TWP Reading Series featuring Alarie Tennille, Tina Hacker, Teresa Leggard.
Alarie Tennille was a pioneer coed at the University of Virginia, where she earned her degree in English, Phi Beta Kappa key, and black belt in Feminism. In 1982 she left everyone she knew in Virginia and followed her husband to Kansas City. She also left behind technical editing to embrace a creative writing career. Alarie serves on the the Emeritus Board and Programming Committee of The Writers Place, as well as emcee and coordinator
of the Rose Garden Readings at Loose Park. Since retiring in 2012, Alarie has published three books of poems. Tonight she’ll be reading from her new collection, Three A.M. at the Museum. Her poems have won a long ride on the Kansas City Trolley, First Runner Up in the Thorpe Menn Award for Literary excellence, and the first editor’s choice Fantastic Ekphrastic Award from The Ekphrastic Review.
Teresa M. Leggard (she/her) is a Brooklyn-born, Jersey-raised, Midwest transplant. She’s a poet, teacher, editor, theater director, and creative collaborator, who currently teaches English composition at Metropolitan Community College. Teresa earned her BA in English from Spelman College and her MFA in creative writing and media arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Recent publications include “The Private Life of Flowers” (Auburn Avenue, 2020), “Life Sentences” and “I never really knew someone could hate you so much just by looking at you” (Aunt Chloe, 2020). This fall she made her directorial debut at The Unicorn Theatre with PIPELINE by Dominique Morisseau. Teresa sees all of her work—across genres and disciplines—as an opportunity to help people say what they mean.
Tina Hacker asked a golem to compile her biography when her poetry collection, GOLEMS, was released this year. Tina’s poems about these magical creatures from Jewish folklore were serialized in the online journal Quantum Fairy Tales where they acquired a following of attentive fans.
A four-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Tina was a finalist in New Letters and George F. Wedge competitions, named Editor’s Choice in two literary journals and was awarded the Matrix Honor prize. The golem adds that her other poetry collections are Listening to Night Whistles and Cutting It.
In 2016 Tina was named a Muse of The Writers Place and since 1976, has been poetry editor for Veterans’ Voices, a national magazine of writing by military veterans. The golem agreed to be at her side tonight as she reads from GOLEMS.
