Events
Readings I. Poetry at Artifact (formerly Poetry Night at Sitwell’s), II. Scroll down to see Ellen’s reading events
Read Pauletta Hansel’s article about Cincinnati’s literary scene in the Cincinnati Review (hint: Poetry Night at Sitwell’s gets a mention!):
Attention: URBAN ARTIFACT is our new landing place! Thank you to Scott Hand for welcoming us into their space in Northside. We are heretofore and thusly titled “Poetry at Artifact.” Check out our upcoming events below. https://artifactbeer.com/pages/our-story
I. Poetry at Artifact:
The 1st Tuesday of every month, 7-8:30ish p.m. ET. Featured poets and (always) an Open Mic at Urban Artifact, 1660 Blue Rock St, Cincinnati, OH 45223
***We are currently in-person at Urban Artifact!***
***Visit our FB page to check for the Zoom registration link IF we need to go virtual or hybrid again:
https://www.facebook.com/poetryatartifact/
Upcoming Poetry at Artifact features:
2026:
Jan. 6th: –Stefan Washburn (Awaken) & Mechelle Kelly (Fresh)
Feb. 3rd: Iain Haley Pollock (All the Possible Bodies) & Blanche Saffron Kabengele
March 3rd: Karen George, Taunja Thomson, Donelle Dreese, and Nancy Jentsch
April 7th: Tributaria reading
May 5th: All Open Mic
June 2nd: Jonie McIntire & Bonnie Proudfoot
July 7th: Elena Estella Green & Lynne Schmidt
Aug. 4th: Samantha Renee Ratcliffe & TBA
Sept.1st: Karen Schubert & Rikki Santer
Oct.6th:
Nov.3rd:
Dec. 1st: Pauletta Hansel
Past features at Sitwell’s/* Urban Artifact
2025:
-Dec.9th: Elaine Olund & Ecopoetics, featuring T. Bartlett, Chris Gutjahr, Meg Howes, Ashley Kay, Roberta Schultz, and Tina Westerkamp
-Nov.4th: Rosa Lane & Stephen Haven
-Oct. 7th: *Ben Kline &Michael C. Peterson (first features at Poetry at Artifact)
-Sept. 2nd: Jackie Kalbli & Barbara Minney
-August 5th: Alissa Sammarco & Manny Grimaldi
-July 1st: Christopher McCurry & Roberta Schultz
-June 3rd: Jessica Manack (Gastromythology) & Kim Jacobs-Beck
-May 6th: Sarah Catton & Bea Fields (rescheduled from Jan.)
-April 1st: Mike Olson & Karen George
-March 4th: Rita Coleman & Chuck Stringer
-Feb. 4th: Taylor Byas & Kay E. Bancroft
-Jan. 7th: Sarah Catton & Bea Fields canceled for a winter storm.
2024:
-Dec. 3rd: Paula Lambert & Susan Glassmeyer
-Nov. 5th: Lynne Schmidt (Unaccounted For Circles Of Hell, Dead Dog Poems, andGravity) & Kathleen Wade (Every Now Is a Yes).
-Oct. 1st: B. Elizabeth Beck (Dancing on the Page) & Christen Noel Kauffman (The Science of Things We Can Believe).
-Sept. 3rd: Wendy McVicker & Cathy Cultice Lentes
-August 6th: Pauletta Hansel & Kari Gunter-Seymour
-July 2nd: Nick Fury & Sol Stayonlit
-June 4th: Dianne Borsenik & Holly Brians Ragusa
-May 7th: All Open Mic!!
-April 2nd: Taylor Byas & Kay E. Bancroft Oh man! We had to cancel because of a tornado warning! We’ll give Taylor & Kay another try!
-March 5th: Sara More Wagner & Lisa Dordal
-February 6th, 2024: Susanna Lang & Joanne Greenway
-January 2nd, 2024: Casey Harloe, Lili Alimohammadi, & Sandra Riffler
-December 5th, 2023: Richard Hague (Continued Cases from Dos Madres Press)
– November 7th, 2023: Roberta Schultz(Asking Price )& Alissa Sammarco (Beyond the Dawn)
– October 3rd, 2023: Carolyn Grace (Grenadine and Other Love Affairs) & Eileen Trauth (Ordinary Time)
-September 5th, 2023: Dick Westheimer (A Sword in Both Hands) & Tom Strunk (Transfigurations)
-August 1st, 2023: Yasmin Kloth (Ancestry Unfinished: Poems of a Lost Generation) & Phoebe Reeves (Helen of Bikini and The Flame of Her Will)
-June 6th, 2023: Bonnie Proudfoot (Household Gods)Wendy McVicker (Poet Laureate Emeritus of Athens, OH)
-May 2nd, 2023: Concrete Wink (Rikki Santer, Sandra Feen, & Chuck Salmons)
-April 4th, 2023: All Open Mic to celebrate National Poetry Month!
-March 7th, 2023: Nancy Jentsch (Between the Rows) & Taunja Thomson
-February 7th, 2023:Megan Mary Moore (To Daughter A Devil) & Alexandra MacIntosh (Bowlfuls of Blue)
-January 3rd. 2023: Emily Rose Cole (Thunderhead) & B. Elizabeth Beck (Summer Tour Trilogy)
-December 6th, 2022: Yalie Saweda Kamara, Cincinnati’s Poet Laureate
-November 1st, 2022: Richard Westheimer & Chuck Stringer
-October 4th, 2022: John Burroughs, US Beat Poet Laureate
-September 6th, 2022: Laurel Chambers & Roberta Schultz
–August 2nd, 2022: Rae Hoffman Jager & Caroline Plasket
-July 5th, 2022: Mary Pierce Brosmer, Founder of Women Writing for a Change, & Naomi Joy Griswold
-June 7th, 2022: Pauletta Hansel (Heartbreak Tree from Madville Publishing) & Sara Moore Wagner (Tumbling After from Red Hen Press, and the upcoming Swan Wife from Cider Press Review)
-May 3rd, 2022: ALL OPEN MIC (to read poems written during National Poetry Month)
-April 5th, 2022: Quintin Collins (Claim Tickets from Stolen People & The Dandelion Speaks of Survival) & Chris L. Butler (Sacrilegious & Blerd: ’80s Baby ’90s Kid)
-March 1st, 2022: Teri Foltz (reads from her new book, The Trouble With Thinking)
-Feb.1st, 2022: Abby Wheeler (In The Roots) & Mistee St. Clair (This Morning is Different)–new chapbooks from Finishing Line Press
-January 4th, 2022: Gerry Grubbs & poets from The Hive (Yogesh Kadiyala, Bi-Mia Reid, John Cruze, Bev Champagne, & Hannah Peacock)
-Dec. 7th, 2021: Anders Carlson Wee
-Nov. 2nd, 2021: Manuel Iris, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Cincinnati
-Oct. 5th, 2021: Ellen Austin-Li & Erica Manto-Paulson read from their new chapbooks
-Sept. 7th, 2021: Karen George & Myrna Stone
-August 3rd, 2021: Jerry Judge & Roberta Schultz
-July 6th, 2021: Wendy McVicker, Poet Laureate of Athens, OH
-June 1st, 2021: Richard Hague
-May 4th, 2021: All Open Mic (to read poems composed during National Poetry Month)
-April 6th, 2021: Kamal Kimball
-March 2nd, 2021: Solstice grads Rebecca Connors & Lisa Charnock
-Feb. 2nd, 2021: Vernon Jackson
-Jan. 5th, 2021: Jen Davis & Elaine Olund
–Dec. 1st, 2020: Sherry Cook Stanforth, the Director of the Creative Writing Vision Program at Thomas More University, & students
–Nov. 3rd, 2020: Christine Wilson
-Oct. 6th, 2020: Christen Noel Kauffman & Sara Moore Wagner
-Sept. 1st, 2020: Ohio Poet Laureate & Ohio Poet of the Year, Kari Gunter-Seymour
-August 4th, 2020: All Open Mic
-July 7th, 2020: Katerina Stoykova of Accents Publishing
-June 2nd, 2020: Pauletta Hansel & Manuel Iris (BOTH recent Poet Laureates of Cincinnati)
-May 5th, 2020: ALL OPEN MIC to read our April National Poetry Month poems
-April 7th, 2020: Canceled!
-March 3rd, 2020: Nicholas Korn (reading from his Wild Sonnets) and Jason Martin
-Feb. 4th, 2020: Megan Mary Moore
-Jan.7th, 2020: Terri Alexzander & Joanne Greenway
-Dec. 2nd, 2019: Mark Flanigan & Jim Palmarini of Word of Mouth, Cinti
II. Ellen’s Readings:
Upcoming: (You can always see Ellen at Sitwell’s on the 1st Tuesday of every month!)
2026:
–January 9th at 7:30 p.m. ET: Ellen will read at The 2026 Solstice MFA Reading Series during its winter residency with Solstice faculty members Venise Berry & Jennifer Murvin in-person at the Arnow Campus Center, 131 Woodland Road, Auburndale, MA 02466. Get more info or register for the livestream link here: https://events.lasell.edu/event/solstice-mfa-january-2026-reading-series
–Jan. 28th, 6-7 p.m. CST: Ellen will be interviewed on Spofest’s virtual Muse’s Mic, hosted by Rick C. Christiansen. Zoom registration link to follow in early January.
–Feb. 20th, 7-9 p.m.: Incidental Pollen reading, followed by Q & A and a book signing at Women Writing for a Change (WWFaC), 6906 Plainfield Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45236
–Feb. 21st, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Ellen will facilitate a poetry workshop on writing in received form (tentative title: “A Formal Feeling Comes”) at WWFaC , address above. Register at https://www.womenwriting.org/ (*Direct link to followin January*)
Past:
2025:
2025:
– Jan. 11th, 7:30 p.m. ET: Ellen will read at The Solstice MFA Reading Series with Solstice Faculty member Laura Williams McCaffrey & Solstice Director Meg Kearney in-person at the Arnow Campus Center, 131 Woodland Road, Auburndale, MA 02466. Visit the Solstice MFA Reading Series Januaray 2025 on You-Tube to view the recording.
–Feb. 19th, 2025, 3-4 p.m. ET: Ellen will facilitate a FREE Virtual Mindful Poetry Moments with The Well! Opening Meditation led by The Well’s Director Stacy Sim’s. We’ll gain inspiration by looking at the poem “Achingly Beautiful How the Sky Blooms Umber At the End of the Day, Through the Canopy” by Gabrielle Calvocoressi. View the You-Tube recording of the Feb. 19th session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_hWdDTV4SY
2024:
–Saturday, October 26th, 7:30-9:30 pm: at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S Monument Ave, Hamilton, OH 45011, Ellen Austin-Li will read in person for SOS Art’s program “Contemplations on Democracy,” with Artists-in-Residence the Olea Ensemble.
–Sunday, October 27th, 3:00-5:00 pm: SOS Art’s program “Contemplations on Democracy” performance @ Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church (Social Hall), 103 William Howard Taft Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45219. **My poet & writer friend Elaine Olund read my poem!
-October 19th, 4-5:15 pm: Lit Youngstown group reading “Odes to Where We Live,” Spotlight Theater, Bliss Hall, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555.
–June 5th, 6 p.m.: Poetry at the/’tāb-əl/, Kenwick Table, 201 Owsley Ave, Lexington, KY 40502.
–February 28th, 7 p.m.: Peripatetic Poets featured reader (with Christine Wilson), Muse Cafe, 3018 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45211
–February 9th, 6-8 p.m.: The Solstice MFA Program AWP offsite reading at Made in KC, 1114 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City, MO 64105
–January 5th, 7 p.m.: Ellen read with Solstice MFA faculty members Venise Berry and Josh Neufeld at the Solstice MFA Reading Series at the Arnow Campus Center, Lasell University, 131 Woodland Ave., Auburndale, MA.
2023:
–Thursday, December 14th @ 7 p.m. ET- virtual reading with Sheila-Na-Gig’s Fall Issue contributors after Sandra Gill’s book launch.
–Friday, December 8, 7-9:00 p.m.- reader at the 12th Annual Solstice Poetry Reading, co-sponsored by Glen Helen and Tecumseh Land Trust. Vernet Ecological Center Auditorium, 400 Corry Street, near the Antioch College campus in Yellow Springs.
–November 28th, 6-8 p.m. – virtual launch for Volume 26 of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel: The Strange, Stranger, and Estranged Side of Appalachia.
–August 9th, 6 p.m.: participant in the Well’s Mindful Poetry Moments 2023 anthology (hybrid) reading at the Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St #1100, Cincinnati, OH
–June 11th, 2023, 7 pm: Participant in the Poet & Song Series https://raison3.com/poet-song-series reading of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel: Issue 25: Appalachia (Un)Masked) at The Falcon Theater 636 Monmouth St, Newport, KY 41071
–April 27th, 2023, 7 p.m.: feature at the Poet & Song Series @ The Falcon Theater 636 Monmouth St, Newport, KY 41071
–March 10th: Ellen participated in an AWP of-site reading with contributors to The Atticus Review & Barzakh Magazine at The Grumpy Bean, 910 Stewart St, Seattle, WA 98101
–January 13th, 7 p.m.: Ellen read with Solstice MFA faculty members Steven Huff & Amy Hoffman at the Solstice MFA Reading Series at the Arnow Campus Center, Lasell University, 131 Woodland Ave., Auburndale, MA
2022:
–Nov. 20th @ 6:30 p.m.: read as a contributor for the virtual launch of PMS&G Issue 25: Appalachia (Un)Masked.
–Oct. 6th at 7 p.m. EDT: Ellen Austin Li read with other contributing poets for the anthology, I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio’s Appalachian Voices, at Miami University, Hamilton, OH
– Oct. 8th, 7-8 p.m. EDT: Ellen read for SOS ART’s “Poems for Peace and Justice” at Essex Studio, 2511 Essex Pl, Cincinnati.
–October 11th at 6:30 p.m. EDT: Ellen was a featured reader at the Public Library of Cincinnati’s program “Every Leaf is a Flower” at the Clifton Branch Library, 3400 Brookline Ave, Cincinnati.
–August 17th @ 7 PM ET for the hybrid book launch of the Mindful Poetry 2022 anthology at The Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St #1100, Cincinnati, OH.
–July, episodes 1,3,&5: Ellen read seven of her published bee poems on Deep Overstock‘s podcast, Deep Overstock Fiction Podcast.
–June 30th, 8-10 PM virtual reading for Sheila-Na-Gig‘s summer issue launch.
-May 13th at 7 PM for Stone Canoe, Issue 16’s release at the Downtown Writer’s Center 340 Montgomery St, Syracuse, NY.
-May 25th at 6:30 PM for the release of Anthropocene: Poetry about Environment at Studio Kroner, 130 W. Fourth Street, Cincinnati, OH.
-April 10th, 2022, 1-4 PM: Price Hill Poetry Reading and Slam @ The Arco Cincinnati. 3301 Price Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45205
–March 16th, 2022, 6:30-8:30 PM ET: Book Launch for the Ohio’s Appalachian Voices’ anthology, I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing @ the Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St #1100, Cincinnati, OH.
–January 10th, 7:30 – 8:45 p.m. Graduate Student Reading: Cindy Abdalla, Elizabeth Adilman, Dean Raat, & Ellen Austin-Li. Each grad reads 15 min. (2 Fiction writers, 2 Poets)
2021:
–October 30th, 3-4:30 PM: Book Launch reading for Lockdown: Scenes from Early in the Pandemic (Finishing Line Press) with Erica Manto-Paulson (Hunger, FLP) and Karen George (Where Wind Tastes Like Pears, Dos Madres Press). Roebling Point Books: 306 Greenup St, Covington, KY 41011. **Outdoor, socially-distanced reading.**
– Oct. 5th, 2021: Virtual Book Launch (Lockdown: Scenes from Early in the Pandemic) @ Poetry Night at Sitwell’s with Erica Manto-Paulson (Hunger)
– Sat., July 24th, 2021: SOS Art Anthology, “2021 For a Better World.” Pendelton Art Annex, Cincinnati, OH
-Thursday, Feb. 8th, 2021: Launch reading for the Notebooks Collective
-Dec. 16th, 2020: Accents Book Club for upcoming issue of Literary Accents
2020:
-Sat., February 22nd, 2020: VDay at Women Writing for a Change
-Tues., Feb. 11th, 2020: Riparian reading @ Joseph Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati
2019:
– Tuesday, Dec. 3rd, 2019, 7-9 PM: Featured poet (Firefly from Finishing Line Press) alongside Leslie Clark (Driving in the Dark from FLP) @ Poetry Night @ Sitwell’s
-Sunday, Oct. 13th, 2019, 3-5 PM: Riparian book launch (Ohio River anthology), at Irish Heritage Center, 3905 Eastern Ave. Cincinnati
-Sunday, Nov. 3rd, 1-3 PM: Firefly reading and book-singing, along with Grace Curtis (Everything Gets Old) and Pamela Hirschler (What Lies Beneath) @ Roebling Point Books, Covington, KY.
– June 2nd, 2019, 4-6 pm: Firefly book launch. Poetry reading & book signing @ Women Writing for a Change, 6906 Plainfield Rd. 45236.
-June 25th, 2019, 7-9 pm: Firefly book signing—co-reading with Pauletta Hansel, as she reads from her new collection, Coal Town Photograph,
@ MOTR Pub, Cincinnati, 1345 Main St, 45202.
-May 22nd, 2019, 7-9 pm: Poetry @ Sitwell’s on Ludlow Ave. Featured poet with 6 other Cincinnati-area Poem-a-Day poets from April.
-April 24th, 2019, 7 pm: Greater Cincinnati Writer’s League celebrates National Poetry Month, Open Mic @ The Heritage on Madison Rd.
-April 11th, 2019, 7 pm: It’s National Poetry Month, featured reader @ The Hive: A Center for Contemplation, Art, and Action, 1662 Blue Rock Street
-March 12th, 2019, 7 pm: Inkwell, Open Mic @ Urban Artifact
-February 26th, 2019, 7 pm: Word of Mouth, Open Mic @ MOTR Pub
-February 12th, 2019, 7 pm: Inkwell, Open Mic @ Urban Artifact
-February 8th, 2019, 7 pm : V-Day @ Women Writing for a Change
-January 29th, 2019 7-9:30 pm: Word of Mouth, Open Mic @ MOTR Pub
-January 26th, 2019, 12-3 pm: A Festival of Words @ Arnold’s Bar & Grill
-January 9, 2019, 6:30 pm: All We Have in Common, poetry series of Cincinnati’s Poet Laureate @ Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County
2018:
-December 7, 2018: All We Have in Common, poetry series of Manuel Iris, Cincinnati’s poet laureate, @ The Mercantile Library, Cincinnati
-November 11, 2018: 915 Poetry Project, Southern Appalachia Writers’ Coop, reading from Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, Vol. 21, “Appalachia Acting Up,” @ 915 Pub & Grill, Ft. Thomas, KY.
-November 12, 2018: Inkwell, Open Mic & Reading Series, @ Urban Artifact
-Oct. 8, 2018: Inkwell, Open Mic & Reading Series, @ Urban Artifact
-September 10, 2018: Inkwell, Open Mic & Reading Series, @Urban Artifact
-September 7, 2018: All We Have in Common (Home) Open Mic, @ MyCincinnati Firehouse Performing Arts Center
-August 28, 2018: Word of Mouth, Open Mic & Feature Performance, Practice of Poetry Manuscript Class, @ MOTR Pub, Cincinnati.
-July 26, 2018: University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival Open Mic, @ Iowa City, IA
-July 20, 2018: Poetry Powerhouses, the Highlander Reading & Open Mic, @ Ft. Thomas Antique and Design Center, Ft. Thomas, KY
-June 11, 2018: Inkwell, Student Showcase Feature, @ Urban Artifact, Cinti
-May 27, 2018: One A Day, Featured Poets, @ Tillie’s Lounge, Northside, Cinti
-February 10, 2018: V-Day, Hometown Monologues, Rise Resist Roar, @Women Writing for a Change (WWFaC), Cincinnati.
-February 23rd, 2019: Judge for Poetry Out Loud, Southwest Region Semi-finals, Cincinnati, OH.
-June 10, 2017: SOS Art, For a Better World, Poems for Peace & Justice, @ Cincinnati Art Academy.
-April 30, 2017: Womens Way of Ohio-Kentucky, Salon featured reader, @ Women Writing for a Change, Cinti.
-March 13, 2017: Host & curator for feature reading @ Meaningful Mondays, Poets in the Courtyard, @ Arnold’s Bar & Grill, Cincinnati.
-February 11, 2017: V-Day, Hometown Monologues, @ WWFaC, Cinti.
-June, 2016: SOS Art, For a Better World, Poems for Peace & Justice, @ Cincinnati Art Academy.
-February 12, 2016: V-Day, Hometown Monologues, @ WWFaC, Cinti.
-February 2, 2016: Featured reader @ Meaningful Mondays, Women Poets in the Courtyard, @ Arnold’s Bar & Grill.
-June 6, 2015: SOS Art, For a Better World, Poems for Peace & Justice, @ Art Academy of Cincinnati.
-October, 2015: A Taste of Wine & Art, featured reader. WWFaC fundraiser @ Greenwich House Gallery in O’Bryonville, Cincinnati.
-February 7, 2015: V-Day, Hometown Monologues, @ WWFaC, Cinti.
-May, 2014: SOS Art, For a Better World, Poems for Peace & Justice, @ Art Academy of Cincinnati.
-2013-2016, Thursdays: frequent drop-in @ Queen City Poetry Slam, Open Mic, @ Rohs St. Cafe, Cincinnati.
Ellen Austin-Li 