Love Swirl Poetry Writing Salon/Workshop/Open Mic

2/22 will mark a 2nd collaboration for the ArtLoveMagic tribe and the mad cats behind the collective known as Mad Swirl as they team up to bring you another Love Swirl Poetry Writing Salon & Workshop! Once again, as part of ArtLoveMagic’s “Lovin’” February exhibition at the Janette Kennedy Gallery inside Southside On Lamar, we bring our organizations together to encourage local writers in their adventures and explorations into the written word of poetry. All types of writers, all levels of written skill are welcomed, but this workshop is geared towards writers over 18. Beginning at 3pm in the Janette Kennedy Gallery, we’ll start our afternoon off with a poetry writing session lead by Mad Swirl’s founder and chief editor Johnny O and poetry editor MH Clay. They’ll lead our attendees in exercises designed to take the writer from prompt to page- the end result being new poems in hand to take home! We’ll then initiate a panel discussion on taking your poem “From the Muse to the Masses”-a forum based on the idea of initiating written work and preparing it for publication and public consumption. Moderated by Johnny O, our panelists will include MH Clay, who’ll provide the perspectives of the online editor for www.madswirl.com,, author/poet James ‘Bear’ Rodehaver on preparing poetic work for print, and writer/bookseller Opalina Salas on putting together written projects for purchase. We’ll also open the floor for a Q&A afterwards, so bring your questions on writing and the creative process. Time permitting, our presenters will also be on hand for a peer review and critique of written works, so please feel free to bring along some of those compositions you’d like to have a second pair of eyes on, and associate with your fellow poets and peers in a session of constructive feedback. Around 6pm, ArtLoveMagic’s open mic host “Konnichiwa” Zach Schrotter and local actress and writer Maggie Smith will run an open mic session for any performer who’d like to share their gifts aloud. Please feel free to share original works on our stage, and, feel free to request feedback and tips on performing your work for an audience from our veteran open mic performers, who, upon request, will offer insight on pacing, mic control, and finding your own voice when you go from page to stage. All attendees to our workshop are welcomed, but not required to read. Please “Join” this event page if you plan to attend. Admission is only $10; pay at the door or in advance at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/love-swirl-poetry-writing-salonworkshopopen-mic-tickets-15386884586. Proceeds will be split between ArtLoveMagic and Mad Swirl for the benefit of both organizations so that we may continue bringing our collectives to the doorstep of DFW! So, calling all Journal poets, slammers, open mic’rs, first timers, budding songwriters/lyricists and lovers of the written word to join in this colloquy of composition! We look forward to reading with you!