Enjoy listening to poetry—or share some writing of your own—with Poetry in the Boro on Sunday evening, July 14. Our features will be poet Allison Boyd Justus and singer-songwriter Kelly Ormsby.
We’ll be at Murfreesboro Little Theatre, 702 Ewing Blvd. This event is free and open to the public, thanks to support from MTSU Write.
About our Features
ALLISON BOYD JUSTICE was once a familiar face at Poetry in the Boro, as she’s a middle Tennessee native who helped found our event. She’s now at Iowa State University, pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing and Environment. The former Rutherford County School teacher is the author of Solstice to Solstice to Solstice: A Year of Sunrises in Poetry from Alternating Current Press and recently had two poems selected as finalists for the 2019 Rita Dove Prize in Poetry.
KELLY (DYER) ORMSBY is an Americana singer-songwriter and educator. First published with Sony ATV in 2000, the Mississippi native’s love of language and stories have led to two English degrees and collaborative opportunities with other seekers and pickers over her 20+ years in Tennessee. “Red Light,” co-written with Moe Loughran, was featured in the indie film Riders and recorded by Loughran on her album, The Tulip Tree. A tenured college English professor, Ormsby’s passion for the craft and her old Gibson keeps her coming back to the music.
Event Details
Doors open at 6:30 PM. After the features, there’s time to mingle and purchase books before our open mic time begins. Readers can share one piece of poetry, spoken word, or even short short prose, so pick your best, or what you most want to try out on the audience, and go for it. Reading a favorite poem by another writer is fine, too. If your piece is over 4 minutes, please speak to the hosts to see if we can accommodate that.
If you’d like a writing prompt, check our Facebook page for July’s challenge words (we’ll have them added here soon). Use one or use them all in the poem you share with us.
Murfreesboro Little Theatre has its own parking lot. Parking on the street in the area is fine, too – just don’t block any driveways.