Last month I had the exciting opportunity of reading at WORD bookstore in Jersey City with my friends and colleagues from the Hobart Festival of Women Writers. One of my very best friends, Sue Jin Chang, came out to support me and took me out for a drink at Barcade to calm my pre-reading jitters. I was, after all, reading with highly esteemed writers whom I admire.
Poet and cofounder of the Hobart Festival of Women Writers, Cheryl Clarke, PhD, emceed the reading.
Cofounder of the Hobart Festival of Women Writers, Breena Clarke read from her novel Angels Make Their Hope Here.
E. J. Antonio, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at last year’s festival, read her powerful poetry.
J. P. Howard, who hosts the Women Writers in Bloom Poetry Salon, read her poetry.
Evie Shockley performed her poetry, including a provocative piece on the recent events in McKinney.
It being a reading featuring women authors, I decided to go the feminist route and read a selection from Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” about the woman who was a catalyst for On the Road.
Sue Jin — whom you may remember from this jazz outing for peace and her mix Music and Poetry for On the Road — took these photographs of me.
And here is a video of me reading a snippet!
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 
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