Join us at Stinko’s Las Vegas for the First Friday Reading featuring Jan Steckel, Syd Stewart, James Norman, and Ms. AyeVee. Hosted by Nevada Humanities, Poetry Promise Inc., and Heather Lang-Cassera. Admission is FREE!
Event begins at 7 PM at Stinko’s Las Vegas:
1029 S Main St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
Free parking is available nearby, but it fills up fast!
Jan Steckel was a Harvard-Yale trained pediatrician, who worked in the Peace Corps and serviced poor communities. She is an activist for bisexual and disability rights. Her poetry is direct, moving, and reflects her unique experience. Her book The Horizontal Poet won a Lambda Literary Award, perhaps the leading award for LGBT communities. Her new book, Like Flesh Covers Bone, was just released from Zeitgeist Press.
Syd Stewart is a poet, actor, screenwriter, and activist. She was active performing in the famed Nuyorican Poets Café, Def Poetry, and has been featured in the NY Times, Variety, and People magazines. Her work was selected by NEA 50 Anniversary and a NY Stage and Film Filmmaker Fellowship. She is the founder of Better Youth, Inc., a non-profit which uses poetry and media arts to equip young people with creative confidence. Her new book, Babylon Graffiti, was just released from Zeitgeist Press.
James Norman’s first book, All the Fire Escapes to Heaven in One Room, recently published by Zeitgeist Press, was featured in an article in Las Vegas Weekly. James Norman also doubles as the drummer for Ted Rader and the Magic Family, a popular rock band. “These poems,” he says in the book, “first appeared under desperate conditions.”
“Ms. AyeVee was born & raised in Las Vegas but comes from a long line of Nuyoricans. A natural artist, Ashley Vargas excelled in film, theater, music, and writing. After studying with the Nevada Conservatory Theater, Ms. AyeVee refocused her energy towards poetry. In 2016, her dedication to writing landed her on the official Las Vegas Battle Born SlamTeam. Ms. AyeVee continues to compete & tour nationally. She competed at the Individual World Poetry Slam in Flagstaff, AZ.