Red Shoe Studio Gallery to host Writing Workshop and Reading with Catherine Strisik

Catherine StrisikOn Saturday, October 7th, The Red Shoe Studio Gallery will host two literary events: award-winning poet Catherine Strisik will lead a morning poetry workshop, and in the evening will read from her latest book. Both events require reservations.

From 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Strisik will lead a workshop, “Writing Poems About Love & Sex: Evocative Poems sans Cliché.” With examples from such masters as Lucille Clifton, e. e. cummings, and Shakespeare, the workshop will emphasize craft and conscientious word choices – while avoiding use of both the word “love” and clinical or potentially offensive words.

“We will write poems that are precise, using language to generate imagery that will elicit a reaction,” Strisik said.

The workshop is limited to eight participants. Registration is $60 per person.

Also on Oct. 7, at 7 p.m., Strisik will read from her new book of poetry, The Mistress (A Taos Press), which recounts “a journey with the ravages and intricacies of Parkinson’s Disease and its accompanying betrayals, loves, and acceptances, and the diminishment and enlightenment of both the physical and spiritual self.”

Her reading is part of The Red Shoe Salon, a series of house concerts and readings offered by the gallery. The gallery provides wine and cheese, and attendees are welcome to bring their own beverage and a dish of hors d’oeuvres to share. Advance reservations are required. The event is free, with donations requested at the door.

Strisik, a resident of New Mexico, is the author of a previous collection, Thousand-Cricket Song (Plain View Press, 2010), a poetic response to the genocide and healing in Cambodia. Active in the Taos poetry community for over 30 years, Strisik has received grants, honors and prizes from Peregrine, The Comstock Review, and The Puffin Foundation, as well as a residency at the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has been published in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Drunken Boat, Cider Press Review, Cutthroat, Studio, 5 AM, Café Review, and Tusculum Review. She is co-editor of the online journal Taos Journal of International Poetry & Art.

The Red Shoe Gallery is located at 323B Middle Street in New Bern, behind Bebop’s Café. For more information or to reserve your place at the workshop or the reading, call the gallery at 252-670-7736.

Submitted by: Jeanne Julian