Closing Performance
  14. Michaela Majoun - Closing

Episode 76 - 3/23/2009 - Young Local Fiction Writers

The writers featured in this episode of LIVE defied age expectations with the maturity of their captivating prose. Former Writers House staffer Sam Allingham appealed to listener imagination by distinguishing between the peculiar pulsations of love-stricken buildings, while Wharton speech-writer Katherine Hill intimated potential recycling conspiracies in a humorous story of purge. Shannon Pelcher's voice managed to be both feathery and syrupy as it meandered alongside a pleasantly bumbling bass. A poetic sensibility permeated Adrian Khactu's reading as he paused amongst maternal dysfunction and an enigmatic Mexican savior. French fries loomed large over Mecca Sullivan's obesity-clinic twist on a mother-daughter piece, while Penn senior Vince Levy touched upon polar bears, suicide, and the beauty of imminent danger in "Swim Lessons."

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Sam Allingham - Introduction
  3. Sam Allingham - "Buildings, A Love Story"
  4. Katherine Hill - Introduction
  5. Katherine Hill - "Waste Disposal"
  6. Shannon Pelcher - Introduction
  7. Shannon Pelcher - "Peculiar Pain"
  8. Adrian Khactu - Introduction
  9. Adrian Khactu - "Mexico"
  10. Mecca Sullivan - Introduction
  11. Mecca Sullivan - Piece from "Blue Talk and Love"
  12. Vince Levy - Introduction
  13. Vince Levy - "Swim Lessons"
  14. Shannon Pelcher - Closing Performance Introduction
  15. Shannon Pelcher - "Daydream"
  16. Michaela Majoun - Closing

Episode 75 - 2/16/2009 - Leeway Foundation Award Winners

Chlamydia, Darby, cats shitting on the lawn: Leeway Foundation award-winners filled the Writers House this Monday with poems and stories of prison, family, and domestic animals. Writer and teacher Alison Harris started off the evening painting pictures in calm even tones of those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, a reflection of the foundation's mission to promote expression that amplifies the voices of the marginalized. Valerie Harris, a teaching artist aiming to assist individuals in appreciating "the cultural landscape of their communities," gave a human face to Darby Borough, and Stephanie Yuhas, by literally adopting the voice of her Transylvanian mother, gave a complete picture of that human face. Courtney Fairchild gave us a different sort of lyricism with musical performances from her new album "11 Chances," a mix of percussion and buttery smooth tonality. Ann Marie Kirk and Winifred Coller-Bolkus, by different means and in varied voices, finished the night by expressing the triumph of human spirit against adversity: one through stories of burnt sheets and burnt lungs, and the other by way of a frog with a prosthesis. With unyielding voices in their advocacy for economic and social justice, our five female readers provoked thought and laughter throughout the evening.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Allison Harris - Introduction
  3. Allison Harris - Reading
  4. Valerie Harris - Introduction
  5. Valerie Harris - Reading
  6. Courtney Fairchild - Performance
  7. Ann Marie Kirk - Introduction
  8. Ann Marie Kirk - Reading
  9. Stephanie Yuhas - Introduction
  10. Stephanie Yuhas - Reading
  11. Winifred Collier-Bolkus - Introduction
  12. Winifred Collier-Bolkus - Reading
  13. Courtney Fairchild - Performance
  14. Michaela Majoun - Closing

Episode 74 - 01/26/2009 - Writers and Actors from InterAct Theatre Company

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
Full program

"If only you could speak her language …" the voice of Kelly Lundgren Pietrucha's protagonist expresses all of the regret and limitation that each of the writers' characters is made to feel at some point in these three pieces of short fiction. Pietrucha presented her short story along with fellow writers Liz Abraham and Jonathan Liebson. In this month's installment of LIVE, however, the Kelly Writers House did not see the performance of these pieces by their authors, but rather by professional actors from the InterAct theatre company. The company, which celebrated its tenth season in 2008/2009, is known for giving voices to the region's writers. Lilian Rozen started off the evening with a performance of Liz Abraham's short story: a mix of docility and hospital beds, starting with shouts and ending in whispers and silence. Jonathan Liebson's short story, performed by Dan Hodge, was one of hatred, unease, and knife blades biting into flesh. In a change of tone from Liebson, Mark Silever and the Stone Throwers, the evening's musical performers, gave a more upbeat feel with an acoustic guitar and indie vibe. Jared Delaney ended the night with Pietrucha's storm and attempts to gain control. This Monday, the Kelly Writers House was able to showcase arts both written and performed, and the blend between strengthened each.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Lillian Rosen - Reading
  3. Jonathan Liebson - Introduction
  4. Jonathan Liebson - Commentary
  5. Jonathan Liebson (read by Dan Hodge) - Reading
  6. Mark Silver - Performance
  7. Kelly Lundgren Pietrucha - Introduction
  8. Kelly Lundgren Pietrucha (read by Jared Delaney) - Reading
  9. Mark Sliver - Introduction
  10. Mark Silver - Performance
  11. Michaela Majoun - Closing

Episode 73 - 11/17/2008 - Sage Writers

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
Full program

The inside world of prison came out in this episode of LIVE. The program included a variety of inspirational, unsettling, and thought-provoking poems and prose. Founder and director Judith Trustone who began the publishing program after teaching a creative writing course at a local prison, noted stark views of prisoners (they are but "a squirt of sperm") in her poem "A Kinder, Gentler Murder." Trustone's readings of works from prisoners themselves also explicitly demonstrated the atrocities within prison. One such poem, "Twenty-first-century Dawn's Early Light," addressed today's injustices while seamlessly intertwining the lyrics of the National Anthem into with its own, causing the book in which it resides to be banned in Pennsylvania's prisons. Cameron Holmes, who had twenty years inside, addressed patriotism in his poem "The World is Round" — an account of his perspective of 9/11 while behind bars. The desire for freedom rung true in the poems of Patrick Middletone, the first prisoner in the US to earn his BA, MA, and PhD behind bars, and Anton Forde, a native Jamaican who maintains his innocence. Both prisoners are "lifers." The clamorous music of Oh! Pears, founded by Corey Duncan, complemented the poets' messages with their own haunting chants — music which ultimately believes that words, and sometimes only words, can heal us.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Judith Trustone - Introduction
  3. Judith Trustone - Reading
  4. Cameron Holmes - Introduction
  5. Cameron Holmes - Reading
  6. Oh! Pears - Introduction
  7. Oh! Pears - Performance
  8. Patrick Middletone - Introduction
  9. Patrick Middleton (read by Judith Trustone) - Reading
  10. Anton Forde - Introduction
  11. Anton Forde - Reading
  12. Oh! Pears - Performance
  13. Michaela Majoun - Closing

Episode 72 - 10/20/2008 - Arts Sanctuary

Produced and hosted by Erin Gautsche.
Full program

The Arts Café overflowed with the voices of Arts Sanctuary poets, musicians, storytellers, and actors this Monday night, each drawing power from the inner city and reinfusing it in order to transform individuals, unite groups, and enrich lives. Leslie Banks, an expert in multiple genres, began the night with an excerpt from "Minion," a story about seduction and deep-South vampires. Solomon Jones, spoken-word artist and author, read excerpts from political thriller "C.R.E.A.M" and "The Mission," the latter a warning for single men about walking the feminine hygiene aisle. Twin poets Al and Nnamdi, devoted to the empowerment of the community via social work and spoken word, followed with the poem entitled "Why I Write." The brothers gave their powerful voices to all those without ("I write to share my love affair of words with the children / Because God is on my tongue and the world is in need of healing"). Monnette Sudler, our musical guest for the evening, continued the theme of healing with "The Healing Song," a combination of African thumb piano and soft cries of "heal me." Ed Shockley, artistic director of the Philadelphia Dramatics center, ended the night with an echo of "Oh Freedom" from his performance of "Slave Narrative."

  1. Erin Gautsche - Introduction
  2. L.A. Banks - Introduction
  3. L.A. Banks - Reading
  4. Solomon Jones - Introduction
  5. Solomon Jones - Reading
  6. The Twin Poets - Introduction
  7. The Twin Poets - Reading
  8. Monette Sudler - Introduction
  9. Monette Sudler - Performance
  10. Ed Shockley - Introduction
  11. Ed Shockley - Reading
  12. Monette Sudler - Performance

Episode 71 - 9/22/2008 - Local Poets

Produced and hosted by Erin Gautsche.
Full program

From puppets to acrostics, ghost stories to mental illnesses, and Beowulf to polar bears, Philadelphia's local poets filled the Arts Café with their passionate poetry in this episode of LIVE. The evening began with readings from Thomas Devaney, one of the cocurators for Edgar Allan Poe's 200th anniversary exhibit. His daringly dark poetry (a result of Poe, perhaps?) drew inspiration from acrostics and YouTube videos. Influenced by her personal trials, Trapeta Mayson, who enjoys teaching young people the importance of creative venues, chilled the room with thoughts of her ill mother, immigration, and the "Liberian English" dialect. Bypassing dialect for translation in "Ship Burial," Randall Couch, a regular panelist on PoemTalk, seamlessly interwove excerpts of Beowulf into his own work. Hezekiah Jones then presented a folky, mellow song taken from a letter written from the future. Back to the present, Ish Klein, a self-taught film- and puppet-maker, allowed her puppets to speak for themselves, while Scott Edward Anderson, writer of The Green Skeptic Blog, spoke for those that cannot speak in his environmentally conscious poetry and bitingly sarcastic description of his knee. Hezekiah Jones's strumming song about baked goods, "Cupcakes for the Army," fittingly concluded the inspirational evening with a tale of hopes, dreams, and childhood innocence.

  1. Erin Gautsche - Introduction
  2. Thomas Devaney - Introduction
  3. Thomas Devaney - Reading
  4. Trapeta Mayson - Introduction
  5. Trapeta Mayson - Reading
  6. Randall Couch - Introduction
  7. Randall Couch - Reading
  8. Hezekiah Jones - Introduction
  9. Hezekiah Jones - Performance
  10. Ish Klein - Introduction
  11. Ish Klein - Reading
  12. Scott Edward Anderson - Introduction
  13. Scott Edward Anderson - Reading
  14. Hezekiah Jones - Performance

Episode 70 - 03/31/2008 - Mad Poets Society

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

Rather than being clinically insane or deranged, the Mad Poets Society believe themselves to be "a little crazy, but not someone you'd move away from on the bus." This episode of LIVE featured several mad poets and their deeply moving, wildly humorous, and utterly chilling poetry. Director Eileen D'Angelo expressed a range of true and imagined fears, regrets, and desires, while self-proclaimed "humorous and serious poet" Steven Delia reflected both his sincerity and wit. Appreciative chuckles and guffaws sputtered out during Delia's self-deprecating "4 AM Commercial" and slightly scandalous "Ode to Cecily." Unlike Delia, who could only think of Cecily's underwear, a frustrated Missy Grotz could not take her mind off of her mouth's searing pain in "Advil Isn't Cutting It." Musical guest Devin Greenwood then sent a shiver through the audience with his strumming guitar and successive "mmm's." In a sprightly voice, Autumn Knopka next read a selection of poetry that "met FCC regulations." Breaking the trend of introducing his poem with an anecdote, Dan Maguire, who "doesn't do anything" but "takes a long time doing it," comically noted his poem's literary features (if you're wondering — unrhymed iambic hexameter with enjambment and slant rhyme). His smooth voice filled the room like a lullaby as he fittingly read a poem about mental illness. Greenwood's final song, "Dragon City," characterized by an atmospheric puccalo, finished the evening with a bittersweet and mystic tale — one which you'd have to be, well, mad to believe.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Eileen DAngelo - Introduction
  3. Eileen DAngelo - The Failings of Memory
  4. Eileen DAngelo - Marksman
  5. Eileen DAngelo - August, Perseids Meteor Shower
  6. Eileen DAngelo - For Eric
  7. Eileen DAngelo - Love Letter to a Moody Sea
  8. Stephen Delia - Introduction
  9. Stephen Delia - Easter
  10. Stephen Delia - Roadside Sideshow
  11. Stephen Delia - 4 AM Commerical
  12. Stephen Delia - Perception
  13. Stephen Delia - Ode to Cecily
  14. Stephen Delia - Winter Night on 2nd Street
  15. Stephen Delia - Angel Gloss
  16. Stephen Delia - When I Get Married
  17. Missy Grotz - Introduction
  18. Missy Grotz - Do You See My Face
  19. Missy Grotz - Can I Be Myself
  20. Missy Grotz - Creativity
  21. Missy Grotz - Advil Isnt Cutting It
  22. Missy Grotz - Morning Paper Guy on 12th and Curlan
  23. Missy Grotz - Who Do I See But What Do I Care
  24. Devin Greenwood - Introduction
  25. Devin Greenwood - This Over Here
  26. Autumn Konopka - Introduction
  27. Autumn Konopka - The Stuff of Poems
  28. Autumn Konopka - Potato Salad Isnt Only for Picnics
  29. Autumn Konopka - Couplets for William and Abigail
  30. Autumn Konopka - Paper Boy
  31. Autumn Konopka - Hush
  32. Dan Maguire - Introduction
  33. Dan Maguire - The Lateness of the Day
  34. Dan Maguire - Reprise
  35. Dan Maguire - Finding the Words
  36. Devin Greenwood - Dragon City

Episode 69 - 02/25/2008 - Leeway Award Winners

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

Leeway Award winners flooded the Writers House this evening, crossing boundaries between people and places. Judith Truthstone, founder of Sage Writers, traversed the hidden world of prison to uncover "toxic masculinity." In order to dissuade them from listening to what she considers to be poisonous music, hip hop artist Kameela Waheed introduced students in Camden to Funk and James Brown. Architect Rachel Goffe, Renaissance woman Michelle Posadas, and writer Wakzani Mhute traveled within and outside of the US, questioning the interplay of identity and change. In an interview with the elderly Carolyn Thomas, Rachel Goffe's buttery voice unveiled the horrors of eminent domain, while Posadas's journal shed light on the oppression faced by Filipinos. In Zimbabwe, women suffer from the "unnamed disease that embarrasses everyone," as detailed in Mhute's rhythmic poem. Musical guest Paper Trees mesmerized the room with Allison Polans's deep and sultry voice as she, too, sang of identity and men. The award winners will surely inspire transformation with their art, as they have already done so this night in the Arts Café.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Rachel Goffee - Introduction
  3. Rachel Goffee - Interview
  4. Kameelah Waheed - Introduction
  5. Michelle Posadas - Introduction
  6. Michelle Posadas - Journal Excerpts
  7. Paper Trees - Introduction
  8. Paper Trees - Pretender
  9. Wakzanai Mhute - Introduction
  10. Wakzanai Mhute - Short Illness
  11. Wakzanai Mhute - The Torrent
  12. Judith Truestone - Introduction
  13. Judith Truestone - Imagine
  14. Judith Truestone - A Kinder, Gentler Murder
  15. Paper Trees - Seesaw Shuffle

Episode 68 - 01/28/2008 - Youth Poets from the Arts and Spirituality Center

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

The Kelly Writers House and WXPN hosted the talented poets of the Arts and Spirituality Center, an interfaith and nonprofit community of artists and activists. Cathy Cohen, founder and program director of We the Poets, which teaches children how to write, read, and present poetry, revealed the interaction of art and faith in her poems "Speak a New Language" and "Walk on Fire." thirteen-year-old Safi Aziz talked about the the heart as our essence and seventeen-year-old Brandon Ramirez echoed this idea of expression in his poem "Speaking My Soul." Bernard Collins, a teacher and poet amongst other things, explored the connections between poetry and visual arts in his poems "Red" and "Warmth." Mary Francis and Jan Jeffries performed "Akiwowo," the sound of maracas cut up by a hand hitting a drum, the beats coming closer and closer together as Francis raised an octave and allowed the audience to feel the full weight and power of her voice. Magda Martinez, winner of the Leeway Foundation Transformation Award, mixed Spanish and English in "Cuentito peludo" and "Untitled Poems," where the journey for identity and the immediacy of Martinez's voice sent shivers down the spine. Fifteen-year-old Tammy Miller ended the night with poems inspired by events in her life. With a mix of veteran writers and newly proclaimed poets, the house was roused by voices of excitement and passion.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Cathy Cohen - Introduction
  3. Cathy Cohen - Girl On Fire
  4. Cathy Cohen - Rose At The Door
  5. Cathy Cohen - Lines Of Your Journey
  6. Cathy Cohen - Speak A New Language
  7. Cathy Cohen - Walk In White
  8. Safi Aziz - Introduction
  9. Safi Aziz - Let Me Write
  10. Bernard Collins - Introduction
  11. Bernard Collins - Red
  12. Bernard Collins - The Conversation
  13. Bernard Collins - Warmth
  14. Bernard Collins - Two Thoughts
  15. Bernard Collins - Trains
  16. Marcy, and Jan Jeffries Francis - Akiwowo
  17. Brandon Ramirez - Introduction
  18. Brandon Ramirez - Speaking My Soul
  19. Brandon Ramirez - Love Choice and Trust
  20. Magda Martinez - Introduction
  21. Magda Martinez - Cuentito Peludo
  22. Magda Martinez - Untitled Poems
  23. Tammy Miller - Introduction
  24. Tammy Miller - Mother Where Are You
  25. Tammy Miller - As I Grew Up
  26. Tammy Miller - Man On That Wave
  27. Marcy, and Jan Jeffries Francis - Thank You For This Day
  28. Michaela Majoun - Ending

Episode 67 - 11/26/2007 - Winds of Change: Philly Politics 2007

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun
You can hear a recording of the entire program here

When Mayor Michael Nutter assumed office in 2008, Philadelphia had the highest homicide rate in the country, along with other less-than-savory issues. In this episode of LIVE, some of Philadelphia's most prominent political writers detailed the host of challenges facing the mayor. Chris Satullo, who spent a year teaching in France and writes the "Center Square" column for The Inquirer, and Dave Davies, a welder and cab driver who now reports for the Philadelphia Daily News, questioned whether Nutter was ready for the job and whether his supporters' patience would fray. Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, who was taking a leave from Penn Law in hopes of joining the 2008 Olympic rowing team, urged citizens to take responsibility in choosing a "muppet-voiced" mayor while defiantly arguing against the implementation of "Jetson-like" sky-ways in Center City. Musical guest The Spinning Leaves focused more on the present — singing about homeless people, schizophrenics, pigeons, and love — while Mighty Writer Tim Whitaker referenced the past "lame ducks" of Philadelphia. Amidst the criticism and concern, however, the hope for Philadelphia's future remained apparent within these writers' perceptive prose.

  1. Chris Satullo - Reading
  2. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  3. Dave Davies - Reading
  4. Dan Urevick-Acklesberg - Reading
  5. The Spinning Leaves - Try, Try, Try
  6. Tim Whitaker - Reading
  7. The Spinning Leaves - Bridges For Free

Episode 66 - 10/29/2007 - From Vaudeville to Video: 1812 Celebrates 100 Years of Comedy

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

David Jadico told us what it's like to be "on top of a performer" (or else something rephrased to give a slightly less racy impression). Joining Jadico were comedians Jennifer Childs, Tony Braithwaite, Mary Carpenter, and Scott Greer, members of the 1812 Theatre company (along with all of the characters they brought with them). This performance of "From Vaudeville to Video: 1812 Celebrate 100 Years of Comedy" started with two baritones and a little strumming; two more people and a few decades earlier and you'd think you were listening to a barbershop quartet. Following were comedic sketches by our five guests: Jennifer Childs turned Bell Barth got friendly with the audience when she asked two in the crowd, "hey how ya doin, you togetha? You two togetha?" And then in a slightly higher pitch: "you three togetha?" She and Tony continued their sketch with soup, sex, and laughs from "the best audience [they've] ever had." The team showed their real comedic genius when they improvised an old-time radio show, taking suggestions from the audience to give us "the Smith Brothers Potato Peelers Comedy Club." After getting a little political and literally slowing things down with the STOA (slow talkers of America), the cast chatted with Michaela Majoun and revealed that the job is indeed as fun as it looks.

  1. Tony Braithewaite - A Conversation
  2. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  3. Mary Carpenter - A Conversation
  4. Jennifer Childs - A Conversation
  5. Scott Greer - A Conversation
  6. Dave Jadico - A Conversation
  7. Various - Belle Barth impersonation
  8. Various - Bob & Ray impersonation
  9. Various - George & Gracie impersonation
  10. Various - Improvised radio show
  11. Various - Opening vaudeville-style song
  12. Various - Political humour mock news segment
  13. Various - Shel Silverstein song

Episode 65 - 09/24/2007 - Pocket Myths presents The Odyssey

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

Homer's heroic epic, The Odyssey, received a playful makeover in this edition of LIVE. Featuring local poets, Pocket Myths unleashed the characters of the Odyssey through poetry, stories, and artwork. Writer and artist Emily Abendroth slurped, lashed, and tumbled into the character of Charybdis in her poem, "Rather Than Things to Her Mouth, She Brought Her Mouth to Things." Temple professor Justin Audia flew to the sky (a result of blatantly stealing from Chapman, Gertrude Stein, and Kirk Cameron) in his piece about Aeolus, the wind king. Echoing her dual identity (Californian and Australian), poet Julia Bloch took on the soulful personas of both Anticlea and Persephone. New music then swept speech away in a cacophonous and writhing, yet melodious, piece performed by My Invisible and Jack Grauer. In a more contemporary setting, CA Conrad shared a "Frank Poem," which contained traces of Odysseus's character, while poet Ryan Eckes read shorter myths of local content that echoed the theme of father and son — or, of Laertes and Odysseus. The evening finished with a haunting, wistful song from My Invisible — a song which Odysseus may even have sung as he wandered the Earth, hoping only to return home.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Emily Abendroth - Introduction
  3. Emily Abendroth - Rather Than Things to Her Mouth, She Brought Her Mouth to Things
  4. Justin Audia - Introduction
  5. Justin Audia - A Torrid Eye
  6. Julia Bloch - Introduction
  7. Julia Bloch - Persephone
  8. Julia Bloch - Anticlea
  9. Julia Bloch - I Dream of the Death of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  10. My Invisible - Introduction
  11. My Invisible - Jelly
  12. CA Conrad - Introduction
  13. CA Conrad - Frank Poems
  14. Ryan Eckes - Introduction
  15. Ryan Eckes - Laertes
  16. Ryan Eckes - Stolen Car
  17. Ryan Eckes - Rite of Passage
  18. Ryan Eckes - Caption
  19. Ryan Eckes - If I Speak
  20. Ryan Eckes - Immortality
  21. My Invisible - Cypher

Episode 64 - 03/26/2007 - Philadelphia Zine Writers

Produced and hosted by Erin Gautsche.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

The Kelly Writers House and WXPN invited a writers of Philadelphia-based zines, small-circulation publications, typically self-created and/or handmade. Katie Haegele, the evening's first zine writer, talked about Helen's Hands. Casey Grabowski took inspiration from his work as a civil engineer in his zine Reverse Engineering, and King Wenclas read excerpts from his 2001 zine novel, a post-9/1 satire. With chants of USA and then moments of silence, his reading was one full of war hysteria: "KILL BLOOD DEATH WAR GET 'EM." Justin Duerr gave us similar imagery in his zine number 54 with "a world … inhabited by lonely war-ridden bodies … where death stalks openly in dimly lit avenues." Philly-born talent Birdie Busch changed the tone of the evening with her folk/indie-esque songs expressing her love and appreciation for Philadelphia with "South Philly" and then … "North Philly." Kate continued on the Philadelphia theme with her zine about Freemasons (and their books made of human skin).

  1. Katie Haegele - Introduction
  2. Katie Haegele - Breakdancing for the Pope
  3. Katie Haegele - Helen's Hands
  4. Katie Haegele - Ode to New Life
  5. Katie Haegele - The Lesson
  6. Katie Haegele - Stearocyte
  7. Casey Grabowski - Introduction
  8. Casey Grabowski - Reverse Engineering, Redevelopment...
  9. King Wenclas - Introduction
  10. King Wenclas - War Hysteria
  11. King Wenclas - Expedition to Mars
  12. Birdie Busch - Introduction
  13. Birdie Busch - South Philly
  14. Birdie Busch - The Hub Singers
  15. Kate Amock - Introduction
  16. Kate Amock - on Stonemasons
  17. Justin Duerr - Introduction
  18. Justin Duerr - from Issue 54
  19. Justin Duerr - from Issue 51
  20. Justin Duerr - from Issue 50
  21. Julia Bloch - Anticlea

Episode 63 - 02/26/2007 - Penn Grad Student Poets

Produced and hosted by Erin Gautsche.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

A few of Penn's very own grad-student poets were featured in LIVE at the Kelly Writers House this Monday. Starting off the evening with letters to Kelly Clarkson and an appeal to "reflect — drink a big chipped mug of compunction" was Julia Bloch. Before coming to Penn to study twentieth-century poetry and poetics she worked in independent and progressive publishing, held staff and freelance gigs for various magazines and publications, and won a number of prizes for her writing. Dorothea Lasky, a School of Education student and coeditor of the Katalanche Press chapbook series followed with appeals to the Lord and claims to be the crusader. Jason Zuzga, an English Literature PhD student and 2005—2006 Merrill Writer-in-Residence in Stonington, Connecticut, offered video transcripts about making butter and Grotto Hill, as well as original works such as "City Life" and "Sea Horse." Philadelphia singer-songwriter Adam Arcuragi drew us in with free-flowing, introspective lyrics and compelling harmonies as he sang "Broken Throat" and "1981." Caroline Whitbeck, a Comparative Literature and Literary Theory PhD student, shared a number of poems ranging in topic from the dying pope to love. Playwright and poet Shonni Enelow added in a mix of theatrics when she performed "unnamed" and "He Was National Jimmy…," the urgency of her words revealed through pants and stutters.

  1. Erin Gautsche - Introduction
  2. Julia Bloch - Introduction
  3. Julia Bloch - from Letters to Kelly
  4. Julia Bloch - Persephone
  5. Julia Bloch - Anticlea
  6. Julia Bloch - Sky Time
  7. Julia Bloch - Ruinic
  8. Julia Bloch - Manhattanic
  9. Dorothea Lasky - Introduction
  10. Dorothea Lasky - On Old Ideas
  11. Dorothea Lasky - Outside Chattanooga, Tennessee
  12. Dorothea Lasky - Portrait of Me and Vladimer Mayakovsky
  13. Dorothea Lasky - The Fire That Burns the Bird
  14. Dorothea Lasky - Memories
  15. Dorothea Lasky - The Process of Explication
  16. Dorothea Lasky - The Animal
  17. Jason Zuzga - Introduction
  18. Jason Zuzga - Making Butter
  19. Jason Zuzga - City Life
  20. Jason Zuzga - Sea Horse
  21. Jason Zuzga - Diet
  22. Jason Zuzga - Documentary
  23. Adam Arcuragi - Introduction
  24. Adam Arcuragi - Broken Throat
  25. Adam Arcuragi - 1981
  26. Caroline Whitbeck - Introduction
  27. Caroline Whitbeck - Choke Cherry
  28. Caroline Whitbeck - They're All Out of Storm Names
  29. Caroline Whitbeck - See Daddy Make a Deal
  30. Caroline Whitbeck - Death Watch
  31. Caroline Whitbeck - from Inheritance
  32. Shonni Enelow - Introduction
  33. Shonni Enelow - Monologues
  34. Shonni Enelow - He Was National Jimmy...
  35. Shonni Enelow - unnamed
  36. Shonni Enelow - 1947 Washington High School...

Episode 62 - 01/22/2007 - Leeway Foundation Award Winners

Produced and hosted by Erin Gautsche.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

Just as Thelma Shelton Robinson's gift of storytelling was passed down to her through her father, so too were the Leeway Foundation Award Winners' storytelling gifts passed on to the Writers House this evening. Seventy-four-year-old Robinson delivered a fervent account of Corinne Sites, a twenty-year old maid who was unceremoniously declared innocent of murder only after being sentenced to the electric chair twenty-five years earlier. Felicia Webster, founder of the self-love tour "With Love, Felicia," performed a singsong poem about, well, love. The audience joined in with their own rhythmic snapping as Webster's voice ebbed and flowed with emotion. Musician Maudeline Swaray sung an upbeat tune, hoping to spread peace and to unite communities with her lively music. Also hoping to fuse communities, performance artist Davina Stewart demonstrated a historical double dutch jingle that would "spread like wildfire" amongst children. Gwynne Sigel, who is working on a multi-year oral history project, spun out tales of golden peacocks, winter, and man in a selection of translated Yiddish poetry, while Maudeline Swaray allowed French to influence her final song. These award winners truly delivered an equally chilling and inspiring night at the Arts Café.

  1. Erin Gautsche - Introduction
  2. Thelma Shelton Robinson - Introduction
  3. Thelma Shelton Robinson - The Story of Corinne Sights
  4. Felicia Webster - Introduction
  5. Felicia Webster - Love?
  6. Maudeline Swaray - Introduction
  7. Maudeline Swaray - Let's Come Together Once More
  8. Maudeline Swaray - The Ring Song
  9. Gwynne Sigel - Introduction
  10. Gwynne Sigel - The Golden Peacock
  11. Gwynne Sigel - Frumla
  12. Gwynne Sigel - How Man Was Created
  13. Davina Stewart - Introduction
  14. Davina Stewart - from "Ciam Lakey"

Episode 61 - 11/13/2006 - Plan B Press

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.

Poets from Plan B Press, a publication dedicated to publishing contemporary poetry by beginning authors, emerged at the Writers House in this evening's edition of LIVE. With reflections of hope, surrealism, family, Philadelphia, and the beyond, their poems covered a range of topics. A soothing, meditative voice arose out of documentary filmmaker Daniel Collin as he read "The Zen Man Seldom Held a Pen," a voice that starkly contrasted that which he used while delivering his political poem, "Unthink, Unstop, Everywhere Blues" (with, ehem, strategic bleeping). A bit more family-friendly, Jim Mancinelli's Dalí-influenced poems told tales of his Italian immigrant grandfather, Vincenzo, and his miller father. Philadelphia native Ryan Eckes took us home to the City of Brotherly Love as we travelled down Market Street, to the "Bhagavad" CVS, and then finally out the window. Motorcyclist Samantha Barrows voyaged to Louisiana Route 82, sweating all the way through. Sandy Crimmins, who recently collaborated with a fire-eater and some flamenco dancers, reflected on mangled bird legs and death, while musician Joshua Herd Park debated whether he should stay or go. If only this episode didn't go by quite so quickly!

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Daniel Collins - Introduction
  3. Daniel Collins - The Zen Man Seldom Held a Pen
  4. Daniel Collins - After
  5. Daniel Collins - Unthink, unstop, everwear blues
  6. Jim Mancinelli - Introduction
  7. Jim Mancinelli - Ask
  8. Jim Mancinelli - Vincenzo
  9. Jim Mancinelli - A Mill Life
  10. Jim Mancinelli - Saying Good-Bye
  11. Jim Mancinelli - from chapbook "Indeed"
  12. Ryan Eckes - Introduction
  13. Ryan Eckes - Market Street
  14. Ryan Eckes - Bus
  15. Ryan Eckes - Cover Letter
  16. Ryan Eckes - Development
  17. Ryan Eckes - Stolen Car
  18. Ryan Eckes - CVS
  19. Ryan Eckes - Natividad
  20. Ryan Eckes - Paying Respects
  21. Ryan Eckes - Out the Window
  22. Joshua Heard Park - Introduction
  23. Joshua Heard Park - Quilt
  24. Joshua Heard Park - One Wish
  25. Sandy Crimmins - Introduction
  26. Sandy Crimmins - The Element of Air
  27. Sandy Crimmins - Bird Wings
  28. Sandy Crimmins - John Paul
  29. Sandy Crimmins - on migranes
  30. Sandy Crimmins - Momento More
  31. Samantha Barrows - Introduction
  32. Samantha Barrows - Dish
  33. Samantha Barrows - Watered-Down Red
  34. Samantha Barrows - Louisiana Route 82

Episode 60 - 10/30/2006 - Philadelphia Stories

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

This installation of LIVE brought us back to the much-anticipated pre-bedtime ritual of childhood, story time (albeit one where parents are award-winning writers and regular contributors to literary journals). Writers Robin Parks, Curtis Smith, Marc Schuster, Raima Evan, and Scott Glassman from Philadelphia Stories, a region-specific literary magazine, as well as musical guest the Baird Sisters, came to share their original works. Parks, winner of the Raymond Carver Short Story Award, read "identifying marks" with a quiet intimacy that made us feel like recipients of some long-kept secret. Smith, a published novelist, told us "the prettiest lie," one he wished to whisper in the ears of all the men and women who were cradled as babies once too. Curator of Philly's INVERSE reading series, Scott Glassman created imagery that dislocated and invited listeners into a strange world, the kind he prefers. The Baird Sisters joined in with acoustics and a mix of traditional Appalachian ballads and original pieces, starting off with "Sugar Babe" and ending with "Willie Moore." Raima Evan, a playwright and UPenn PhD, invited us into the world and mind of "Giddle Goldberg," who finds herself with a talking carp, and founder of the Elliot Court Writers Workshop, Marc Schuster, expressed his deep dismay at being the only one in the world who doesn't know Kurt Vonnegut. Each of the five authors shared a unique perspective and offered a fully formed world.

  1. Robin Parks - Introduction
  2. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  3. Robin Parks - Identifying Marks
  4. Curtis Smith - Introduction
  5. Curtis Smith - The Prettiest Lie
  6. Scott Glassman - Introduction
  7. Scott Glassman - Day One: Postmark
  8. Scott Glassman - Day Two: Burrough
  9. Scott Glassman - Day Three: Corporeal
  10. Scott Glassman - Day Five: Dunes
  11. Scott Glassman - Day Ten: Eminence
  12. The Baird Sisters - Introduction
  13. The Baird Sisters - Sugar Babe
  14. The Baird Sisters - Willie Moore
  15. Raima Evan - Introduction
  16. Raima Evan - untitled
  17. Marc Schuster - Introduction
  18. Marc Schuster - Everybody Knows...

Episode 59 - 09/25/2006 - Dish: Food Writers Read

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

Our taste buds tingled during tonight's episode of LIVE. Food connoisseurs filled the Arts Café with their humorous tales, providing not only laughter, but also health tips, to a well-seasoned audience. Jason Fagone, author of Horsemen of the Esophagus, chronicled Bill L. Wingadore's fight to victory at the Wing Bowl, noting that the victory cost (or won?) him 38,500 calories and 4,000 grams of fat for a bowl of saucy and not-so-meaty chicken wings. Carolyn Wyman, a tour guide at Reading Terminal Market, also offered health advice — claiming that "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!" spray is the "dieter's version of heaven," and that spam contains everything and anything an eater could want. Restaurant critics Craig Laban and Alyssa Ludwig revealed their four-bell rating system and love of strip mall restaurants, respectively, while Philadelphia native Rick Nichols predicted the next food trend in Philly. Musical guest Red Heart the Ticker finished the night off with a sweet voice and country tune about drinking.

  1. Michaela Majoun - Introduction
  2. Jason Fagone - Introduction
  3. Jason Fagone - On History of the Chicken Wing
  4. Caroline Wyman - Introduction
  5. Caroline Wyman - History of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
  6. Caroline Wyman - On Pez
  7. Craig Laban - Introduction
  8. Craig Laban - Down the Wildwood Boardwalk
  9. Red Heart the Ticker - Jack Knives
  10. Red Heart the Ticker - Steel-Toed Drinking
  11. Alyssa Ludwig - Introduction
  12. Alyssa Ludwig - Local Food and the 100-Mile Diet
  13. Rick Nichols - Introduction
  14. Rick Nichols - Baker's Dilemma
  15. Rick Nichols - In the Searon of Love, and Maybe War

Episode 58 - 04/24/2006 - Spring Celebration

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.

Writers and professionals Tracy Byford, Mike McGrath, Dr. Tomasz Anisiko, Moira Sheridan and Ilene Sternberg joined us this Monday to share stories, columns, and wisdom in celebration of spring. Tomasz Anisiko, who holds a doctorate in horticulture, read an excerpt from his book Plant Exploration for Longwood Gardens, where we are transported to a picturesque hillside covered in boxwood in Tbilisi, Georgia. Tracy Byford shared the story of how she got into gardening when she brought us to her backyard, starting with a bleeding heart that was gifted to her at the age of five and continuing to her current position as manager of the bio pond. Musical guest Kevin James Holland offered a different tribute to the spring in his song "Anyone Will Do But Me," where with a buoyant melody and a melancholic tone he sang of love and devotion. Mike McGrath, host of WHYY 91FM show "You Bet Your Garden," gave a mix of nostalgia and incredulity as he told the story of "The Little Willow That Could." Moira Sheridan read one of her backyard gardener columns and explained her confusion at the concept of gardens as a place to relax, and Ilene Sternberg exclaimed with perturbation that when the neverending lawn mowers and leaf blowers finally quiet, "I fear I've gone deaf," but such is "life on a large lot." From history lessons to childhood explorations, spring was brought to life in the Arts Café.

  1. Tomasz Anisiko - Introduction
  2. Tomasz Anisiko - Return of the Argonauts
  3. Tracy Byford - Introduction
  4. Tracy Byford - How I Got Into Gardening
  5. Kevin James Holland - Introduction
  6. Kevin James Holland - Anyone Will Do But Me
  7. Kevin James Holland - Pushing Up Daisies
  8. Mike McGrath - Introduction
  9. Mike McGrath - The Little Willow That Could
  10. Moira Sheridan - Introduction
  11. Moira Sheridan - Backyard Gardener
  12. Ilene Sternberg - Introduction
  13. Ilene Sternberg - Life on a Large Lot

Episode 57 - 03/27/2006 - Leeway Foundation Grant Winners

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

This LIVE at the Writers House featured 2005 Leeway Foundation grant winners; the foundation awards grants to women, transgender, transsexual, and genderqueer artists working for social change. Suzanne Povse's story focused on the struggles and triumphs of being a skilled blue-collar female in an almost all-male occupation, speaking for those who are or were in similar positions. Taina Asili raised a different battle cry in "The Birth of Yuppies," where with an infusion of jazz and blues as a backdrop Taina sang and yelled and repeated: "I'm giving birth to a miracle, breathe, pushing him past genocide, breathe," letting "breathe" become a mantra in resisting colonialism. Ham'diya Mu's work, "The Visit," reflected the pain inflicted by incarceration and the prison industrial complex, which she fights to change. Musical guests Josh Marcus and Josh Newman performed "Coloured Smoke" with a banjo and a folk/country feel, reflecting our propensity to not fully be present. Patience Rage, who empowers women by coaching them through telling their stories of incest, told her own story of fear, pain, and confusion. Tamika Nwalipengam, creator of a performing arts program for young single mothers, provided encouragement and hope to women by recounting her own struggles and how she overcame them. The Arts Café resonated with voices of triumph and pain with stories that truly embodied the Leeway Foundation's mission.

  1. Taina Asili - Introduction
  2. Taina Asili - The Art of Trust
  3. Taina Asili - The Birth of Yuppis
  4. Joshua Marcus - Introduction
  5. Joshua Marcus - Coloured Smoke
  6. Joshua Marcus - Introduction to "Man Threatening Pipe Wrench"
  7. Joshua Marcus - Man Threatening Pipe Wrench
  8. Ham'diya Mu - Introduction
  9. Ham'diya Mu - The Visit
  10. Ham'diya Mu - A Mother's Anguish to Children Incarcerated Everywhere
  11. Tamika Nwalipenga - Introduction
  12. Tamika Nwalipenga - My Story
  13. Susanne Povse - Introduction
  14. Susanne Povse - Draw Press to Machinist
  15. Patience Rage - Introduction
  16. Patience Rage - My First Kiss

Episode 56 - 02/20/2006 - Love: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.
You can hear the recording of the entire program here.

In tonight's episode of LIVE, an eclectic group of poets, scholars, and novelists came together to write about this crazy little thing called love. Hopelessly devoted, the aptly named Gweny Love sensually yearned for her "own man," one that would make her "part of his daily routine." Penn history PhD student, Greg Downs, didn't let words bring his characters down as each one told the other that they were beautiful. In his second story, "Adam's Curse," the women told the men to hit the road — for they had made a pact to live entirely without men. When the sun went down and the stars came up, high-school student Lee, from author Curtis Sittenfeld's bestselling novel Prep, was thrilled that her longtime crush, reeking like sweet beer, came into her room … and her bed. In a delicate and soft country voice, singer Amy Pickard feared that her heart would be filled with ashes before love could grow. After walking 135 square miles, Nathaniel Popkin realized that Philadelphians were deeply and tragically in love with their city, while scholar Niama Williams just wanted to hold the hands (ehem) of Law and Order star Vincent D'Onofrio and the Piazza Honda guy. Tonight's writers certainly surrendered their hearts and souls to love and all of its aspects — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

  1. Gweny Love - You're Part of My Daily Routine
  2. Michaela Majoun - introduction of Greg Downs
  3. Greg Downs - The Second Mile
  4. Greg Downs - Adam
  5. Michaela Majoun - introduction of Curtis Sittenfeld
  6. Curtis Sittenfeld - from Prep
  7. Amy Pickard - Ashes
  8. Michaela Majoun - introduction of Nathaniel Popkin
  9. Nathaniel Popkin - from The Deep Was Round About Me
  10. Michaela Majoun - introduction of Niama Williams
  11. Niama Williams - Merging
  12. Niama Williams - For Vincent D'onofrio
  13. Niama Williams - Twin
  14. Niama Williams - Piazza Honda
  15. Niama Williams - For E
  16. Michaela Majoun - introduction of Gweny Love
  17. Gweny Love - I Need Love
  18. Amy Pickard - Cut From the Hopeless

Episode 55 - 12/12/2005 - Women Music Writers

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.

Female music writers took center stage on this evening's production of LIVE as they told tales of music obsessions and failures. Rather than "romanticizing guys with guitars," Columbia graduate student Daphne Carr worshipped Christian rock, while Princeton assistant professor Daphne Brooks lauded black women rockers. Maura Johnston, editor at majorleaguebaseball.com, failed to be properly obsessed with rock-and-roll as a fifteen-year-old — she didn't even wear a denim skirt or sip beer! In a silky, sultry, and hesitant voice (quite the opposite of a rock-and-roller), Buried Beds sang of innocence and maturity. Doree Shafrir, former A&E editor at Philadelphia Weekly, drew parallels between indie rock and skinny Jewish boys, while wig collector Sara Sherr couldn't help but compare her work as a record retailer to a horror film. Demonstrating knowledge in a variety of musical genres, these women brought humor and scholarship to their stories.

  1. Daphne Brookes - Introduction
  2. Daphne Brookes - All You Can't Leave Behind
  3. Buried Beds - Camellia
  4. Buried Beds - Song
  5. Buried Beds - Insomnia
  6. Daphne Carr - Introduction
  7. Daphne Carr - Why on Earth or Elsewhere
  8. Maura Johnston - Introduction
  9. Maura Johnston - Untitled
  10. Doree Shafrir - Introduction
  11. Doree Shafrir - The Shiva of Indie Rock
  12. Sara Sherr - Introduction
  13. Sara Sherr - Adventures in Record Retail

Episode 54 - 10/06/2005 - 2-1-5 Literary Festival

Produced by Erin Gautsche, hosted by Michaela Majoun.

WXPN and the Writers House hosted the 2-1-5 Literary Festival this Monday. Founded in 2001, the festival celebrates written, spoken, and visualized word. Ron Swegman started the night with an excerpt from his novel Philadelphia on the Fly, telling us that he writes and fishes for "a specific kind of solitude … a desire to experience the new, alone." Fellow author Lord Whimsy swore allegiance with animation and vigor to the color green: "bringer of balance" and "the color divine." The Absinthe Drinkers, making a different tribute to green in their band name, performed their original pop and funk songs. With voices deep, sonorous, and vibrating like a bass guitar, the group sang in unison of Macbeth, love, and murder. Christian Bauman read an excerpt from his novel "voodoo lounge" with power and authenticity; he spoke with the voice of his female protagonist, an army sergeant standing naked in the window. CA Conrad used the strength of his own voice in his poem to the president (who he has yet to hear back from): "I have a lot of love Mr. President, and I just want to press against you sometimes to let you get a little of it." Jim Gladstone used fictional elephants Babar and Celeste to remind us of the uplifting power of ideals. Authors were able to both showcase their talent and give us a peek at the vibrant Philadelphia community they've come from.

  1. Absinthe Drinkers - Introduction
  2. Absinthe Drinkers - Macbeth
  3. Abscinthe Drinkers - Agamemnon's Return
  4. Christian Bauman - Introduction
  5. Christian Bauman - Exerpt from Woodoo Lounge
  6. CA Conrad - Introduction
  7. CA Conrad - To the President
  8. Jim Gladstone - Introduction
  9. Jim Gladstone - Elephants Who Need Elephants
  10. Lord Whimsy - Introduction
  11. Lord Whimsy - Green: The Color Divine
  12. Ron Swegman - Introduction
  13. Ron Swegman - Philadelphia on the Fly

Episode 53 - 04/05/2005 - All New York City Poets Live

Produced by Tom Devaney with assistance from Jeff Lieder, directed by Beth Warshaw, and hosted by Michaela Majoun.

The Kelly Writers House bit into the Big Apple in tonight's edition of LIVE. New York City poets graced the Arts Café with their reflective and humorous poems. John Coletti paired seemingly random phrases together (steady sage, grade grubbing) to produce complex layers of meaning. Columnist for The Constant Critic Jordan Davis criticized his parents for their naming choices (Horace, and then Jordan) and even spurred the audience into repetitively chanting "good for you." Though it may have appeared as though Jordan Davis was a hypnotist, teacher Sharon Mesmer could better claim that title — she is a relative of the man who invented hypnosis! Mesmer, in the guise and skins of others, rapidly changed her identity with each poem. Elinor Nauen, who enjoys writing about cars and baseball, presented a lively tale about "pink highways." Finally, "little bit of everything" musician Edmund Berrigan performed sweetly melancholic songs and left the task of revealing their meanings to the audience. A thought-provoking evening, this LIVE demanded the audience to consider questions of identity, character, and the universe.

  1. Edmund Berrigan - Caught in the Human Shredder
  2. Edmund Berrigan - Introduction
  3. Edmund Berrigan - Mostly Harmless
  4. Edmund Berrigan - Once I Had an Earthquake
  5. John Coletti - A New Round of Touche
  6. John Coletti - Champ Little Groom
  7. John Coletti - Everyone I Want to Be
  8. John Coletti - Human Flower
  9. John Coletti - Introduction
  10. John Coletti - It's a Substitute for Thinking
  11. John Coletti - Lost Weekend
  12. John Coletti - Old Black Boots
  13. John Coletti - Siphon
  14. Jordan Davis - A Brother on the Baltic
  15. Jordan Davis - Almost Named Horrace
  16. Jordan Davis - Chanting Monotonously
  17. Jordan Davis - Distance Learning
  18. Jordan Davis - How Are You I Am Fine
  19. Jordan Davis - Introduction
  20. Jordan Davis - Ira Will Not Be Attending the Meeting
  21. Jordan Davis - Relaxing Poems
  22. Sharon Mesmer - Gait Signatures
  23. Sharon Mesmer - I Wanted to Compose a Canticle of Exaltation and Praise
  24. Sharon Mesmer - Introduction
  25. Sharon Mesmer - My Juice
  26. Elinor Nauen - Introduction
  27. Elinor Nauen - Pink Highways

Episode 51 - 01/31/2005

Produced by Tom Devaney.

In this episode of LIVE, the Arts Café featured a cross-section of Philadelphia writers whose stories broke the city limits. Author J.C. Hallman read an excerpt from his book, The Chess Artist, in which he and his close friend, Glen, travel to Russia to discover the birth of chess. Native Philadelphian Octavia McBride-Ahebee dedicated her heart-wrenching poems to the suffering women of Africa. One poem, "The Water God," brought to life the chilling death of a young child who was discarded for the benefit of the group. Temple professor Pattie McCarthy described the sometimes-embarrassing effects of intersecting cultures in her poem "Otherwise (an eke name)," while editor of Hinchas de Poesía, Will Esposito, shared new words ("Hako" which translates to box) and places (Hyde Park) in his reflective and sweeping poems. Ian Keenan, who is six years into his Künstlerroman, read a series of poems rooted in punny wordplay — the most effective of which, "Super Sestina," concerned football and using adjectives as adverbs. Cynthia G. Mason's haunting voice then swelled in the Arts Café as she performed melancholic and mystical songs with her good friend Larry. Throughout the show, these writers poignantly traversed cultures, boundaries, and expectations.

  1. William Esposito - Introduction
  2. William Esposito - City Life
  3. William Esposito - A Season in Galiso
  4. William Esposito - Hako
  5. William Esposito - Elephant
  6. William Esposito - Keshigomu
  7. William Esposito - Moon Boom
  8. William Esposito - Untitled
  9. William Esposito - Untitled
  10. William Esposito - Untitled
  11. William Esposito - Untitled
  12. William Esposito - Untitled
  13. William Esposito - Untitled
  14. William Esposito - Untitled
  15. William Esposito - Untitled
  16. J.C. Hallman - Introduction
  17. J.C. Hallman - Excerpt from The Chess Artist
  18. Ian Keenan - Introduction
  19. Ian Keenan - Poem with a Latter in the Back
  20. Ian Keenan - Poem with Cars
  21. Ian Keenan - Super Sestina
  22. Cynthia Mason - Introduction
  23. Cynthia Mason - Suede
  24. Cynthia Mason - Wit's End
  25. Octavia McBride-Ahebee - Introduction
  26. Octavia McBride-Ahebee - Homesick Spirits
  27. Octavia McBride-Ahebee - Sweetness of Pineapples
  28. Octavia McBride-Ahebee - The Water God
  29. Pattie McCarthy - Introduction
  30. Pattie McCarthy - Otherwise (an eke name)

Episode 50 - 12/13/2004 - Writers

Produced by Tom Devaney.
You can hear the recording of the entire program here.

LIVE at the Writers House this evening featured writers who work at Penn and musical guest Like Moving Insects. Valerie Ross, director of the Critical Writing program, told a somber autobiographical tale of her mother and the wild ambitions, fear, worry, and rage that kept her awake at night. Peter Nichols, editor of Penn Arts and Sciences Magazine, read from his novella, where poisoned nails and pipes are tools for murder, and John Prendergast, editor of The Pennsylvania Gazette related the true tale of an artist and Penn alumna, whose reality involves battling the special needs bureaucracy and a never-diminished pile of laundry. Philly-based band Like Moving Insects mixed disciplines and instruments to bring us "Cornflakes," and Ingrid Schaffner, senior curator at the ICA, invited us into Salvador Dali's Dream of Venus, a world where roaming giraffes explode into flames. John Shea, who has been an editor and writer at the university since 1985, taught us, with a bit of comedic flair and a lot of paranoia, "how to be an alarmist." From journalists to professors with stories true and imagined, the Arts Café was filled with Penn and Philly talent.

  1. Like Moving Insects - Untitled
  2. John Shea - My Then Wife
  3. John Shea - How to be an Alarmist
  4. John Shea - Introduction
  5. Peter Nichols - Untitled
  6. John Prendergast - Introduction
  7. Peter Nichols - Introduction
  8. Ingrid Schaffner - Excerpt from Salvador Dalí's Dream of Venus: The Surrealist Funho
  9. Ingrid Schaffner - Introduction
  10. Like Moving Insects - Cornflakes
  11. Like Moving Insects - Introduction
  12. John Prendergast - Excerpt from The Last Lost Beachcomber
  13. Valerie Ross - Introduction
  14. Valerie Ross - Nosebleed Seats

Episode 49 - 11/15/2004 - All Women

Produced by Tom Devaney

Tonight's episode of LIVE featured all women writers and their stories of children, heartbreak, and inequality. Author of Winter Music, a novel set in Philadelphia, Karen Rile read a section from the perspective of Tess, an eight-year old girl with dyslexia. In her slow and melancholic voice, poet Kathy Lou Schultz shared all the struggles endured by a young child before the age of five, while the editor of The Dictionary of Failed Relationships, Meredith Broussard, chatted about how she would dress up like Wonder Woman as a child. Broussard, discussing women and black superheroes, ended on a hopeful note, observing that comics are coming closer to demonstrating an actual range of color and shade (not just green) in America. Poets Sandy Crimmins and Lisa Sewell spoke about deserted women. Crimmins's tales were even told through a unique combination of poetry, song, and David Falcone's strumming guitar. Art historian Judith Stein rounded out the female-centric night with a story about the troubled men (think: alcohol, hemorrhoids, and bad teeth) that were responsible for the grand opening of the Guggenheim. A range of poignant and memorable stories, poems, and songs came alive tonight at the Writers House.

  1. Karen Rile - Introduction
  2. Kathy Lou Schultz - Childhood to Market
  3. Karen Rile - Excerpt from Winter Music
  4. Sandy Crimmins and David Falcone - Introduction
  5. Kathy Lou Schultz - Introduction
  6. Lisa Sewell - Front Page
  7. Lisa Sewell - Hands and Psalms
  8. Lisa Sewell - Mary Hamilton
  9. Judith Stein - Untitled
  10. Judith Stein - Introduction
  11. Sandy Crimmins and David Falcone - Desert
  12. Sandy Crimmins and David Falcone - Ireland
  13. Sandy Crimmins and David Falcone - Spring
  14. Meredith Broussard - Introduction
  15. Meredith Broussard - Untitled

Episode 48 - 10/18/2004

Produced by Tom Devaney

Past decisions haunted present lives in this week's episode of LIVE. University of the Arts fiction writing teacher Elise Juska and novelist Ken Kalfus noted the consequences of failed marriages. After her divorce, Charlotte, the main character in Elise's story, developed a variety of crippling anxieties (think: kidnapping, robbery, and a severe case of insomnia even with a dream machine), while Ken Kalfus's character grew a weird rash due to his "high-strung" and soon-to-be-ex-wife. With a dragging melody that built anticipation, Philly band Espers played a series of hypnotizing and unnerving songs. Penn's own Diane McKinney-Whetstone recited a story about a man who yearned for his past life as a jazz musician, rather than his current life on Cecil Block. The creation of fiction author Shawn McBride, Henry, described not his street block but his middle school block — apologizing for his unpreventable behavior as a "horny bastard" as he detailed the different types of "teets." Humorous and heart-wrenching, this episode of LIVE drew out some of our darkest fears and deepest desires.

  1. Espers - Daughter
  2. Espers - Riding
  3. Espers - Untitled
  4. Elise Juska - Excerpt from
  5. Kenneth Kalfus - Excerpt from
  6. Shawn McBride - Excerpts from
  7. Diane McKinney-Whetstone - Excerpt from

Episode 47 - 05/10/2004

Produced by Tom Devaney

Episode 46 - 04/05/2004 - Spoken-Word

Produced by Venise Battle Co-produced by Jennifer Snead

Thoughts of disabling labels, disappearing choice, and impending death gnawed away at the spoken word artists in tonight's episode of LIVE. Duo Tracy Gilbert and Amma Asare fervently defended having a choice as their voices interrupted, completed, and intertwined with one another. Penn senior Venise Battle demanded that she would be in charge of her own life, not her husband, while creator of This Charming Lab Adam Fieled questioned what decisions Icarus would have made had he landed in the middle of Central Park. Musical guest Guy Ramsey played two moving songs on the piano: one lovely and serene, the other jazzy and syncopated. Hating the man who hurt her, sophomore Caroline Rothstein writhed on the floor of a bathroom stall, feeling like she would die, while Asian American writer Omar F. Telan considered his funeral. Nicole Tabolt, a sophomore English major, affirmed not her own death but that of poetry in a sad and brooding tone. Passionate performances and messages characterized this evening's edition of LIVE.

  1. Tracy Gilbert and Amma Asare - Pro-Life
  2. Venise Battle - A Bop Poem
  3. Venise Battle - Home Altar
  4. Venise Battle - Meeting Mother at the Waters
  5. Venise Battle - Veronica
  6. Adam Fieled - Icarus in New York
  7. Adam Fieled - On Jazz
  8. Adam Fieled - To Bruce Norman
  9. Guy Ramsey - Dream Number Two Seventeen
  10. Guy Ramsey - Stolen Moments
  11. Caroline Rothstein - Noah
  12. Caroline Rothstein - The White Version of Diversity
  13. Caroline Rothstein - They Call Me Granola
  14. Nicole Tabolt - Preparations for Judy and Claire
  15. Nicole Tabolt - Rest in Peace
  16. Nicole Tabolt - Theft
  17. Omar F. Telan - Familiar
  18. Omar F. Telan - Gigolo Serenade Part Fifteen
  19. Omar F. Telan - Gigolo Serenade Part Two
  20. Omar F. Telan - I've Been Thinking a lot about Death Lately
  21. Omar F. Telan - Michaelangelo's Pieta
  22. Omar F. Telan - Suburban Love Affair

Episode 45 - 03/01/2004 - Creative

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney

Live at the Writers House this Monday featured Lorene Cary, Alan Gilbert, Jena Osman, Adam J. Sorkin, and musical guest Box Social. Lorene Cary, founder of Art Sanctuary, told a captivating tale of a young woman, a slave in Baltimore, who was shipped to freedom in a box; that "one night of imprisonment reflected a life of enslavement like a deadly magnifying glass." Alan Gilbert read excerpts from Relative Heat Index, and with heavy pauses and weighty words, explained, "everything is capable of being broken." Box Social, whose sound reminds subtly of British pop and glam-rock, referenced Philadelphia, teeming with bass and drums. Jena Osman invited us to the "Memory Error Theater," where there are cars on fire and a melodious voices that calms. Adam J. Sorkins finished the night with "A Visit to Peles Castle as Seen From Pennsylvania," where there exists "a barbaric spring" and "silk carpets on which our shadows lose their way." Tonight Philadelphia writers and poets showcased creativity and fluidity in their diversity of recitation.

  1. Box Social - Suburban Outfitters
  2. Box Social - Tex Avery Dream
  3. Box Social - Untitled
  4. Lorene Cary - Crossing the River on Horseback in the Night
  5. Lorene Cary - Woman Escaping in a Box
  6. Alan Gilbert - Excerpt from Relative Heat Index
  7. Jena Osman - Memory Error Theater
  8. Jena Osman - The March
  9. Adam J. Sorkins - A Visit to Pelis Castle as Seen from Pennsylvania
  10. Adam J. Sorkins - November First, 1996
  11. Adam J. Sorkins - The Dragon
  12. Adam J. Sorkins - The Golden Mean

Episode 44 - 11/11/2003 - Greater

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

From rocks to ham sandwiches, tonight's episode of LIVE brought us back to a more primitive place. Author and Penn alum Leslie Esdaile Bank, aka L. A. Banks, described being stuck between a rock and a hard place — "Splinters are a bitch!" she cried in her sweet, singsong voice. Penn professor Lynn Levin translated our squealing early hominid language — "oooh ah ah eeh!" — into modern speech, while poet Jim Corey twisted modern expressions into their literal meanings — asking to borrow a girl's eyes, who instantly obliged him by popping them out. Associate professor of Digital Media Nick Montfort wondered about the essences of life — time, the textures of delay, and the destruction of meaning, while poet and publisher Steven Allan May interrupted himself, sounding mad, as he described dreams and disconnected heads bobbing in the ocean. Musical guest Snapperhead Zydeco rounded out the evening's reflective tales by playing tunes that sparked the perhaps primitive instinct to dance.

  1. Leslie Esdaile Bank - Untitled (2)
  2. Leslie Esdaile Bank - Untitled
  3. Jim Cory - A Lie
  4. Jim Cory - An Admirer
  5. Jim Cory - Hmm
  6. Jim Cory - Memoire Spring Seventy Seven
  7. Jim Cory - Wife
  8. Jim Cory - Word from the Mainstreet Cafe
  9. Lynn Levin - Action Hero
  10. Lynn Levin - Homo Erectus Recalls the Better Days of Man
  11. Lynn Levin - The Bride of the Ladies' Auxiliary Luncheon
  12. Steven Allen May - Auld Known Stories
  13. Steven Allan May - Dream Remembered at Three Forty Nine AM
  14. Steven Allan May - Fast Weight
  15. Steven Allan May - Run from Some Drunken Dream
  16. Steven Allan May - Tea Fleshhood
  17. Steven Allan May - Time
  18. Nick Montfort - City
  19. Nick Montfort - Reflections
  20. Nick Montfort - The Exhaustion of Libraries
  21. Nick Montfort - The Unrelenting
  22. Snapperhead Zydeco - S'eux Malade ne pas Danser
  23. Snapperhead Zydeco - Tous les Temps en Temps
  24. Snapperhead Zydeco - Untitled
  25. Snapperhead Zydeco - Zydeco Boogaloo

Episode 43 - 10/20/2003 - All

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

Members both past and present of Kelly Writers House's very own planning committee, the Hub, were featured in tonight's episode of LIVE. Al Filreis, a longstanding Penn faculty member, read an excerpt from his fifth book The Fifties Thirties about what happened to modern poets when anti-communists got hold of them in the 1950s. Samantha Barrow and Seth Laracy took us to New Orleans and Memphis respectively; one read her poetry in front of "anarchists, punks, and semi-hipsters" and the other looked for his second-grade love in a dream. Adrienne Mishkin declaimed the power of hands: "hands speak for us like lips — and strong hands shout." Randall Couch closed the nights readings with "Vagabond Theater," "The Abandoned Woman," and the proclamation that "there is only so much self space." Following readings by Hub members and coordinators, Phil Sandick, along with the Penny Loafers, an award-winning co-ed a cappella group, did a variety of covers with solos with a full range of buoyant tenors to impassioned sopranos.

  1. Samantha Barrow - The Dixie Tavern
  2. Randall Couch - Maghrib in Philadelphia
  3. Randall Couch - The Abandoned Woman
  4. Randall Couch - Untitled
  5. Al Filreis - Excerpts from the Fifties Thirties
  6. Seth Laracy - Untitled
  7. Adrienne Mishkin - Hands
  8. Adrienne Mishkin - In Any Language
  9. Adrienne Mishkin - The Dinner War
  10. Adrienne Mishkin - The Only Poem Inspired by Puerto Rico
  11. Adrienne Mishkin - Whispered in the Kitchen
  12. The Penny Loafers - Someday
  13. The Penny Loafers - Take it Off
  14. The Penny Loafers - Wonder

Episode 42 - 09/29/2003 - 2-1-5

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

Chills filled the Arts Café in this evening's edition of LIVE. Producer Tom Devaney started the episode off with a series of sad realizations: dear old Obi Wan Kenobi struggled to do the little things, like get a good haircut, while New Jersey is the greatest poem never written. Fiction writer Jay Kirk shared a shudder-inducing detective murder mystery, and writer Iain Levison told a tale of a man who squirmed in his seat as a company attempted to brainwash him into selling water filters. Teen writer Elisa Ludwig, who enjoys flea markets and Scrabble, presented a story in which her young heroine ended up in a van with an aging roadie in a deserted parking lot while her best friend slept with the lead singer. Eek. Speaking of singers, musical guest The Wayward Wind performed a series of hauntingly happy songs about postcards, willows, and smoking. Unfortunate, and bizarre, situations characterized this episode of LIVE.

  1. Tom Devaney - Not a Ralph
  2. Tom Devaney - Obi Wan Kenobi
  3. Tom Devaney - Trying to Live as if it Were Morning
  4. Tom Devaney - Untitled
  5. Jay Kirk - Watching the Detectives
  6. Iain Levison - Untitled - Excerpt
  7. Elisa Ludwig - Touchy Feely
  8. The Wayward Wind - Postcards from the Wind
  9. The Wayward Wind - Sweet Willow Walking
  10. The Wayward Wind - The Smokers' Pavilion
  11. Kathleen Volk Miller - Driving

Episode 41 - 03/03/2003 - A

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

From Illuminata's Weight Watchers binges to southwest of the Guyana border, poets, novelists, and short story writers invited us into new homes and new countries, at times weaving new worlds in as little as twelve seconds. Ron Swegman honored Philadelphia's Boathouse Row and read "Sonnet for Camden, New Jersey," and Robert Strauss spoke of his love of and trip to Burkina Faso and Ouagadougou, and the easy way they roll off the tongue. Tanya Barrientos, a columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, brought us to Frontera Street, where Illuminata cooked feasts for neighbors but ingested her own food with only hungry eyes. Allie D'Augustine read a series of her short poems and prose, one of which highlighted "Rules for a Good Life": "listen to music and clutch your pen and hope you will survive." Dan Histon asked for Septembers with a twist, and Courtney Mandryk told of the man next door who hums and of tulips "bruised like bananas." Musical guest Andy Bresnan, an artistic director, composer, and producer, joined by the Big Mess Orchestra, full of trombones and saxophones, played tracks each vastly different in their performance and style. Tonight's episode of LIVE featured poems from the honest and everyday to the distant and bizarre, each able to capture the diverse audience's attention.

  1. Tanya Maria Barrientos - Excerpt from Frontera Street
  2. Andy Bresnan and Big Flamehead - Untitled
  3. Andy Bresnan and The Big Mess Orche - Being in Love
  4. Andy Bresnan and The Big Mess Orch - For One, Two or Three
  5. Andy Bresnan and The Big Mess Orche - Untitled
  6. Allie DAugustine - Echoes
  7. Allie DAugustine - Inheritance
  8. Allie DAugustine - My America
  9. Allie DAugustine - Perception
  10. Allie DAugustine - Rules for a Good Life
  11. Allie DAugustine - The Way We Are Now
  12. Allie DAugustine - The Weight of Something Missing
  13. Allie DAugustine - To Have and Have Not
  14. Allie DAugustine - Truth
  15. Dan Histon - A September with a Twist
  16. Dan Histon - I Fought the Odds
  17. Dan Histon - Ode to the Pimple on my Nose
  18. Dan Histon - River of Tears
  19. Dan Histon - Shake, Rattle and Roll
  20. Dan Histon - The Book
  21. Dan Histon - The Monster
  22. Courtney Mandryk - 315 South Fifteenth Street Appartment 2F
  23. Robert Strauss - Untitled
  24. Ron Swegman - A Friendly Tavern in Sight
  25. Ron Swegman - An American View
  26. Ron Swegman - Closing Sequence of Philadelphia on the Fly
  27. Ron Swegman - Form
  28. Ron Swegman - Hell Exhaling
  29. Ron Swegman - Lucky Number
  30. Ron Swegman - Prologue to Philadelphia on the Fly
  31. Ron Swegman - Sonnet for Camden, New Jersey
  32. Ron Swegman - The Desire Building
  33. Ron Swegman - Untitled
  34. Dan Histon - On the Bench

Episode 40 - 02/03/2003 - Writers

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

Death, despair, doubt, and the government characterized tonight's episode of LIVE. Founding coeditor of the literary journal 6ix, Alicia Askenase asked for audience participation in her address to the Union (the directed applause stifled her message — which seemed to be exactly her message), while Philadelphia poet Leonard Gontarek explicitly addressed the president in a somewhat crude manner. Founding director of the Philadelphia Alumni Writers House, Kerry Sherin, and PhD candidate, Lena Sze, questioned the purpose of the Iraq War in short bursts of interrupted thoughts and numbered lists. Blake Martin and Dan Fishback focused on wars at home as they shared tales of an unfortunate woman whose mind began unraveling at a young age and commanded a junior to step up to the podium, respectively. Musical guest Mishael Nicole Devlin shared two melancholic songs, singing with a beautifully distraught and breathy voice. An emotional night, this episode asked us to consider why and for what purpose government decisions are made — and whether we should support, question, or criticize such choices.

  1. Alicia Askenase - News in Brief
  2. Alicia Askenase - State of Union
  3. Alicia Askenase - Untitled
  4. Mishael Nicole Devlin - Monody
  5. Mishael Nicole Devlin - Write me a Letter
  6. Dan Fishback - Speech to Introduce Students for Peace Reading
  7. Leonard Gontarek - Arrangement
  8. Leonard Gontarek - Blowback
  9. Blake Martin - Linda
  10. Kerry Sherin - Autumn Lullaby
  11. Kerry Sherin - Untitled
  12. Kerry Sherin - Western Wind
  13. Sze Lena - Gusts
  14. Lena Sze - Guzzle for Genoa
  15. Lena Sze - Suicide
  16. Lena Sze - Untitled
  17. Lena Sze - Very Short Fragment
  18. Lena Sze - You Are

Episode 39 - 12/02/2002 - Civic

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

Tonight's episode of LIVE featured stories about love, support, and obsession. In a gravely voice, Drexel adjunct professor Michael Barsanti shared a love letter from Keats in which Keats demanded his lover not to contact him if she had smiled at anyone since they last spoke. Harsh. Writer Beandrea Davis demonstrated that people of all ages, from kids to senior citizens, could come together to support PCH and the homeless, while Greg Giovanni told of a march to City Hall where everyone "illegally" danced in the streets. Writers Lisa Funderburg and Simpson Bennet couldn't help but be obsessed by trash and producing art at night, respectively. Funderburg even admitted that "it's a low-grade speed, salvaging is" as she ransacked dumpster after dumpster. Defying expectations, musical guest Tara Burke performed pieces on an accordion and a guitar, sending out notes of fatigue and wistful thinking. Like Burke's performance, this episode touched on a variety of raw human emotions.

  1. Michael Barsanti - In an Auction Room
  2. Michael Barsanti - Letter by Keats
  3. Michael Barsanti - On the Sale by Auction of Keats' Love Letter
  4. Tara Burke - Moonlight Sonata
  5. Tara Burke - Ransack the Park
  6. Beandrea Davis - Going Home Going Forward the Life of a West P
  7. Lise Funderburg - Dumpster Diving Dusted off and Fondled
  8. Greg Giovanni - January Second, 1992
  9. Greg Giovanni - Untitled
  10. Simpson Bennett - Ten Buck Phone Card

Episode 38 - 11/11/2002 - Good

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

LIVE at the Writers House this Monday featured poets John Timpane, Deborah Burnham, Bob Perelman, Harriet Levin Millan, and Hassen; musical guest Kenn Kweder; and writer Joey Sweeney. John Timpane, author of Poetry for Dummies, outlines "The Five Steps to Physical Intimacy," each preceding step better than its subsequent; "Something about the sight is better than the touch / The sex of could or might un-tempted by the clutch," he proclaimed in a soft voice. Deb Burnham, with each word carefully placed and each syllable carefully accentuated, spoke of moving away from divorce, and leaves falling in the spring wind. Bob Perelman and Harriet Levin Millan expressed human sorrow in their poems, while Hassen reflected on human fragility. Joey Sweeney wrote a tribute to Bruce Springsteen and his childhood babysitter (who he was in love with), and Kenn Kweder ended the night with "Freedom from Sense" and his distinct rock sound.

  1. Deborah Burnham - Apples September
  2. Deborah Burnham - Mirror
  3. Deborah Burnham - Still
  4. Hassen - Digging a Hole to China
  5. Hassen - Fratercula Arctica Private Eye
  6. Hassen - For David Reminder
  7. Hassen - Fragility
  8. Hassen - Sheltered
  9. Hassen - Third Eye Psalm of Euca
  10. Kenn Kweder - Freedom from Sense
  11. Kenn Kweder - Places
  12. Harriet Levin Millan - Andromeda
  13. Harriet Levin Millan - Birder
  14. Harriet Levin Millan - Quaker City Music Festival
  15. Harriet Levin Millan - Survey of Debris
  16. Harriet Levin Millan - Wrought
  17. Bob Perelman - Djuna Moon
  18. Bob Perelman - Driving to the Philadelphia Poetry Festival at
  19. Bob Perelman - Today's Lament
  20. Joey Sweeney - Excerpt from Piece on Bruce Springstein
  21. John Timpane - The Five Steps to Physical Intimacy
  22. John Timpane - The Reopening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
  23. John Timpane - Untitled

Episode 37 - 10/14/2002 - The

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

  1. Meredith Broussard - The New Fall Season
  2. Meredith Broussard - Anecdotes of Love
  3. Daisy Fried - American Brass
  4. Patrick Kelly - I Fall Upon the Bed of Life I Sleep
  5. Daisy Fried - Broken Radios
  6. Patrick Kelly - Days of Prickly Heat
  7. Paul Green School of Rock Musi - Have a Cigar Son
  8. Paul Green School of Rock Musi - Heart of the Sunrise
  9. Paul Green School of Rock Musi - The Rain Song
  10. Neal Pollack - Untitled
  11. Mary Richarson Graham - Excerpt from "Appetite"

Episode 36 - 04/01/2002 - All

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney
Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

Here is a commentary by Tom Devaney on his appearance on this show.

  1. Edmund Bacon - Editorial
  2. Edmund Bacon - Thoughts on the Design of Cities
  3. Meredith Broussard - Letters
  4. Ferguson Carey - November 12, 1990
  5. Ferguson Carey - November 12, 1998
  6. Julie Gerstein - Customer Communication Cards
  7. Julie Gerstein - Untitled - Letter (2)
  8. Julie Gerstein - Untitled - Letter
  9. Richard Julian - Good Life
  10. Richard Julian - Please Renee, Not Now
  11. Jane Ludin and Jennifer Snead - School Notes
  12. Michaela Majoun - Letter from Upper Volta
  13. John Moore - Letter from Jeff Young
  14. John Moore - Untitled - Letters

Episode 35 - 03/04/2002 - McSweeney's

Written and Produced by Tom Devaney Assistant Producer: Venise Battle

  1. Amy Fusselman - Excerpt from "The Pharmacist's Mate"
  2. Amy Fusselman - Hell's Bells
  3. Neal Pollack - A Spoken Word Poem for America
  4. Neal Pollack - It is Easy to Take a Lover in Cuba
  5. Neal Pollack - The Rise and Fall of the New Economy
  6. Ted Casterline's Ninja Academy - Mental Feelings
  7. Ted Casterline's Ninja Academy - Teenagers from Mars
  8. Ted Casterline's Ninja Academy - The Non-Sexual Date

Episode 34 - 02/04/2002 - All

Written by Venise Battle and Co-produced by Tom Devaney

  1. Linda DiFeterici Stehling - Into the Abyss
  2. Linda DiFeterici Stehling - Lady H
  3. Linda DiFeterici Stehling - My Choice
  4. Linda DiFeterici Stehling - No More
  5. Dr. Ketchup - Mercy Mercy Mercy
  6. Dr. Ketchup - Miss Iceleen
  7. Simone Eccleston - False Idols
  8. Simone Eccleston - The Myth
  9. Tonya Marie Evans - Angry Don't Live Here No More
  10. Tonya Marie Evans - Find Your Own Shine
  11. Tonya Marie Evans - Rescue the Lyric
  12. Monique Gordon - A Square Dance
  13. Monique Gordon - All New All Times
  14. Monique Gordon - Augmented Sounds
  15. Monique Gordon - Blessed
  16. Monique Gordon - Full Moon
  17. Monique Gordon - Haiku
  18. Monique Gordon - He Played Her
  19. Marj Hanhe - A New York Winter
  20. Marj Hanhe - Brevity
  21. Marj Hanhe - Election Day 2000
  22. Marj Hanhe - No Place Like Home
  23. Marj Hanhe - Remembrance for September Eleventh Two Thousand O
  24. Jason Zuzga - On Beauty

Episode 33 - 01/14/2002 - Best

Written by Tom Devaney, co-produced by Venise Battle, and Hosted by Michaela Majoun

  1. Alicia Askenase - Oh Kosovo
  2. Jennifer Diel - Untitled
  3. Patrick Kelly - Last Will and Testicle
  4. Paige Menton - Bachmans Warbler
  5. Paige Menton - Centralia
  6. Paige Menton - Heath Hen
  7. Paige Menton - Labrador Duck
  8. Pochahontas and the Ribs - Tell Me
  9. Pochahontas and the Ribs - Walk with Me
  10. Stephen Potter - It's Hard for our Poems to be as Zippy as our
  11. Stephen Potter - Of Volume
  12. Elizabeth Scanlon - Infared Radiation
  13. Elizabeth Scanlon - St. Lucy's Day
  14. Elizabeth Scanlon - The Heights
  15. Heather Thomas - News Reports Bliss of Absence
  16. Heather Thomas - The Delicate World
  17. William F. Van-Wert - Description of the Airport in Saigon

Episode 32 - 12/05/2001 - Scholarship

Produced by Tom Devaney and Venise Battle

  1. Carlos Gomez - Untitled
  2. An Lam - A Time Not Too Long Ago
  3. An Lam - Thoughts
  4. Marqui - Always on my Mind
  5. Marqui - Smile
  6. Rita Rodriguez - Untitled
  7. Aliya Sternstein - Happy Trails
  8. Pamela Zinn - Untitled (2)
  9. Pamela Zinn - Untitled (4)
  10. Pamela Zinn - Untitled (5)
  11. Pamela Zinn - Untitled

Episode 31 - 11/05/2001 - The

Produced by Tom Devaney, co-produced by Venise Battle, and hosted by Michaela Majoun.

  1. CA Conrad - Excerpts from Advanced Elvis Course
  2. Gregory Fuchs - Eight Pieces from Cosmic American Music
  3. Ethel Rackin - I Carry this Package with Me
  4. Ethel Rackin - I Keep Jumping into Titles
  5. Ethel Rackin - It's Been Raining Here for a Hundred Years
  6. Ethel Rackin - Post
  7. Molly Russakoff - Abnormal Psychology
  8. Molly Russakoff - Amsterdam Florida Peru
  9. Molly Russakoff - Flowers
  10. Molly Russakoff - The Old Hag Scratches at the Pavement with a
  11. Fran Ryan - Not
  12. Fran Ryan - Respect
  13. Frank Sherlock - Still Living Still Moving
  14. Cassandre Xavier - Life of the Party
  15. Magdalena Zurawski - Ode

Episode 30 - 10/01/2001 - 125

Written by Tom Devaney and Co-produced by Venise Battle

  1. Venise Battle - Gemini
  2. Venise Battle - Untitled (2)
  3. Venise Battle - Untitled
  4. Carole Bernstein - Bounty
  5. Carole Bernstein - Infertility Group
  6. Carole Bernstein - The Cup of Coffee
  7. Carole Bernstein - Three Toed Sloth
  8. Carole Bernstein - Torcello
  9. Jessica Lowenthal - Additions to the Chronology of Locust Rava
  10. Ruth Branning Malloy - Dreams
  11. Ruth Branning Malloy - June Fifth Nineteen Sixty Six
  12. Ruth Branning Malloy - My Room's a Filing Cabinet
  13. Ruth Branning Malloy - On the Passing of a Certain Little Plea
  14. Ruth Branning Malloy - Picture out of Memory
  15. Ruth Branning Malloy - The Separation
  16. Val Operielsky - Deadly Earnest
  17. Val Operielsky - Wheels within Wheels
  18. Hannah Sassaman - Cinderella
  19. Hannah Sassaman - Haircut
  20. Hannah Sassaman - Stephanie Moves Out

Episode 29 - 04/09/2001

You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Jaime Bard - Untitled Two
  2. Jaime Bard - Untitled
  3. Melissa Duclos - Can Not Know
  4. Melissa Duclos - Fireworks Revisited
  5. Melissa Duclos - First Wake
  6. Melissa Duclos - Friend Found Raped
  7. Melissa Duclos - The Secret to Pie
  8. DuEwa Fraiser - Journeys
  9. DuEwa Fraiser - Us Creative Women
  10. Anne Kaier - Easter
  11. Anne Kaier - Sarah
  12. Blake Martin - Untitled
  13. Kelly McQuain - Excerpt From Erasing Sonny
  14. Amy Miller - Phone Date
  15. Amy Miller - Untitled
  16. Jackie Morfesis - Athens
  17. Jackie Morfesis - Baby
  18. Jackie Morfesis - Earthquake
  19. Jackie Morfesis - Lion

Episode 28 - 03/19/2001

You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Venise Battle - Taboo
  2. Venise Battle - Two Thirty-Seven AM
  3. Venise Battle - Yen
  4. Deborah Burnham - Our Lady of the Cabbages
  5. Deborah Burnham - Skipping Stones
  6. Jeffrey Loo performed by Lori Nan-Engler - Excerpt from Identity Papers
  7. Paige Menton - Trackings
  8. Michelle Meyers - Ancestor Worship
  9. Michelle Meyers - Mudang Magic
  10. Michelle Meyers - Untitled
  11. Heather Starr and Kerry Sherin - Intersections
  12. Audrey Smith-Bey - Love Will Find Away
  13. Audrey Smith-Bey - Summertime
  14. Kammika Williams Witherspoon - Summer Headlines Heavy From The Weight
  15. Andrew Zitcer - Oh Sweet Nothing
  16. Andrew Zitcer - Staccato Thoughts Trampled
  17. Andrew Zitcer - Title Without a Poem
  18. Andrew Zitcer - Untitled
  19. Andrew Zitcer - With Senses Concensus

Episode 27 - 02/19/2001

You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Brandy Durham - Absence of Soul
  2. Brandy Durham - Thief
  3. Amina Gautier - Untitled Short Story
  4. Carlos Gomez - One
  5. Carlos Gomez - The Crack in the Timeglass
  6. Matthew Hart - A Future Like That Right Dancing
  7. Matthew Hart - Audio Visual Poem by Mike Magee
  8. Matthew Hart - Because Horse Sang Here
  9. Matthew Hart - Major Breakthrough at Easter
  10. Lois Moses - I Love You Mothers
  11. Lois Moses - If You Couldnt See Me Before Can You See Me Now
  12. Sarah St Vincent - Olives
  13. Sarah St Vincent - Pearl Mamma
  14. Sarah St Vincent - Wild Honey in a Glass Jar
  15. Solade Thorpe - Motherly Advice
  16. Solade Thorpe - Reading
  17. Solade Thorpe - The Jogger
  18. Robert Toteras - House of God
  19. Robert Toteras - Keep Me Around

Episode 26 - 01/22/2001

You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Laura Bardwell - Apparatus
  2. Holly Bittner - Trigger
  3. Sandra Chin - Community
  4. Sandra Chin - Journal Entry
  5. Sandra Chin - Trouble
  6. Daisy Fried - A Story Having To Do With Walt Whitman
  7. Daisy Fried - Two Thousand
  8. Gena Heng - Subway Talk
  9. Gena Heng - Untitled
  10. David Sanders - Excerpt From Quiatu
  11. Elizabeth Scanlon - Passerby
  12. Elizabeth Scanlon - Radio Dream
  13. Elizabeth Scanlon - Sweet Success
  14. Kathy Lou Schultz - Sonnet Four
  15. Kathy Lou Schultz - Sonnet One
  16. Kathy Lou Schultz - Sonnet Three
  17. Kathy Lou Schultz - Sonnet Two
  18. Anita Thakkar - Devotion
  19. Three Stories High - Hey
  20. Three Stories High - I Never Think
  21. Van Tu - Free Write
  22. Van Tu - Untitled

Episode 25 - 12/11/2000

You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Christine Grow - For Robert Granier
  2. Christine Grow - Leidas Song
  3. Jonathan London - Paul
  4. Stephen Marmel - Alman
  5. Stephen Marmel - Follow
  6. Bruce Niedt - Grandmother Roses
  7. Bruce Niedt - Immortals
  8. Bruce Niedt - Nephew
  9. Tahneer Oksman - December Echo Turn
  10. Tahneer Oksman - Where Are the Beats
  11. Siani Taylor - Good Girl
  12. Siani Taylor - Losing Senses
  13. Heather Thomas - News
  14. Heather Thomas - Skin Memory
  15. Simone Zelitch - Excerpt From Louisa

Episode 24 - 11/13/2000

You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Walter Aikens - Woman You Can Make a Plum Cry
  2. Laura Durback - Heredity
  3. Leonard Gontarek - Fragment Two
  4. Leonard Gontarek - Fragment Three
  5. Leonard Gontarek - Fragment
  6. Leonard Gontarek - Zen for Beginners
  7. Leanne Magee - Bloom and Doom
  8. Leanne Magee - Flow
  9. Leanne Magee - Pink Moon
  10. Don Riggs - Doggedly
  11. Don Riggs - Our Parents Left New York
  12. Don Riggs - That Smile Could Spark
  13. Don Riggs - Untitled
  14. Guarnieri Sahms - Easter
  15. Guarnieri Sahms - Still Life
  16. Hannah Sassaman - Bizarre Non-Sequitor Text
  17. Peter Schwarz - Excerpts From The Ruins
  18. Simon - Begin Again
  19. Simon - Sweet Angel
  20. James Specht - Rides Like These Make Me Proclaim Myself a Disgusting Person
  21. Leah Wyant - Paper Words

Episode 23 - 10/02/2000

You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Jennifer McCreary - Possible Manifestations of Her Behavior Intrigued Him
  2. Herman Beavers - Problems of Translation
  3. Herman Beavers - Secrets
  4. Herman Beavers - The Real Deal
  5. Herman Beavers - Vernell Contemplates the Meaning of Existence
  6. Carole Bernstein - Mah Jongg 1967
  7. Carole Bernstien - The Visit
  8. Cathy Crimmins - Excerpts From Where is the Mango Princesse
  9. Nancy Falkow - Eraser
  10. Nancy Falkow - Sleeping East
  11. Mytili Jagannathan - Acts
  12. Mytili Jagannathan - Cinderella Itinerary
  13. Mytili Jagannathan - Open Letter
  14. Mytili Jagannathan - Rapid Transit
  15. Holly Johnson - Creationist Lectures
  16. Holly Johnson - Love Poem
  17. Jennifer McCreary - Dear Nancy
  18. Jennifer McCreary - Praises
  19. Peter Rock - Ambulence
  20. Peter Rock - Collapse

Episode 22 - 09/17/2000

Episode 21 - 03/20/2000

Episode 20 - 02/21/2000 - Inspiring

Produced and hosted by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Renee Balthrop - Cauldron
  2. Ivan Fisher - Untitled
  3. Ivan Fisher - Why Do Cats Chase Strange Things
  4. Deirdre Flint - King of the Rollorama
  5. Deirdre Flint - Our Past Life Regrets
  6. Andrew Hahn - A Night in Vienna
  7. Andrew Hahn - Insurance
  8. Andrew Hahn - Midafternoon Dreams
  9. Andrew Hahn - Montreal
  10. Andrew Hahn - Noodle Salad
  11. Andrew Hahn - Turkey
  12. Amanda James - Im Tired
  13. KD Morris - Make Free
  14. KD Morris - Yours
  15. Heather and Kristen Thorpe Starr - Radio Poem
  16. Shawnda Tep - War
  17. Randall Couch - Rubrics
  18. Melissa Duclos - Untitled
  19. Laura Goldstein - From Fifteenth to Forty-Eighth
  20. Laura Goldstein - From Fifth to Thirty-Fourth
  21. Rebekah Grossman - Body Lift
  22. Rebekah Grossman - Owl Mask
  23. Rebekah Grossman - Untitled
  24. Lynn Levin - If You Are Reading This
  25. Yasinah Mobley - What I Want To Say
  26. KD Morris - A Time To Leave
  27. KD Morris - Autumn
  28. KD Morris - Commercial Dad
  29. Marylin Piety by Cassie Macdonald - Untitled
  30. Laura Pyle - The Sign
  31. John Shea - The Last Sestina
  32. Simon - Ill Meet You There
  33. Simon - Moonfall
  34. Ellen Slack - Exports Reports Vision
  35. Lauren Smith - Untitled
  36. Haadiya Starkey - Remember
  37. Haadiya Starkey - Simplicity Yasinah
  38. James Tidall - Whale

Episode 19 - 01/24/2000

Produced by Kirsten Thorpe, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Michaela Majoun
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Malila Beckton - Building Blocks
  2. Malila Beckton - To The Ringleader
  3. Nate Chinen - Also Some Women
  4. Nate Chinen - Downtown and Brooklyn Late Nights
  5. Nate Chinen - For the Time Being November Poem
  6. Paul Elsberg - Craft
  7. Paul Elsberg - On Observing a Squirrel Fall From a Large Tree Convulse and Run A
  8. Paul Elsberg - Street Signs
  9. John Faye - Dancing In Your Shadow
  10. John Faye - Miss Catch-22

Episode 18 - 11/08/1999

Produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Animus - Untitled Two
  2. Animus - Untitled
  3. Gay Ross - The Execution
  4. Gay Ross - The Hernia
  5. Gay Ross - The Marionette
  6. Tonya Hegamin - Autumn Serenade
  7. Tonya Hegamin - Our Ship Didnt Have A Name
  8. Tonya Hegamin - The One Next to Tutenkamens Amazingly Small
  9. Tonya Hegamin - Your Love Plucks Me Like A Plum
  10. Daniel Nester - Happy Days
  11. Daniel Nester - On the Death of Owen the Blue Blazer Hart
  12. Daniel Nester - Throwing Rocks
  13. Deborah Richards - Untitled
  14. Frank Sherlock - A Revolutionary Kind of Fiction
  15. Frank Sherlock - Boo
  16. Frank Sherlock - Thirteen
  17. Don Silver - Brief History of the United States in Late Twentieth Century
  18. Don Silver - Floyd
  19. Don Silver - Middle of the Woods
  20. Don Silver - Moving Day
  21. Abigail Susik - A Landscape for Three Voices
  22. Abigail Susik - The Boxer
  23. Abigail Susik - The Terrain Versus Alex Katz

Episode 17 - 10/11/1999

Produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart

Episode 16 - 09/13/1999

Produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart

  1. Melisa Cahnmann - Advice
  2. Melisa Cahnmann - Every Moment Also A Missed Moment
  3. Melisa Cahnmann - Untitled
  4. Cidalia Cornelio - Journey Through Parallel Souls
  5. Cidalia Cornelio - Now If It All Aint Right
  6. Nancy Falkow - Untitled Two
  7. Nancy Falkow - Untitled
  8. Gregory Fuchs - Came Like It Went
  9. Gregory Fuchs - The Day Princess Died
  10. Gregory Fuchs - The New Mad Cow Alert
  11. Michael Higgins - The Tiger
  12. Michael Higgins - Untitled
  13. Hannah Sassaman - 4112 Spruce Street Appartment Number Six
  14. Hannah Sassaman - Birthday Poem
  15. Hannah Sassaman - Stephanie Moves Out
  16. Hannah Sassaman - Twins
  17. Mark Wilhelm - Capanaba
  18. Mark Wilhelm - Elvis in Las Vegas
  19. Mark Wilhelm - Ode to the Last Cigarette
  20. Yolanda Wisher - Cat Scat
  21. Yolanda Wisher - Peaches
  22. Yolanda Wisher - Ruby Flow
  23. Yolanda Wisher - Strange Fruit
  24. Magdalena Zurawski - Ballad of the Concrete Tree
  25. Magdalena Zurawski - Bruised Nickelodeon
  26. Magdalena Zurawski - Horses
  27. Magdalena Zurawski - This Where

Episode 15 - 04/12/1999

Produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart

  1. Natalie Anderson - Aulophobia - Fear of Flutes
  2. Natalie Anderson - Bromidrosophobia - Fear of Body Odor
  3. Natalie Anderson - Excerpt from The Miser
  4. Natalie Anderson - Gringophobia - Fear of Gringos
  5. Natalie Anderson - Hydrophobophobia - Fear of Rabies
  6. Natalie Anderson - Jukebox Memories
  7. Natalie Anderson - Nephophobia - Fear of Clouds
  8. Brett Evans - Excerpt from Beauty Damage Control Mardi Gras 1997
  9. Caroline Jacobson - Not Worth It
  10. David Koppish - Harvest Moon
  11. David Koppish - Improvisation Number Five
  12. David Koppish - Prayer
  13. Nicola - Anything
  14. Nicola - My Own Woman
  15. Lisa Sandale - Blue Borders
  16. Lisa Sandale - Glass Ocean
  17. Lisa Sandale - Language Wax
  18. Dennison Whitmer - Breathe In This Life
  19. Dennison Whitmer - Stations

Episode 14 - 03/15/1999

produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart

  1. Toni Brown - Postcards From Cave Cannum One
  2. Toni Brown - Postcards From Cave Cannum Two
  3. Toni Brown - Roxie
  4. Toni Brown - Salvation
  5. Toni Brown - The Smile
  6. Toni Brown - The Train Ride
  7. Amber DeLaurentis - Deep Into Indigo
  8. Amber DeLaurentis - What I Meant To Say
  9. Kristen Gallagher - Implosion Theory Number One Seduction and the Significant Other
  10. Kristen Gallagher - Logic Calling
  11. Kristen Gallagher - Some History
  12. Valerie Hanson - In Stations
  13. Valerie Hanson - Of This Other Hands
  14. Valerie Hanson - Still Life
  15. Valerie Hanson - Stories of Sight
  16. Valerie Hanson - X-Ray Days
  17. Mytili Jagannathan - Against
  18. Mytili Jagannathan - Declarations
  19. Mytili Jagannathan - House (Password Protected)
  20. Mytili Jagannathan - Nationalism Redactor
  21. Cynthia Mason - Critic
  22. Cynthia Mason - Untitled
  23. Lauren Smith - February Letter
  24. Lauren Smith - Letters January 1996 Through October 1996 or Surviving By the Boo
  25. Lauren Smith - Suzanne At Home Midday
  26. Lauren Smith - Suzanne at the Office in the Eighties
  27. Lauren Smith - Suzanne House-Hunting In Montreal 1957
  28. Lauren Smith - Suzannes Morning Errands
  29. Lauren Smith - Untitled
  30. Suzanna Urminska - Pomegranet
  31. Beth Trigg - Oysters
  32. Beth Trigg - Procreation
  33. Beth Trigg - Stateside
  34. Suzanna Urminska - Senses At Seven
  35. Suzanna Urminska - Silhouette of a Dream Horse
  36. Suzanna Urminska - Untitled Two
  37. Suzanna Urminska - Untitled Three
  38. Suzanna Urminska - Untitled

Episode 13 - 02/08/1999

produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Tom Devaney - No One I Know and the Tree
  2. Tom Devaney - Obi Wan Kenobe
  3. Tom Devaney - Sonnet
  4. Tom Devaney - The Heartbeat of America Makes Its Own Gravy
  5. Jo Grudziak - City Trees
  6. Jo Grudziak - My Native Language
  7. Jo Grudziak - Thoughts on Curdled Cream in Time of Economic Crisis
  8. David Lavin - Goin to Nabagamon
  9. David Lavin - Tradition Song
  10. John Parker - The Sinful Flesh
  11. Stephen Potter - Carved
  12. Stephen Potter - Fugue
  13. Ethel Rackin - Blush
  14. Ethel Rackin - Box Skirt
  15. Ethel Rackin - My Portable Radio
  16. Ethel Rackin - Silly You
  17. Heather Starr - Not Calm
  18. Heather Starr - Then It Was the Atlantic in All Directions
  19. Heather Starr - This Bow and Arrow
  20. John Stephens - Loves In Need
  21. John Stephens - Untitled
  22. Shawn Walker - 4834
  23. Shawn Walker - Vivifier

Episode 12 - 11/09/1998

produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart
You can hear a recording of the entire program here.

  1. Barbara Cole - Wandering Rocks
  2. David Goldman - Fallen
  3. David Goldman - Poem
  4. Seth Greenberg - Cherries and Mints
  5. Seth Greenberg - Untitled
  6. Rebekah Grossman - Aerial Body
  7. Rebekah Grossman - Babylon Body
  8. Rebekah Grossman - Brother Body
  9. Rebekah Grossman - Cut and Whole Body
  10. Rebekah Grossman - Doctor
  11. Rebekah Grossman - Double Compartment Body
  12. Rebekah Grossman - Earth Box
  13. Rebekah Grossman - Hotel Mirror Body
  14. Rebekah Grossman - Love Body Number Five
  15. Rebekah Grossman - Love Body Number Four
  16. Rebekah Grossman - Love Body Number One
  17. Rebekah Grossman - Love Body Number Three
  18. Rebekah Grossman - Love Body Number Two
  19. Rebekah Grossman - Post-Carbon Egyptian Bodies
  20. Rebekah Grossman - Wireless
  21. Rebekah Grossman - Womans Body
  22. Jennifer McCreary - In Which Opposition and Sister Squares Are
  23. Jennifer McCreary - Open Letter to Peggy Guggenheim
  24. Bob Perelman - Chaim Sutein
  25. Bob Perelman - The Womb of Avant Garde Reason
  26. Caitlin Roper - Heat
  27. Caitlin Roper - How the Roof of the Sky is Made
  28. Caitlin Roper - Salem Massachusetts Summer Witching
  29. Madelaine Sauk - Cat Heart Attack
  30. Madelaine Sauk - Friday Night at OHaggans
  31. Madelaine Sauk - Philadelphia
  32. Madelaine Sauk - The Bermuda Triangle Love Style

Episode 11 - 10/13/1998

produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart

  1. Alicia Askenase - Gunlife
  2. Josephine Foo - The Grass Collects Its Dew
  3. Josephine Foo - Perception
  4. Josephine Foo - The Frightened Child
  5. Josephine Foo - The Literal Mountain
  6. Hot Mango Chutney - Dragons
  7. Hot Mango Chutney - Untitled
  8. Michael Taylor Jon Madof Group - Untitled Two
  9. Jerry Rudasill - Trapped and Tagged
  10. Carrie Scanga - Awake
  11. Carrie Scanga - Seven-Thirty and the Spit Pit
  12. Carrie Scanga - The Room on Polk Street
  13. Carrie Scanga - Treat
  14. Kirsten Thorpe - Reciting Lines
  15. Kirsten Thorpe - The Morning
  16. Andrew Zitcer - Reassuring
  17. Andrew Zitcer - Up and Up
  18. Rebekah Grossman - Dual Time Body
  19. Jennifer McCreary - Surrealist Table Tennis
  20. Caitlin Roper - Daughter Dying in the Hospital
  21. Andrew Zitcer - Sikha Prefers Fingers
  22. Michael Taylor Jon Madof Group - Untitled

Episode 10 - 09/14/1998

produced by Heather Starr, directed by Joe Taylor, hosted by Shawn Stewart

  1. Rachel Blau-DuPlessis - Draft Twenty-Five Seigno
  2. Rachel Blau-DuPlessis - Excerpt From Draft Nineteen Working C
  3. Jessica Chiu - At the Khyber Pass Pub
  4. Jessica Chiu - Poem
  5. Jessica Chiu - There
  6. Jessica Chiu - Try To
  7. Nijmie Dzurinko - A Woman I Know
  8. Nijmie Dzurinko - Having a Daughter
  9. Nijmie Dzurinko - In the Case of Young Mister S
  10. Nijmie Dzurinko - The Storm
  11. Rachel Raffler - Count Down From Five
  12. Rachel Raffler - Untitled Two
  13. Rachel Raffler - Untitled
  14. John Shea - Tales From Websters Amon Ra to Amort
  15. John Shea - Tales From Websters Monseignor to Monstrance
  16. John Shea - Tales From Websters Paramount to Paraphrase
  17. Kerry Sherin - Love Lyrics
  18. Kerry Sherin - Song of the Moon
  19. Kerry Sherin - Why I Dont Wear Pearls
  20. The Gilroys - Untitled Two
  21. The Gilroys - Untitled
  22. Toscano Rodrigo - Premise Number One
  23. Kirsten Thorpe - Definitions
  24. Kirsten Thorpe - In the Red

Episode 8 - 03/21/1998

produced by Kristen Gallagher and Holly Johnson, hosted by Kerry Sherin

  1. Ben And Yanni - Untitled Two
  2. Rebekah Grossman - Ethnography of the Body
  3. Rebekah Grossman - Shapenote
  4. Rebekah Grossman - Weeds
  5. Matthew Hart - Four Poems
  6. Matthew Hart - In the English Lake District
  7. Matthew Hart - Notes to His Wife at the Foot of a Cliff
  8. Carolyn Jacobson - Grappling With Charlotte Bronte
  9. Christopher McCreary - Blue Lines
  10. Christopher McCreary - Legends
  11. Christopher McCreary - Sublimation
  12. Christopher McCreary - Whirlybird
  13. She Haw - Gold Watch and Chain
  14. She Haw - Oh Death
  15. Lamer Steptoe - America
  16. Lamer Steptoe - Bored
  17. Lamer Steptoe - Scared
  18. Lamer Steptoe - Thought
  19. Lamer Steptoe - Untitled
  20. Lamont Steptoe - A Genied Lamp
  21. Lamont Steptoe - Coming Ashore
  22. Lamont Steptoe - Contraband
  23. Lamont Steptoe - Dayworker
  24. Lamont Steptoe - My Daughter
  25. Lamont Steptoe - Part
  26. Lamont Steptoe - Spookism
  27. Lamont Steptoe - Supper
  28. Lamont Steptoe - To Lamer Belle
  29. Lamont Steptoe - With Every Breath
  30. Michael James Trainer - Go
  31. Shulamith Wechter-Caine - Craniology
  32. Shulamith Wechter-Caine - How To Throw a Spear or Write a Poem
  33. Shulamith Wechter-Caine - Love Fugue
  34. Ben and Yanni - Untitled
  35. Michael James Trainer - The Thief

Episode 7 - 02/21/1998

produced by Kristen Gallagher and Holly Johnson, hosted by Kerry Sherin

  1. Nate Chinen - Ode
  2. Nate Chinen - Conjugation
  3. Gregory Djanikian - Phone Call From Arizona
  4. Gregory Djanikian - Shooting Star
  5. Gregory Djanikian - The Physics of Traveling Away
  6. Gregory Djanikian - Voyeur
  7. Gregory Djanikian - Years Later
  8. Holly Johnson - Antipedes
  9. Holly Johnson - Untitled
  10. Elliot Levin - Complete Performance
  11. Elliot Levin - Juan
  12. Elliot Levin - Slow Mo Oh Roman Aroma
  13. Elliot Levin - To Be Perfectly Frank
  14. Elliot Levin - Untitled
  15. Brenda McMillan - Cotton
  16. Brenda McMillan - Daddy
  17. Brenda McMillan - Narrative
  18. Brenda McMillan - P Funk
  19. David Quintilliani - Untitled Four
  20. David Quintilliani - Untitled Three
  21. David Quintilliani - Untitled
  22. Heather Starr - Flush
  23. Heather Starr - Thursday Night Series
  24. Lamont Steptoe - My Daughter

Episode 6 - 11/08/1997

produced by Kristen Gallagher and Holly Johnson, hosted by Kerry Sherin

  1. Betsy Andrews - For Louis
  2. Betsy Andrews - The Crypts of Lieberkouhn
  3. Gregory Biglieri - Eyelicks In Exile
  4. Kristen Gallagher - Christ Market
  5. Kristen Gallagher - Untitled
  6. Kristen Gallagher - Zone
  7. Mytili Jagannathan - American Fantasies (Password Protected)
  8. Mytili Jagannathan - Liberation
  9. Mytili Jagannathan - Training
  10. Patty McCarthy - Octaves Three
  11. Maya Mojo - City Wings
  12. Maya Mojo - Remember
  13. Maya Mojo - Untitled
  14. Ron Silliman - Excerpt From Oz
  15. Kevin Verrone - Faux or Flow or Flaw
  16. Holly Johnson - Pencils
  17. David Quintilliani - Untitled Two
  18. Ron Silliman - Philadelphia

Episode 5 - 10/11/1997

produced by Kristen Gallagher and Holly Johnson, hosted by Kerry Sherin

  1. Louis Cabri - Excerpt From Disposed
  2. Louis Cabri - Excerpt
  3. Louis Cabri - Untitled
  4. Jessica Chiu - A Commentary on Asian Movies
  5. Jessica Chiu - At The Podium
  6. Jessica Chiu - July
  7. Barbara Cole - Vivian In Ink On Smoothest Paper
  8. Holly Johnson - Paintings in a Foreign Language
  9. Holly Johnson - Treatise on Academia
  10. Jeffrey Loo - Lambs
  11. Michael Magee - A Kind of Woman
  12. Michael Magee - Poem Beginning With a Line of O'Hara's
  13. Perry Aaron Yeats - The Yes's of the Body to the No's of the Mind
  14. Betsy Andrews - Hand Born
  15. Patty McCarthy - If Then
  16. Maya Mojo - Moments of Understanding

Episode 4 - 09/13/1997

produced by Kristen Gallagher and Holly Johnson, hosted by Kerry Sherin

  1. Herman Beavers - Crossings
  2. Herman Beavers - Eclipse
  3. Herman Beavers - Heart Murmur
  4. Herman Beavers - Mourning
  5. Kristen Gallagher - The Verb Poetry
  6. Herman Beavers - Spy Glass
  7. Herman Beavers - Still Life Narrative
  8. Herman Beavers - The Journeyman
  9. Herman Beavers - The Witness Stone
  10. Herman Beavers - Untitled
  11. Nate Chinen - Movement Acceleration
  12. Nate Chinen - On Location
  13. Nate Chinen - On The Eve of John Coltrane's Seventieth Birthday
  14. Kyle Connor - Art Lesson
  15. Kyle Connor - The Happy Head or An Afternoon at the Parade
  16. Kristen Gallagher - Borders
  17. Kristen Gallagher - Citescape
  18. Kristen Gallagher - Missing
  19. Holly Johnson - Question or Direction
  20. Holly Johnson - Two Fearful Maidens
  21. Holly Johnson - Untitled
  22. Colleen O'Neill - Epic
  23. Colleen O'Neill - Incidentally
  24. John Parker - Bibliotheque Mazarene
  25. David Slarskey - I Am Anachronism
  26. David Slarksey - I Sit By the Banks and It Takes Me In
  27. David Slarksey - Pastel
  28. Kirsten Thorpe - Bang Bang
  29. Kirsten Thorpe - Not With
  30. Kirsten Thorpe - Oh Man
  31. Kirsten Thorpe - Playing
  32. Jessica Chiu - Being Frank

Episode 3 - 04/12/1997

produced by Sarah Giulian and Joe Taylor; hosted by Jeff Wachs

Episode 2 - 03/22/1997

produced by Sarah Giulian and Joe Taylor; hosted by Jeff Wachs

  1. Tali Aronsky - Scenarios
  2. Tali Aronsky - Senior Year Spring Semester
  3. Edward Francis - Bay Views
  4. Edward Francis - Bitch Burnt My Scrapple
  5. Edward Francis - Directors Cut
  6. Edward Francis - Grave Concerns
  7. Edward Francis - The Love Song of JCPenny
  8. Major Jackson - Leaving Saturn Sun-Ra and Myth Science Orchestra Painted Bride
  9. Jeffrey Loo - Crossing Walt Whitman Bridge
  10. Jeffrey Loo - Out of the Machine
  11. Tina Lopez - Caesar's Palace Atlantic City
  12. Tina Lopez - Ready Made
  13. Michael Magee - A Detroit of the Mind
  14. Michael Magee - Stranger's Visit
  15. Antonio Shagnasti - Untitled
  16. Karina Sliwinski - Once Upon a Polish Village
  17. Shawn Walker - Corner B
  18. Shawn Walker - Sixty-Four Cent Sonnet
  19. Hop Wechsler - Dream Server
  20. Hop Wechsler - Ghost Bride
  21. Hop Wechsler - Phluphia
  22. Major Jackson - Ours Poetica for Charles Semmig
  23. Hop Wechsler - Day In Day Out
  24. Holly Johnson - Scowl for Jack Kerouac

Episode 1 - 02/15/1997 - Writers House

produced by Sarah Giulian and Joe Taylor; hosted by Jeff Wachs

  1. Claire Bayard - Midwinter
  2. Claire Bayard - The Worm and the Toothache
  3. Andrew Chandler - Urban Romance Number Eleven
  4. Andrew Chandler - Western Mobeus In Spasm
  5. Nate Chinen - Blues Fivespot For Johnny Griffin
  6. Jennifer Connolly - In Dedication to Silence
  7. Jennifer Connolly - Losing Arlena
  8. David Deifer and Leah Sheppard - on Robert Klein Engler's "Resurrection"
  9. Linh Dinh - Diorama
  10. Linh Dinh - Drunkard Boxing
  11. Nijmie Dzurinko - Untitled One
  12. Al Filreis - Silence
  13. Kristen Gallagher - Tape Recorder, Radio, Producer, Girl with Microphone
  14. Sarah Giulian - Peter Tchaikovskys Symphony Number Four
  15. Patrick Kelly - Autobiography Volume One
  16. Patrick Kelly - Let Me Tell You About My Baby
  17. Patrick Kelly - Opportunity Knocks
  18. Patrick Kelly - The Hollow Men
  19. Bob Perelman - Confessing to the Listserv
  20. Bob Perelman - To The Future
  21. Josh Schuster - Probably About Jewish Extremism
  22. Josh Schuster - Security
  23. Josh Schuster - Wellness
  24. Jeff Wachs - A Visit
  25. Jeff Wachs - Introduction
  26. Shawn Walker - The Bottomless Bottle
  27. Shawn Walker - Push
  28. Leah Sheppard - On Poetry
  29. Leah Sheppard - Snapshot Number Twelve
  30. Nijmie Dzurinko - Untitled Two