Lit Youngstown is a nonprofit literary arts organization with programs for writers, readers and storytellers. Since receiving 501c3 nonprofit status in 2015 the organization has engaged thousands of people through workshops, reading series, conferences and community events.
Major programs include monthly reading series, featuring esteemed authors; an annual Fall Literary Festival, bringing highly awarded writers from outside the area; a Winter Writing Camp, a multi-generational event that brings teaching artists from the region to lead sessions; short and multi-session workshops taught by experienced writers; and ongoing collaboration with community organizations.
Upcoming events
April 2: Poet-in-Residence Manuel Iris – Cincinnati poet Manuel Iris will visit April 1-2 to help Lit Youngstown kick off National Poetry Month. Iris is Poet Laureate of the City of Cincinnati. He is the author of five books of poetry in Spanish and the bilingual book “The Parting Present.” He holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Literature from the Autonomous University of the Yucatan (Mexico), a master’s degree in Spanish from New Mexico State University, and a doctorate in Romance Languages from the University of Cincinnati.
The following programs occur at The Community Literacy Workforce and Cultural Center, 436 Struthers Coitsville Road, Lowellville 44436. The center is located near the Campbell Library.
- 11 a.m. – Giving Voice: Teen Writing Workshop. Free with registration.
- Noon-2 p.m. – Giving Voice: Mahoning Valley Hispanic Culture – with food by local restaurants, music by the Labra Brothers, poetry and storytelling. Free with registration.
- 2-3 p.m. – Giving Voice: Writing in Translation. Workshop is free with registration.
Major funding is provided by Rob Briggs and Alyssa Lenhoff Briggs. This initiative is made possible, in part, by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council.
April 28-May 1: Playwright-in-Residence Mike Geither. Geither’s plays and solo performances have been staged in San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, New York and London. He is a four-time Ohio Arts Council fellow and has served as a resident artist at Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito and as Playwright-in-Residence at Cleveland Public Theatre. Recent works include “The Body is the Best” (Zuppa Theatre, Halifax, 2022), “Heirloom” (convergence-continuum, 2019) and “The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut” (2016-19). He currently teaches in the NEOMFA at Cleveland State University.
Friday, April 29 – Talkback: People Along the Way. Youngstown Playhouse, 600 Playhouse Lane, Youngstown 44511. 330-788-8739. Tickets: www.youngstownplayhouse.org…. Mike Beither will lead a Talkback after the performance of “People Along the Way. Synopsis: “On a day like no other, an Average Joe is given the unique opportunity to revisit his past to answer the question, ‘Were the good old days really the way we remember them?’ and to uncover how people changed his life—for better or worse.” Four actors portray 16 different characters as Joe discovers “People Along the Way” in a new play by Terry Shears.
Saturday, April 30
- 1:30-3 p.m. – Actors’ master class on song performance. Youngstown Playhouse, 600 Playhouse Lane, Youngstown 44511. 330-788-8739. Registration via the Playhouse. $10 suggested donation.
- 3-5 p.m. – Community theater roundtable.Inviting directors, producers, board members, funders, actors, crew, funders and other stakeholders to a conversation about the Valley theater landscape: happenings, problems, triumphs, collaborations, questions, dreams and ideas from the outside. Youngstown Playhouse, 600 Playhouse Lane, Youngstown 44511. 330-788-8739. Registration via the Playhouse.
- 7 p.m. – Stand-up performance “The Body is the Best.” A solo performance that explores the intersection of grief and laughter, how our hardest laughs are often created by our darkest experiences. The Hopewell Theatre, 702 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown 44502. 330-746-5455.
Sunday, May 1
Programs occur at The Hopewell Theatre, 702 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown 44502. 330-746-5455. Contact the Hopewell to register.
- 11 a.m.-noon – Workshop on writing and performing solo works.
- 1-2:45 p.m. – Roundtable on producing an original works festival.
- 3-5 p.m. – Playwriting workshop.
May 6-7: Poet-in-Residence Quartez Harris – Quartez Harris of Springfield, Ohio is the Ohio Poetry Association’s 2021 Poet of the Year. He is the author of “We Made It To School Alive,” a full-length collection of poems published by Twelve Arts Press, and “Nothing, But Skin,” a poetry collection published in 2014 by Writing Knights Press. He is the first recipient of the Barbara Smith Writer-In-Resident at Twelve Literary Arts and a 2020 Baldwin House Fellow. His poetry and ideas have been featured in The Plain Dealer, Ideastream, and City Club of Cleveland.
Friday, May 6
- 6 p.m. – Poetry Writing Workshop, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave., Youngstown 44503. Beginner Poetry (free with registration; email
Li***********@gm***.com
). The program will respond to a generative poetry exercise where the group will discuss craft, play with language and line breaks, and experience the possibilities for our own writing. This workshop is ideal for those who are trying their hand at writing or teaching poetry. - 7 p.m. – Readings: Quartez Harris and Sony Q. Ton-Aime at the Soap Gallery, 117 S. Champion St., Youngstown 44503. Free.
Saturday, May 7
- 10 a.m.-1 p.m. – Black History Tour, curated by historian Vince Shivers and featuring poems by poet-in-residence Quartez Harris. The tour is free and open to all ages. Registration is required. The tour will begin and end at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor, 151 W. Wood St., Youngstown 44503 and will stop at Oakhill Cemetery, the lower North Side, Youngstown State and the Belmont/422 corridor. The walking portion of the tour will include uneven ground and stairs.
Have questions, comments, or suggestions? Contact Lit Youngstown at
Li***********@gm***.com
.
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