Pen Parentis to Host Seventh Annual Winter Poetry Night at Hotel Andaz

Warm up at the glamorous Andaz Wall Street this January when The Pen Parentis Literary Salon presents its seventh annual Winter Poetry Night!

Three notable poets -Matthew Thorburn, Christina Cook and Stella Padnos-Shea - will read from new works and discuss how they balance a career in poetry with an active young family at home.

The networking begins at 7pm with wine compliments of the Hotel Andaz Wall Street.

Pen Parentis Literary Salons were founded to celebrate the creative work of writers that are also parents, and is a great place to meet industry notables. Winter Poetry is an annual event that celebrates a diversity of creative successes by poets who are also parents.

The celebration takes place on Tuesday, January 10th, 2017, at the elegant Hotel Andaz at 75 Wall Street. The night kicks off at 7:00 pm, and admission is free. RSVP is recommended, but not required-the Pen Parentis Literary Salon is open to adults over the age of 21. Many of the poets' books will be available for purchase.

RSVP link and more information at penparentis.org/calendar.

ABOUT THE POETS:

Christina Cook is the author of A Strange Insomnia (Aldrich Press, 2016), Ricochet (Casa de Cinco Hermanas Press, 2016), and Lake Effect (Finishing Line Press, 2012), winner of the Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize. Her poems have been included in two anthologies, Poet Showcase: An Anthology of New Hampshire Poets (Hobblebush Books, 2015) and Not Somewhere Else but Here: A Contemporary Anthology of Women and Place (Sundress Publications, 2014), and her poems, translations, essays, and book reviews have appeared widely in journals including the New Ohio Review, Prairie Schooner, The Rumpus, and Crazyhorse. Christina holds an MA in English and American Literature from the University of Cincinnati and an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She works as a writer in the Office of University Communications at the University of Pennsylvania.

Matthew Thorburn's most recent book is Dear Almost: A Poem (Louisiana State University Press, 2016). He is also the author of five previous books and chapbooks of poems, including A Green River in Spring (Autumn House Press, 2015) and This Time Tomorrow (Waywiser Press, 2013). His interviews with writers appear on the Ploughshares blog as a monthly feature. He lives in Riverdale with his wife and son, and works in corporate communications in Midtown.

Stella Padnos-Shea has many identities, among them: poet, social worker, mama, Scorpio, and suicide survivor. Her poetry appears in various literary journals and forums, including Women's Studies Quarterly, Mommikin, and Lady Parts, a Barbie-themed collaboration with jewelry artist Margaux Lange. Stella currently works as a political organizer and therapist in New York City. Her first book, In My Absence, was released last summer from Winter Goose Publishing. Her poetry is public and personal, neck and neck.

Transportation info: Take the 2/3/4/5/J/M to Wall Street. The Salon takes place in the glamorous Andaz Wall Street, a hotel located at 75 Wall Street.

Pen Parentis, Ltd, is a New York City-based nonprofit literary organization that provides resources to authors who are also parents, to help them stay on creative track after starting a family.