BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:33@lindacarneygoodrich.com DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250410T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250410T210000 DTSTAMP:20250323T144053Z URL:https://lindacarneygoodrich.com/events/2nd-thursday-poetry-readings-ma gdalena-gomez-linda-carney-goodrich-u-meleni-mhlaba-adebo/ SUMMARY:2nd Thursday Poetry Readings: Magdalena Gómez\, Linda Carney-Goodr ich\, U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, April 10\, 2025\, 7 – 9 pm\nFeaturing Magdalena G ómez\, Linda Carney-Goodrich\, U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo\nMagdalena Gómez\, Poet Laureate of Springfield\, MA (2019-2022) and an Academy of American P oets Laureate Fellow (2021-2022) has been a cultural worker since 1976. He r memoir noir\, Mi’ja\, received the 2024 International Latino Book Awar d\, in the autobiography category. In 2019 she received the Latinas 50 Plu s Literature Award at Fordham University and the Latinx Excellence on the Hill Award from the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus of MA at the State House. Her solo play on iconoclastic Puerto Rican labor leader\, activist \, feminist and journalist Luisa Capetillo\, (October 28\, 1879 – April 10\, 1922) is included in The Routledge Companion to Latine Theatre and Pe rformance (2024). Ms. Gómez has been a volunteer writer for An African Am erican Point of View for over fourteen years. She was the Co-founder and A rtistic Director of Springfield’s first intergenerational Latinx theater \, Teatro V!da and the youth open mic series\, Ign!te the M!c – from 200 6 – 2020. She also initiated and helped launch the first public LGBTQIA 2S+ open mic series in Western Massachusetts at the Bing Arts Center. She is currently working on the sequel to her memoir\, a new collection of poe try\, and a new multi-media solo show based on her memoir. Ms. Gómez is c urrently a Commissioner with the Massachusetts Commission in the Status of Women for Hampden County and a Trustee with the Community Foundation of W estern Massachusetts. www.mijamemoir.com\n\nLinda Carney-Goodrich\,is a w riter and teacher from Boston. She is the author of Dot Girl (Nixes Mate B ooks\, 2024) which was a finalist for New England Poetry Club’s 2024 She ila Margaret Motton Book Prize. Her work has appeared in Lily Poetry Revie w\, The MacGuffin\, Literary Mama\, Anti-Heroin Chic\, Muddy River\, Gyros cope Review\, Wordgathering Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature\, among others. Her story\, “Park Street Station” won third prize in the 2024 Boston in 100 Words Contest and her poems have been displayed at Bos ton City Hall as part of the Boston Mayor’s Poetry Program. Her one pers on shows include The Secret Childhood Diary of a Welfare Mother and My Lif e in Barbie. Linda has a Masters from Harvard Graduate School of Education and has taught people of all ages and backgrounds for over two decades. S he is the owner of Home Scholars of Boston (https://www.homescholarsofbost on.com/) and the Poetry Coordinator at the MAC. Linda also coordinates and hosts open mics and readings at other venues such as The Switch Coop in H yde Park and Athan’s Bakery in Brookline. https://lindacarneygoodrich.co m/\n\nU-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo is a Boston-based\, globally facing Zimbabwean -American poet\, author\, and educator whose work explores identity\, memo ry\, and social change. Her poetry collection\, Soul Psalms (She Writes Pr ess\, 2016)\, was praised by Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis as “beautifully tran sparent.” Her writing is also featured in the New York TimesBestseller U nder the Skin by Linda Villarosa. In 2025\, she will release an audio edit ion of Soul Psalms\, further expanding her literary reach. Mhlaba-Adebo’ s work has been showcased in publications\, festivals\, and exhibitions wo rldwide. A Brother Thomas Fellow\, she was recognized by Boston Mayor Mich elle Wu for her contributions to arts\, wellness\, and inclusivity. Her po etic documentary\, Reclamation: This is My Country\, This is My Land\, pre miered at Boston’s We Create Festival in 2024\, delving into themes of g rief\, ancestral ties\, and land reclamation. As founder of The Maoko Proj ect\, she merges art\, education\, and healing. She also serves on the boa rd of Mass Poetry\, Zimbabwe Poets Society. A sample of collaborators she has worked with include Castle of Our Skins\, Danza Organica\, Center for New Americans and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston\, fostering dialogue betw een Boston’s literary and artistic communities and the African diaspora. In 2024\, she was awarded the Lantern Art Space Fellowship in Lagos\, Nig eria\, a Goethe-Institut Nigeria and Sahara Center residency\, leading to The Sinmi Bench Project\, a public art initiative securing ₦3.2 million in funding for expansion. https://u-meleni.com ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lindacarneygoodrich.com/wp-content/uploa ds/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-23-at-10.37.01 AM.png CATEGORIES:Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250309T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR