Kan Zaman by Judith Mansour to be released November 5th

Crisis Chronicles Press is thrilled to announce the imminent publication of Kan Zaman, a memoir in poetry and prose by Judith Mansour. Pre-order now for $15 and receive free shipping. Or meet the author at our book release event on November 5th at Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights.

Mansour, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, walks the minefield of grief and nostalgia in her first full-length collection. Soot-covered porches from the once-booming steel industry of the Mahoning Valley are the backdrop for visceral, playful and devastating memories.

The title, Kan Zaman, is Arabic for "a long time ago" — often used to mean once upon a time or way back when. Apropos for this collection born of losing people Mansour loved and who shaped who she is.

"Judith Mansour’s Kan Zaman is an irresistible evocation of the Lebanese household she grew up in. This magical book is both a love poem to her family and an invitation for all of us to revisit our childhood, that paradise to which we can only return through memory. Mansour’s writing, by turns both sensual and hauntingly lyrical, is as welcoming as a warm kitchen on a winter night."
— George Bilgere

You may also pre-order Kan Zaman from our friends at Mac's Backs Books on Coventry in Cleveland Heights.

Jim Lang Book Club at Cleveland Clinic

		Lerner Research Institute   Jim Lang Book Club Local Author Series
	Please join us to hear Dr. Bilgere read Jim Lang's poems in celebration of the inaugural Jim Lang Book Club, a series that will feature local authors. Dr. Bilgere has published seven poetry collections, and his poems have also appeared in many distinguished journals and several anthologies. His collections and individual poems are award-winning, garnering the Devins Award for Poetry, the May Swenson Poetry Award, the Midland Authors Award, and a Pushcart Prize, among others. In 1991 he was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain, and he was later named a Witter Bynner Fellow, a prestigious honor bestowed in conjunction with the Library of Congress. Dr. Bilgere was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize for Literature in 2003 and received a Creative Workforce Fellowship from Cleveland's Community Partnership for Arts and Culture in 2014. The National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council have also recognized and supported Dr. Bilgere. In addition to teaching at John Carroll University and writing, he hosts a popular weekly WJCU radio program, Wordplay, that explores the craft of poetry and celebrates the spoken word.
	Jim Lang passed away in 2017, but his presence is still felt by those who knew him during his more than 25 years as the LRI Photographic Services Core Director. Jim was much more than our resident photographer – he was a friend, poet, artist, philosopher, potter, scholar, and above all, a true humanitarian. He had the unique ability to light up any space with his love of life and literature. He willingly shared his knowledge on a wide variety of topics and his expertise in many areas, and he instilled in us a deep appreciation for all that enriches our lives beyond our chosen professions and everyday responsibilities. Jim organized poetry slams in his early days and book clubs most recently, so we will continue the book club in his honor.
Hosted by Vince Tuohy, PhD and Justin Johnson, Dept. of Inflammation and Immunity
Monday, April 1   3:00 pm    LRI Commons
Light refreshments will be provided. Cleveland Clinic - Lerner Research Institute 9620 Carnegie Avenue (N building) Cleveland, Ohio 44106

George Bilgere at the Rocky River Public Library 9/28

Rocky River Public Library

1600 Hampton Road

Rocky River, Ohio 44116

Ohio Center for the Book: George Bilgere

The Ohio Center for the Book has been running a long series of feature articles on Ohio writers past and present.
Today's feature is Cleveland's own prizewinning poet George Bilgere.

George Bilgere with Garrison Keillor

• Ohio Center for the Book: George Bilgere
• George Bilgere website
• Some George Bilgere poems from The Missouri Review
• Some George Bilgere poems at The Writer's Almanac

--and check out Worldplay with co-hosts George Bilgere and John Donoghue, on WJCU (archive)

George B on Poetry Daily

Cleveland's own George Bilgere was featured on Poetry Daily this week:

• Musial

"America's Greatest Living Poet" at the Cleveland Public Library

Bilgere Reviewed

George Bilgere's new collection of poetry, Imperial, just got a review by John Freeman in the Plain Dealer.

"Bilgere, who teaches at John Carroll University, is a companionable guide to what he calls, a little obviously, 'the shared mystery / of being human.' His lines possess the easy, colloquial rhythm of prose and the imagist glint of good poetry.
He recalls 'the dark mouths of garages' in his childhood St. Louis, lobsters’ 'steaming vaults / ready to be plundered.'"
...

• Imperial (University of Pittsburgh Press)

Best Poets in Cleveland

CBS Cleveland lists their choices for the best poets in Cleveland.

Ray McNiece
www.raymcniece.com

George Bilgere
www.georgebilgere.com

Susan Grimm
www.thewhitespaceinsidethepoem.blogspot.com

Sarah Gridley
www.case.edu/artsci/engl/Gridley/Gridley.html

Phil Metres

www.philipmetres.com

Agree?  Disagree?

• Best Local Poets In Cleveland

Bilgere interviewed

Cleveland Height's George Bilgere is profiled and interviewed in the January Cleveland Magazine

---

George Bilgere and Garrison Keillor

Issue Date: January 2014 Issue  
Free Verse
Cleveland Heights poet George Bilgere tackles aging and America in his latest collection.
Barry Goodrich 

George Bilgere describes himself as "a middle-aged, middle-class guy living in middle America."
...

Q. What can be conveyed through poetry that can't be communicated through prose?
A. It's about compression and concision. A 16-line poem can be an entire universe, an entire history. In James Wright's "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio," you can experience an entire town in a few lines. Making a little collection of words as powerful as you can is the magic of poetry.
...

• Read the full article here.

Three types of poetry, and George Bilgere

In "The Three Types of Poetry,"the Scarriet blog discusses the poem "Unwise Purchases," from Cleveland's wordplayer George Bilgere:
"This poem is wonderful in a way that would repel the likes of Ron Silliman, Rae Armantrout and the avant-garde, simply for its clarity.  Those who believe that poetry is verse and not prose would also dislike this poem.  But here it stands."

(For what it's worth, the three types are, first poetry as art: it paints a landscape and creates interest with sound; then, the poem which is the poem of rhetoric and idea; and he third type "occurs from a perverse desire to rebel against the other two." But the third type will always exist, human nature being what it is, always at odds with perfectionism.)

Bilgare meets Keillor

Cleveland Poet Captures NPR's Heart

According to the Cleveland Scene,

"Like “jumbo shrimp,” “famous poet” is pretty much an oxymoron. Still, if any contemporary Cleveland wordsmith is poised to make that leap, it's George Bilgere."

Bilgere will read live on A Prairie Home Companion at 6 p.m. this Saturday, December 10; catch it live on NPR stations WCPN 90.3 or WKSU 89.7.

The Buck Stops Here - and reads with Bilgere, Borsenik, Leatherman, Hemery and Mad Anthony

Poet Chansonette Buck is coming all the way from Berkeley, California, this week to read at two big events on the western fringe of Greater Cleveland: Wednesday June 15th during the final (for now) Lix and Kix Poetry Extravaganza at Bela Dubby (13321 Madison Ave.) in Lakewood and Thursday June 16th during PoetryElyria at Scott M Duncan Photography (120 Middle Ave.) in downtown Elyria. She'll share a completely different set of her work at each venue.

Our other featured poet during June's Lix and Kix will be the renowned George Bilgere, author of The White Museum, winner of a 2010 Lantern Award for best poetry collection from The Lit: Cleveland's Literary Center. The evening will include an open mic emceed by Borsenik and Burroughs, as well as a wall-shaking performance by Cincinnati rock band Mad Anthony.

Joining Dr. Buck during June's PoetryElyria will be three more featured authors: Stacie Leatherman, Mike Hemery and Dianne Borsenik, all of whom have exciting new books out. This event will include an open mic emceed by John Burroughs and (while supplies last) free wine.

To read more about our fine featured authors and these exciting happenings, please visit our Facebook event pages:

Lix and Kix featuring George Bilgere, Chansonette Buck & Mad Anthony
PoetryElyria featuring Buck, Borsenik, Hemery and Leatherman

Lantern Award Winners

Last night at the Palace Theater, The Lit hosted their first-ever biennial Lantern Awards ceremony. Since Billy Crystal wasn't available, Cleveland's own Michael Heaton [left] emceed.

My favorite underappreciated cartoonist, Derf, proved appreciated after all, receiving a lifetime achievement award. Thankfully, he's not yet ready to retire.

The far-too-soon retired Harvey Pekar and Sheila Schwartz also received well deserved lifetime achievement awards.

As for the fab northeast Ohio writers who competed for the rest of the awards, there was no way every deserving candidate was going to win a uniquely sculpted Mark Yasenchack lantern. If that had happened, I imagine the artist might not have had time to create anything else this year. But ten writers both got lucky and very much earned their awards in ten highly competitive genres. Here they are:

Poetry Collection: George Bilgere of Cleveland Heights, for The White Museum.

Single Poem: Eric Anderson of Elyria, for "A Couple of Scars on My Back."

Fiction/Novel: Dan Chaon of Cleveland Heights, for Await Your Reply.

Short Fiction: Tricia Springstubb of Cleveland Heights, for "In the Dark."

Memoir - Book Length: Thrity Umrigar of Cleveland Heights, for First Darling of the Morning.

Non-Fiction - Book Length: Michael Rulman of Cleveland Heights, for The Elements of Cooking.

Non-Fiction - Essay: Kristin Ohlson of Cleveland Heights, for Watching TV in Kabul.

Journalism: Joanna Connors of Shaker Heights, for "Beyond Rape."

Performance: Michael Oatman of Shaker Heights, for Eclipse.

Blog: Erin O'Brien of Broadview Heights, for The Erin O'Brien Owner's Manual for Human Beings.

And appearances to the contrary, I assure you there has been no vast eastside conspiracy.

Thanks to The Lit's director Judith Mansour for spearheading this memorable event, and to everyone else who had a hand in making it happen. Hearty congratulations to the Lantern Award winners! For more about each of them, I encourage you to check out this morning's Plain Dealer article or click on their names above.

P.S. I videoed the awards ceremony and took some photos at the after party. So stay tuned for a sequel to this blog entry when I have more time.

George Bilgere – Macs Backs 3-30-10

Most academic poets can be dropped into a few convenient categories. You’ve got your inscrutable scribblers who scratch out “experimental” work of obtuse meanings – political militants lecturing to folks who already agree with them – and the subsection of AWP folks whose very existence seems to be to publish each other’s work.

George Bilgere falls into another category – the dangerously clever. Like Billy Collins, Jeffery McDaniel, Marge Piercy and Ted Kooser, Bilgere’s work is deceptively simple. The accessibility that is so often frowned upon by “serious” poetry instructors invites readers into Georges world of cafes where everyday observations take on archetypal importance.


Most of the reading's fodder was plucked from Bilgere’s new collection The White Museum from Pittsburgh's Autumn House Press. George set up his pieces with fairly long introductions. These prologues though, didn’t take away from the works by over explaining but served well as a vehicle of background knowledge that helped the reader enjoy the forthcoming piece. This is a talent that is well appreciated by this listener when it is done well as it was here.




Subject matter ranged from family – a mother who loved crossword puzzles, an aunt who introduced the poet to Europe, a father’s key ring  – amusement parks, laundry chutes, and the ubiquitous appearance of cafes. I think this is where Bilgere is most comfortable and where his work shines – at a small round table with a strong cup of coffee surrounded by well read folks with nothing to prove.




Like the sage fixture of a cafe who has become part of the ambiance, always good for an opinion or good hearted argument over art or baseball - Bilgere’s work (often making appearances on Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac) satisfies the way some desserts do. At first glance it seems a little small but with each bite one realizes the richness of the icing and the complexity of the flavors combine to leave one surprisingly sated – with a cup of coffee on the side of course.

Akron Art "New Words" Poetry

The Akron Art Museum is sponsoring their New Words 2010 poetry contest. Postmark deadline is February 26, and -- here's the good part-- there's no reading fee. (I hate contests with reading fees.) Horray for Akron Art Museum!!

The judge will be Cleveland poet George Bilgere (author of The Going, Big Bang, Haywire: Poems and The Good Kiss, among other things-- but you knew that-- and, incidentally, the winner of the 2001 Akron Poetry Prize.) So, the contests is really very easy: all you have to do is write a poem that knocks George Bilgere's socks off.

Oh, and save the date--the top finalists will have the opportunity to read their poems (or have them read) at an awards ceremony during the New Words 2010 Poetry Reading at the Akron Art Museum on Sunday, April 25, 2010, from 2 - 4 pm.

Oh, and one more thing-- save some time to see the museum. It's a great one (and a righteously wonky new building). You might even get struck by the muse to write an ekphrastic poem! Stranger things have happened.