Kara Candito & Adam Fell—Monsters of Poetry
Like the people of the Midwest of America, its poetry cannot be confined, cajoled, pigeon-holed, or imprisoned in tired cliché. We are descendants of myriad peoples, cultures and experiences: we are not monolithic and this makes us the most powerful of monoliths.
The poets we’ve asked to be a part of Verse, WI reflect these diverse ancestries. Some were born and have lived much of their lives in the Midwest, others have spent their formative years here, or moved here recently, others still are part of the Midwestern diaspora living now in distant locales but are still impacted artistically by their time here. In their work you will find the fireside camaraderie and community of the snowed-in, you will feel the blood flush of the first Spring sun on your faces, you will feel the black ice suddenly beneath you. You will find the personal, the political, the racial, the sexual, the cultural, the societal, the ardent, the fervent, the tempestuous, the kind. You will find the experimental, the lyrical, the surreal, the confessional, the rural, the technological, the poverty-stricken, the fire and joy of the independent spirit.
We hope you read, discuss, debate, and enjoy these poems. We hope you find a piece of the Midwest you didn’t know you were missing.
Kara Candito & Adam Fell
Curators, Monsters of Poetry Reading Series,
Madison, WI
