Category Archives: Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour

Celebrations, Darlyn's Events, Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour, What's Happening

Get Ready to Welcome Shawn Welcome, J’ville!

Shawn Welcome banner

 

SESCRT is proud to showcase talented writers, but also beyond happy to introduce Jacksonville to one of Orlando’s truly outstanding souls on Saturday, June 30th at 7 p.m. at Bab’s Lab, CoRK Arts District, 603 King Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204.

Shawn Welcome is a Brooklyn, NY native but has lived in Orlando, FL since 1993. He has been actively engaged in community work since 2006, with the launch of a poetry and life skills program for youth offenders at 33rd St. Jail. That same year, he also founded “Diverse Word” at Dandelion Communitea Café, a weekly open mic poetry night which attracts not only poets, but singers, comedians, and rappers from all over the city in a celebration of self-expression.
Professionally, he has given himself to youth related area non-profit organizations including The Hope Community Center, Boys & Girls Club, Pg. 15, Frontline Outreach Community Center, and the Professional Opportunities Program for Students (POPS). He led and sponsored Oak Ridge High School’s poetry club.

Shawn authored and published “H20: Immersed in Verse” in 2013, written and performed NBA commercials for the Orlando Magic, and performed in countless faith-based functions. He currently serves as the Family Engagement Coordinator of “MVP Families” for the Polis Institute, a community engagement effort for academic success.

Orlando writers reading in Jacksonville are: Shawn Welcome, Tod Caviness, Jesse Bradley, and Peter Gordon.. Jacksonville writers hosting and reading are: Ben Atkinson and Darick Taylor.

Doors at 7. Free and open to the public. (Donations for the venue and writers accepted.)

Celebrations, Darlyn's Events, Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour, What's Happening

Ben Atkinson to Read at Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour on June 30

1 Comment

Ben Atkinson_SESCRT_photo

photo by Kristen Grace/Florida Museum

Ben Atkinson worked in some strange places before finding his niche. Among the more interesting stations: an alpaca ranch, a taxidermy shop, and a reptile breeding facility.

Today, he’s an assistant professor of natural sciences at Flagler College, in St. Augustine, Florida. With a colleague Ben teaches a Learning Community entitled “High Water Rising: Science, Literature, and the Environment.”

Ben writes to capture moments that transcend the mundane. Poems serve as a creative medium and a tool for understanding the world. He’s published in outlets including: Facets Literary Magazine, FM Quarterly, Stockpot Literary Magazine, and Challenging Composition, a textbook by Rainmaker Education.

He has also published articles on reptiles and amphibians in scientific journals including: Herpetological Conservation & Biology, Herpetological Review, Journal of Herpetology, and Salamandra. A co-authored chapter in a book on diamondback terrapins is due this fall, through Johns Hopkins University Press.

As an undergrad, he co-founded The Uglyman Collective, which held readings in western Pennsylvania by a core of rogue poets.  He was also a frequent reader at Hemingway’s Café’s Summer Poetry Series in Pittsburgh.

Now an active member of Ancient City Poets, Ben participates in, and sometimes leads, monthly open mics at Corazon Cinema and Café in St. Augustine. He also reads his work locally in Jacksonville. Recent venues include Chamblin’s Uptown, Coniferous Café, and House of Leaf & Bean.

Ben holds a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology and conservation from the University of Florida. You can follow the adventures of his Tortuga Crew on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/flaglertortugacrew/

https://www.facebook.com/FlaglerTortugaCrew/

The Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour concept is simple. Our writers read in your town. Then your writers read in our town. Everybody wins!

Orlando writers reading in Jacksonville are: Shawn Welcome, Tod Caviness, Jesse Bradley, and Peter Gordon.. Jacksonville writers hosting and reading are: Ben Atkinson and Darick Taylor.

Saturday, June 30, 7-9 p.m. at Bab’s Lab, 603 King St., Jax, FL 32204. Free and open to the public. (Donations for the venue and writers accepted.)

Darlyn's Events, Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour, What's Happening

Come Hear Darick Taylor read at Bab’s Lab

Darick Taylor

 

Darick Taylor is a writer, photographer, and videographer living in Jacksonville, FL.. He is two classes away from finishing a bachelor’s degree in Converged Communications and hopes to use his position as co-owner and Marketing Director as Artificial Gravity, LLC. to create and acquire exceptional content to share with Jacksonville’s burgeoning literary and arts communities.

The Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour concept is simple. Our writers read in your town. Then your writers read in our town. Everybody wins!

Orlando writers reading in Jacksonville are: Shawn Welcome, Tod Caviness, Jesse Bradley, and Peter Gordon.. Jacksonville writers hosting and reading are: Ben Atkinson and Darick Taylor.

Doors at 7. Free and open to the public. (Donations for the venue and writers accepted.)

Darlyn's Events, Southeast Sister Cities Reading Tour, What's Happening

Southeast Sister Cities Writing Tour Welcomes Jesse Bradley to Jacksonville

Jesse Bradley

 

J. Bradley is a two time winner of Wigleaf‘s Top 50 (Very) Short Fictions. He’s the author of Neil & Other Stories (WhiskeyTit Books, 2018). He lives at jbradleywrites.com.

Southeast Sister Cities Writing Tour brings J. Bradley to read to Jacksonville at Bab’s Lab on Saturday, June 30th from 7-9 pm. Hope to see you there!