Writers Read Ukiah last Thursday poetry series will meet on Thursday, June 27, at 7 PM at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. The featured reader is Steve Hellman of Willits.

Spontaneous spoken word poet Steve Hellman has been “blowing poems” for the past four decades, creating mainly from audience prompts and also the relevance of pure thin air. He has appeared at venues from Los Angeles to San Francisco, New York City, Boulder Colorado and Havana Cuba. He first learned the improv form in the early 1980s from the late master poet Max Schwartz. Hellman holds an MFA degree in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He has published poetry, short stories, translations, and articles in numerous publications including Fourteen Hills Literary Journal; Griggs Anthology, City Lights Clamor of Innocence anthology; Zone: A Feminist Journal For Women and Men; and A Flame In The Heart anthology. He was a book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1987 to 1992. He taught creative writing at Mendocino College for 18 years.

Here’s a link for an interview Barry Vogel did with Steve on his Radio Curious show on KZYX/Z: http://www.radio4all.net/files/vogel@sonic.net/HELLMAN__STEVE_1.12.23%20IA.mp3

Open mic session will follow the featured reading. Maximum time for each reader is six minutes. Event will end at 9 PM.

For Information, contact Writers Read Ukiah MC Michael Riedell, innisfreeriedell@gmail.com

Writers Read happens on the last Thursday of almost every month and has been happening in Ukiah since 1999. This reading series is sponsored by Colored Horse Studios, Michael Riedell, Dan Barth, the Poet Laureate Committee of Ukiah, the Grace Hudson Museum and donations. Since the start of 2023, donations have not been keeping up with expenses. Please consider a one-time or once-a-year larger than usual donation to help us keep this reading series going. Contact Michael—innisfreeriedell@gmail.com—if you can help. Thanks.