Episodes
Wednesday Mar 29, 2017
Casey Pycior, Midwest Writer
Wednesday Mar 29, 2017
Wednesday Mar 29, 2017
Casey tantalizes you with some readings from his new book, The Spoils. And through conversation with host Marcia Epstein about: The Midwest, Stories, Men, Books, Fathers & Sons, & PS: Writing Well Is Work.
Casey Pycior (pitcher) was born and raised in Kansas City. He earned his MFA in fiction writing at Wichita State University & his PhD in creative writing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He was awarded the Charles Johnson Fiction Prize at Crab Orchard Review. His stories have appeared in numerous journals, including Beloit Fiction Journal, Midwestern Gothic, Harpur Palate, Yalobusha Review, and Wigleaf. His debut short story collection, The Spoils, was just released by Switchgrass Books. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his wife & son. Follow Casey onTwitter @CaseyPycior and learn even more at www.CaseyPycior.com
Wednesday Mar 22, 2017
Ronda Miller, Poet of Life
Wednesday Mar 22, 2017
Wednesday Mar 22, 2017
Ronda enjoys wandering the high plateau of northwest Kansas where the Arikaree Breaks whisper late into the sunset and scream into blizzards and thunderstorms. She is District President and State Vice President for Kansas Authors Club. As a life coach, she specializes in working with those who have lost someone to homicide. She also provides care for young children, specializing with those who have special needs. Ronda has poetry in numerous online and hard copy publications as well as at The Smithsonian Institute Archives. Miller’s books of poetry include “Going Home: Poems from My Life, “MoonStain”, and soon to be released, “WaterSigns” (Meadowlark Books, June 2017). Find Ronda Miller online or at one of the many Midwest poetry events where she is featured and/or she is enjoying the poetry of others.
Monday Mar 20, 2017
Jennie Washburn, V.2017.3
Monday Mar 20, 2017
Monday Mar 20, 2017
Each month, the Transformational Jennie Washburn joins Talk With ME host, Marcia Epstein, for real life conversation. SelfCare, Fun, Expressing Expectations, Getting Involved in Community, & Goodness. Jennie is a Licensed Esthetician & a member of Spiritual Entrepreneurs, Pryor Transformation, Shift 2 Degrees, Lawrence Women’s Network, & One Hundred Good Women. She also enjoys being onstage, including as a two-time contestant in Transformations, a charity gala. Find Jennie at the annual 100 Good Women Clothing Exchange, hopefully at Mic Drop for Willow Domestic Violence Center, & at https://skincarebyjennie.net
Saturday Mar 18, 2017
Julie Unruh, Writer & Activist
Saturday Mar 18, 2017
Saturday Mar 18, 2017
Photos, journals, and poetry ARE memories, for people who have experienced brain trauma or other memory disorders.. Writer Julie Unruh is one of those people. Julie and partner Oliver A. Hall co-founded Global Green Publications, producing books and films. March 2017 they released the book “Silence,” with poetry & photography by Julie, plus additional photos by Oliver. Julie is also the author of “Vegetable Garden: A True Story,” an illustrated story of Julie’s recovery since her brain injury sustained in a car crash while on a family trip. Julie Unruh’s books are available by contacting her through www.facebook.com/julie.unruh.7
Tuesday Mar 14, 2017
Matt Galletta, Writer of Poetry & More
Tuesday Mar 14, 2017
Tuesday Mar 14, 2017
Matt lives in upstate New York with his wife and daughter. A collection of his poems, The Ship Is Sinking, is available from Epic Rites Press. His fiction and poetry have appeared in a variety of places, both print and online. Yep, that about covers it. Well, to clarify… “upstate New York,” it’s the Albany area. And unrelated to writing: he gardens, occasionally makes a batch of homebrew, & he’s been known to mow the lawn with a scythe. So listen, laugh, & hear some awesome poetry. Then follow Matt at twitter.com/MattGalletta Find out more at www.MattGalletta.com
Monday Mar 13, 2017
Misti Rainwater-Lites, Writer & Visual Artist
Monday Mar 13, 2017
Monday Mar 13, 2017
Misti is the author of Bullshit Rodeo, on Epic Rites Press, and several other novels & poetry collections. Misti’s most recent chapbook is No Guns No Knives No Disco Biscuits, creative nonfiction flash published in 2016 by DevilHouse Press. Misti resides in rural Texas with her ex-husband and their son. Signed copies of Misti’s books and her original art are available via PayPal Roxixmas@gmail.com Follow her art blog at http://dondeestaeldiscochupacabra.blogspot.com
Thursday Mar 09, 2017
Kevin Rabas & Dennis Etzel, Jr., Writers & Friends
Thursday Mar 09, 2017
Thursday Mar 09, 2017
Dennis Etzel, Jr. lives with Carrie and the boys in Topeka, Kansas where he teaches English at Washburn University. He has an MFA from The University of Kansas, &an MA & Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies from KS State U. He has two chapbooks, The Sum of Two Mothers (ELJ Publications 2013) and My Graphic Novel (Kattywompus Press 2015), a poetic memoir My Secret Wars of 1984 (BlazeVOX 2015), and Fast-Food Sonnets (Coal City Review Press 2016). His work has appeared in Denver Quarterly, Indiana Review, BlazeVOX, Fact-Simile, 1913: a journal of poetic forms, 3:AM, Tarpaulin Sky, DIAGRAM, and others. He is a TALK Scholar for the Kansas Humanities Council and leads poetry workshops in various Kansas spaces. Please feel free to connect with him at dennisetzeljr.com www.DennisEtzelJr.com & http://DennisEtzelJr.blogspot.com
Saturday Mar 04, 2017
Julio Montalvo Valentin, Poet-Publisher
Saturday Mar 04, 2017
Saturday Mar 04, 2017
Julio is the author of two chapbooks, Don’t Give up the Ship & Ship Lost. He is an editor and founder of CWP Collective Press < www.cwp-press.com >, which also runs a Podcast called The Process http://www.thinktwiceradio.com/cringers/cringers.html He is a Blogger for Plurality Press http://www.pluralitypress.com/julio-valentin Julio is also an editor for Mutata Re, Erie Community College literary journal. He has been a featured reader from New Jersey to New Mexico and many a town in between. Julio has two forthcoming chapbooks in 2017, Ships and Giggles and Craigslist Diaries. He was recently published in an anthology called Recession in Neverland, The Le Mot Juste, and is currently revitalizing Buffalo State College's original literary magazine, Portrait. Julio is also a reluctant heart who’ll be reading at the April 2017 Kansas City Throw-down. Follow Julio's adventures at www.facebook.com/CringeWorthyPoetsCollective
Friday Mar 03, 2017
Diane Silver: Writer & Political Activist
Friday Mar 03, 2017
Friday Mar 03, 2017
Diane Silver is a writer, political activist, & spiritual seeker who speaks about hope & an atheist’s faith to a variety of audiences. She has served as communications director for a candidate for Congress, a press secretary in a gubernatorial campaign, championed equality for LGBTQ people in bright red Kansas, & helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for two Midwestern universities. Her writings have appeared in Ms., Salon.com, The Progressive, & many other venues.
Diane talks about her new book Your Daily Shot of Hope: Meditations for an Age of Despair, exploring the lived reality of hope, an emotion that both powers & heals. Hope provides us with the fuel we need to transform ourselves and our world, but in these unsettling times, hope can be difficult to find. Diane discusses a path to hope that is one part mindfulness, one part humor, and one part affirmation and audacity. As far as Diane is concerned, real hope provides room to grieve and acknowledges pain. Real hope recognizes challenges even as it thumbs its nose at the conventional wisdom that claims we can’t succeed.
Your Daily Shot of Hope: Meditations for an Age of Despair is available from Diane & at Amazon. Follow Diane Silver at www.HopeAndPolitics.com & www.DianeSilver.net
Thursday Mar 02, 2017
Jillian Armstrong, Dancer-Choreographer-Student
Thursday Mar 02, 2017
Thursday Mar 02, 2017
Jillian is Co-Producer, with Emily Holloman, of the dance performance, Elementum Show on March 10-11, 2017 at Kansas University. Jillian is currently a student of Dance at KU, heading toward a career as a Choreographer. She has studied both dance & tumbling since the age of 5; and has many years experience teaching these arts. The Elementum Show is a set of dances celebrating what is important in different people’s lives, in honor & memory of loved ones who have died of suicide, or who are struggling. The messages: you are not alone, it is ok to feel, it is ok to move on, and it is ok to focus on the positives, even as one who is grieving. Learn more at www.facebook.com/ElementumShow
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
Taurean LaCharles, Actor, V.2017, No.2
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
Taurean is a native of Lawrence, KS and a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied classical theatre. As an androgynous gay African-American male, Taurean has known discrimination throughout his life. Taurean and host Marcia Epstein engage in a lively conversation about Activism in Oscars Speeches & Films; Danger from Gender & Other Stereotypes; #LoveWins. Follow Taurean at www.facebook.com/Taurean.LaCharles