Dear Monsoon Voices Friends,

Patrick and I have decided that we no longer have enough arms, legs (or brains!) to host Monsoon Voices events in Phoenix. While we’ve enjoyed meeting and promoting so many new people at our monthly shows this year (in Oro Valley and Phoenix), we know we can do a better job if we build events close to where we live.

From here on out, we’ll host Monsoon Voices in Oro Valley only, leaving the door open for submissions from artists across Arizona. No matter where you live, if you are interested in performing in Oro Valley, submit your writing and music for consideration at a future event.

Thank you to our Phoenix area Monsoon Voices friends for supporting us at Unlimited Coffee since August 2007. Thank you for sending your stellar poems, stories, essays and songs to Monsoon Voices. Thank you for presenting your creative gems to Monsoon Voices audiences. We’ve enjoyed your enthusiasm before, during and after every show.

Feedback Requests

Do you have comments about your experiences with Monsoon Voices? Suggestions about improving　the Web site, submission process, performances, etc.? What did you like? What did you not like? All comments will help us create more successful shows, so please don’t be shy. The more information, the better! Send your thoughts to us at monsoonvoices [ at] gmail.com.

 Thanks again for supporting our live literary magazine!

Warmly,

Traci and Patrick

Traci and Patrick Moore, Editors
Monsoon Voices Live Literary Magazine

With the help of local rainmaker/musician Gerry Glombecki, we enjoyed our first full-fledged monsoon during a Monsoon Voices event on September 12th.  Poets Michael Gessner and Kait Meadows and prose writers Allan Meyer and Corey Knox shared their fine writing in between the spectacular lightning-filled halftime show.  Thank you to everyone who brought enthusiasm and electricity to the evening!

. . . 

Michael Gessner lives in Tucson with his wife, a watercolorist, and their son, Chris. His work has been featured in American Letters & Commentary, American Literary Review, The Journal of The American Medical Association, Oxford Magazine, and others. He has read at University College Dublin, and the American-Irish Historical Society (NYC). His work has been called “Striking,” by David Barber of The Atlantic, and “Structurally ingenious,” by Jonathan Galassi of Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Books may be purchased online via March St. Press, Pudding House Press, or BlazeVOX Books, or by visiting www.addall.com or www.amazon.com. (520) 297-6738 or mjcg3 [at] aol.com

Allan Meyer worked in commercial radio and television for five years. His favorite television experience involved singing a commercial for Wilbur Weiners. As a former college instructor in humanities and philosophy, he once enjoyed a special teaching moment. After Allan spoke for fifteen minutes at an opening class session, a student said, “No wonder nobody learns nothing in college anymore.” Allan is the author of Right and Wrong – A Useful Fiction. He’s also a columnist for The Oracle newspaper. (520) 297-4496 or ameyer32 [at] aol.com.

Kait Meadows is a wordsmith, art maker, desert tortoise lover, and muse-infused eco-crone who is passionate about archaeology, 50′s jazz, and making hand made paper. After a career in hospice nursing, Kait lives on a little patch of land in beautiful Picture Rocks with her beloved life mate Albert Lannon. (520) 289-3480 or www.kaitlinmeadows.com.

Corey Knox lives in Tucson with her two desert mermaids, Iris and Ella. Corey would like to finish her book before her two- and four- year old daughters develop sophisticated reading skills– so Corey can adequately prepare them for the contents of her book. Corey has recently read excerpts from her book at the UA Poetry Center. mangosky99 [at] yahoo.com.

Gerry Glombecki is a songwriter and poet who was inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in October 2002. His songs move like a pendulum from the personal to the political; from the serious to the whimsical. Gerry’s composition credits include lyricist for A Family Circus Easter, Cullen-Kasdan Productions NBC, and an animated special featuring the voice of the late Dizzy Gillespie. More recently, Gerry placed first in the 6th Annual Arizona Anthem Poetry Contest for “The Ballad of George Hayduke”. (520) 322-5948 or www.gerryglombecki.com.

Note: Mimi Ferraro was scheduled to perform at Monsoon Voices, but she was unable to attend this time. Mimi will take a “rain check” and perform at a future show.

Gary Bowers | Poetry
Sharon Flanagan-Hyde | Memoir
David Chorlton | Poetry
Carol Test | Fiction
Susan Vespoli | Poetry

at Unlimited Coffee – 7:30pm
Phoenix, Arizona 

Gary Bowers is an artist, potter, published poet, humorist, 4-time marathoner (those days are probably gone forever), avid reader, overeater, lapsed vegetarian, substitute teacher, Freethinker, writer, numbers cruncher, whaddayasayer and crossword puzzle/word search constructor. He’s a former newsletter editor, former administrative vice president and former lithographer. He’s an insomniac. An Arizonan. An unpaid critic for Four Word Film Review with 394 accepted reviews to date. A performance artist billed as Multimedia Poet, and the Master of Ceremonies for poetry events at Bards Books. onewithclay [at] hotmail.com.

Sharon Flanagan-Hyde writes fiction and memoir. She grew up in Massachusetts and has lived in Phoenix for 20 years. Her passions include collecting sea glass, bookmarks from independent bookstores, and writing stories about her ancestors.  www.flanagan-hyde.com.

Living in Arizona and travelling to Costa Rica has made David Chorlton into an advocate for animals and their territory. Reading Edward Abbey has encouraged him. Consequently, the wild has made its way into his chapbooks: Waiting for the Quetzal from March Street Press, and The Porous Desert from FutureCycle. This year he won the Slipstream Chapbook Award for From the Age of Miracles. rdchorlton [at] netzero.com. www.davidchorlton.mysite.com.

Carol Test received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona in 2005. Her fiction has appeared in Red Rock Review, Swink, Night Train, The Normal School, and Other Voices, among others. She is a 2006 recipient of an Arizona Commission on the Arts Award and a 2008 Pushcart Prize nominee. When she’s not writing, she enjoys highlighting her hair, travel that includes mild but not life-threatening dysentery, and being more neurotic than 70% of the general populace. She really wants you to sign up for her Novel Writing Workshop on Wednesday nights at Phoenix College. There will be punch and pie. caroltest [at] gmail.com.

Susan Vespoli describes herself as a former responsible citizen—a wife, teacher, small business owner— who gave it all up to move to a shack in the forest to attend poetry school. susan_vespoli [at] yahoo.com.

The library setting  seemed perfect for hearing every word and note, without the need for amplification. We even had stage lighting, room to mingle, a great patio with mountain views (and moonlight!). Everyone sampled tea, coffee, cookies, crudite, bruschetta and cheese. We had lively conversations before and after the show.

Thanks to everyone who traveled far and wide to attend our first event. We look forward to the next show!

Warmly,

Traci and Patrick