Location
Eureka, California 95501
About this event
This is going to be a legendary workshop and show!
Ollie & Zach are some of the fastest rising, hottest writers and performers in the country, and you can see why. These are two of the most talented poets in the US, bar none.
The dynamic wordplay, analogies as timeless as Redwoods, and the lightening crack wit they both have will be on full display on the beautiful Synapsis Union stage (1675 Union - Eureka). While poetry is meant to move you, these poets do so on another level; at times in your face, always tender, raw, and honest, these are poets to be witnessed & remembered. Both with work from online starmaker, Button Poetry, you know it will pack a punch. Both have gone viral with Button, and surely will again. Both speak with passion and compassion, a gift few are able to handle with such deft precision. There are no words to describe the roller coaster of emotions these wonderful poets are able to deliver, all with kindness, love, and artistry the underlying message.
With few California shows on their tour, don't miss your chance to see these once in a generation talents in our own community!
They will be leading a poetry workshop starting at 4pm, which is open to all ages, and all experience levels.
There is a $10 suggested donation for both the show and workshop, tho no one will be turned away for a lack of funds, all proceeds go to the Redwood Poetry & Events' Rural Poetry Project that will provide, supply, & build free roadside poetry libraries in rural areas around our community, and lead workshops in those areas. )
Bios:
Ollie Schminkey is a non-binary transgender poet/musician/artist living in St. Paul, MN. They have spent the past decade coaching, mentoring, teaching classes, and running workshops for poets. They facilitate, direct, and host many organizations, including a weekly writing workshop called Well-Placed Commas, which serves primarily queer and trans writers. Their work has been featured everywhere from THEM to Upworthy, and they’ve performed poems in 19 states, with their work garnering over 3 million views on YouTube. They are the author of four chapbooks and two full-length collections: Where I Dry the Flowers (Button Poetry, 2024) and Dead Dad Jokes (Button Poetry, 2021), which was shortlisted for both the Midwest Independent Publishers Association and the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize. They were the winner of the 2019 Button Poetry Video contest, and they currently teach poetry courses through Writers.com. They are the founder and director of Midwest Poetry Mash-Up, a national slam poetry tournament that just completed a successful second year. When they’re not writing and performing poetry, they spend their time making creepy+cute pottery under the name Sick Kitty Ceramics. You can find them touring nationally, making music, or playing with their cat Pete, who is always trying to eat things he shouldn’t.
Zach Goldberg is a writer, educator, and arts organizer from Durham, NC. His debut poetry collection I’d Rather Be Destroyed is forthcoming from Button Poetry in 2024. He is the author of the chapbook XV (Nomadic Press, 2020) and the winner of the 2021 Button Poetry Chapbook Contest. His work can be found or is forthcoming in AGNI, Pleiades, RHINO, and elsewhere. Zach has represented Wesleyan University and Berkeley, CA at various national and regional poetry slam tournaments. He is a proud co-founder of BuckSlam MN and a volunteer at Boneshaker Books. He lives on occupied Dakota land in Minneapolis, MN.
