It’s time for another Sarabande poetry night at The Pink Door.

The scoop:

Michael Dumanis was born in the Soviet Union and lived
there until his parents were granted political asylum in the United
States.  He first came to Sarabande when he co-edited the
controversial anthology Legitimate Dangers that we published in
2006.  From there, he went on to win the 2006 Juniper Prize for
Poetry for his debut collection of poetry, My Soviet
Union.   Currently, he teaches at Cleveland State
University and is the Director of the Poetry Center there.  One of my favorite poets, Mark Doty, commented about
his book, saying “My Soviet Union is a remarkable album of
dark vaudeville and assured verbal performances. Its speakers are a
host of desperate comedians at the edge of history, making do and
making jokes in the ruins of empire. The spirits of Joseph Cornell,
Mayakovsky, and Buster Keaton seem to ventriloquize the earthly,
troublesome body of one Michael Dumanis, a haunted citizen born in a
country that no longer exists, standing before us in a confluence of
phrases that are themselves a sort of nation: crazed, American,
beautiful, a giddy torrent of comedy and sorrow.”

Sean Singer’s first book,
Discography, won the 2001 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize,
selected by W.S. Merwin, and the Norma Farber First Book Award from
the Poetry Society of America. He also won a grant from the
Massachusetts Cultural Council, and a fellowship from the National
Endowment for the Arts. He lives in New York City.  You
can catch a snippet of him reading on the amazing From the Fishouse
website at:
http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/sean_singer/index.shtml.
Teneia Sanders has played on WFPK’s Live Lunch,
collaborated with Louisville hip-hop bands Nappy Roots and Code Red,
and opened for Canadian musician Luke Doucet. Her first full album,
Soul Catcher, produced by William Bartley of Slackshop, was
featured by CDBaby.com as one of their albums of the week in April of
2007. Currently living and performing in Louisville, KY, Teneia is
quickly making a name for herself as an up-and-coming artist to keep
an eye and ear on. Her angelic voice, unique guitar rhythms, and
moving lyrics have helped to solidify her growing reputation as a
truly gifted artist, one whose dedication is as strong as her music. 
You can listen to her online at
http://www.myspace.com/teneiasanders.

June 30, 2008
7:30PM

The Pink Door
2222 Dundee Road
Louisville, KY 40205