Poetry reading featuring John Leo and Kristine Esser Slentz, accompanied by guest readers from Philly local press Thirty West Publishing House. To reserve your copies of books for this event, please email or call the store.
John Leo’s This is Not a Place of Honor is a poetry collection that is rife with nuclear anxiety balanced with everyday comforts and meditative moments that serve as shelter from the storm. Somewhere between John Cheever and atomic prophet, John welcomes you into an intimate portrait of Midwestern life in fear of the bomb.
Kristine Esser Slentz’s re-release of her experimental lyric, woman, depose, now re-envisioned and entitled EXHIBIT: an a̶m̶e̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ woman,depose, is a candid and intimate journey of a tumultuous legal battle centered on sexual harassment, gender bias, and sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation. After enduring a grueling two-year lawsuit, the case was unexpectedly dismissed due to technicalities and evidence as "hearsay." This pivotal moment forced a confrontation of not only the legal system’s intricacies but also prompted a profound personal introspection. Through raw and honest storytelling via court document redaction, lyrical poetics, and cross-genre work, Slentz re- (and perhaps cross-) examines experiences with sex, sexuality, and the intricate dynamics of power and desire—and their impacts such as substance abuse and violence.
About the Authors:
John Leo is an author and game designer. He is the writer of This is Not a Place of Honor (Night Gallery Press, 2024) and The Names of Ancient Wars (Ghost City Press, 2021). His work has appeared in the anthology A Flame Called Indiana: New Writing from the Crossroads (Indiana University Press, 2023) and elsewhere. His tabletop design credits include Star Wars: Unlimited and Wolves of Mercia.
Kristine Esser Slentz is a Maltese descendent, queer, cult escapee, and author of woman, depose (FlowerSong Press 2021, 2024). She grew up in both northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area—what her father calls the ‘bottom of the blue-collar.’ After receiving her GED, she completed her undergraduate degree at Purdue University, double-majoring in English Literature and Creative Writing, before earning a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (poetry) from City College of New York (CCNY). Kristine is a Pushcart Prize nominee, finalist in the Glass Poetry Chapbook and F(r)iction's Flash Fiction Contests, recipient of a CCNY English Department Teacher-Writer Award, a City Artist Corps Grant, and former Rifkind Fellow and Poets Afloat resident. She is the co-founder and organizer/host of the monthly experimental artist series, Adverse Abstraction, in New York City's East Village.