Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
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Cristin Interviewed in Stated Magazine
Professor, author & poetic raconteur Daniel Nester makes his debut as contributing editor of Stated Magazine with an interview with Cristin. The interview focuses on Cristin’s recently re-issued early work (“We would have to go to the world of records, where recording artist reissues and boxed sets are more common, with demos, alternate takes, non-album B-sides. I know I’m fetishizing these books as objects, but I’m a collector of sorts. That’s what I do.”), but spirals delightfully out of control with topics such as being an double agent in both performance & academics, why slammers love Billy Collins and how the concept of “Meet Internet Only Friends with Awkward Hugs” bridges the words of stage and page. To read the full article, click here.
Cristin to Host Taylor Mali’s Book Release & Celebration
Cristin is thrilled to be returning to NYC on Saturday April 7th to host a very special event for one of her closest friends, poet Taylor Mali. Twelve years ago, Taylor left his job as a teacher and devoted his life to performing poetry and inspiring people to become teachers. On Saturday April 7, the New York City poetry community is coming together to celebrate two enormous accomplishments: the publication of his books of essays, What Teachers Make (Putnam Adult, 2012) and a celebration of Taylor reaching his goal of inspiring 1,000 people to enter the teaching profession. The show, which will including roasts & toasts, live music and a lot of poetry, will take place at the Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, NY, NY 10012) and the show starts at 8pm. Please show up early for good seats! And for more information, please visit Taylor’s website by clicking here.
Cristin to Perform at Franklin and Marshall College
Cristin is thrilled to be returning to Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster (PA) for an evening of performance. The event, which is sponsored by Philadelphia Alumni Writers House, is FREE and open the public. Please join students from Franklin and Marshall College (as well as Cristin’s PARENTS) at the event which will take place in the Atrium at Steinman College Center Atrium. For more information, please click here.
Cristin’s “Working Class Represent” Reviewed at The Lit Pub
Cristin’s recently reissued third book of poetry, Working Class Represent (Write Bloody Publishing, 2011) enjoys an incredible review in the online lit blog, The Lit Pub. Reviewer David Cotrone writes, “I have heard that comedians are our modern philosophers. I have heard, too, that this is true of poets, the keepers of thought and inquiry, practitioners a sort of observation that could only belong to a writer. In Working Class Represent, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, however, transcends these categories — comedian and poet — as she is both. She surveys the way in which our lives may sometimes take sad and misshapen shapes, and creates these shapes anew while also keeping her good humor on display, showing that is possible to at once grimace, smile and even laugh….” He later writes “…Aptowicz’s strength is that she uses accessible language to say what no one else can. She navigates the world of labor and modernity with fierce conviction, all the while questioning all that lies before her. She writes of a familiar place — New York as we see it today — and yet under her lens the mundane becomes foreign, even wild. Yes, this book reveals our lives in motion, on the loose. Simply put, if the world is a question then Aptowicz has the answer. And luckily, like our greatest explorers, she has written it all down.” To read the full review, please click here.
Cristin’s Poetry Appears in “City of the Big Shoulders: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry”
Cristin’s poem “Chicago Deep Dish” is published in the recently released poetry anthology, City of the Big Shoulders: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry (University Of Iowa Press). The anthology, edited by Ryan G. Van Cleave, also features poetry from 100 different poets including amazing poets such Patricia Smith, Bob Hicok, Beth Ann Fennelly, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Marty McConnell, Tony Trigilio, Marvin Bell, Stuart Dybek, Martin Espada and Joy Harjo, among others. The anthology was recently reviewed by CJ Laity on the Chicago Poetry website, and Cristin’s poem was spotlighted within the review. Laity wrote: “I want to make this clear: there are some truly great poems in City Of The Big Shoulders. When I say great, I mean great great, like they need to be studied and even memorized great. I’m talking “Chicago Deep Dish” by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz great (“. . . a city smart enough to know that if you / are going to have that heart attack, you might / as well as have the pleasure of knowing / you’ve earned it.”).” For more information on the anthology or to pick up your own copy, please click here.
Cristin to Perform in Pittburgh
Cristin is excited to be returning to Pittsburgh for more performance & workshop engagements. On Tuesday March 6, Cristin will be performing and workshopping with students at Slippery Rock University. On Weds March 7 & Thursday March 8, Cristin will be at Shady Side Academy, where she will lecturing, performing and workshopping with students.
Cristin to Attend AWP 2012 Conference in Chicago
Cristin is thrilled to be attending the 2012 AWP Conference in Chicago. In addition to helping man the Write Bloody Publishing table (making its AWP debut), she will able to speaking on a panel about the evolution on the slam movement on Friday March 2 at 3pm (click here for more info). Cristin will also be performing at three evening events. On Thurs Mar 1st, Cristin will be performing at the Slam Legends invade Louder Than a Bomb: an AWP OFF-SITE READING, alongside poets like Roger Bonair-Agard, Taylor Mali, Jamila Woods, Jason Carney and Daemond Arrindell, among others! Show starts at 6pm at the Chicago Cultural Center
(78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602). On Friday March 2nd, Cristin will be performing at the Write Bloody Word Party, reading alongside other WB authors such as Derrick Brown, Anis Mojgani, Robbie Q. Telfer and Laura Yes Yes among others. The show starts at 9:30 PM at Elastic Arts (2830 N Milwaukee). And lastly, on Saturday March 3rd, Cristin will be the featured poet at the West Side School for the Desperate: AWP Offsite reading. Time and location, TBA. Stay tuned.
New Poetry in The Foghorn
Cristin is happy to be back among the fact and the fiction in the literary journal, The Foghorn. The three new poems deal with facts about the ancient world, and hence probably shouldn’t be read whilst eating. To read the new poems, please click here.
Cristin to Perform Four Times in Minneapolis/St. Paul Area
Cristin is excited to be returning to the twin cities! Cristin will be performing at four different events from February. On Friday February 10th, Cristin will be performing at the College of Saint Benedict on Feb 10th (click here for more info). On Saturday Feb 11th and again on Valentine’s Day (Feb 14), Cristin will be headlining the SlamMN! 17th Annual Erotica Slam (click here for more info). And finally, on Sun Feb 12th, Cristin will be featuring at Hamline University’s CUPSI Finals (click here for more info). All events are open to the public. If you are in the area, please come on out!
Cristin’s “Hot Teen Slut” Spotlighted in Best of the Small Press List
Cristin’s recently re-issued book, Hot Teen Slut (Write Bloody Publishing, 2011), was named by writer/critic Spencer Dew as one of his favorite small press books of 2011 on the Karen the Small Press Librarian blog. About the book, Dew writes: “Poverty-struck poet lands a cubicle job in the pornography industry, but inexhaustible good humor and a resolute belief in poetry’s ability to offer at least a temporary anecdote to the oppressions of the status quo makes this book like one of those little hypos of adrenaline folks carry in case of emergency.” To read the review in context of the full list, please click here .
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