The Troy-Hayner Cultural Center, 301 W. Main Street will begin the 2016 Poetry Series on Thursday, February 25 with a presentation by Cathryn Essinger. The 7:30 p.m. program is free and open to the public. Cathryn Essinger is the author of three prize winning books of poetry: Desk in the Elephant House, My Dog Does Not Read Plato, and What I Know About Innocence. Her work has appeared in a wide variety of journals, from Midwest Gothic to The Southern Review, The Antioch Review and Poetry. She is a retired Professor of English at Edison State Community College and a member of The Greenville Poets, a small but well published poetry group that has been together for over twenty-five years.

The second program in the series will take place March 24 at 7:30 and will feature poet Lianne Spidel and artist Ann Loveland. They will share a collaborative project entitled “Pairings.”

In April the Hayner program will be a reading by the winners of the sixth annual poetry competition. The competition is open to students and adults who are citizens of Miami or surrounding counties in Ohio. The submitted works must be original, never published and never read at a Hayner poetry reading. Poets who have been featured presenters at Hayner readings are ineligible. Winners of past competition may submit again. There is a $5.00 non-refundable entry fee and cash prizes are awarded in each age group category. The deadline for entries is April 1, 2016. A prospectus with complete contest rules is available on the Hayner website Troy-Hayner.org or may be obtained by calling 339-0457 or stopping by the Hayner.

This is the fourteenth season of Poetry Readings at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center. The series is coordinated by David Petreman, Professor of Modern Languages at Wright State University.