Performers
To reach any performer without an email address listed, contact Trina and she'll pass the message along.
Mark Amos
The Great Black Swamp Writing Coterie and Caffeine Appreciation Society
Roy L Bleu
Gary Bond
Kelly Clark
Sarah Cohen
Joe Cook
Hod Doering
Merika Edmonds
Good Grass Consort
Steve Jadwisiak
Dr. Kilpatient
Michael Kocinski II
Arnold Koester
Joel Lipman
Martigan
Don McKivett
Nick Muska
Lori Nickoli
The Quick Duo
Raven
The Renaissance
Greg Robinson
John Roth
Sledge
Larry Smith
John Swaile
Toraigh
Cat Townsend
Kerry Trautman
Peter Van Schiack
Mike Waldecki
Emmitt Williams
Penny Willis
Mark Amos - Poetry, graphic design, fiction, music, steel sculpture - these are the midwives and muses I use to deliver my warm, dark visions into the cold, bright world. My fervent wish is that you may find inspiration and DO ART! Mark can be reached here.
The
Great Black Swamp Writing Coterie and Caffeine Appreciation Society - It
all started in a living room on Almeda Street in Toledo, OH.
A group of poets getting together to write, critique, and improve their
skills.
It’s continued, moved, and grown over the years.
Run by John Swaile with a large and diverse group of participants,
members of this group have read at many Toledo venues. Black
Swamp can be reached here.
Roy L. Bleu - A native toledoan and undisputed prince of the son. I sit on the Renaissance committee, a group dedicated to expressing the artistic side of toledo. Although a construction worker by trade, I hope to one day rely solely on my writing talent to support me. Lastly, if I had to choose a phrase to best describe me, it would be a quote from mercury rising: "Hi I'm mercury the deep thinker, this is sweets the sweetheart, to her left is tigga the genius, and this is roy l bleu. We won't get into that." IN GOD WE TRUST. IN LOVE WE MUST. UNIFY. PRINCE OF THE SON. You can reach Roy L Bleu here.
Gary Bond - Gary has more than 8 years experience in Television Production and directing. He has preformed on stage as well as in film and video. He received his BA in Performing Arts and Creative Communications from UT and has trained with National Theatre of Great Britain, Shakespeare & Company and the Professional Directing Training Program MFA. He’s taught at BGSU as a Graduate Assistant and at UT as well as teaching Street Theatre with the Mexican American Youth Association in Toledo. Gary Bond does not have an e-mail address at this time.
Kelly Clark - Mastermind behind Standup Poets who've performed at TMA, she hosts open poetry readings and workshops in Bowling Green, and performances around the area. As a regular "Monster" at Murphy's Place, Kelly is featured in the Renaissance's anthology "Between these Sheets". When she's not singing or doing her "poetry thang", she enjoys weightlifting, and teaching her children how to be humans. Kelly aspires to have her own lounge act in the near future. You can find one of Kelly's poems in The Alley.
Sarah Cohen - Sarah is a happy resident of Toledo whose musical influences orbit around Janis Joplin, Billy Holiday, and Joni Mitchell. Aside from playing guitar and singing at cafes and downtown Sylvania, Sarah is attending The University of Toledo – looking to major in Creative Writing. Although Sarah plays cover tunes, she has also written original works and continues to add to her repertoire. Sarah does not have an email address at this time.
Joe Cook - Joe Cook has been writing and performing his heartfelt acoustic music for many years in and around the Bowling Green area. His debut CD, “The Foggy Sound That Soggy Found” is a collection of his all original songs performed with the help of his friends. Joe has said that his songs have been influenced by all types of music, but indeed he has a very distinctive style of his own. Joe does not have an e-mail address right now.
Hod Doering - Hod Doering is currently an Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems at Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio. In 1989 Hod resumed a shadow career as poet and artist (cut short in 1970 by a tragic trash fire). After deciding to go public with his poetry in Fall 1991 he has given many (hundreds?) public readings, been published in ten anthologies and journals. He has also established his own publishing house, The Poetry Barn, which has published Thirteen books of Hod's Prosetry. Hod’s one non-poetry book, "Squish Art, An imagination Tool, 1995 (second edition February 2000) and its associated techniques and philosophy have been featured at several conferences, workshops, seminars and at First Night Toledo. His satirical Yard Geese Police ‘Ticket Book’ has circulated throughout the Midwest. Hod writes prodigiously if not desperately. His record number of poems in a twenty-four hour period stands at forty-nine (March 2000). His personal best for a 7-day period was also broken in March 2000, ninety-nine (don’t ask). Starting at zero poems eleven short years ago, Hod has passed his birth, defloration and college graduation dates worth of poems. He has left the new millennium far behind putting his 5,400th poem in the can on 22 April 2000. Hod lives on a country river road coulda-been-a-farm place near Graytown, Ohio just a tornado's tombstone toss from the cemetery with his lovely understanding wife and daughter, the ghost of a big goofy two-toned dog named Sawyer, a variant number of named and unnamed country cats and two giant bearded zen warthogs named Worry and Insight who sleep in front of the doors at night to block the drafts and keep away evil spirits. You can find one of Hod's pictures and a picture/poem in The Alley. Hod can be reached here.
Merika
Edmonds - Merika Edmonds lives in Port Clinton
with her boyfriend and a puppy named Bristol. She works as a substitute
teacher and a tutor, and writes for the love of the word. She has
participated in readings at the Toledo Museum of Art. Merika also is a
regular contributor to Firelands Writing Center's readings at Coffee Temptations
in Sandusky. Merika can be reached here.
Good Grass Consort
came into being around January 1, 2000. All members
- three to be exact - had gone to school together since they were wee little
buggers, but never put their musical abilities together. By some stroke of
luck, though, they found what they could do together and have become
inseparable. The music is an eclectic blend of bluegrass, jazz fusion,
folk, and any other style they can dirty their hands with. Using mainly
acoustic instruments, the Consort keeps to the roots of bluegrass and
Irish/Celtic folk music - adding their own twist.
Steve Jadwisiak
- A native of Port Clinton, Ohio, Steve Jad has been
playing the acoustic guitar for twenty years.
His guitar roots were in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains at college
where he readily admits, “I played the guitar way too much.”
“I sat in with guys who played all types of music, from classical to
rock so my initial exposure to guitar was eclectic right from the start.”
As Steve criss-crossed the U.S. his guitar was always in hand.
From Virginia to North Dakota to Texas and back to Ohio his repertoire
was growing and his experiences were shaping the way he was writing his own
music. Steve has settled in Point Place with his wife Maria, his son
Chris and daughter Caitlin Rose. “Though
I think the better part of my traveling days are done, my guitar is never far
away. All I have to do is pick up
my guitar and twenty years of love, laughter and heartbreak are at the ends of
my fingers.” Steve Jad plays
every Saturday at Maxwell’s Brew on Bancroft Street and will be releasing his
debut CD later this year. You can reach Steve here.
Dr. Kilpatient was conceived in August of 1999 by keyboardist Tomasz Kordowski and turntablist Ben Smith. With a little help from a Yamaha synth, a delay peddle, a seven-cent microphone and an old luney toons cartoon, thus was produced The Good Doctor. After three open-mic nights and two guitarists, they acquired bassist Gunther Champion. Together they mix their own unique style, of techo-surfer-circus-polka-jam and keep it on a constant simmer. Dr. Kilpatient plans to deliver rainbows, butterflies and glee amid a pool of con-fusion rock that will keep the audience in stitches.
Michael
Kocinski II- Michael
Kocinski II, son of a mechanic and a housewife, was born on Halloween 1976.
Michael Kocinski the poet was born on May Day 1995, in afternoon
detention where he wrote his first “real poem” entitled, “The King Of The
Garden”. Since
then, he has worked alone and with other writers, most notably The Black Swamp
Writing Coetrie, to write other real poems.
Michael’s major influences are Stan Lee, John Steinbeck, Jack Kerouac,
flowers, bugs, women he has loved and lost, and his peers.
He also learns from American poets like Robert Lowell, Adrienne Rich,
Donald Hall and ee cummings, to name a few.
Recently, Mike and a few friends founded Cornfed Angel Poetry Journal,
which is available various places around Toledo and hosts an open mic poetry
reading at One World Cafe every other Thursday.
Mike won the Silver medal in the 2001 Poetry Olympics Modern Event and is on the
Minstrel Soup Artist's Coalition Board of Directors. You can watch Michael flounder and/or shine plying his trade at
Brewed Awakenings every other
Monday.
Arnold J. Koester, songwriter and poet, grew up in the country on an acre island surrounded by a flat sea of Berkey, Ohio farms where he learned to entertain himself with his own imagination, making up songs inside his head. The desire to write good song lyrics led him to study writing and discover a new love - poetry, another way to make music. He is the author of "Arnie's Poetry Jukebox", illustrated by his late wife, Anne Bliss and "Spirit on a Soap Box". Koester has been published in "The Glass Will", "The Mark" and in a Jack Kerouac Reader's Theatre. He has performed in the Toledo area; Quebec City, Canada; and Lowell, Mass., After his wife died in 93 from cancer, he put together a CD of poetry and songs as a memorial to her called "Arnie for Annie" for family and friends and whoever else would be interested. Arnie won the Silver medal in the 2001 Poetry Olympics Performance Event. Arnie does not have an email address.
Joel Lipman is a Professor of Art and English at the University of Toledo where he's currently Associate Dean for the Visual & Performing Arts. Among his books and chapbooks of poetry are Mercury Vapor Lamp, Chicago You Got A Wide Stance, Provocateur, Machete Chemistry/Panades Physics (with Yasser Musa) and The Real Ideal. His visual poems are on the web at several different addresses, including "Red Mona" and "Light and Dust." With Nick Muska, he's directed the Toledo Poets Center for many years. You can find one of Joel's poems in The Alley. Joel can be reached here.
Martigan - Martigan has been fascinated with the craft of magic since the age of six. His interest was sparked by watching "The Wonderful Wonderful World of Magic" on TV. Not quite sure of what was happening but intrigued by what he saw, it was at that time he knew performing magic was what he wanted to do. As time went by Martigan practiced his craft and preformed whenever possible. Some of his first shows were produced, stared and directed by himself and played to sold out crowds in the basement of his family's West Toledo home. These early experiences provided Martigan with the knowledge to produce many other future projects. To this date Martigan has worked throughout the Toledo area and has recently returned from Orlando, Florida where he worked for such places as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. Martigan's unique style and passion for his craft is fascinating to watch. It is a blend of magic, movement and music with an underlying message of spiritual awareness.
Don McKivett - Dr. Don and Logic Alley join forces and non-forces to perform The Garagefather and various other works of madness and artistic endeavors in rehearsed spontaneity. Don does not have an e-mail address right now.
Nick Muska- Nick Muska, a native of Lorain, OH, and a graduate of Antioch College, lives in Toledo where he has coordinated the Toledo Poet's Center since 1976. He has been given awards for Community Impact and Community Achievement in the Arts (1983, 1986) by the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, and was chosen to receive a 1985 Governor's Award for the Arts in Ohio. Nick does not have an e-mail address right now.
Lori Nickoli - lori nickoli is a twenty-eight year sufferer of schizophrenia, which at times leads her to believe herself a poet. during one of these phases, she became a founding member of the almeda street poetry co-op by phoning some friends and holding the first-ever meeting in her living room on almeda street. also invited was a box of white zinfandel as another of her personalities is an alcoholic with poor taste. when asked to say a bit about herself, lori simply responded: "cockamamie." You can find one of Lori's poems in The Alley.
The Quick Duo - The Quick Duo started off 2 1/2 years ago as a jazz duo playing standards, blues and a few more recent pop tunes. Lately, they've been writing some of their own songs, which is what they perform at Minstrel Soup shows. Their songs are mainly in the pop format with occasional instrumental outbursts. Vivia is a powerful vocalist who can really tell a story through her singing. Jason plays as much guitar as he is able since he is the only member of the backup band. They do not have an email address right now.
Raven - Raven was born 1/11/67 at 1:11 on 11th Street, Amory, Mississippi. He turned 33 on 1/11/00. Raven is currently a dual citizen of Toledo, OH and Orlando, FL. Though he’s written since he was in the 4th grade, he didn’t start doing recitals until he was a resident of the Collingwood Arts Center. He’s read from Denver to Orlando to Cleveland. He was very influenced by Ann Bliss and thinks poetry should be a centergy of all art forms, not just the preconceived notion of what it should be. To help achieve that in his own work, he’s performed in plays, studied magic, and spent 3 years on personal sabbatical in Orlando. His first chapbook “TreeIncarnation” is now available from Dragonfly Press. You can find one of Raven's poems in The Alley.
The Renaissance - a group of young, native Toledoans that hosted a weekly, self- titled evening of spoken word poetry Mickey Finn's in the historical LaGrange district every Tuesday. With ages ranging from 18-22, this ensemble represents the resurgence of poetry and creative literature as a point of interest for many of America’s teenagers and college students. Putting a new spin on an old art form, The Renaissance regularly incorporates popular songs or current news events into their poetry to illustrate various points. "drop tha Chalupa" , " university of insanity " and "silver surfer " are some of the titles of Renaissance poems. The group mostly performs individually because each member honestly loves to hear the next member, but sometimes the subject may demand more than one style to convey the message and various members will team up to intensify the expression. Renaissance equates to re-birth, and the group that bears the name writes from a standpoint that is very mature yet still being developed everyday of their young lives. You can find one of Tigga's poems in The Alley and one of Mercury Rising's poems in The Alley. The Renaissance can be reached here.
Greg Robinson - Greg is a native Cleveland, OH poet who can usually be found at Brewed Awakenings Cafe every other Monday. He works with troubled youth and vents the build up in his poetry. He's one of the founders of Westron Press. His book, "Street Pieces" is now available. You can find one of his pieces in The Alley. Greg doesn't have an email address.
John Roth - John was born in Sandusky, OH. This son of a house painter and a factory payroll clerk. He has been writing most of his life. He is one of the founders of Westron Press and has recently published a book of short stories. He has recently started writing poetry again after a hiatus of 20 years. You can find one of his pieces in The Alley. John can be reached here.
Sledge - Sledge was formed in the spring of 1995 and still has the original line-up of Albert Baldonado (vocals, bass guitar, 24yrs old), Al Foreman (guitar, backing vocals, 24yrs old), and Jason Parritt (drums, 23yrs old). All three are from Bowling Green, Ohio. In the last five years, the band has independently released two full-length albums. Sledge has sold over 1000 copies of the first, “Kaprakalum” and almost 700 copies of “Digga Big Chunk” in the first three months after its release in the spring of 2000. In November 2000, the band released their third album “Sledge Live”, which captured their raw, high-energy performance. We have headlined live shows consistently in the area from Ft. Wayne to Cleveland while focusing in the Bowling Green-Toledo area. We have performed with such bands as Nazareth, Squirrel Nut Zippers, One Minute Silence, Brainiac, Lizzy Borden and many other regional acts.
Larry Smith - Larry Smith, who wrote the book Thoreau’s Lost Journal (Westron Press, 2001), from which Mr. Thoreau will be reading tonight, lives with his wife Ann in Huron, Ohio where he is professor of English and humanities at Firelands College of Bowling Green State University. He ahs studied at the Thoreau Institute and ahs written on the writings of Henry David Thoreau and is the author of 6 books of poetry, two books of fiction, and literary biographies of Kenneth Pathen and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Smith is also writer-producer of two video programs on poets James Wright and Kenneth Patchen. He and Mei Hui Huang are co-translators of Chinese Zen Poems: What Hold Has This Mountain? (Bottom Dog Press, 1998). In 1999 he received the Ohioana Poetry Award for his contributions to poetry in Ohio. Smith is the director of Bottom Dog Press, an independent Ohio Literary publisher. Larry can be reached here.
John Swaile - John is a native Toledo, OH poet who is active in most of the poetry groups in the area. By day, he's a mild mannered Social Worker. John has performed at First Nite, Riverfest Festival Of The Arts, Black and White Ball, and Toledo Museum of Art: It's Friday, as well as claiming second place in the 1999 Toledo Slam team competition. He's also a co-founder of the Almeda Street Poetry CoOp, host of the every other Monday night readings at Brewed Awakenings, and driving force behind The Great Black Swamp Writing Coterie and Caffeine Appreciation Society. John won the Gold medal in the 2001 Poetry Olympics Modern Event. You can find one of his poems in The Alley. John can be reached here.
Toraigh - (pronounced Torah) is a Gaelic word meaning "search" or "seek" and represents the search for great foot-stomping, toe-tapping, heart warming music in the traditions and culture of Ireland. The band consists of Mary Dennis, Bob Midden and Ed Marks from Bowling Green and Jack McMahon from Toledo, Ohio, occasionally joined by some of the best traditional Irish musicians in Ohio and the surrounding area. Mary and Bob began their musical careers with the popular regional Irish band "Paddy's Night Out" with whom they played for five years. In 1998 they started a new band with a somewhat different repertoire drawing on much of the dance music, airs and ballads which derive from the 16th, 17th and 18th century roots of the Irish tradition. Ed and Jack joined the group in early 1999. Dancers often perform with this group and those in the audience who can't resist the call are invited to clap and sing along. Many of the tunes played by Toraigh are those often heard in traditional Irish music seisíuns (pronounced sessions). Seisíuns are informal gatherings of musicians in a pub, a home or a coffee house. These events are primarily for the enjoyment of the musicians but listeners and dancers are also welcome. To those unfamiliar with the tradition, a seisíun may sound and look like a jam session but the musicians are not actually improvising but instead playing tunes that they know in common from the set of over 10,000 tunes that have come down through the ages including jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, slip jigs, slides, airs and others. These are brought to life by Mary on a firey fiddle or booming bodhran (the traditional Irish goat-skin hand drum) and Bob on antique wooden Irish flute, penny whistles or bass guitar accompanied by Ed on 6-string acoustic guitar, and by Jack on guitar, mandolin, bodhran and other traditional instruments. Please join Toraigh in the search for exciting music from the traditions of ancient Celtic roots.
Cat Townsend - Cheryl A Townsend has been putting out her poetry for 17 years ...appearing first in Up Against The Wall, Mother...and in over 300 zines and anthologies since then. She's had just under 3,000 poems in print (which ain't nothing compared to Mz Lifshin) and 30+ collections of her poetry out. She edits the rebirthed Impetus from her Implosion Press and owns cat's Impetuous Books & stuff out in Kent. A co-founder to the original UPC (Underground Press Conference) in Chicago, Cat has maintained as a stalwart of Small Press Hell. She currently runs WARM (Woman's Art Recognition Movement) from her store. You can find some of her photography and poetry in The Alley. You can reach Cat here.
Kerry Trautman - Kerry Trautman lives in Maumee, OH with her husband and toddler son. She works as a tutor in the University of Toledo Writing Center. Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in "The Glass Review", "Fuel", "Amelia, and "The Alley". Kerry does not have an email address.
Peter Van Schaick - One of the creative spirits residing (14 yrs) in the cupola tower of the Collingwood Arts Center, Peter Van Schaick is a multi-dimensional (10? 12?) performance artist: you might see him bringing forth "poopy poems" from the mouths of dogs and combining them with an idea for recycling - as he did at a recent poetry night, where he also honored "the heartbeat of TODAY nestled as it is between those mountains of YESTERDAY and TOMORROW". As a connoisseur of divine eroticism, Peter finds many of his poems birthing themselves just before orgasm, momentarily delaying that ecstatic dance in the service of art. You might also encounter him as a strolling poet during Toledo's FIRST NIGHT New Year's Eve celebration - last year passing out 100 variations of a "Vase with Flowers" containing his idea for a Toledo Millennial logo combined with a view from his tower, from which he sends joyful prayers to the four directions (and a few others!) almost every day. You might also catch him in the CAC's upcoming production of "Over My Dead Body".
Mike Waldecki - Mike is a Lorain, OH poet. His has about 20 books published. He is a resident of the Waldeckian Universe. You can reach Mike here.
Emmitt Williams - Emmitt Williams is a Toledo born writer/musician first published in 1967. He has been writing every since. He has plied his trade at venues ranging from the Village Vanguard in New York to Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Currently he can be seen at the Peacock Cafe, churches, schools and community functions. He plays keyboards, saxophone, flute and drums. His work can be found in several anthologies and periodicals. His chapbook, O.M.J.I.T.D., is a preview of his published volume of poetry entitled I TURN WORDS. His latest book, "Echoes Of Silent Screams" is now available. Emmitt runs the Madd Poet's Society. He was ranked 8th in the nation at the 2000 National Black Poetry Contest, but his work transends all ethnic pigeon-holeing. Emmitt can be reached here.
Penny Willis - Penny Willis has a bachelor's degree with a dual major in art history and film from the University of Toledo where she was a Walbridge Art History Scholarship Winner of 1997. She has studied the arts in Chicago, New York, England and France. She had an internship in the Toledo Museum of Art's education department. She worked at Spectrum, Friends of Fine Art as a gallery assistant for a year and a half and still volunteers during the Crosby Festival. She was Production Manager for the feature film, "Bible Stories", and has exhibited her films and videos at the James River Film Festival, the Guerilla Gallery, at the Art a'la Frankie's series of art shows, and in conjunction with the post-rock band Streamlined at various venues. She founded Utopia Arts Center, a community resource of information about the arts as well as a source for artists to meet each other in order to collaborate on projects.