PGHwrites: Free Association Reading Series with Laura Jackson, Dani LaMorte, Lauren Shapiro & James Tasillo

The Free Association Reading series, founded by Pat Hart and Mark Nieson, showcases local writers sharing newly written work and works-in-progress. This month’s reading spotlights writers Laura Jackson, Dani LaMorte, Lauren Shapiro, and James Tasillo. The reading will be followed by a public reception for all performers and attendees to mingle and build community.

“Free Association readings began in 2016 for established and emerging writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction,” explains Pat. “As the name implies, Free Association is not affiliated with a university or writing program but is for all, for established and emerging writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.”

Pat was inspired to start this series after watching a low-quality recording of a Flannery O’Connor reading on YouTube. “You couldn’t even really see Flannery, but the audience reaction was gripping; they laughed with her when it was funny, and they went dead silent at the horror. It was such a powerful experience for the audience and for her as well,” said Pat.

Pat is no stranger to the fact that writing can be very isolating. She knows how hard it is to tell what works and what doesn’t. With Flannery O’Connor’s reading in mind, the Free Association Reading Series seemed like the natural choice to help bring community—and fun—back into writing.

About the Writers:

Laura Jackson is an environmental writer and humorist. A lifelong West Virginian, she holds an MFA from Chatham University in Pittsburgh. Her work has appeared in many places, including Terrain, Brevity, Hippocampus, Still, and Bayou Magazine, and she writes regularly for Wonderful West Virginia and West Virginia Living magazines. Laura’s essay, “The Imperfect Aquarist,” was listed as notable in Best American Essays 2021. She lives in Wheeling, WV, where she rescues homeless animals and spends time with her sons on mountains and in rivers.

Dani Lamorte is a Pittsburgh-based artist working in performance, video, and photography. He has performed and shown work at the Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), University of Arizona Museum of Art (Tucson), Human Resources (Los Angeles), Whippersnapper Gallery (Toronto), Studio Beluga (Montreal), and Mattress Factory (Pittsburgh). Dani’s recent writing has been featured in the Journal of Critical Library & Information Studies, Edge Effects, Sundog Lit, Smithsonian Collections Blog, and Cactus Heart. Since 2012, Dani has performed as ‘Maria Denolt,’ a self-titled art critic, lecturer, and ‘lofty person.’ Through guerrilla tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, short video tours of exhibitions, and a one-minute podcast series, Maria humorously mixes art fact with art fiction to level critiques of both museums and their detractors. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Arts degree in Library & Information Science from the University of Arizona. Dani’s first book of essays, tentatively titled Of Fakes, is under contract with the University Press of Kentucky.

Lauren Shapiro is a feminist writer exploring the concept of the quotidian, specifically the ways in which motherhood, a political consciousness, and the rich distractions of American culture influence the way people lead and understand their lives. Her research also centers on tonal ranges within poetry and the degree to which humor and certain syntactical choices can engender emotional reactions and intellectual thought in the reader. Lauren’s newer work explores themes related to mental illness, grief, and public spectacle. Arena (CSU Poetry Center Open Book Competition, Editor’s Choice, published 2020) uses the narrative thread of a father’s several attempts at suicide to engage with the process of grieving as well as the idea of death and trauma as spectacle. She is also the author of a collection of poetry, Easy Math (Sarabande, 2013), which was the winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize and the Debut-litzer Prize for Poetry, as well as a chapbook of poems, Yo-Yo Logic (DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press, 2011). With Kevin González, Lauren co-edited The New Census: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry  (Rescue Press, 2013).

James (Jim) Tasillo is a native Pittsburgher who, after a stint as a starving writer and photographer, found himself working in the flooring distribution business. For a decade, Jim was a regular storyteller at The Moth Story Slams and Grand Slams and is a regular at Story Club. His poetry and essays have been published in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His chapbook “Po-ems” was produced at The Soapbox in Philadelphia, PA by The Citizen Hydra Project. The Gulf Tower Forecasts Rain: Pittsburgh Poems includes one of Jim’s poems. Jim has read his poetry at The Free Association Reading Series at Alphabet City. He is overjoyed by his children, grandchildren, his incredible wife, and is grateful for the storytellers, poets, and musicians that enliven our world and those who listen.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto, is open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Please visit OpenTable or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.