Kelly DuMar
Featured Author & Book Launch
Thursday, March 30, 2023
7-8:30 p.m. EST
Book Launch! jinx and heavenly calling––I poached a portion of my mother’s love letters to my father, 1953-1954
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 April 6, 2023, our monthly OPEN MIC series will feature Kelly DuMar (she/her/hers), who's new book, jinx and heavenly calling, is HOT OFF THE PRESS and just published by Lily Poetry Review Books!
ABOUT THE BOOK: Lusty, vigorous, zestful. It’s hard to imagine our parents in the throes of passion, yet jinx and heavenly calling does just that. DuMar culls original text and graphics from love letters her mother penned to the poet’s father during 1953-1954. From these letters mailed between first date and marriage, DuMar distills her mother’s intimacies, anxieties, and endearments, engaging readers in the captivating dynamic of a couple falling into a 50-year future.
Kelly DuMar is a poet, playwright and workshop facilitator from Boston. She’s author of four poetry chapbooks, including jinx and heavenly calling, published by Lily Poetry Review Books in March. Kelly’s poems and photos are published in a variety of literary journals. She teaches creative writing and runs Play Labs for the International Women’s Writing Guild and the Transformative Language Arts Network. Kelly produces the Featured Open Mic for the Journal of Expressive Writing. Learn more about Kelly here.
Eileen Cleary, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lily Poetry Review and Lily Poetry Review Books, will interview Kelly about her new book. Eileen holds MFA’s in poetry from Solstice and Lesley University. She published recent work in The Sugar House Review, JAMA, West Texas Literary Review Solstice: A Magazine for Diverse Voices, and The American Journal of Poetry, among others. Her full-length poetry collections include Child Ward of the Commonwealth, (Main Street Rag, 2019) and 2 A. M. with Keats (Nixes Mate, 2021.)
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. All Open Mic readers must pre-register ahead of time for a slot.
Come listen to Kelly DuMar 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.
FROM OUR PRODUCER & HOST
KELLY DUMAR
(she/her) Boston based poet, playwright, daily blogger, and leader of creative writing organizations—in person and online—for 30 years. Kelly's philosophy about teaching and coaching is simple: Your stories are not only meaningful, they are beautiful, and they deserve to be written, crafted and shared.
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About the Founder and Editor-in-Chief:
Jennifer A. Minotti (she/her) is a Writer-in-Residence at the Center for Women's Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University. For the past 25 years, she has dedicated her professional life toward working for the betterment of society. For 17 years, Jen worked at Education Development Center (EDC)—a global non-profit working to improve education, health, and economic opportunities worldwide—in a variety of technology, research, writing, and leadership roles.
In 2012, Jen founded the Women's Writing Circle as a means to merge her passions for expressive writing, positive psychology, community organizing, women’s health, and social activism. In 2020, she founded the Journal of Expressive Writing in order to provide a place for sharing expressive writing, believing that we need this space on a fundamental, human level, individually and collectively. Jen is a graduate of Boston University (B.S.) and Columbia University (M.A., M.Ed). Her writing has appeared in numerous refereed journals, anthologies and literary publications.