Reading Aloud Is Allowed

Reading a well-crafted poem to yourself–silently or aloud–can be a powerful experience. Hearing a poet read his or her own work can be even more moving.  They know exactly which words to stress and precisely how long the pauses last.  And, if you’re fortunate and they’re in a good mood, they might share with you what the process of creating a poem feels like for them.

As it happens, we have two poets who will do exactly that today: Nick Graves and Gianna Russo.

Click on their photos to start the conversation.

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Nick Graves has been an OLLI member for eight years. He has taken classes in literature, science, history, sociology, creative writing, poetry, music, politics, technology and lifestyles.

Gianna Russo is the City of Tampa’s official “Wordsmith”.  She is the Assistant Professor of English and creative writing at Saint Leo University.  A prolific writer, she has published “everywhere”. She also directs the Sandhill Writers Retreat and is Editor-in-Chief of the Sandhill Review. She was appointed the first Poet-in-Residence for the College of Arts and Sciences and the scholarly journal Rebus.