Poetry Reading

Please join us as we present an evening of poetry with four distinct voices.

The exciting lineup features Lancaster poets Arlene Geller, Lisa Munson, Le Hinton, and current Lancaster Poet Laureate Dana Kinsey! Learn more about our poets below.

Registration is helpful, but walk-ins are always welcome!

Poet/lyricist Arlene (Arlo) Geller has been fascinated with words from a young age. Two poetry collections, The Earth Claims Her and Hear Her Voice, were published in 2023. Her poetry has also appeared in Tiny Seed Journal, Tiferet Journal, White Enso, and other literary journals and anthologies. Poetry Takes Flight, her collaboration with artist April Zay, integrates her poetry with the delicate art of Origami and découpage. Collaborations with composers include commissioned lyrics, such as River Song, featured in the world premiere of I Rise: Women in Song at Lehigh University and since performed in numerous national and international locations. Learn more at arlenegeller.com.

Lisa J. Munson is a prize-winning poet and co-editor of the poetry journal Fledgling Rag (pub. Iris G. Press). Her poem “the next storm” received an Honorable Mention in the 2024 PA Poetry Society’s (PPS) 75th Anniversary Ars Poetica Poetry Competition. Her work has appeared in Tony Israel’s photo exhibit “Living Roots, Artists for Climate Action” in Lancaster, PA, MiPOesias, The Delaware Poetry Review, Cape Gazette, Haggard and Halloo, and Amaranth. She has been an adjudicator for the World Artists Experiences’ Writing Project and Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition as well as a featured reader in the South-Central Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic areas. During her tenure in Maryland, she established and ran the reading series Poetry in the Park in Severna Park.

Le Hinton is the author of seven poetry collections including Elegies for an Empire (Iris G. Press, 2023). His work has been widely published and can be found in The Best American Poetry 2014, Pleiades, the Baltimore Review, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, the Summerset Review, and outside Penn Medicine Park, incorporated into Derek Parker’s sculpture Common Thread. He is the founder and co-editor of the poetry journal Fledgling Rag. His work in the South-Central Pennsylvania poetry community has been consistent and ongoing. He has been recognized for this work and his poetry with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. 

Dana Kinsey, Lancaster City Poet Laureate, is a spoken word artist, actor, director, teacher, and freelance writer. Her work is published in Fledgling Rag, SWWIM, SoFloPoJo, ONE ART, The Champagne Room, Anti-Heroin Chic, Wild Roof Journal, Equinox, Drunk Monkeys, The Ravens Perch, Passengers, and more. Dana's play, WaterRise, was produced at the Gene Frankel Theatre as a stage play & a short film produced by Sagesse Productions. Her chapbook, Mixtape Venus, is published by I. Giraffe Press. Visit wordsbyDK.com.