FRANCISCO ARAGÓN The author of the poetry collection, Puerta del Sol (Bilingual Press). His work has appeared in a range of anthologies and journals both print and web-based. He directs Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institue for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
(DOWNTOWN) OMAHA LIT FEST Nationally renowned novelist Timothy Schaffert is also the founder and director of the (downtown) omaha lit fest. The most recent of his three novels, “Devils in the Sugar Shop,” was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice and his “Singing and Dancing Daughters of God” was the work chosen for the Omaha Public Library’s Omaha Reads: One Book/ One City program in 2007. His panel discussion, Cover Me: Authors and Designers Discuss the Art of Book Cover Design will feature area authors and literary professionals in a conversation on the intersection of visual art and literature with a special emphasis on the role of cover art in the world of publishing. Schaffert is also the director of the Nebraska Summer Writer’s Conference and contributing editor for the literary journal Prairie Schooner.
THE EPICENE FURIES Emphasizing the power of the spoken word in language-driven performances, the women poets, playwrights and scholars of The Epicene Furies are as entertaining as they are enthralling. Conspiring Texts will have them delivering the speeches of Barack Obama as epic poetry. Experience the debut of Conspiring Texts before the troupe takes this and other works to the sidewalks of Denver during the Democratic National Convention this August. The Epicene Furies’ participation in Bemis08 was coordinated by group member Katie F.S., a veteran of the National Poetry Slam competition and director/ensemble member of Spoken Words at the inaugural New Ways/New Works Festival at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She can be found most Wednesday nights at Mick’s Music and Bar in Benson where she hosts a poetry event.
OMAHA PUBLIC LIBRARY Storytelling, the most ancient of all endeavors in the arts, comes to life in an interactive experience coordinated by the Omaha Public Library and led by Dorothy Bockerman of OOPS, the Organization for the Purpose of Storytelling. Bockerman is a retired educator and past president of OOPS, whose storytelling events allow all people to find their voices. The event is being organized by Omaha Public Library staffers Mary J. Mollner and April Earl, both longtime community advocates for the appreciation of storytelling and the joy of reading.
