Poetry Night Reading Series: Robert Thomas and Beverly Burch

The Poetry Night Reading Series is excited to feature Robert Thomas and Beverly Burch at 7 PM on Thursday, February 16th, 2023, on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street in Davis.

Robert Thomas’s latest book, Sonnets with Two Torches and a Cliff, was published by Carnegie Mellon University Press. His first book, Door to Door, was selected by Yusef Komunyakaa for the Poets Out Loud Prize and published by Fordham University, and his collection Dragging the Lake was also published by Carnegie Mellon. His novella Bridge, a sort of novel in prose poems, was published by BOA and received the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Fiction. He has received an NEA fellowship and a Pushcart Prize. Thomas lives with his wife and their three cats in Oakland.

Beverly Burch is the author of four poetry collections, most recently Leave Me a Little Want (Terrapin Books), and two nonfiction books. Her work has won the John Ciardi Prize, a Lambda Literary Award, and a Gival Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the Audre Lorde Award. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in New England Review, Gulf Coast, Southern Review, Denver Quarterly, and Los Angeles Review. She is just completing her first novel. Find out more at www.beverlyburch.com.

This event will take place on the first floor of the John Natsoulas Gallery (521 1st Street) at 7 PM on Thursday, February 16th, 2023. An open mic will follow the featured performers. Open mic performances will be limited to five minutes or two items, whichever is shorter. As the Bard says, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” The open mic list typically fills by 7 PM, so please arrive early if you would like to perform something during the 8 o’clock hour.

We recommend that you wear a mask to Poetry Night. According to a Yolo County December 6 press release, “This winter is the first in several years where we are seeing significant flu and RSV activity, in addition to COVID-19, so we are now making masking recommendations based on all circulating respiratory viruses, not just on COVID,” said Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson. “Wearing a high-quality mask indoors is a great way to protect yourself and others from respiratory viruses like flu, RSV, and COVID-19.”

The Poetry Night Reading Series, taking place on first and third Thursdays of the month at 7 PM, is generously supported by the people and poets of the Sacramento Valley, and by John Natsoulas and the staff at the John Natsoulas Gallery. Your host will be Dr. Andy Jones, the poet laureate emeritus of the City of Davis. This event is supported by Katerina Hanks, producer, Poetry Night Reading Series.