Darkhorse Dramatists presents "Checkpoint" a 10 minute play by Jason Irwin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9XBENm6QF4&t=2s

CL. Bledsoe's review of "A Blister of Stars"

I've long been a fan of Jason Irwin's work, ever since his first chapbook, Some Days It's a Love Story, which absolutely blew me away. It actually beat a collection of mine out for a prize, and it deserved to. All of his books have been solid. Irwin tends to write personal poems about his life experiences, which, on the surface, sounds pretty straight-forward. But Irwin has had quite a life. He has seen truly hard times, and he's chosen to share with us the lessons he's learned, dealing with profound issues like trauma and death, while avoiding navel gazing. 

A Blister of Stars does not disappoint. Irwin writes about his childhood, deeply personal poems about illness and poverty, with the underlying theme of economic instability brought about by the dying of the rust belt, a common theme in Irwin's writing. As a reader, you are present with Irwin as he faces life-threatening sickness and terrifying operations, while across the street, the neighbors are shooting at each other because dad got laid off. "Tethered" describes a childhood surgery. "The doctors assure me/I will be better off in the long run." He describes the surgery going wrong and explodes the image of dying children as Christlike. I don't want to spoil it, but he describes the aftermath, "I was just one sick child/ among many sick children/tethered to this world." It's powerful stuff, but Irwin navigates it beautifully. 

But don't let me give you the wrong impression. There is trauma and pain in these poems, but there is also great love and hope. This is the true power of Irwin's writing, the way he is able to redefine the shadows of life in order to accentuate the light. In a brief poem like, 'Moonlight and Chocolate Cake," where he ruminates on the decadence of two lovers sneaking a piece of chocolate cake late at night, "with moonlight spilling like milk" on the counter top. This is someone who's been through a lot and has learned to enjoy the joie de vivre.

C.L. Bledsoe, author of "Riceland."

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1932304.C_L_Bledsoe

Dunkirk native uses poetry to overcome adversities

http://www.observertoday.com/news/2017/10/dunkirk-native-uses-poetry-to-overcome-adversities/

Thanks Damian!

Reading with Jen Ashburn & Zach Jones @ the art bar, Toronto 9/5

https://www.facebook.com/events/130867130868806/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22feed_story_type%22%3A%2277%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&pnref=story

Jen Ashburn, Roger, Craik, Jason Irwin @ litYoungstown 8/2

https://www.facebook.com/events/1925999297633167/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22feed_story_type%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&pnref=story

reading 7/8/17

reading @ Hemingway's 6/13/17

audio recording from Hemingway's Cafe Summer Poetry Reading Series, hosted by Joan Bauer & Jimmy Cvetic.   http://hemingwayspoetryseries.blogspot.com/


http://www.kostany.com/hemingwayspoetryseries/2017-06-13/Jason%20Irwin%20Reading%20of%202017-06-13.mp3

Our Sudden Museum: Saturday Poetry at CC Mellor Memorial Library

Charlie Brice, Robert Fanning, Judy Brice, Jen Ashburn & Jason Irwin

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  Saturday, July 8 at 3 PM - 5 PM

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  C.C. Mellor Memorial Library 1 Pennwood Ave, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15218 CHARLES W. BRICE is the author of Flashcuts Out of Chaos (WordTech Editions, 2016). His poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in over forty publications including The Kentucky Review, The Atlanta Review, Hawaii Review, Chiron Review, The Dunes Review, Fifth Wednesday Journal, Sport Literate, Avalon Literary Journal, The Paterson Literary Review, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Spitball, Barbaric Yawp, VerseWrights, The Writing Disorder, and elsewhere. ROBERT FANNING is the author of five poetry collections, including three full-length collections: Our Sudden Museum (Salmon Poetry, Ireland), American Prophet (Marick Press), and The Seed Thieves (Marick Press), as well as two chapbooks: Sheet Music (Three Bee Press), and Old Bright Wheel (Ledge Press Poetry Award). His poems have appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, Shenandoah, The Atlanta Review, and other journals. Recent work has also appeared on The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor on NPR, and Fanning was interviewed at the Library of Congress for the nationally-syndicated radio program “The Poet and the Poem.” A graduate of the University of Michigan and Sarah Lawrence College, he is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Central Michigan University. He is also the founder and facilitator of the Wellspring Literary Series in Mt. Pleasant, MI., where he lives with his wife, sculptor Denise Whitebread Fanning, and their two children. JUDY BRICE is a retired Pittsburgh psychiatrist whose love of nature and experiences with illness, both her own and that of her patients, inform her work. Her poems have appeared in The Paterson Literary Review, and many Pittsburgh and national publications. Judy’s collected poems have appeared in Renditions in a Palette (David Robert Books, 2013). More recently Judy’s work has appeared in Versewrights.com and is forthcoming in Vox Populi. One of her poems has been set to music by Tony Manfredonia, to be performed by a quintet. JEN ASHBURN is the author of the full-length poetry collection The Light on the Wall (Main Street Rag, 2016), and has work published in numerous journals. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Chatham University, where she taught creative writing to inmates in the Allegheny County Jail through Chatham’s Words Without Walls program. Originally from southern Indiana, she spent four years in Japan and greater Asia, and now lives in Pittsburgh. JASON IRWIN is the author of A Blister of Stars (Low Ghost, 2016), Watering the Dead (Pavement Saw Press, 2008), winner of the Transcontinental Poetry Award, and the chapbooks Where You Are (Night Ballet Press, 2014), & Some Days It's A Love Story (Slipstream Press, 2005). He grew up in Dunkirk, NY, and now lives in Pittsburgh.www.jasonirwin.blogspot.com

poetry reading with Jen Ashburn at Village Lights Books Madison Indiana 6/23

https://www.facebook.com/events/470981179903021/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2229%22%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3A%22plan_user_invited%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&notif_t=plan_user_invited&notif_id=1497824894329052

Review of "A Blister of Stars" in Coal Hill Review.

http://www.coalhillreview.com/book-review-blister-stars-jason-irwin/

litYoungstown Reading Series

https://allevents.in/youngstown/jen-ashburn-roger-craik-and-jason-irwin/1925999297633167

Jen Ashburn's poem "Anxiety on The Writer's Almanac

http://writersalmanac.org/episodes/20170305/

Singapore Unbound/Second Saturday Reading Series

SINGAPORE UNBOUND Freedom of Expression. Equal Rights for All.

SECOND SATURDAYS READING SERIES On March 11, 7-9 pm, Second Saturdays features a pair of poets from Pittsburgh, Jason Irwin and Jen Ashburn, who look at life with an unflinching yet compassionate gaze. They will read from their new books A Blister of Stars and The Light on the Wall. Potluck and open-mic as usual. Please RSVP Jee at jkoh@singaporeunbound.org for directions.   Jason Irwin was born with a litany of birth defects. A Blister of Stars (Low Ghost Press, 2016) is Irwin's interrogation of his own biography. His poems reveal the terror felt by a child confused about what is happening to his body; the endless surgeries and difficult recoveries, the strain it all puts on his parents both emotionally and financially. Irwin's luminous, reflective poems strive for solace in the face of horror, hold fast to faith while staring into the void.  Jason is also the author of Watering the Dead (Pavement Saw Press, 2008), winner of the Transcontinental Poetry Award, and the chapbooks Where You Are (Night Ballet Press, 2014), & Some Days It's A Love Story (Slipstream Press, 2005). He grew up in Dunkirk, NY, and received an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College in 2004.    "In The Light on the Wall, Jen Ashburn powerfully depicts the fragility and complexities of childhood alongside the wonder of exploring and observing the world around us. This is a poetry of memory but also of awakening—written with great musicality, a precise eye for image, and a spirited tenderness. “I need the dark to see the starlight,” Ashburn says. She captures both darkness and light elegantly in this stunning debut collection of poems." -Scott Silsbe. Jen holds an MFA in creative writing from Chatham University, where she taught creative writing to inmates in the Allegheny County Jail through Chatham’s Words Without Walls program. Originally from southern Indiana, she spent four years in Japan and greater Asia.   Date and Time: Saturday, March 11, 7 pm Venue: Private home in Lower East Side, NY, NY RSVP: Jee at jkoh@singaporeunbound.org About Second Saturdays Reading Series The Second Saturdays Reading Series is a monthly literary gathering in New York City for the reading of Singaporean and American literatures. Typically we have 20 - 30 people assembling in a private home. The two-hour event begins with a potluck, followed by an open reading and the featured author. For our fourth season (October 2016 - June 2017), we have a terrific line-up, including Naomi Novik, Chinelo Okparanta, Jason Irwin, Sohrab Homi Fracis, George Kalogeris, and a recital-talk by Singaporean singer and conductor Phillip Cheah. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list or to host an event, please contact Jee at jkoh@singaporeunbound.org. Follow us on Facebook.

Jen Ashburn's Book Launch Reading 1/28/17

http://irmafreeman.org/events/light-on-the-wall/

On the evening of January 28th, alumna Jennifer Ashburn released her new poetry book, The Light on the Wall. At Irma Freeman Center, Ashburn read with special guests Daniela Buccilli, Brittany Hailer, and Scott Silsbe. Emcee Paula Levin led the book launch.

First, Ashburn read multiple pieces from the new publication. Buccilli and Silsbe read poetry, while Hailer shared nonfiction.

“I had it in mind to write about my travels, but the family poems kept creeping in. For a while it seemed like I was writing two different collections. In the end, the family and travel poems worked together to essentially tell the story of my life thus far,” Ashburn said.

With themes of family dysfunction, mental illness, and the “uncomfortableness, escapism, and wonder of travel,” The Light on the Wall is her first full-length poetry book.

At the event, Ashburn also started a collection for a local community organization, Bethlehem Haven, which supports women who are homeless or mentally ill. “By the time it’s finally out, you’re ready to move on creatively. I was really pleased we were able to raise some money for Bethlehem Haven. Also, it felt really good to have my friends and colleagues there.”

Attendees enjoyed a book signing, wine, lemonade, and light hors d'oeuvres. An after party occurred at Mixtape for writers and readers to converse more and celebrate the book’s release.

“I think it went well. I’m grateful to my fellow readers, the emcee Paula Levin, and everyone who attended,” said Ashburn.

For more information about Ashburn, The Light on the Wall, and her other work, please visit http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15589998.Jen_Ashburn

THIS WEEK IN BOOKS: THE LIGHT ON THE WALL

A review of Jen Ashburn's poetry collection from The Rumpus.

http://therumpus.net/2017/01/this-week-in-books-the-light-on-the-wall/

This week, we’ll look at The Light on the Wall (Main Street Rag, January 2017) by poet Jen Ashburn. This collection, her first, opens and closes with poems about her schizophrenic mother and dysfunctional family, a frame around the author’s life and travels.

In the titular poem, Ashburn uses description (“the evening light soaked everything/in the color of plums—not the skin of plums, or the flesh,/but that deep orange-red that bleeds in between”) to build tension until she arrives at the moment of describing her mother tucking her sheets in around her, restraining her. The poem ends simply, in the same way earthquake mechanics are simple, but devastating: “My mother/was breaking. Even the light on the wall knew.”

The poems that follow offer similar earthquake-like simplicity, whether about family or the time she spent traveling in Asia. She explores the discomfort of being a tourist in a poor country; the environmental effects of development; different ways of not only living, but being; and the complex web of emotions—tenderness, anxiety, love, fear—that bind all families together, functional or dysfunctional.

Originally from Indiana, Ashburn spent four years living in Japan and exploring Asia. She earned her MFA in poetry from Chatham University (also my own alma mater, though we attended the program at different times) and has made her home in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Her poems paint the landscape of the American Midwest as vividly and freshly as they paint the Mekong River in Vietnam.

About the collection, poet Nancy Krygowski writes:

These poems of displacement, of a woman navigating the strange territories of a dismantled family and travels in foreign lands, will wake up your eyes, and Ashburn’s voice—sure, steady, and surprising—will leave you praising and echoing her words: “Let me remember even when I’m hunched with work, when I’m old and crumpled with life: This life. Thank you. Please.”

Each poem rings out its own clear note like a temple bell, lingering even after the reader turns the page. Ashburn shows us that even in the face of darkness, the unknown, or terror, there is room for human kindness and connection. The kindness, the connection, may not always be perfect or pure, but neither, comes these poems’ gentle reminder, are we. And that is perfectly okay.

Pick up a copy of The Light on the Wall from the Main Street Rag shop and follow Ashburn on Twitter.