Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky., presents a performance of Our Beloved Community: poetry, story and song by Richard Hague, Pauletta Hansel, Michael Henson, and Desirae Hosley created in collaboration with Over-the-Rhine residents. Join us on Monday, March 18 from noon to 12:50 p.m. in Thomas More College’s Theatre. This event is free and open to the public.

Commissioned by Over-the-Rhine Community Housing in 2011 Our Beloved Community was inspired by a series of conversations and writing workshops the four writers conducted with Over-the-Rhine residents. It offers a textured gaze at the changing culture/history of one of Cincinnati’s oldest and most controversial neighborhoods, Over-the-Rhine. Our Beloved Community is part of TMC Theater Department’s Bite Sized Theatre Series and TMC English Department’s Creative Writing Vision program, supported in part by the John A. Schroth Family Charitable Trust, PNC Bank, trustee.

Our Beloved Community is written and performed by:

• Richard Hague, facilitator of Thomas More College’s Community of Creative Writers series, most recent book is Recent Extinctions: New & Selected Poems.
• Pauletta Hansel, Writer-in-Residence at Thomas More College, an author of four books of poetry including The Lives We Live in Houses and What I Did There.
• Michael Henson, author of the novella Tommy Perdue, and six other books of poetry and prose, many set in Over-the-Rhine, where he lived and worked for many years.
• Desirae Hosley, a performance poet (“The Silent Poet”) who has led cultural programs at the Urban Appalachian Council and elsewhere.

Excerpts from Our Beloved Community:

“Seek out the forgotten that they shall be remembered. Seek out the hungry and the thirsty that they shall teach us to live.” from Our Beloved Community

“I have lived in Over-the-Rhine and I have had the richest experience.  There are stories of greatness.. Everyone I’ve crossed paths with has enriched my life.” from Our Beloved Community

“We are living in a mix, a clash, a confrontation, an encounter of cultures. There’s a lack of connection with the past. We’re living somebody else’s dream; we’re not living our own.” from  Our Beloved Community

“And, smiling next to you—someone with a pen and paper, this one, right here, and you are giving his words your brilliant street-lit courage.” from Our Beloved Community

Tickets go on sale to public Feb. 23

Thomas More College presents Love Letters by A. R. Gurney Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. Guest artists Gary Sandy and D. Lynn Meyers will perform this Pulitzer Prize-nominated play that details the charming, 50-year relationship between two friends, Andrew and Melissa.

Sandy is best known for his role as Andy Travis in the classic television series WKRP in Cincinnati. He has made countless TV guest and feature film appearances, and performed in over 100 theatrical productions. Of late, he has focused his talent on award-winning radio drama. Meyers is a graduate of Thomas More College and is in her 15^th season as artistic director of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. She has directed over 50 world and regional premieres, Off-Broadway and dozens of audio books. She has cast for several networks and film companies and served as the location casting director for the Academy Award-winning Shawshank Redemption.

Performances will be held at the Thomas More College Theatre at 333 Thomas More Parkway in Crestview Hills, Ky. General admission tickets are $10 and will be available to the public Feb. 23. For more information, contact Jim Nelson at james.nelson@thomasmore.edu or (859) 344-3421 or Alana Ghent at alana.ghent@thomasmore.edu or (859) 344-3664.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.thomasmore.edu/theatre.

Send in Copies of Your Love Letters to Be Included in the Set!
Fresh off of Valentine’s Day, Thomas More College invites the public to send in copies of their treasured love letters to be included in the set of Love Letters.  The letters will be strung as a curtain backdrop during the weekend of March 22-23. Additionally, the letters will be incorporated into a visual display so attendees can read them. Send in your love letter by email to alana.ghent@thomasmore.edu or by mail: Thomas More Theatre Dept./LOVE LETTERS, 333 Thomas More Parkway, Crestview Hills, Ky., 41017 by March 15. (Submissions cannot be returned.)

Dr. Paul Tenkotte will give a free public talk, “More Than Beer, Brats, and Polka: German-Americans in Northern Kentucky after World War I,” at 7:00 on Sunday, February 24 in the Science Lecture Hall at Thomas More College, 333 Thomas More Parkway, Crestview Hills, KY. German-Americans have experienced a roller coaster ride from the anti-German hysteria of World War I to the resurrection of German pride in the 1970s. Join us to explore the myths and realities of their experience in Northern Kentucky regarding persecution, loss, reinvention, and Disneyfication.

Dr. Tenkotte is professor of History at Northern Kentucky University and coeditor of The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky (2009) and Cincinnati: The Queen City (2013). The presentation is sponsored by Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and History Club. For further information, contact John Cimprich at (859)-344-3394.

Hosted at Thomas More College, the “Eat and Create” series invites the community to join TMC staff, faculty and students 12:00-12:50 p.m. the fourth Monday of the month this spring semester in the Chancellor’s Room (located in the Administration Building) for some creative fun. Bring pen and paper and an open mind. Brownbag lunch is optional!

Monday, February 25: Poetry Meets Art: Come for a little cross-pollination between writing and visual art in this session focused on “ekphrastic” poetry, a fancy term for poetry inspired by art—in this case, thought-provoking pieces by our TMC art students.

Monday, March 25: Praise Poetry: Poetry as gratitude. Poetry as prayer. Join us on the final Monday of Lent as we give thanks for the things of this world and beyond. Offered in partnership with Campus Ministry.

Monday, April 22: Writing for All Ages: Participants will include young writers from a local middle school! More information TBA.

Monthly Eat and Creates are led by TMC’s Writer in Residence Pauletta Hansel, a Kentucky-born writer whose most recent books of poetry include The Lives We Live in Houses (Wind Publications 2011) and What I Did There (Dos Madres Press 2011). She has led creative writing programs for Grailville in Loveland, Ohio, the Urban Appalachian Council and at schools and community settings regionally and beyond.

TMC’s Creative Writing Vision Program is supported by a grant from the John A. Schroth Family Charitable Trust, PNC Bank, Trustee. For more information about Thomas More College’ Creative Writing Vision Program, visit www.thomasmore.edu.

Thomas More College, located in Crestview Hills, Ky., will host the 20^th Annual Caden Blincoe Outloud Festival on Sunday, February 17, 2013. The event will take place in the Science Lecture Hall, located in the Science Building on campus, from 2-4 p.m.  The annual event honors the late Boone County freelance writer and literacy advocate Caden Blincoe and emphasizes the importance of reading works outloud for audiences to hear. Blincoe’s passion for celebrating the literary arts has persisted as a Thomas More College tradition, held each year in February in honor of the birthday of its patron saint, Thomas More.

Cathy Smith Bowers, who is North Carolina’s former Poet Laureate, and Charlie Hughes, who is a Kentuckian author and founder of Wind Publications, will share their works at the event. Writers from the Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative, including Thomas More’s new Writer-in-Residence, Pauletta Hansel, will be present to read pieces from the latest edition of Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel. Other cooperative members scheduled to participate include Richard Hague, Rhonda Pettit, Sherry Cook Stanforth, Michael Henson and Scott Goebel.

Dr. Sherry Cook Stanforth, who helps organize the event, commented, “The readings represent a rich variety of voices and topics and the mood recalls that of a homecoming, with authors and community members laughing and sharing conversation. In a world heavily defined by virtual encounters, this one is about as real as it gets—unforgettable writing, heritage music, genuine fellowship and delicious food.”

Before the festival begins, around 1:45 p.m., light refreshments will be served and Sunset Dawn, an Appalachian folk musical group, will perform several pieces.  The featured authors will be available for to sign books and to teach participants more about their publications and interests. The event is free and open to the public.

For questions about this year’s Outloud Festival, contact Dr. Sherry Cook Stanforth at sherry.stanforth@thomasmore.edu or visit thomasmore.edu.