Pig Iron Literary & Art Works kicks off 2010 poetry program

YOUNGSTOWN — Pig Iron Literary & Art Works, a Mahoning Valley arts foundation, is announcing its 2010 poetry program schedule.

This year, 15 poetry events have been scheduled, including the Second Tuesday Open Poetry Reading, the second Tuesday of each month; the Pig Iron Poetry Slam, Sept. 29; poetry at the YSU Summer Festival of the Arts, July 10 and 11; and First Night Youngstown, Dec. 31.

Open to the public, poetry events allow audience members to read their own or favorite poems. There is no admission charge and no age or experience requirements. Presenters will sign up at the door before the reading. Programs usually last about an hour and a half.

Second Tuesday Poetry Reading series began this year at Tomasino’s pizzeria on Federal Street West, downtown Youngstown. Tomasino’s will host six more sessions: Tuesday, March 9, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9 and Dec. 14.

Readings at Tomasino’s begin at 7:30 p.m. Pig Iron Literary & Art works has hosted the monthly Second Tuesday readings since 1997.

Times, location and rules of the Pig Iron Poetry Slam, an oral competition, will be announced in May. Judges evaluate the presenters and a prize is awarded. The contest is open to the public.

Readings at the Summer Festival of the Arts, July 10 and 11, will take place at the McDonough Art Gallery on Wick Ave.

First Night Youngstown readings will be hosted by Pig Iron Press, N. Phelps Street. The New Year’s Eve event will feature readings of traditional Christmas poems and classic children’s poems presented by Jim Villani, Pig Iron Press editor. Details will be announced later.

Some readings are scheduled for various other locations. A reading April 13 will be at 7 p.m. at the Art Outreach Gallery in the Eastwood Mall, Niles. On May 11, a reading will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, on Wick Ave. Summer poetry readings, June 8, July 13 and Aug. 10, will be outdoors at 7:30 p.m. in the Ampco Parking lot behind Pig Iron Press, on Commerce Street.

Of special note this year are links to other poetry events. April is National Poetry Month, and the April host, Art Outreach Gallery, and Pig Iron Literary & Art Works and Pig Iron Press, will sponsor a competition before the April reading. The winning poems will be presented at the reading. Copies of the poems will hang in the art gallery for all of National Poetry Month. Rules and requirements will be announced this month.

Other poetry events take place throughout the year. Ohio Poetry Day, a statewide poetry celebration, is Oct. 9, followed by an Oct. 12 reading. Pig Iron Literary & Art Works will sponsor a statewide contest for Ohio Poetry Day, announcing winners that day and at the October reading. Rules will be announced in April.

Pig Iron Literary & Art Works has sponsored poetry events in the Valley since 1975. For more information, call (330) 747-6932.