Poetry & Art Series 2012

On Thursday, Oct. 25, Poetry & Art Series 2012 features Poetry International with special guests Steve Kowit, Sandra Alcosser and Camille Dungy. These renowned authors will read with select MFA students from SDSU. This arts and culture event takes place in the Museum of the Living Artist, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for snacks and music, and the show starts at 7 p.m. Members are free, $5 at the door or bring wine to share and get in free.

Poetry International is an annual literary journal published by SDSU with Ilya Kaminsky as editor-in-chief.

Steve Kowit is the author of In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet’s Portable Workshop, a go-to text for writing poetry. Kowit is a poet, essayist, teacher, and workshop facilitator. He is currently teaching MFA students at SDSU.

Sandra Alcosser’s poems have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Montana’s first poet laureate, Alcosser directs SDSU’s MFA in Creative Writing each fall and works with Poets House New York.

San Francisco State University Professor Camille Dungy is a two-time recipient of the Northern California Book Award (2010 and 2011), a Silver Medal Winner in the California Book Award (2011), and a two-time NAACP Image Award nominee (2010 and 2011). Her book Smith Blue (Southern Illinois University Press, 2011) won the 2010 Crab Orchard Open Book Prize.

Following the reading, there will be open mic for writers or painters who would like to share a few pieces of their work.

Ben Chung and Al Howard will provide live music. There will be treats and beverages as always.

Writers/artists who would like to read on the open mic can sign up ahead of time at mkklam@gmail.com or sign in on the night of the show. Visit us online at sandiego-art.org.

Navy to celebrate 237th birthday

The USS Midway Museum and the local Navy community are celebrating the sea service’s 237th birthday with three days of public events on the historic warship, Oct. 9-13.

The festivities begin with the Navy Boot Camp Challenge, Oct. 11 and 12, on the flight deck of the USS Midway.

On Thursday, Oct. 11, the USS Midway Museum presents a special screening of the 2012 movie “Battleship.” The event starts at 6 p.m. General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased at www.midway.org.