It’s all about writing on First Fridays

NARROWSBURG, NY — First Fridays Contemporary Writers Series 2008 will be held on the first Friday of the month at the Narrowsburg branch of the Western Sullivan Public Library from April through December. Seen internationally on TV, Broadway and as finalists on the stage of National Poetry Slam Competitions, these young masters will visit for one night along the banks of the Delaware River in upstate New York. First Fridays also spotlights new Catskill area writers and hosts a short open mic. The events are free and open to the public. Young adult readers/writers are especially encouraged to attend.

The series will start on April 4 with author Lori Anderson Moseman. Moseman has worked as a brush-cutter, a timber cruiser, a fish skinner, a hog reporter, a fry cook, a canoe guide, a maid, a landscaper, a bookseller, an editor and an educator. “Persona” is Lori Anderson Moseman’s second collection of poetry. Her first book, “Cultivating Excess,” won the Eighth Mountain Poetry Prize in 1991, and her chapbook, “Walking the Dead,” won the 1990 Heaven Bone International Chapbook contest. She has an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers Workshop and an MFA in Electronic Arts from iEAR Studios. She hosts and curates the reading series High Water Mark Salo[o]n in Equinunk, PA. More information on Moseman can be found at www.highwatermarksalon.com .

Open mic sign-up begins at 7:00 p.m. Open mic starts at 7:30 promptly. Readers are encouraged to read a poem three minutes or shorter of their own creation or read a favorite by another author. At each session, a local writer of distinction will give a presentation starting at 8:00 p.m. and a visiting writer will give a presentation starting at 8:30 p.m.

The featured writer on May 2 will be Ed Mabrey of Detroit, MI ( metaphormag.com/people-mabrey.htm ).