Artisans hosts Ten Mile Reading Series
The inaugural event of the Ten Mile Reading Series took place on Sept. 15 at Creative Industries of Greene County’s Artisans Gallery in Waynesburg.
Waynesburg University Assistant Professor of English, Martin Cockroft, designed the Ten Mile Reading series with assistance from student program coordinator, Jonnell Liebl. The main Waynesburg University sponsor of the series is the journal of literature and arts and national publication, Muse & Stone. A large contributor to the series was local nonprofit, Creative Industries of Greene County. Creative Industries provided Artisans Gallery as host to the event. Other contributors included Waynesburg Press Coffee Shop and Rising Creek Bakery of Mt. Morris.
“Artisans is the perfect venue for this kind of event,” Cockroft said. “They have a great network of people.”
A program Cockroft was involved in during graduate school at the University of Montana inspired this series, The Second Wind.
“The Second Wind reading series allowed graduate students to present their creative writing in a different kind of environment,” Cockroft said. “The series also showcased a more established writer. This setup helped plant the seed for the Ten Mile Reading Series.”
Cockroft’s goal for the series is to expose students to an out of classroom experience. Allowing them to have an audience and learn to interact and be a writer.
The opening event showcased senior English – Creative Writing major from Pulaski, New York, Jonnell Liebl. Liebl’s poetry has been published in Muse & Stone and she has performed and helped produce several plays at Waynesburg University.
The more established writer was Waynesburg University English professor, Dr. Bob Randolph. Randolph is the author of one full-length poetry book, Floating Girl: Angel of War (Elixir Press, 2006) and two poetry chapbooks. He has published poetry, short stories, and essays in more than 30 journals. Randolph has received prizes for his work from the Texas Institute of Letters, Elixir Press, the University of Michigan, and winningwriters.com. In addition to his accomplishments for his works, Randolph is a two time Fulbright Scholar and Waynesburg University’s winner of the 2010-2011 Lucas Hathaway Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Randolph is a pastor in the Greensboro Presbyterian Church where he lives with his wife and daughter, and cairn terrier.
The series will continue on Thursday, Oct. 13 at the Artisans Gallery. The rest of the event will continue to host established writers from Western Pennsylvania and bordering states.
The future speakers will introduce voices in contemporary poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
“I hope that the Ten Mile Reading Series will be an opportunity to show off a different kind of wealth in Southwestern Pa,” Cockroft said. “There is so much news about the wealth of natural resources in this area, however I believe there is a lot of wealth in the literary arts too.”