Poetry workshop at arts center.

LUDINGTON — West Shore Words Poetry Celebration is a series of events that invites everyone to revel in the powerful, fun and vital act of reading, writing and listening to poetry. The ongoing celebration includes a visiting writer’s workshop with Detroit poet John Rybicki, opportunities to create and submit your own poems for publication to West Shore Words, a lively night with spoken word duo Kinetic Affect on March 5 at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts, as well as a community open mic and visual poetry displays throughout April of 2015.  For further details on upcoming events, like West Shore Words on Facebook.

John Rybicki is offering a 2-3 hour poetry workshop for budding poets on Saturday November 8 at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts, Room 202 beginning at 10 a.m. Participation is limited and the cost is $40 in advance. Participant fee is payable via check to Ludington Writers c/o Ludington Area Center for the Arts, 107 South Harrison, Ludington MI 49431 by November 1, 2014. Limited participation is first come first served. Provide a phone and email address for contact. Excess applicants will be notified and their checks will be returned.

John Rybicki was born and raised in Detroit.  He is the author of three poetry collections, When All the World is Old (Lookout Books), We Bed Down Into Water (Northwestern University Press) and Traveling at High Speeds (New Issues Poetry and Prose).  His poems have appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, the American Poetry Review, Ecotone, and Bomb, among many others, and have been reprinted in Best American Poetry and The Pushcart Prize anthologies. He teaches poetry writing in various Detroit high schools through InsideOut Literary Arts Project; he also works with ‘Wings of Hope’ Hospice teaching poetry to children who have been through a trauma or loss. These children have since been published in Time Magazine for Kids, Skipping Stones, the North American Review, and the Pushcart Prize anthology, and others.

West Shore Words is a collaborative effort by Ludington Area Center for the Arts, Ludington Writers, and the West Shore Literacy Network to enhance awareness and appreciation of poetry in our greater community.