MEDIA RELEASES

Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) is spearheading a month-long, community-wide celebration of poetry in April titled “Poetry Now!” Following a variety of events at schools and libraries throughout Oak Park and River Forest, the celebration will culminate in an all-day “Festival of Poetry” on Saturday, April 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the university’s Parmer Hall, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest.

Poetry Now! is funded by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library to GSLIS lecturer Michael Leonard for his project, “Poetry Now! Engaging Library Users Through Poetry Programming and Collection Development.” Community participants in the project include Oak Park Public Library, River Forest Public Library, Oak Park and River Forest High School, Trinity High School, Concordia University and all public and private middle schools in Oak Park and River Forest.

The April 26 festival will include performances, poetry readings and workshops. The day opens with readings by the nine winners of the student poetry writing contest now underway at participating local middle schools, high schools and colleges, along with a performance of poetry and music by troubadour Richard Fameree, the author of a book of poems titled Lessons of Water and Thirst.

Throughout the day, area poets will conduct a variety of workshops for young adult and adult writers. For teachers and librarians, Dr. Leonard and Dr. Joseph Heininger, Dominican assistant professor of English, each will present a workshop on bringing poetry to life for students of all ages. The festival will conclude with readings by established poets Carlos Cumpian, Cynthia Gallaher, Janice Harrington and Avery R. Young, who will discuss how their geographic and cultural experiences have informed their works.

The “Festival of Poetry” is free and open to the public. Registration is recommended as participation is capped for some workshops. CPDU/CEU credits are available. For more information, call Michael Leonard at (708) 524-6861 or visit www.dom.edu/poetrynow; to register for workshops, e-mail mleonard@dom.edu. and include "Poetry Now" on the subject line.