Sean Thomas Dougherty & Ben Gulyas at Westside Bowl

🌟 Join us for a captivating night of poetry! 💬

The First Wednesday Reader Series invites you to an inspiring reading featuring notable poets Sean Thomas Dougherty from Erie and Ben Gulyas from Cleveland. This event will take place on Wednesday, April 1, at 19:00 at the Westside Bowl located at 2617 Mahoning Ave, Youngstown, OH 44509-2334.

📚 Co-hosted by Erin Stubbs, the evening will also feature an open mic session following the readings, so bring your poetic musings! The event will be held in the Trophy Room downstairs (access via stairs only).

👂 ASL interpretation will be provided by Meagan Albani.

About the Poets:

• Sean Thomas Dougherty is an acclaimed poet with works such as Death Prefers the Minor Keys and The Dead are Everywhere Telling Us Things, the latter winning the 2021 Jacar Books Prize. His book, The Second O of Sorrow, not only earned him the Housatonic Book Award but was also a co-winner of the Paterson Poetry Prize.
• Ben Gulyas, hailing from South Euclid, seeks to transform poetry into tangible experiences, often weaving themes of nature into his work, such as seeds, birds, and moon atlases.

🔮 Mark Your Calendars for Future Readings: 2026 Lineup

• May 6: Catherine Gammon, Abby Vandiver
• June 3: Philip Brady, Jacqueline Marino
• July 1: Meredith Doench, Erin Flanagan
• August 5: Becca J.R. Lachman, Renée Nicholson, Rebecca Moon Ruark
• September 2: Nancy Krygowski, Jane McCafferty
• October 7: Diane Kendig, Erica Manto Paulson
• November 4: William Breeze, E.F. Schraeder
• December 2: Theresa Gottl Brightman, Steve Brightman

✨ Support for this event comes from POP! Art Books Culture.

We can't wait to see you there! 📖