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Arts center puts poetry scene on display
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MONROE - Tap in to your inner poet 7 p.m. Thursday, and find out what's happening in the Midwest poetry scene when the Monroe Arts Center presents Poetry on Tap.

Along with complimentary brews courtesy of Minhas Craft Brewery, this event gives poetry hounds the opportunity to relax, unwind in the intimacy of the Lazy Mutt Lounge, while listening to award-winning Wisconsin poets Charles Cantrell, Richard Roe, Mark Kraushaar, Richard Merelman, and Mark Kliewer as they each read and discuss their poetic works.

Cantrell's poems have appeared in many journals, such as Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, and The Literary Review. He taught English for several years at Madison Area Technical College.

This is Richard Roe's second visit to Monroe as a participant in the Poetry on Tap event. His poems have been published in Rosebud, Sow's Ear Review, Free Verse, Wisconsin Poets' Calendar, Hummingbird, Beauty/Truth, and Fox Cry, and served as co-editor of the 2008 Wisconsin Poets' Calendar. He is also member of Prairie Fire Poetry Quartet.

Mark Kraushaar is the recipient of Poetry Northwest's Richard Hugo Award and two Wisconsin Arts Board awards for poetry and has been a finalist for both the Walt Whitman Award and the May Swenson Prize. His poems are widely published and have been anthologized in Best American Poetry 2006; Motion: American Sports Poems; Visiting Walt: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Walt Whitman; and Who Are the Rich and Where Do They Live. His collection of poetry titled Falling Brick Kills Local Man was a winner of the 2009 Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry.

Richard Merelman was born and raised in Washington, D. C. He taught political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1969-2001. He published books and articles on culture and politics, political psychology, and race and ethnic politics, and has written poetry since 2001.

Mark Kliewer is a pediatric and diagnostic radiologist at the UW Hospital and Clinics, and a faculty member of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. He is a member of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, and has participated in numerous Madison poetry readings and the Winter Festival of Poets Invitational Reading Series.

This event is free and open to the public, and reservations or tickets are not required. Doors to this event and the Lazy Mutt Lounge will open at 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons may use the Minhas front office entrance located at 1208 14th Avenue, or the gift shop entrance on 13th Street. For information, call (608) 325-5700 or online at www.monroeartscenter.com.