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Author Spotlight | Poets Paul Brooke & Jennifer Knox

Here at the Ames Writers Collective we like to refer to Paul and Jen as the Jen and Paul Show. Together they will entertain you with banter,  conversation and poetry sure to make you laugh and to consider the wild outdoors!

This evening produced by the Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio Station is teaser for Poetry Palooza!, which is scheduled for April 19 through 20, 2024.

ABOUT THE POETS

Dr. Paul Brooke is a Professor and the Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he teaches Advanced Creative Writing, Environmental Literature, Creative Photography, Experimental Photography, Fiction, Poetry Writing, Introduction to Nonfiction, Editing and Digital Publishing, Contemporary Literature, Diverse Voices, Novel Writing, Major Authors, and Literary Theory. He has won awards for outstanding advising, scholarship, and teaching while at Grand View University, plus granted two sabbaticals. To read more about his, check him out on our Author Spotlight page.

Jennifer L. Knox is the author of five books of poems: Crushing It (Copper Canyon Press, 2020), Days of Shame & Failure (Bloof Books, 2018), The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway (Bloof Books, 2010), Drunk by Noon (Bloof Books, 2007), and A Gringo Like Me (Bloof Books, 2005).

Known for their dark, imaginative humor, her poems have appeared in publications such as the New Yorker, the American Poetry Review, Granta, McSweeney’s, five times in the Best American Poetry series, and the 2022 Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses anthology. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post. To learn more about Jen, check her out on our Author Spotlight page.

ABOUT POETRY PALOOZA?

Inspired by an educational and entertainment event of nearly 20 years ago, this creative experience – Poetry Palooza! – has been a long time in the making.

​In 2023, Poetry& worked in partnership with Humanities Iowa, Mainframe Studios, Franklin Jr. High Event Center, and the Iowa Poetry Association to make Poetry Palooza! a dynamic, interactive, and integrated performing arts experience.

​This three-day festival celebrated Midwestern Poets Laureate, cultivated students and emerging talent, and demonstrated the positive power of poetry.

Author Spotlight | Poets Paul Brooke & Jennifer Knox

Here at the Ames Writers Collective we like to refer to Paul and Jen as the Jen and Paul Show. Together they will entertain you with banter,  conversation and poetry sure to make you laugh and to consider the wild outdoors!

This evening produced by the Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio Station is teaser for Poetry Palooza!, which is scheduled for April 19 through 20, 2024.

ABOUT THE POETS

Dr. Paul Brooke is a Professor and the Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he teaches Advanced Creative Writing, Environmental Literature, Creative Photography, Experimental Photography, Fiction, Poetry Writing, Introduction to Nonfiction, Editing and Digital Publishing, Contemporary Literature, Diverse Voices, Novel Writing, Major Authors, and Literary Theory. He has won awards for outstanding advising, scholarship, and teaching while at Grand View University, plus granted two sabbaticals. To read more about his, check him out on our Author Spotlight page.

Jennifer L. Knox is the author of five books of poems: Crushing It (Copper Canyon Press, 2020), Days of Shame & Failure (Bloof Books, 2018), The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway (Bloof Books, 2010), Drunk by Noon (Bloof Books, 2007), and A Gringo Like Me (Bloof Books, 2005).

Known for their dark, imaginative humor, her poems have appeared in publications such as the New Yorker, the American Poetry Review, Granta, McSweeney’s, five times in the Best American Poetry series, and the 2022 Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses anthology. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post. To learn more about Jen, check her out on our Author Spotlight page.

ABOUT POETRY PALOOZA?

Inspired by an educational and entertainment event of nearly 20 years ago, this creative experience – Poetry Palooza! – has been a long time in the making.

​In 2023, Poetry& worked in partnership with Humanities Iowa, Mainframe Studios, Franklin Jr. High Event Center, and the Iowa Poetry Association to make Poetry Palooza! a dynamic, interactive, and integrated performing arts experience.

​This three-day festival celebrated Midwestern Poets Laureate, cultivated students and emerging talent, and demonstrated the positive power of poetry.

Author Spotlight with Third Stanza Poets & 11 Days of Global Unity

Join founder, Ana McCracken for an evening “spotlighting” Third Stanza Poets as they revive their longstanding tradition of hosting 11 Days of Global Unity – a reading series formerly held in September at Cafe Diem on Main Street prior to the Covid-19 quarantine.

This event will kick off the Fall 2023 Author Spotlight Series.
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Author

Patricia Kimle

What’s your genre?
Historical fiction

Are you published?
Self published

What inspired you to become a writer?
Long ago, we followed the Underground Railroad trail from Nebraska City, NE through western Iowa to West Des Moines and Grinnell as a short family vacation when our children were grade school age. My husband developed a story line based on the history, but a job change meant the project fell by the wayside. When said children had all left me with an empty nest, I decided to pick up the story. We say now that I was research and writing and my husband “story consultant.” I had always wanted to try writing fiction and it was an easier start since the basic idea was ready for me to take on.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I grew up not far from the home of Willa Cather in south central Nebraska. I’ve read O Pioneers! and My Ántonia many times from high school to now. In grade school, I loved and read Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child. I’ve always loved prairie stories. Actually any historical fiction with a good heroine will do.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
My favorites are always changing. I read a lot of books about creativity and recently loved Adorning the Dark, by Andrew Peterson. He is a singer/songwriter and story teller. I’ve loved every Charles Martin book I’ve read. And Susan May Warren is an incredible writer, mentor and businesswoman.

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I have been an artist for 30 years. As a freelance designer, I published how-to articles and books in the craft industry before craft publishing went the way of the dodo. Next I had a wholesale jewelry business selling silver and clay jewelry until I retired the business during covid. For the last 5 years, I have been painting in oils. I have 5 paintings that were inspired by scenes from my book, The Only Free Road: An Underground Railroad Saga Unveiled, including the cover art.

What one piece of advice would you give a budding writer?
Research can draw you down lots of rabbit holes, and if you are inclined, like me, to keep digging, remember to ask yourself occasionally if you’re coming up with details that actually contribute to the story or take your reader into the weeds. Sometimes its better to make something up and keep moving on.

Author bio
Patricia Kimle is an artist and lover of history. After 30 years in the craft and jewelry industry, she has turned her attention to painting and writing. Historical fiction is her favorite genre to read, so it was fun to make up a story with her husband and work together. Working on The Only Free Road, Patricia indulged her love of research in order to try to get lots of details to enrich the story.

She and Kevin have three grown children and live in Ames, Iowa. Visit Patricia here.

On Sunday, September 24th, Patricia will be a featured author at the 2nd Annual Ames Writers Collective Swift Literary Festival to be held during the Annual Octagon Art Festival. Check our calendar for details.

Categories
Author

Joe Geha

What’s your genre?
Memoir, fiction and drama

Are you published?
Traditional publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
A teacher in college recognized something in me and encouraged it. That “something” I consider to be a gift as well as an obligation.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I consider Richard Yates a “writers’ writer,” that is, someone a beginner can learn from. Yates is known for the deceptively simple directness of his prose style, the precision of his descriptions, the way he can pierce the reader with a character’s slightest gesture.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Eleven Kinds of Loneliness by Richard Yates
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I use poker to inform my work as an artist. In poker it’s particularly evident that nothing risked equals nothing gained. Therefore, a regular dose of low stakes poker is enough for me to keep in mind the need I have to continue taking artistic risks.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Read, and read, and read. Beyond reading, I would encourage the fledgling writer to approach their work as a child approaches a sandbox—ready to play. For the moment, pay no attention to that killjoy grownup, your internal editor. Instead build and tear down and see what turns up. You’ll need that editor, but not till later, while the child’s enjoying a well-earned nap.

And read.

Author bio
Joe Geha, Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University, is also the author of Through and Through: Toledo Stories, and Lebanese Blonde. His poems, plays, essays and short stories have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies. His work was granted an NEA award, Pushcart Prize, and the Arab American Book Award. Read about Joe’s lastest book, Kitchen Arabic How My Family Came to America and the Recipes We Brought With Us, here.

Author Spotlight Featuring Joe Geha

Join us for an Author Spotlight featuring Joe Geha, author of Kitchen Arabic. Hear stories about his aromatic dishes and the writing of his book, which is a fabulous holiday gift idea for the “home chefs” in your life.

Joe Geha, Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University, is also the author of Through and Through: Toledo Stories, and Lebanese Blonde. His poems, plays, essays and short stories have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies. His work was granted an NEA award, Pushcart Prize, and the Arab American Book Award. 

Copies of Kitchen Arabic, perfect for your holiday gift-giving, will be available for purchase and author signing.

 

 

 

 

This event is held in partnership with the
Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio.

Author Spotlight Featuring Gary Eller

Join us for an Author Spotlight featuring Gary Eller, author of True North.

Eller’s previous collection of short fiction, THIN ICE AND OTHER RISKS (New Rivers Press) was well-received and described by one reviewer as “reminiscent of Raymond Carver’s best work.” In addition to many short stories, he has published nonfiction articles on various topics such as commercial fishing in Alaska, rare museum collections, and post-divorce life. He has also published interviews and several articles on the craft of writing. His focus in the nonfiction genre, however, has been on baseball, one of his many loves.

His writing awards include the River City Award in Fiction, the Fowler Prize, and a Minnesota Voices Award, among others. He is a former Pushcart Prize nominee and recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has also taught fiction and nonfiction at Iowa State University and lectured widely on aspects of creative writing.

Copies of True North will be available for purchase and author signing.

 

 

 

This event is held in partnership with the
Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio.

Author Spotlight Featuring Dr. Douglas Gentile

Doug Gentile
Doug Gentile for LAS. (Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University)

Join us for an Author Spotlight featuring Dr. Douglas Gentile, author and Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University. A Zen Buddhist monk and meditation teacher, he wrote and narrated the best-selling audiobook Buddhism 101: How to Walk Easily over Rough Ground and Finding the Freedom to Get Unstuck and Be Happier. He has been featured on such radio shows as National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, To the Point, the BBC World Service, and his work has been reported on CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Jo Frost’s Extreme Parental Guidance, as well as the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times.

Copies of Buddhism 101: How to Walk Easily over Rough Ground and Finding the Freedom to Get Unstuck and Be Happier will be available for purchase and author signing.

This event is held in partnership with the Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio.

Author Spotlight Featuring Pamela Riney-Kehrberg

PamRiney-Kehrberg

Join us for our Author Spotlight featuring Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, author and Distinguished Professor of History at Iowa State University. She will read excerpts her latest book, When a Dream Dies: Agriculture, Iowa, and the Farm Crisis of the 1980s, and take questions from the audience.

Pamela Riney-Kehrberg is a Distinguished Professor of History, and the author or editor of a number of books, including Rooted in Dust: Surviving Drought and Depression in Southwestern Kansas, Childhood on the Farm: Work, Play and Coming of Age in the Midwest, and The Nature of Childhood: An Environmental History of Growing Up in America, 1865-Present. She is the author of a historical book for children, Always Plenty To Do: Growing Up on the Farm in the Long Ago. When a Dream Dies is her latest book.

Copies of When a Dream Dies will be available for purchase and author signing.

This event is held in partnership with the Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio.

Author Spotlight Featuring Deb Kline

Join us for our Author Spotlight featuring Deb Kline, author and singer songwriter, who will read excerpts, lyrics, and poems from her book Forgetting to Remember: A Healer’s Journey of Surviving and Thriving. She will share her process as a nontraditional writer and take questions from the audience.

As an Ames author and entrepreneur, Deb Kline shares her passion for thriving beyond trauma by inspiring others to discover their inner healer. Her music, art, writing, and holistic practice, Wellspring Wellness, LLC, collectively expand the ability of individuals and communities to hold, honor, and validate difficult stories while celebrating kindred survivors.

Copies of Forgetting to Remember will be available for purchase and author signing.

This event is held in partnership with the Ames Writers Collective and KHOI Community Radio.