“And as I sat there watching
I had the feeling that something was missing
I don’t know what, but
When it was over
I said to myself
Is that all there is to the circus?”
-Peggy Lee, Singer
Curated by Jae Green, February 4th Literary event, ‘Aftermath’, explored next steps, changes, redos, reconsiderations and the over-all psychic housecleaning of another new year.
Presenting poets included Araxie Cass, April Gary, Cynthia Marie Hoffman, Sarah Peecher, and Marian K. Shapiro (read by Jae Green).
Araxie Cass is a writer, editor, and one of the organizers of Azad Archives, an alternative Armenian platform dedicated to inclusivity and amplifying marginalized voices. Their published work is mostly nonfiction, but they have been most recently delving into the spaces of poetry and science fiction. They are inspired by their Armenian and Jewish heritage, their home city of Chicago, and the wonders of nature wherever they are.
April Gary is a poet, spoken word artist, actor, playwright, screenwriter, choreographer, filmmaker, public speaker, producer and artist. She is the author of four poetry chapbooks: Love and Butterflies, The Dialect of Amazons, Tapestry – A Modern Tale of Ancient Times and Thorns on Roses. https://flowauthors.com/sandra-jackson-opoku-1
Cynthia Marie Hoffman is the author of four collections of poetry: Exploding Head, Call Me When You Want to Talk about the Tombstones, Paper Doll Fetus, and Sightseer, all from Persea Books. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board. Poems have appeared in Electric Literature, The Believer, The Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. She lives in Madison, WI. www.cynthiamariehoffman.com.
Sarah Peecher is a poet living and working in Chicago. She was a Nathan Breitling Poetry Fellow and a recipient of an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia College Chicago, where she also taught introductory writing and rhetoric classes to undergraduate students. She was an Acquisition Assistant Editor for Allium and recently edited a food-themed zine she dubbed Potluck. Along with writing and editing, she is in the process of curating an exhibition and launching a podcast that both emphasize connections between the literary arts and other creative modes.
Marian Kaplun Shapiro is a psychologist and poet in Lexington, Massachusetts. She is the author 450 publications, two books (At the Edge of the Cliff: poems; Plain View Press 2021 and Players In The Dream, Dreamers In The Play; Plain View Press 2007), and two chapbooks. Working with victims of violence, she recognized that in her heart she was a Quaker, and joined the Society of Friends, which holds an important place in her life and poetry.
(Image from left to right: April Gary, Cynthia Marie Hoffman, Jae Green, Sarah Peecher, Araxie Cass and guest poet Madeline McConico.)
WMG Literary Events Curator
Jae Green has been part of the Woman Made Gallery community since its earliest years at our first location in Ravenswood Manor, on Chicago’s Northwest Side. A visual artist, writer, and published poet, she joined WMG’s Board of Directors in 2020 and serves on the Program Committee. In 2022, she co-juried Generations, WMG’s 30th anniversary exhibition, with Marisa Miles, now WMG’s Board President.