The Hemingway’s Summer Poetry Series was founded by Pittsburgh poet Jimmy Cvetic in 1975 (or thereabouts). Hosted and curated by Joan Bauer and Kristofer Collins, the series brings together local and nationally known authors every Tuesday night from May through July. Readings begin at 8:00 PM sharp with featured readers followed by an open mic. The Hemingway’s Poetry Series website features audio recordings of all of the Hemingway’s Poetry Series readings, and you can follow the series on Facebook and Twitter as well. For events listings, check the Littsburgh calendar!
Kristofer Collins: When did you first become aware of the Hemingway’s series and when did you start attending? How did you meet Jimmy [Cvetic]? How did you become his partner in the series?
Joan Bauer: I began attending the Hemingway’s series around 2000 when I moved back to Pittsburgh from LA. I had just started writing poetry again and I got to know Jimmy over time… but didn’t know him well until 2007 or 2008 when I volunteered to help him with the series. First, I asked if I could help him curate July, and the next year, June and July. He agreed and we became a team. By 2009 I was co-curating the full series with him. Jimmy was seriously devoted to poetry, but he was busy with so many community projects and for many years he was working full-time as a police officer. Not light duty. I have no idea how he kept the series going all that time on his own. It’s a remarkable story.
Joan: Kris, what are your first memories of Hemingway’s?
Kris: The first time I read at Hemingway’s was actually back in the mid-1990s. If I’m remembering correctly it was a reading unofficially associated with Jimmy’s series, but the prestige of getting to read there in the back room colored the whole evening. A group of us from Pitt’s writing dept. were reading together and we were all really hyped up about it. Our names were in the Post-Gazette (or was it the Pittsburgh Press?) and everything. A pretty cool thing for such a young group of writers.
Jimmy invited me to read at the series not too long after he read my collection King Everything. It was a real honor. Then he just kept bringing me back, so I figured I must be doing something right.
Standing: Richard Gegick, Don Wentworth, Kristofer Collins, John Grochalski & John Korn
Seated: Angele Ellis, Celeste Gainey, Joan Bauer & Jimmy Cvetic
Photo: Don Staricka
Kris: What were those early readings like that you attended? How did Jimmy organize the evenings? What was the vibe like in the room?
Joan: For background: The Hemingway’s Summer Series began in 1975 or thereabouts, as a complement to the academic year readings organized by Pitt grad students and overseen by Bruce Dobler. That “academic” Sept – April weekly series moved to another venue over time, but the weekly summer series (May – July) that Jimmy started is what continues to this day.
In the readings I attended–starting in 2000–the vibe was most often relaxed, engaging, and fun. Jimmy was a big-concept guy and organized big, ambitious events. With the Hemingway’s Series, he was more casual. He’d have the names of the poets in his pocket and publicity was mostly word of mouth. Above all, Jimmy was truly welcoming and supportive. He listened deeply and seriously and was eager to hear new voices. Every week, there was an open mic which Jimmy invariably called his favorite part of the evening.
Joan: What, in your view, makes for a great night of poetry?
Kris: I’ve always tried to create a laid-back and inclusive atmosphere at the readings I’ve run. I like to keep things loose and fun. The general perception of poetry is still as something very serious, even dour, and while heavy and important subject matter comes with the territory of the artform there’s no excuse for boring… or for castigating an audience. I’ve had the great pleasure of curating the season finales of the Hemingway’s series the last few years and I think one of the reasons you and Jimmy gave me the gig was the spirit of fun and fellowship the assembled poets shared on those nights with the audience. In my mind I was just throwing a big poetry party and everybody was invited.
Kris: Did you make any changes to the series, or tweak anything, when you came on-board? If so, what were the changes and why did you feel they were necessary?
Joan: Once I began co-curating with Jimmy, we did make some changes.
We’d brainstorm in December or January, then I’d put together a full schedule so we had it ready months in advance. I’d initiated the Pittsburgh Poetry E-blast, so I had emails for lots of poets and friends of poetry. That made it easy to publicize the series. I also distributed printed biographical notes each week, and we agreed to expand the number of those featured readers. These days, even more voices can be heard every summer. In 2011, my partner Don Staricka began audio taping all our readings and created a blog that features a poetry archive with bio notes and photographs so anyone with computer access can listen in… and the poets themselves can download and share their own readings. Jimmy was really happy with these changes. He was such a great host and made the evenings especially entertaining and engaging. And often unpredictable.
Joan: I think we both see poetry as part of community-building. In what sense, is that true for you?
Kris: Poetry readings function very much like a concert or an art opening. It’s an open space for the artist and audience to engage with and communicate with one another. It’s a very intimate thing to read a poem to a room full of people. E. M. Forster really said it best, my job as a reader is to “only connect”. If the reader is connecting, the audience is engaged and real communication is happening… then we’ve all had a real experience together. It’s become so easy to lose our sense of connection to one another. Poetry pushes back against that kind of isolation.
Kris: When Jimmy got sick, was ending the series ever a consideration? Was there a plan in place should Jimmy no longer be able to be a part of the series? And moving forward, how would you like to see the series continue to grow?
Joan: Jimmy and I never considered ending the series. We knew he had a life-limiting illness. We had a plan: that when the time came, I would invite you to co-host and curate with me. Fortunately, you agreed. Jimmy had a vision for the series and whatever ways we grow the series will, we hope, be in the spirit of that vision.
I especially like readings in which poets from different backgrounds and orientations read together, often for the first time. You ran a very successful series in the past and between us, we know a lot of people and are eager to bring new voices into the series.
We have several theme-based readings this year, a Save the Planet reading and a Stonewall Uprising reading in the schedule. I like the idea of bringing in a few out-of-town poets each year, but keeping the series Pittsburgh-based. There are still many fine Pittsburgh poets who for one reason or another have never read in this series, and we want to provide a space where those voices can be heard. So we’ll see how this evolves. And of course, the open mic stays.
Joan: Do you have some favorite memories of Jimmy you’d like to share?
Kris: I once saw Jimmy led into a reading he was giving by a full marching band. While I can’t promise a band will be at Hemingway’s, that spirit is something I definitely want to maintain this summer.
Connect with the Hemingway’s Poetry Series on Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to check the Littsburgh calendar for events listings!
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