June Reading

As The Watershed inches towards summer, we are delighted to bring you the works of Caryl Page, Jakky Bankong-Obi, and Lauren Shapiro on June 19, 2021 at 7pm. From essays that blend memoir, research and reflection, driven by a desire to observe connection between the visible and invisible to writing that tows the line between humor and tone exploring a deeper truth about a narrator’s place in American society, the works from these three writers journeys their readers throughout multiple landscapes. Heavier immediate topics such as a father’s suicide attempt to fantastical realms of Afro-mythology, the writings of Pagel, Banking-Obi, and Shapiro ground us in the sacredness of everyday life.

Watch the livestream on YouTube or from the Facebook event page.

Lauren Shapiro

Lauren Shapiro is the author of Easy Math (Sarabande, 2013), which was the winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize and the Debut-litzer Prize for Poetry, as well as Arena (forthcoming in 2020 from the CSU Poetry Center). With Kevin González, she co-edited The New Census: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry (Rescue Press, 2013). She has written a chapbook of poems, Yo-Yo Logic (DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press, 2011), and individual poems have appeared in jubilat, Boston Review, Copper Nickel, Beloit Poetry Journal, Bennington Review, Columbia Poetry Review, New Ohio Review, Mississippi Review, Drunken Boat, DIAGRAM, and Forklift, Ohio, among other places. She has translated creative work from Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese, and Arabic into English. She is an associate professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University.

Jakky Bankong-Obi

Jakky Bankong-Obi is a media consultant from Kakwe-Beebo, Boki LGA in Cross River State (though she currently writes from Abuja). Her work has been featured in London Grip, The Kalahari Review, Amberflorazine, Zarf Poetry, Gutter Magazine, Hobartpulp, Pidgeonholes, Memento, and An Anthology of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry. She enjoys long walks, yoga, and dabbles in nature photography.

Caryl Pagel

Caryl Pagel is the author of the essay collection Out of Nowhere Into Nothing (FC2) and two books of poetry, Twice Told (University of Akron Press, reprint) and Experiments I Should Like Tried at My Own Death (Factory Hollow Press), as well as three chapbooks: Paul Revere’s (Essay Press), Mausoleum (WinterRed Press), and Visions, Crisis Apparitions, and Other Exceptional Experiences (Factory Hollow Press).

Pagel is a co-founder and editor of Rescue Press, a poetry editor at jubilat, and the director of the Cleveland State University Poetry Center.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.

Our galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.

CALENDAR

June Reading

Lauren Shapiro

Jakky Bankong-Obi

Caryl Pagel

PLAN YOUR VISIT

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