For more than 40 years, poets, poetry publishers and readers have looked to Len Fulton's Small Press Review magazine to help sort through the many thousands of chapbooks and anthologies that come out every year. In reviews and editors' picks, it is for many people an indispensable guide. The magazine's July/August issue includes Bottom Dog Press' survey of the Northeast Ohio literary landscape, Cleveland Poetry Scenes: A Panorama and Anthology, as one of the 10 "Choice Picks." The volume includes essays from poets writing and reading in Northeast Ohio for the last third of the 20th century, with attention given to the Black Poetics Society, the poetry slams, reading series and major poets of the region. Edited by Nina Freedlander Gibans, Bottom Dog Press publisher Larry Smith and poet Mary E. Weems, it's available at Visible Voice Books in Tremont (visiblevoicebooks.com) or Mac's Backs in Cleveland Heights (macsbacks.com).
The Ohioana Library Association, a Columbus repository of Ohio-centric books and other creative output, is accepting applications from authors interested in participating in the 2009 Ohioana Book Festival. The one-day fest is slated for May 9, 2009, at the Ohio Statehouse. Authors interested in being panelists or readers must have books published between January 2008 and March 2009, and can get more information, including application materials, at ohioanabookfestival.org.
The Bang and the Clatter Theater's Cleveland operation, Sometimes in the Silence, has had to postpone the opening of its production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, a black comedy by Tony-winning playwright Martin McDonagh. Set in a rural village in Ireland, it's a tale of murderous revenge touched off by the bloody slaying of a cat. The Ohio premiere, directed by Sean McConaha, had been scheduled to open September 5, but has been rescheduled for Septemebr 19 because, as Bang and Clatter co-founder Sean Derry said, an actor was not able to continue. All tickets cost $15. For information, call 330.606.5317 or go to bnctheatre.com.
Speaking of tickets, Playhouse Square tickets go on sale for the entire 2008-2009 season starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday, September 10. If you're reading this in time, you can buy your tickets at the Playhouse Square ticket office (1519 Euclid Ave.) and pay no handling fees before 2 p.m. that day. After that, call 216.241.6000, or go to playhousesquare.org (handling fees will apply). - Michael Gill
