Four Seasons Poetry Open Mic Series - Summer 2026

Description

Join us for an evening of poetry and connection at Books & Company on Saturday, July 18 at 6:30pm! Hosted by authors and poets Cristina M. R. Norcross, Sara Sarna, and Jim Landwehr. All are welcome.

2 poem max per poet + bring an extra poem, in case we have time for a second round. *Please include a content warning for potentially triggering material.

Optional theme(s) for Summer: travel/water/recreation (or bring any poems you’ve been working on). 

*PLEASE NOTE: There are two different free registration options. If you plan to participate in the Open Mic Poetry Reading, select that option. 

ABOUT THE HOST POETS:

Cristina M. R. Norcross lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two sons. She is the founding editor of the online poetry journal, Blue Heron Review, and the co-founder of Random Acts of Poetry and Art Day (celebrated annually on February 20th). Author of many poetry collections, a multiple Pushcart Prize nominee, and an Eric Hoffer Book Award nominee, her most recent book is The Poetry Apothecary (Kelsay Books, 2024). Cristina’s poems have been published widely in online and print journals including: The Lothlorien Poetry Journal, The Poet, Muddy River Poetry Review, Verse-Virtual, The Ekphrastic Review, Poetry Hall, Visual Verse, Silver Birch Press, and Pirene’s Fountain, among others. She has also been published in numerous print anthologies. Cristina has helped organize community art and poetry projects, has led creative writing workshops, and has hosted many open mic readings. She facilitates the online writing prompt group, Connection & Creativity in Challenging Times, on Facebook. Cristina was featured in the Poem-A-Day series for the Academy of American Poets in 2021. Find out more at www.cristinanorcross.com 

Sara Sarna is a military brat, lucky enough to have lived on both coasts and in England before choosing the Midwest for college and to put down roots. She holds a BFA in Theatre from Stephens College in Missouri and currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband and the rescue dog that owns them both. Much of her affinity with the area is based on access to forested park land and she spends as much time as possible, in all seasons, in the woods, where she almost always finds a poem.
Sara is a member of Wisconsin Writers’ Association and Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Her work has been featured in print, online, on stage and on the radio. In November of 2020, her first poetry collection, Whispers From a Bench, was published. Since 2021 she has been very busily retired.

Jim Landwehr is the author of four memoirs: At the Lake, Cretin Boy, Dirty Shirt: A Boundary Waters Memoir, and The Portland House: A '70s Memoir. His new book, All That It Seems, is an eclectic and relevant collection of short stories. Jim also has several poetry collections, including Thoughts from a Line at the DMV and Tea in the Pacific Northwest. His nonfiction has been published in Main Street Rag, The Sun Magazine, Story News, Portage Magazine, and Wisconsin Outdoor News. A prolific poet, he was the 2018-2019 poet laureate for the Village of Wales, Wisconsin. He lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin.