Allegra Silberstein, Jean Biegun, and Naomi Janowitz

On the 1/4/23 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:

Dr. Andy’s first guest is first ever poet laureate of the city of Davis, Allegra Silberstein, who shares a bit about her new book Dancing with the Morning Breeze, followed by a poem. Poet Jean Biegun joins the show next to discuss catching a poem off-guard, spinning inspiration into language, and releasing her new book Hitchhikers to Eden, from which she shares a poem. Finally, Naomi Janowitz, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Davis, shares her expertise on the mystical origins of language across cultures and developing an abstract theory to compare them.

Allegra Silberstein was the first poet laureate of the City of Davis. Originally from Wisconsin, Silberstein has lived in California since 1963. In addition to three chapbooks of poetry, she has been widely published in print journals and online publications. Her first book of poems, West of Angels, was published by Cold River Press in March of 2015, and in 2022, Kelsay Books published her new chapbook, Dancing with the Morning Breeze.

Jean Biegun began writing in 2000, a few years before retiring from a career in special education with the Chicago Public Schools. Her poems have appeared in over 100 journals, anthologies, art exhibits, and even in a gumball machine at a state poetry convention. In 2022, she received the Eastern Iowa Review’s Christine Award for Best Prose Poem of 2021. Her work was included in Best of Mad Swirl 2021 Anthology, and her chapbook Hitchhikers to Eden was published by Kelsay Books. Gyroscope Review recently nominated her poem “Edge Effects” for a Pushcart Prize. 

Naomi Janowitz is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California-Davis. She is the author of Poetics of Ascent (1989) and numerous articles on the religions of late antiquity. She received her B.A. in Religious Studies (with Honors) from Brown University, her M.A. in History of Religions at Divinity School, University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. from the Department of Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago, with her dissertation The Poetics of Religion.

Naomi Janowitz will discuss her 2022 book Acts of Interpretation: Ancient Religious Semiotic Ideologies and their Modern Echoes Wednesday, January 11th, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at I-House in Davis. Find out more at https://dhi.ucdavis.edu/events/book-chat-naomi-janowitz-acts-interpretation-2022.

Allegra Silberstein will read with Jean Biegun at the Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis on January 5th, 2023.

Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.