Women Writers and Artists Matrix Reading in Saratoga

Our good friend Kelly de la Rocha sent us the following announcement regarding a special reading coming up on this Sunday in Saratoga featuring poets from the Women Writers and Artists Matrix.

The Women Writers and Artists Matrix will present a poetry reading entitled A Feast of Words: Readings about Food and Other Delicious Subjects, from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at the Beekman Street Artists’ Co-Op, 79 Beekman Street, Saratoga Springs.

Featured poets include: Marilyn Zembo Day, Leslie Neustadt, Kelly de la Rocha, Dorothy Randall Gray, Sandra Balint, Diana Domingo, Kittie Bintz, Lesley Tabor, and Judith Prest

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in conjunction with the Saratoga Arts Fest. Refreshments will be served.

Among the readers are several women who participated in a WomanWords workshop entitled “A Dinner Party of Our Own,” based on the historic feminist installation by Judy Chicago, “The Dinner Party,” which is now on permanent exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Some of the place settings created at the WW event, honoring women of achievement, will be on display during the readings.

Marilyn Zembo Day, founder and facilitator of the WomanWords collective, has had poetry, fiction and nonfiction published in  journals, magazines and newspapers. One of her major passions is organizing venues in which women’s creativity can thrive, their voices be heard. Marilyn is a collage/mixed media artist who is forever wishing she had more time and space for visual art.  wmnwords@nycap.rr.com.

Leslie Neustadt, a retired attorney, began writing creatively with WomanWords. She is a member of the International Women’s Writers Guild and the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. Her poetry and essays have been published in many journals, magazines and anthologies. Several of her essays have aired on local public radio. Leslie pursues a wide variety of expressive arts.

Kelly de la Rocha started playing with words at the age of six months and hasn’t stopped since. A freelance writer and editor, a poet, a mom and a missionary, she draws inspiration from her mission work, family, nature and her inner child. She is currently working on a book on short-term volunteering opportunities. Join in her adventures by “liking” her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TimeShareVolunteers.

Dorothy Randall Gray is the best-selling author of Soul Between the Lines: Freeing Your Creative Spirit Through Writing(Avon/HarperCollins), as well as six other books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Her writings have been published in numerous anthologies and periodicals, and performed in theatrical productions. Dorothy is an acclaimed writing teacher and coach, former NYU faculty member and founder of the Heartland Institute for Transformation. She will be reading from her new book of poetry, "Too Shy Black Girl.”   DRGheartland@aol.com

Sandra Balint is a member of the International Women’s Guild and the Women Writers and Artists Matrix. She is a past recipient of the Womens Studies Writing Award from the College of Saint Rose. Through the Moon Gate: Reflections of a Martial Artist, published in 2011, is her first book of poetry.

Diana Domingo is a writer, singer, composer and performer. She began writing poetry and fictional accounts of her life in her teens when many of her friends would copy her stories to give to their boyfriends, passing them off as their own. Her college thesis covered projecting and integrating one’s flaws and ugliness through creative expression. Diana keeps busy with her work as a voice coach.

Kittie Bintz‘s passions include both art and writing. She has taught art for over 30 years, and her own artwork has been exhibited at the Perella Gallery and at many FOVAPA (Friends of the Visual and Performing Arts) festivals in the Mohawk Valley. Kittie has been writing and creating art with the women of WomanWords for over five years.

Lesley Tabor is a writer, retired therapist, healthcare administrator, and an ongoing seeker of personal and cultural healing. She has published poems and essays in several anthologies, and self-published two poetry chapbooks. She journals for growth and healing, writes poetry for connection, and has written three novels (“Like squeezing toothpaste from a tube, hah!” she quips.)