Wellspring Literary Series continues Monday at Art Reach
Professional and student poets will come together for the continuation of the Wellspring Literary Series this semester.
Held next Monday at the Art Reach Center of Mid-Michigan on 111 E. Broadway in Mount Pleasant, the reading will begin at 7 p.m. and feature award-winning Detroit poet Jamaal May and Central Michigan University graduate student Saul Lemerond.
Professor Robert Fanning of the CMU English Department will host the reading and has high hopes for the turnout as well as very high regards for both performers.
"As a poet, Jamaal May is not only a terrific craftsperson; his poems bristle and spark with precise emotional insight and a graceful muscularity of music,” Fanning said. “He is also a brilliant performer of his poetry. He knows how to bring his poems off the page in a way that will delight and amaze the audience."
May, who now teaches in the Vermont College of Fine Art MFA program, has written multiple books and also serves as a co-editor of the Solstice Literary Magazine.
It is always important during the Wellspring Series to showcase a talented CMU student alongside the more seasoned or professional poet. According to Fanning, this reading’s selection of Lemerond will be a good opportunity for students in attendance to hear from one of their own.
“Saul Lemerond writes stories that are hugely intelligent, hilarious and deeply moving,” Fanning said.
In addition to a musical performance to pair with the poetry, the reading will feature free refreshments co at urtesy of Max and Emily’s Eatery in downtown Mount Pleasant. Those who attend might also socialize with the poets and each other following the readings.
“I expect a great crowd, and those lucky enough to be in attendance will be listening to one of the best young poets of his generation," Fanning said.
