Robert Cording has published nine collections of poems, the most recent of which are Only So Far and Without My Asking. A new book on poetry, the bible and metaphor, Finding the World’s Fullness, is out from Slant. He has received two NEAs in poetry and has won a Pushcart Prize in poetry. His poems have appeared in such publications as The Georgia Review, Southern Review, Poetry, Hudson Review, Kenyon Review, The Common, Agni, New Ohio Review, Orion, and Best American Poetry, 2018. 

Jerry Howard, who was scheduled to read in March 2019, passed away suddenly on Nov. 14, 2019, and Andy Weil's memorial reading was to take place last March but was canceled due to COVID. Jerry was born and raised in Hartford from a family who has been in Connecticut for 350 years. He was a graduate of Hartford High and UConn, and served in the U.S. Marines, stationed in Japan. He resided both in West Hartford and Key West and was founder of Howard Financial Corporation, an investment advisory company. He was a member of the Faxon Poets, the Key West Poetry Guild and Key West Writers Group, and his poems have appeared in their anthologies. He was the Poet of the Month in Key West each January for three years. In his own words, “For me poetry is a part of each day. It is like breathing and the natural sharing of yourself.” Poet Andy Weil will read a selection of Jerry's poems. 

Andy Weil is a performance poet/humorist and 2018 First Place winner of The Altrusa International Poetry Contest (CT chapter). He is the founder/facilitator of "Senior Voices-Expressing Yourself Through Poetry" workshops held in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Florida, and was a close friend of Jerry Howard. 

Open Mic follows.