kickstART Farmington Fall Reading Series Concludes Nov. 20

Farmington-Hills based nonprofit organization kickstART farmington concludes its fall reading series Nov. 20, with writers from Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge campus in Farmington Hills.

Wednesday Night Sessions, held at Off the Beaten Path Books in downtown Farmington, is co-sponsored by the Michigan-based publishers Absinthe, The Collagist, Dzanc Books, Midwestern Gothic, and [PANK]. Hosted by Farmington Hills poet Joy Gaines-Friedler, the series highlights the quality and diversity of Michigan’s authors and publishers.

Nov. 20 writers include OCC faculty David James, R. J. Willey, and students Erica Klavons, Marly Zack, and Saleem Karim. 

David James' second book, She Dances Like Mussolini, won the 2010 Next Generation Indie book award for poetry. He has published four chapbooks, with a fifth, No Way to Stop the Bleeding, coming in 2014 from Finishing Line Press. More than 30 of his one-act plays have been produced from New York City to California. He earned his doctorate from Wayne State University and teaches writing at OCC in Farmington Hills.

R.J. Willey received his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona, where he stayed on for a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition. After a two year stint at a small liberal arts university in south Florida, he came to OCC in 1990, where he taught primarily developmental reading and writing and is now teaching composition, creative writing, and the occasional literature course. He recently completed a young adult novel, which is currently looking for a home.

Erica Klavons, on the brink of turning 20, has been writing since a young age and is very excited to participate in the reading. Although she has never been published, she aspires to do so within the next year. Her favorite type of creative writing is poetry, and she wants the world to know it.

Marly Zack is a poetry novice. She enjoys long walks on the beach and very short bios.

Saleem Karim is majoring in Emergency Medical Systems at OCC, while working as a manager at McDonald's. Though he has been writing stories for over a decade, he says it still feels like a novel experience every time. 

kickstART farmington is a non-profit arts organization that aims to strengthen the community by supporting a vibrant arts scene in Farmington and Farmington Hills. Learn more at kickstartfarmington.org or on Facebook, facebook.com/kickstartfarmington.

Off the Beaten Path Books is located at 33314 Grand River, Farmington.