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 and science writer, humorist, and native West Virginian. Her debut essay collection, DEEP & WILD: On Mountains, Opossums, & Finding Your Way in West Virginia won the Autumn House Press 2023 Nonfiction Prize and was named the 2025 book of the year by the Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia. Her work has appeared in places like Terrain.org, Brevity, Hippocampus, and Still. She was listed as “notable” by Best American Essays and nominated for a Pushcart Prize and a John Burroughs Nature Writing Award. Laura holds an MFA from Chatham University, writes regularly for Wonderful West Virginia magazine, and lives in Wheeling with her sons and a West Virginia Brown Dog.

Dani Lamorte is a Pittsburgh-based artist who writes, performs, and makes photographic images. His first book, Nobody’s Psychic, was published by the University Press of Kentucky in fall 2025.

Lauren Shapiro is the author of BRID (Veliz Books, 2024), Arena (CSU Poetry Center, 2020), listed as a top poetry book of 2020 in The New York Times, and Easy Math (Sarabande, 2013), which was the winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize and the Debut-litzer Prize for Poetry. She has also published Waking in the Sahara (Eulalia Books, 2024), a translation of the Puerto Rican poet Zaira Pacheco’s book Despertar en el Sahara. She is an Associate Professor in the English Department at Carnegie Mellon University, where she runs the Creative Writing Program.

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.