In conjunction with the Albany Symphony's New Music Festival, Living Poets Musical Theater showcases the work of living poets Shira Dentz, Diana Alvarez, and James Belflower, and explores the intimate connection between poetry and music. Curated by Rebecca Wolff, Editor of FENCE Literary Journal, and featuring contemporary poets from the Capital Region and beyond.
No Ticket Required!
EMPAC Performance Hall
Shira Dentz is the author of three books: black seeds on a white dish (Shearsman), door of thin skins (CavanKerry), and how do i net thee (forthcoming) and two chapbooks, Leaf Weather (Shearsman), and FLOUNDERS (Essay Press, downloadable for free). Her writing has appeared widely in journals including: The American Poetry Review, The Iowa Review, New American Writing, and Western Humanities Review, and featured in The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, NPR, Poetry Daily, and Verse Daily. Her awards include an Academy of American Poets’ Prize, Poetry Society of America’s Lyric Poem and Cecil Hemley Memorial Awards, Electronic Poetry Review’s Discovery Award, and Painted Bride Quarterly’s Poetry Prize. A graduate of the Iowa Writers‘ Workshop, she has a Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Utah. She was Drunken Boat‘s Reviews Editor from 2011-2016, and curates both DB’s blog feature, “What I’m Reading Now,” and reviews for Tarpaulin Sky. She teaches creative writing at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. More about her writing can be found at shiradentz.com.
Diana Alvarez is a vocalist, poet, composer, video and sound artist whose poetry chapbook, Consultations with Bruja Juana, was published by Toadlily Press in 2009. As a PhD candidate in Electronic Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Diana is composing a Mexican ritual opera that descends from and contributes to a lineage of innovative women of color artists. Diana has performed as a vocalist and poet and taught in a range of venues in Texas, New Mexico, New York, and Massachusetts. For more information: diana-alvarez.com.