Despite several location changes, the basement of the Wick Poetry Center was filled with people ready to hear local authors Brian Brodeur and Diana Leuptow read their chapbooks “Local Fauna” and “Little Nest,” as part of the Wick Reading series on Thursday.

Both read from their Kent State University Press Published chapbooks as well as other material.

Brodeur, who was the first to read that evening, commented on the Wick Poetry Center.

“I hope all of the undergraduate and graduate students know how good you have it … I feel like I’m in poetry land,” he said.

Brodeur gave each poem an introduction prior to reciting, ranging from dramatic narratives about Bernie Madoff and the I-70 strangler to sonnets about personal experiences. These introductions were met with laughs and other feedback from the audience.

Brodeur, author of “Natural Causes” and “Other Latitudes,” has also written the chapbook “So the Night Cannot Go on without Us.” He is an assistant professor of English at Indiana University East.

Following Brodeur was Leuptow, who gave the audience some personal insight into her poems by explaining her rationale and ideas. She also discussed what it was like to put together a chapbook and how to organize works of poetry.

“You set up some problems and then you go about solving those problems,” Leuptow said.

Leuptow has been published in FIELD, Arion, Beloit Poetry Journal, and The Stinging Fly. She is the recipient of a 2014 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council.

After the readings concluded, the audience members shared their thoughts.

“(Brian) was a really animated reader, but still seemed really approachable,”  said Seth Murray, a junior english major and student worker at the Wick Poetry Center.  

Olivia is an administration reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].