On Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009,
Don Ron Books will host the first in a series of Fall/Winter Philly readings at the
Moonstone Arts Center in Philadelphia.
Moonstone Arts Center is the book-centered space on the second floor of the old
Robin’s Books and run by Larry Robin, owner of the venerable but now
sadly defunct store.
The night will be hosted by
Philly Fiction editors
Josh McIlvain and
Christopher Munden. Four authors featured in
Philly Fiction 2 will read selections from their stories:
Beth Goldner, author of “Ambrosia”;
Jan Kargulewicz, author of “A Comorant Dries its Wings”;
Liz Kerr, author of “The Summer of Dark Shadows”; and
Annie Wilson, author of “Hoagie.”
Beth Goldner was born and raised in King of Prussia, when Woolworth’s still sold parakeets and shotguns. Her fondest memories are of going to the Franklin Institute with her dad. She loved running through the worn-out giant heart that smelled of bacteria, urine, and candy wrappers. As a true filly from Philly, she still has her elephant key from the zoo. She is the author of
Wake: Stories (Counterpoint Press, 2003) and
The Number We End Up With (Counterpoint Press, 2005). In her story, “
Ambrosia,” a Main Line car salesman finds his wife dead from a fall in the bathroom. Instead of calling the police, he joins the local block party. He wants to see his neighbors try his wife's ambrosia one last time and to confront the man who had been sleeping with his wife.
Jan Kargulewicz is a full-time sociology student and a resident of Roxborough. Before returning to school Jan worked as a bartender, television salesman, math tutor, freelance journalist, and reggae musician and wrote fiction in his spare time. An amateur urban geographer, he is available for free walking tours of center city. Jan is currently at work on his first nonfiction book. In his “
A Cormorant Dries its Wings” a young slacker couple spend their days acting as prospective buyers of condos when they should be out looking for jobs. When the girl realizes she's pregnant it becomes clear just how lost and helpless the pair are.
Liz Kerr, a Philadelphia native, holds dual Irish and American citizenship. She is a registered nurse on the Heart Transplant Team at a Philadelphia hospital and is pursuing a master’s degree in English. She is a cofounder of Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund, a non-profit dedicated to building public skateboard parks in Philadelphia, and is an officer in the Ancient Order of Hibernians. She lives with her family in Jenkintown. In “
The Summer of Dark Shadows,” set during the Vietnam War, Kerr portrays a large family leaving the city for the shore and trying to survive the tensions of having a son in the war, a rebellious daughter who often indulges in the vices she criticizes, a father who sells illegal cigarettes to help pay the family’s bills, and a young girl who sees life through the lens of bubble gum music and the vampire soap opera, Dark Shadows.
Annie Wilson came to Philly in 2004 to study dance and three-dollar hoagies. Since attending University of the Arts, she has performed in the
Fringe and Live Arts festivals, and has directed an evening-length site-specific performance,
in memory of the deathtrap. She is delighted to be living in the Italian Market section of a city she loves to bits. “
Hoagie” is a modern love story about a hoagie-loving plumber who discovers a South Philly corner deli that makes an
orgasmically good Italian hoagie. The hoagies take over his life, and his attempts to break his sexual sandwich fixation only end up unleashing all of his life's unhappiness.
Since its recent release,
Philly Fiction 2 has already received some rave reviews, and this event is sure to be a great Philadelphia-themed time. In addition to the story excerpts, authors will reveal their favorite "strange" Philadelphia spots and be on-hand to sign copies of the acclaimed anthology.
Details:
Philly Fiction 2 reading
Moonstone Arts Center (Robins Books)
110A South 13th Street, Phila., 19127
www.moonstoneartscenter.org
Wednesday, September 23, 7pm
Email phillyfiction@yahoo.com or call 215-735-9600 for more information.
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