LITERATI

Thursday, October 16 • 5-8 pm
Main Branch Library, 325 N. Michigan Street

The Arts Commission partners with the Toledo Lucas County Public Library for an evening celebrating local literary arts! Enjoy poetry readings and author presentations, literary-themed art-making stations, word games and puzzles, typewriters and live jazz music.

Admission and all activities are free. Snacks, nonalcoholic beverages and participant books will be available for purchase. Presentations and activities will appeal to all ages. 

Presentations & Readings:

• 5:00pm: Jennifer Pullen • Fantasy fiction author

• 5:20pm: Merrill Wyatt • Middle Grade Mysteries

• 5:40pm: LaToya Williams • Spoken word artist & 2nd-place winner at 2024 Poetry Slam

• 6:00pm: Floeticly Divine • Interactive group write

• 6:20pm: Don Cellini • Bilingual poet & translator

• 6:40pm: Cyn Mackley • Mystery author

• 7:00pm: Toledo School for the Arts • Young Writers Showcase

• 7:20pm: Huntor Prey • Spoken word poet

• 7:40pm: In Memoriam: Late Poets

Activities & Tables:

• Letterpress bookmarks

• Poetry on demand

• Flyku on demand 

• Paper feather poetry prompts

• Wire-bound journals

• Fall-apart books 

• Therapeutic journaling

• Zines

• Collages

• Toledo Museum of Art Poetry Prize activities

• Ode to the Zip Code (Fair Housing Center)

• ToledoPoet.com 

• … and more!

Typewriters

Word games

Snacks (available for purchase):

• Dollop Shop pastries

• Charsaac Chips

Live music by Soulful Collective

Participant Bios:

Rosemarie Wilson a.k.a. One Single Rose®️ is an award-winning author, poet/spoken word artist,   playwright, singer/songwriter, actress and filmmaker from Detroit who performs locally, nationally and internationally wherever her words are welcomed. For more information, visit www.onesinglerose.com to peek into her rose garden.

Cyn Mackley writes love stories littered with corpses… and cats. A crime journalist turned mystery author, she crafts twisty, funny, and romantic whodunits set in Northwest Ohio and Appalachia. She’s also a tech writer, tomato grower, and cat collector. Her series include Goode Grace Mysteries, Camelot West Virginia Mysteries, and Martha Garrett Mysteries.

Don Cellini is a poet, translator and photographer. His work has been translated to Spanish, Catalan, Greek and Italian. He is the author of several books of poetry, the most recent Otro

vía/Another Way which he co-authored with Spanish poet Kepa Marua. Don has published a dozen translations of books by poets from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and the USA. He is professor emeritus at Adrian College in Michigan. www.doncellini.com 

Jennifer Pullen is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio Northern University. Her chapbook, A Bead of Amber on Her Tongue, won the Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Award. Her book, Fantasy Fiction: A Writer's Guide and Anthology (Bloomsbury Academic) is the first ever history of fantasy, craft guide, and anthology. Her upcoming works include Beastly: An Anthology of Shapeshifting Fairy Tales (Lanternfish Press), and Once Upon a Burning World, her debut novel (Meerkat Press).  

Huntor Prey is a poet, hip hop artist, and writer from Toledo Ohio. His artistry is aligned with activism, education, and mental health which are significant issues in his community. Huntor has performed nationally with The Last Poets, Ed Mabrey, Talaam Acey, and opened for musical acts like Music Soulchild, Sa Roc, and Torae. He has also written and performed for various causes and organizations including the Fresh Water Initiative and the Toledo Mud Hens and Walleye. His most recent work was with the Underground Railroad Whistle Stop Poetry Tour hosted by Poets Against Racism and Hate (2024).

Dr. LaToya Williams is a success coach specializing in skill and career development. She is a graduate of Midwest University and The University of Toledo. LaToya is the founder and CEO of Pieces of Me publication services and Star Cosmetics. She is the published author of four books, POWER, Spark Your Life Today, and Pieces of Me (Matters of A Poets Heart) volumes 1 and 2. When asked why she is such an avid writer, Dr. Williams simply states, “This is how I will be remembered when I die, because I will yet live within the written pages of my journey.” 

Merrill Wyatt is a writer of the funny middle grade mystery series, Tangled Up in Luck, published by Simon & Schuster. She lives in Sylvania, Ohio with her husband, daughter, and three cats. 

A native Toledoan, Sandra Rivers-Gill is an award-winning poet, scrapArt and teaching artist.  Her work addresses themes of family, race and society, and is featured in numerous literary journals and anthologies. She has led poetry workshops for women in recovery as well as creatively aging adults. She is currently the inaugural Poet Ambassador of Northwest Ohio for the Ohio Poetry Association (2024-2026). Her poetry collection, As We Cover Ourselves With Light, (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2023), was a finalist for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award.   www.sandrariversgill.com

Stefani Hathaway loves to read and to keep track of memories, thoughts, and quotes in journals – although she cannot manage to do it very regularly! Crafts are a fun hobby rather than a career for her, and she putters around with lots of different projects.  Recently she’s enjoyed making wire-bound journals using old book covers, and she’s excited about helping other people to make their own books.