Watershed Literary Events Poetry Reading October 13

Watershed Literary Events, a spoken-word series sponsored by the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the Meadowland Park Conservancy in South Orange, will host its third reading of 2024 on Sunday, October 13, at 3 pm at the South Orange Skate House on the corner of Mead St. and Meadowbrook Lane.Featured this time will be the poets James Hoch, Joan Larkin, and Marcia LeBeau. The event is free and open to the public.

James Hoch has worked as a dishwasher, cook, dockworker, social worker, and shepherd. He is the author of the poetry collections A Parade of Hands (Silverfish Review Press), winner of the Gerald Cable Award, Miscreants (W. W. Norton), and most recently, Last Pawnshop in New Jersey (LSU Press). His poems have appeared in Slate, The Kenyon Review, The Gettysburg Review, Ninth Letter, and American Poetry Review, among many other journals. Hoch is the recipient of fellowships from Bread Loaf and Sewanee, as well as a 2007 National Endowment for the Arts grant. Originally from Collingswood, NJ, he lives in Garrison, NY, with his wife and sons. He currently teaches at Ramapo College and Sarah Lawrence.

Joan Larkin’s latest book of poems, Old Stranger, has just been released by Alice James Books. As Eileen Myles writes, “There is so much masterpiece here…. This is why one is a poet all their life. To make this.” Larkin’s previous collections include Blue Hanuman, My Body: New and Selected Poems, Lambda Literary Award winner Cold River, A Long Sound, Housework, and Sor Juana’s Love Poems, which she translated with Jaime Manrique. A lifelong teacher, she has served on the faculties of Brooklyn College, Sarah Lawrence, and Smith College, among other schools. Larkin’s honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. She lives in South Orange, NJ.

Marcia LeBeau’s recent poetry collection A Curious Hunger (Broadstone Books) is “a sassy, kaleidoscopic debut” that “explodes with energy,” according to poet Molly Peacock. LeBeau’s poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, New Ohio Review, Rattle, and elsewhere. She was a third-place co-winner of the 2023 Allen Ginsberg Award, was longlisted for the 2022 Ralph Angel Prize, and received an honorable mention for the Rattle Poetry Prize, as well as several Pushcart Prize nominations. LeBeau is the founder of The Write Space, a co-working and event space for creative writers in the Valley Arts District of Orange, NJ. She lives with her husband and two sons in South Orange.

Now in its sixth year of programming, Watershed Literary Events promotes the work of a talented and diverse array of writers with a New Jersey connection. For more information, contact Blake Smith at arts@southorange.org.