Ring in the New Year with The Virgilio Virtual Open Mic: January 14th 2021

Hey all! Help us start off an exciting new year of programming by attending The Virgilio Virtual Haiku Open mic!

This month, join poet and Camden advocate Sandra Turner-Barnes and national award winner Lenard Moore. And of course, we also celebrate all your own haiku/senryu/tanka and short form poetry as well!

THE VIRGILIO IS A FREE EVENT, BUT DONATIONS ARE WELCOME!
5 MINS PER READER.
PLEASE REGISTER TO READ AND TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK FOR THE EVENT.

Our January features include:

Sandra Turner-Barnes is the winner of the 1995 Ebony Magazine International Literary Award for short fiction for her story, “Burnt Bacon” as well as the 2010 publication of her poetic and historic children’s book, “Beyond the Back of the Bus,” a tribute to Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement. Sandra appears in countless anthologies, and her most recent book of poetry, “But, Mostly Love,” was nominated for the National Book Award in 2011.

---

Lenard D. Moore is a poet, anthologist, founder and executive director of the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective, and U.S. Army veteran. He was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina and is author of The Open Eye (North Carolina Haiku Society Press, 1985; Mountains & Rivers Press, 2015), and The Geography of Jazz (Mountains & Rivers Press, 2018; Blair Publishers, 2020), among other books. His haiku chapbook, Gathering at the Crossroads (Red Moon Press, 2003), is a collaboration with photographer and Black Arts Movement poet Eugene B. Redmond. He is former president of Haiku Society of America (2008 and 2009) and longtime executive chairman of the North Carolina Haiku Society

---

We can’t wait to see you again soon. Be well and stay safe.

Check out our Cherry Hill Courier Post Feature Article.

Last week, we had the pleasure of having Phaedra Trethan interview our own Robin Palley and Henry Brann on the state of the Writer’s House during the pandemic. In her writeup, programs like our Monday Night Mindfulness and Haiku In Action projects were detailed, along with progress in our upcoming Art Unboxed food and haiku series with project manager Carla Norelli.

Please take the time to check out this fantastic writeup of our current and future activities and thanks again to the Cherry Hill Courier Post for their support.

Signup for Haiku Targets: An Art Unboxing Haiku Workshop

Join us Wednesday, Nov 11th @ 7pm EST for the first workshop in NVHA's new Art Unboxed series: HAIKU TARGETS with Michael Dylan Welch!

Michael is a leader in the haiku community, teaching and writing hundreds of poems, poetry books, essays and reviews about haiku. His haiku have been carved into stone in New Zealand, printed on balloons in Los Angeles, and read for the Empress of Japan and at the Baseball Hall of Fame. His writing has appeared in Bacopa Literary Review, City Arts, Clover: A Literary Rag, Hummingbird, Kyoto Journal, Matrix, Modern Haiku, Poetry Kanto, Poetry Nippon, Poet’s Market, Rattle, and in many other publications, blogs, and radio shows. Learn more at his website, www.graceguts.com.

All ARTUNBOXED events are FREE. Donations are always welcome!

See you Wednesday!

Our Last Virtual Haiku Open Mic is on Thursday November 12th

Join us for the last Virgilio of the year! On November 12th 7PM EST, we welcome you back to The Virgilio Haiku Open Mic event!

This month, we celebrate modern haiku’s reach with our features John Stevensoon BJ Swartz. And of course, we also celebrate all your own haiku/senryu/tanka and short form poetry as well!

THE VIRGILIO IS A FREE EVENT, BUT DONATIONS ARE WELCOME!
5 MINS PER READER.
PLEASE REGISTER TO READ AND TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK FOR THE EVENT.

Our September features include:

John Stevenson is a former president of the Haiku Society of America, former editor of Frogpond and currently, since 2008, the managing editor of The Heron’s Nest. He was an honorary curator of the America Haiku Archive in 2018-19.

His most recent book – emoji moon. It can be purchased from Red Moon Press.

---

BJ Swartz, a retired science and medical librarian, has been writing since elementary school in Haddonfield, NJ.  Her first published poem, "Mystery in the Swamp", appeared in a 1966 issue of "The Hornbook", the Douglass College literary magazine.  Thirty years later "Ode to My Gall Bladder", her excuse for missing a writing class, was published in "Stitches: The Journal of Medical Humor".  In 2004 she discovered haiku and began recording her observations on topics such as human nature, spirituality, string theory, and popcorn. When she was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, she took the opportunity to attack it in writing, with optimism and a slightly twisted sense of humor. 

---

We can’t wait to see you again soon. Be well and stay safe.

The Virgilio Virtual Haiku Open Mic returns on Thursday September 10th

We had such a great response to our last virtual open mic, we decide it was high time to have another! So on September 10th 7PM EST, we welcome you back to The Virgilio Haiku Open Mic event!

This month, we welcome younger poets local and abroad pushing the power of haiku to address social change. And of course, we also celebrate all your own haiku/senryu/tanka and short form poetry as well!

THE VIRGILIO IS A FREE EVENT, BUT DONATIONS ARE WELCOME!
5 MINS PER READER.
PLEASE REGISTER TO READ AND TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK FOR THE EVENT.

Our September features include:

Sean Lynch (he/him) is a poet and editor who lives in South Philadelphia. His fourth chapbook, On Violence, was published by Radical Paper Press in 2019. Poems have appeared in journals including Hobart, Poetry Quarterly, and After the Pause. He's the founding editor of Serotonin and on the board of Moonstone Press.

---

Derrick Weston Brown holds an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. He is the founding Poet-In-Residence of Busboys and Poets. He is a graduate of the Cave Canem and VONA summer workshops and is a participating author in the PEN-Faulkner Foundation’s Writers-In-Schools-Program.

You can follow him on social media on Facebook, Instagram @theoriginalDerrickWestonBrown or through DerrickWestonBrown.com

---

Lori A Minor, editor of #FemkuMag, is a body positive mental health advocate and human rights activist from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her work has been featured in several journals, such as Frogpond and Modern Haiku. Lori has won awards including two shortlisted haiku for the Touchstone Award (2017, 2019). She is honored to be the finalist for the Sable Books Haiku Contest for Women (2020) for her forthcoming Book Uprooted and to have given a presentation on social awareness in haiku at the 2019 Haiku North America Conference.

We can’t wait to see you again soon. Be well and stay safe.

Monday Night Mindfulness: Our Biweekly Workshop into Writing and Mindfulness Practice

Need a relaxing, creative start to the week? Interested in how writing can inform your mindfulness practice? Just have some anxieties you’d love to release?

Please join us for Monday Night Mindfulness, our new hour long biweekly workshop focusing on mindful meditation practice and writing exercises that support them. Lead by certified mindfulness instructor Amber McGuigan, we will explore a new theme each month focused on the relationship between writing and mindfulness as well as take part in mindfulness related relaxation techniques, all from the comfort of your home.

Themes Include:

Suggested Donation: $10
September 7th, 21st | 6pm EST
October 5th, 19th | 6pm EST

Amber McGuigan, CMI, received her certification in mindfulness instruction through Mindful Schools, a nonprofit organization at the forefront of the movement for mindfulness in education. In September of 2019, she joined the team at Mighty Writers Camden (a NVHA community partner), as its first Mindfulness Program Manager. In that capacity, Amber taught mindfulness skills to hundreds of children and teens throughout Camden, in schools and afterschool programs. Since March of 2020, Amber has been teaching online mindfulness workshops for K-12 students across the Camden/Philadelphia area. 

Whether she’s helping teens accept their emotions, or teaching kids how to get a good night’s sleep, Amber’s aim is always the same: to share the gift of mindfulness in a way that promotes safety and choice, allowing each unique person the freedom to discover practices that speak to them, without feeling pressured to “get it right.” In her workshops, participants explore mindfulness and self-compassion through meditation, movement, games, journaling, and art. Amber strives to educate herself about the intersections of mindfulness and trauma, both personal and systemic, and to teach and act for healing and justice. 

In her free time, Amber enjoys trees, birds, meeting new people, and dancing in her backyard. She is the parent of four mighty kids, who (ordinarily) attend Sacred Heart School in South Camden. 

Thanks to NJCH for our COVID-19 Response Grant Acceptance!

Huge thanks to the New Jersey Council For the Humanities for their grant of $3000. With these funds, we will be expanding our previously in person Camden Ginkos project to encompass our new virtual present.

Starting August 22nd, we will be hosting live streamed poetry walks through various green sites within Camden. Paired with various poets from Camden, these walks with give participants the opportunity to gain insight into the city’s history, struggles and beauty while having room for mindful writing in the classic haiku walk tradition.

Please stay tuned for more information on this exciting new piece of NWHA programming and thanks again to NJCH for helping us and other local non-profits continue to thrive through these trying times.

Learn more at https://njhumanities.org/

TAPinto Camden Digs into HVHA during the Pandemic

Needless to say, the transition into a pandemic world has been a radical one, for us and so many other non-profits. That said, even in the chaos of the times, people are watching for how arts education and appreciation continue to flourish. Last week, NVHA had the pleasure of being highlighted for our own efforts in pushing forward our programming.

A huge thanks to writer and reporter Steven Rodas of TAPinto Camden for his interview with board member Robin Palley. There, our recent online initiatives, support of Mighty Writers Camden’s amazing efforts and grant successes are all covered.

Please support them and us by taking a look at the article here.

Join us at The Virgilio Virtual Haiku Open Mic!

On June 28th, Sunday, 15 masked folks and another 20 streaming live through our facebook page gathered lakeside in Harleigh Cemetery. Just as had been done for 31 years now, those touched by Nick’s life and poetry stood at his podium headstone and spoke about their connection to him and the organization dedicated to carrying on his legacy.

While it was a wonderful event, due of the pandemic we decided not to invite the wider public for the open mic portion of our celebration.

Instead we invite you on July 15th at 7pm to our first virtual open mic. We will be featuring current and former NVHA board members Kathleen O’Toole, Theresa Banford, and Lamont Steptoe.

SIGNUPS ARE LIMITED. 5 MINS PER READER. A HAIKU AND SHORT POEM FOCUS PLEASE.
To RSVP so we know you'll attend, or to sign up to read, please click here.
Please follow us on facebook, twitter and instagram for more info on this and other exciting programming.

A Virtual Celebration: The Nick Virgilio Gravesite Reading 2020

On June 28th, Sunday, 15 masked folks and another 20 streaming live through our facebook page gathered lakeside in Harleigh Cemetery. Just as had been done for 31 years now, those touched by Nick’s life and poetry stood at his podium headstone and spoke about their connection to him and the organization dedicated to carrying on his legacy.

The celebration featured words and tributes by Ben Hill, BJ Swartz, and Rocky Wilson and a tribute to late board member and friend of NVHA, Walt Howatt.

While it was a wonderful event, due of the pandemic we decided not to invite the wider public for the open mic portion of our celebration.

Instead we invite you on July 15th at 7pm to our first virtual open mic. We will be featuring current and former NVHA board members Kathleen O’Toole, Theresa Banford, and Lamont Steptoe.

SIGNUPS ARE LIMITED.
To register before to attend OR to read, please click here.
Please follow us on facebook, twitter and instagram for more info on this and other exciting programming.