The Writers Guild at Bloomington is an association of writers committed to mutual support and the professional development of their craft. Its mission is to foster interaction among writers as well as other artists, educators, and the Monroe County public, thereby enhancing the vibrancy of the arts and the writing community in the greater Bloomington area.
Events Calendar
WFIU is doing a series of broad/podcasts celebrating Jenny Kander with three special “Jenny” Poets Weave episodes.
The first was December 15 (listen to here: https://indianapublicmedia.org/poetsweave/jelly-donuts.php).
Upcoming episodes will air March 30 and May 11.
Haiku Writing Contest
In honor of National Poetry Month (April) and National Haiku Poetry Day (April 17), MCPL is hosting an adult haiku writing challenge! Haiku submissions may be about any topic or subject, but must be original and adhere to the 5+7+5 rule.
Hiromi Yoshida is the judge.
Find out more about the contest: https://mcpl.info/geninfo/haiku-writing-contest
Welcome to the corner of Maple and Vine, where every day is 1955!
Constellation Stage & Screen presents
Maple and Vine
March 27 – April 13
at the Constellation Playhouse in downtown Bloomington
Katha and Ryu have become allergic to their 21st-century lives. When they meet a charismatic man from a community of 1950s re-enactors, they decide to forsake cell phones and DoorDash for cigarettes and Tupperware parties. But after moving to this compulsively authentic world, Katha and Ryu are surprised by what their new neighbors – and they themselves – are willing to sacrifice for happiness.
For showtimes, tickets, and more information, visit https://seeconstellation.org/mainstage/maple-and-vine
*Featuring Pay What You Will Thursdays*
The Writers Guild at Bloomington presents
Last Sunday Poetry
Featuring Brooke Nicole Plummer, Hiromi Yoshida, and Tony Brewer, with Joan Hawkins hosting.
The Bloomington leg of the Tony Brewer & Brooke Nicole Plummer spoken word tour, this special edition of LSP includes book launch readings for Hiromi Yoshida’s *Green Roses Bloom for Icarus* (Roadside Press, 2024), and Tony Brewer’s *Good Job, Lightning* (Stubborn Mule Press, 2024).
TONY BREWER is a poet and audio artist from Bloomington, Indiana, where he is executive director of the Spoken Word Stage at the 4th Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts, and co-producer of the Writers Guild Spoken Word Series and the Urban Deer Performance Series. He has published 13 books and chapbooks, including most recently Good Job, Lightning (Stubborn Mule Press, 2024) and Water Witch (Pure Sleeze Press, 2025). Tony has been offering Poetry On Demand at coffeehouses, museums, cemeteries, churches, bars, and art and music festivals for over fifteen years, and he is a frequent collaborator with experimental music and field recording ensemble ORTET. Tony was named Indiana’s 2024 Literary Champion by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards. More at linktr.ee/TonyBrewer.
Author of two full-length poetry collections and five poetry chapbooks, HIROMI YOSHIDA is a finalist for the New Women’s Voices Poetry Prize, and a semifinalist for the Gerald Cable Book Award. She is the Poetry Editor of Flying Island Journal and serves on the board of directors for the Writers Guild at Bloomington, while coordinating the Guild’s Last Sunday Poetry reading series. She is also the editor of Stormwash: Environmental Poems (The Grind Stone, 2024), and her poems have been included in the INverse Poetry Archive and nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and Best of the Net.
BROOKE NICOLE PLUMMER is a writer and musician from the Midwest region. Her first full-length collection of poems is Flyover, Compiled Nothings (independently published, November 2018), and her second poetry chapbook is Shaggy Frog (Alien Buddha Press, January 2021). As a performance artist, she goes by “The Rotten Fruit”.
For more info: https://wolfen25.net/blog-posts/
Join the Writers Guild for
Voices of the Incarcerated, the First Sunday Prose Reading Series
Nine writers will be featured, their work read by friends and workshop facilitators, in collaboration with Women Writing for a Change.
Come early and sign up for Open Mic!
April 6, 2025, 4pm to 5:30pm
Juniper Art Gallery and Cafe, 615 W. 5th Street
Image by BIZkettE1 on Freepik
Apples in Winter
a play by Jennifer Fawcett
Flour. Sugar. Love. In this one woman show, Miriam pours all of these ingredients and more into the last apple pie she will ever bake for her son, Robert. But all is not what it seems in Miriam’s world, as she excavates truths too chilling to face—until now.
Directed by Samwell Rose
Featuring Zilia Balkansky-Sellés
Free admission—seats are limited and available first come, first serve!
To reserve in advance, email samroseg@iu.edu.
3 Shows Only!
Friday April 11th 7:30 pm . Saturday April 12th 7:30 pm . Sunday April 13th 2:00 pm
Run Time Approximately 80 minutes
Where:
C138 (Test Kitchen), Read Hall
Indiana University Campus, Bloomington, IN
Join Tony Brewer, the 2024 Indiana Humanities Literary Champion, for this workshop on how to write poems for special occasions. Age 18 and up.
Bloomington’s own Tony Brewer won the 2024 Indiana Humanities Literary Champion prize! He will be leading a workshop on how to write poetry for special occasions and celebrate National Poetry Month. Come prepared to write, explore poetry, and hear more from Tony about the process of writing, editing, and selecting poems.
Register & info: https://calendar.mcpl.info/event/12920623
The Writers Guild at Bloomington presents
Last Sunday Poetry & Open Mic
featuring Tracy Mishkin and Joseph Kerschbaum
The Writers Guild at Bloomington celebrates National Poetry Month by presenting Last Sunday Poetry, featuring Tracy Mishkin and Joseph Kerschbaum.
TRACY MISHKIN‘s first full-length poetry book is The Way The Salt Falls (Main Street Rag Press, 2024). Holder of an MFA degree in Creative Writing from Butler University, she has also published three chapbooks: I Almost Didn’t Make It to McDonald’s, The Night I Quit Flossing, and This is Still Life. She lives in Indianapolis with her family and fewer than ten cats and dogs.
JOSEPH KERSCHBAUM’s publications include Midnight Sunrise (Main Street Rag Press, 2024), Mirror Box (Main St Rag Press, 2020), and Distant Shores of a Split Second (Louisiana Literature Press, 2018). His recent work has appeared in Reunion: The Dallas Review, Hamilton Stone Review, The Inflectionist Review, and Main Street Rag. Joseph is a poetry reader for Flying Island Journal. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana with his family.
7-8:30 PM (EST) 27 April 2025
Morgenstern Books & Cafe (849 S Auto Mall Rd, Bloomington IN 47401)