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Community Corner

Downtown Writers: An Evening of Spoken Word

Downtown Music and Variety is pleased to launch a new monthly reading series, Downtown Writers. The monthly event will occur each third Thursday of the month and will take place from 7-9 PM. Each installment will highlight 4-5 local writers of fiction, poetry and essays of various styles. There is something included that will appeal to everyone. 


Downtown Writers is being curated and hosted by Robert Langdon, who ran the successful Poetry U series for the past four years at Gallery U in Montclair. Since the closing of the venue in September, Langdon has been looking for a home to continue the series. Downtown Music and Variety is pleased to host this ongoing monthly event and continue to offer a venue for local artists to share their talents with the Montclair and surrounding communities. If you are a local writer (poetry, short fiction, essays) and would like to participate in a future event, please send sample work to Robert Langdon at robertplangdon@gmail.com


The first Downtown Writers event, scheduled for Thursday, January 23, 2014, from 7-9 PM will include poets Anthony Cirilo, Robert P. Langdon, Stillmank, and Billy Tooma and is open to the public.

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ANTHONY CIRILO is a poet, translator, Part-Time Lecturer, and an MFA candidate at Rutgers-Newark. He is currently at work on his first collection of poems, Geronimo! His writing influences include Agha Shahid Ali, Carolyn Forché, and Arthur Rimbaud.


ROBERT P. LANGDON is a poet living in Northern NJ. He has worn many hats over the years including Director of Sales and Marketing at a publishing house, Director and curator at an art gallery, professional photographer and teacher. He began writing after being exposed to the poetry of Anne Sexton and discovering, through her writing, that poetry can be exciting and accessible. He is drawn to strong imagery and is influenced by confessional poetry and the works of Sexton, Sharon Olds, Diane Ackerman, Toi Derricotte, Robert Lowell, Ai, and Gregory Orr among others. 

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STILLMANK is the vigilantist poet making moves for poetic justice. He is a writer and musician living in Montclair. Stillmank is the founder of Atlas Records and curator of musical events at Montclair's The Batcave and other venues. 


BILLY TOOMA was born and raised in northern New Jersey. After receiving his BA and MA from William Paterson University, he entered into the world of independent filmmaking, becoming an award-nominated documentarian for Fly First & Fight Afterward: The Life of Col. Clarence D. Chamberlin. Over the past few years, Tooma has published collections of poems and short stories in addition to completing work on his first novel. He lists Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, and Michael Chabon as three of his literary idols. Currently, Tooma teaches English Literature & Writing at Essex County College.


ABOUT DOWNTOWN MUSIC & VARIETY


After many years of teaching and working on music in private spaces owner Myrna Marcarian made the transition to a public one where she can hold classes, where students and other musicians can perform, where artists can exhibit their work, and where people can gather to drink coffee, relax with friends, and attend musical events. Private and group lessons are available in piano, guitar, voice, violin. Ensemble, theory and composition, sightreading and improvisation are available in classes that are fun and instructional. Downtown Music & Variety is located at 324B Orange Avenue in Montclair, NJ. 


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