Jerry T. Johnson

Featuring Laurel S. Peterson, Van Hartman, and Tarn Granucci

Special guest host Jerry T. Johnson

Plus open mic

21+

$3 suggested donation. Two drink min, alcoholic or non.

Laurel S. Peterson is an English professor at Norwalk Community College and her poetry has been published in many literary journals. She has two chapbooks, That’s the Way the Music Sounds (Finishing Line Press) and Talking to the Mirror (Last Automat Press). Her full length collection, Do You Expect Your Art to Answer? (Futurecycle Press) was released in January 2017. She has also written a mystery novel, Shadow Notes, which is available through Barking Rain Press. She currently serves as the town of Norwalk, Connecticut’s poet laureate.

Van Hartmann is a Professor of English at Manhattanville College. He received his B.A. in History from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals.  He has published two books of poetry (Shiva Dancing, Texture Press, 2007, and Riptide, Texture Press, 2016) and a chapbook (Between What Is and What Is Not, The Last Automat Press, 2010). He lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with his wife, Laurel Peterson.

Tarn Granucci, Poet Laureate of Wallingford, has enjoyed a lifetime of exposure to classical and contemporary literature, poetry, and most of the arts. He comes from a family of artists and has studied writing with highly regarded poets such as Robert Bly.. He is a member of Saturday Mornings with Poetry, a group that meets at the Wallingford Public Library. 

Jerry T. Johnson is a new writer to the Connecticut/New York area. Jerry began writing in the early 1990’s, had one poem published and then he took a 21 year hiatus to pursue corporate work overseas. In the spring of 2013, Jerry restarted his writing career. Since then his poetry has appeared in several literary journals and he published his first self-published poetry chapbook, Good Morning New Year!  Jerry recently published his second self-published chapbook of haikus titled Morning to Morning.  In addition to his written work, Jerry does poetry readings in a variety of venues in Connecticut and New York. Jerry currently lives in Danbury, Connecticut with his wife Raye.