Open Mic with Nadia Colburn + 15 other writers

The Journal of Expressive Writing is more than a publication. We aim to be an engaged and supportive community of writers and listeners. Giving our focused attention to each other’s voices, stories and writing is a generous, necessary act of humanity, repair and celebration.

On Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 7:00pm EST, our monthly OPEN MIC series will feature author Nadia Colburn , author of I Say the Sky (2024), published by The University Press of Kentucky.

About Nadia Colburn:

Nadia Colburn is the author of the poetry books I Say the Sky and The High Shelf, and her poetry and prose have appeared in more than eighty publications, including The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Spirituality & Health, Lion's Roar, and the The Yale Review. She holds a Ph.D. in English from Columbia University, is a yoga teacher and serious student of Thich Nhat Hanh and is the founder of Align Your Story Writing School, which brings traditional literary and creative writing studies together with mindfulness, embodied practices, and social and environmental engagement. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two children.

Find Nadia at nadiacolburn.com, where she offers meditations and free resources for writers.

About Nadia's Latest Book:

"In poems at once profound and accessible, Nadia Colburn finds splendor and astonishment in a natural world—and a human world—that is deeply troubled yet still majestically beautiful. Both elegy and celebration, I Say the Sky addresses some of the most challenging aspects of human existence, from childhood trauma to environmental devastation, and discovers, in unexpected and clear-sighted ways, wisdom, wonder, and peace.

Colburn's brilliant second book charts a journey to meet the self. From girlhood to parenthood, loss to discovery, in poems that sing, the book explores how meaning is made. Claiming the female voice from silence, the poems find their grounding in the body and achieve rootedness and hope.

I Say the Sky is a meditative and ultimately inspiring book that will be savored by seasoned readers as well as those new to poetry."

About the Open Mic Portion:
In addition to our featured writer, 15 other pre-registered writers will read their work. Each of our contributing authors will have 3 minutes to read their best expressive writing, poetry, stories, free writing, non-fiction, personal essay, memoir, reflective essay, prose, contemplative discourse, and creative non-fiction.

Come listen to Nadia Colburn and 15 other amazing authors read their work LIVE!

The Journal's OPEN MIC series is FREE to attend and OPEN TO ALL, but you do need to Pre-Register through eventbrite to get the live Zoom link.

The OPEN MIC series is produced and hosted by Kelly DuMar.