The Studio Series Poetry Reading & Open Mic

Featuring Colette Tennant and Sharon Johnson

 Colette Tennant has three books of poetry: Commotion of Wings, Eden and After, and Sweet Gothic. Her book, Religion in The Handmaid’s Tale: a Brief Guide, was published in 2019 to coincide with Atwood’s publication of The Testaments. Her poems have won various awards and have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes along with being published in various journals, including Prairie Schooner, Rattle, Southern Poetry Review, and Poetry Ireland Review. Colette is an English and Humanities Professor who has also taught art in Great Britain, Germany, and Italy.

Sharon Anne Johnson is a writer based in Portland, Oregon.  She grew up in North Dakota, spent 15 years in New York City and the Catskills, and 25 years in Minnesota.  She has a BA in English from Gustavus Adolphus College and an MS in Health and Human Services Administration from St. Mary’s University.  She is a retired nonprofit executive and health services administrator. Publications include essays, fiction, poetry, and reviews in popular and literary presses.  Writing credits include work in Oregon Humanities magazine, The Timberline Review, and The Memoirist.  Other credits include Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Christian Science Monitor, Woman’s World, among others.  She blogs regularly on Medium and on her blog, Common Sage, an intersection of aging and spirituality, and tags her blog posts as “A grandmother who walks by the river.” She has taught workshops and guest classes on management issues and writing.

 The Open Mic is open to all audience members. Participants can sign up before the start of the reading or during the break. In the interest of time, Open Mic readers are asked to limit their reading to three minutes.

View clips of featured poets reading at the Studio Series on Instagram @poet_landia and on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1281329966139780/

The Ross Island Grocery and Café is a cozy space with capacity for 40 or so people. Tables are available, so people who arrive early can enjoy a light supper (i.e., a sandwich, salad or burger) while waiting for the reading to begin. If we run out of table space, folding chairs are available. A mic will enhance the readings. There is plenty of unrestricted parking on the streets around the Café.