Sheila-Na-Gig Editions Triple Book Launch

An afternoon of poetry at Beyond Baroque.

Join us for an afternoon in celebration of the launch of three new books by Elya Braden, Betsy Mars, and Penelope Moffet under Sheila-Na-Gig Editions!

In Dragonfly Puzzle Box, Elya Braden’s luminous poems shine a healing light into the spaces of a life lived in pieces. From an early marriage born in hope and dissolved in divorce, a motherhood forged in the shadow of a flawed mother, to the rediscovery of self in the many-mirrored hall of relationships, each poem is a fragment of strength, a portrait of resilience. Like a kintsugi bowl, these poems celebrate the cracks, and answer the question: how does one create a life of beauty and purpose out of what was broken? The poet’s words are the molten gold connecting the past, mending the present, and illuminating a future of creativity, joy, and love.

Rue Obscure excavates the poet’s foundational relationships, poem by poem mining life in an attempt to comprehend corporality. It asks what connects us, here and eternally, while looking at love’s various manifestations and imperfections. With humor and compassion, Mars observes the manifold ways that humans strive, cope, and seek consolation in a sometimes-frightening, unpredictable world. Her first full-length collection, Rue Obscure explores how to find purpose and even joy when encumbered by regret, accumulating losses, and existential mysteries.

The poems in Think of It As Music address street sounds that intrude on a solitary life, memories of past loves, speculations about non-human creatures, and stories about friends and the natural world. Settings range from Southern California to Northern California, Washington state and Alaska. Mostly written in free verse, these lyrical, narrative poems combine details of an examined life with a passionate looking outward—toward spiders and birds, foxes and seals, and what happens between humans. Listen, say the poems. Take time to think, dream, be.

Doors Open: 1:30 PM | Readings: 2:00 PM

About the Authors

Elya Braden is a writer and mixed-media artist living in Ventura County, CA. She is the Founder and President of HaGomel, a nonprofit providing expressive arts programs for women who have experienced trauma and is an editor for Gyroscope Review. She is the author of the chapbooks Open The Fist and The Sight of Invisible Longing. Her work has been published in Anthropocene, Pine Row Press, Rhino, South Florida Poetry Journal, The Shore, Thimble, Wild Roof Journal, and elsewhere. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best New Poets. Visit her online at elyabraden.com.

Betsy Mars is a poet, compulsive photographer, and an editor at Gyroscope Review. Betsy’s poems are widely available online and in print in over 80 publications such as ONE ART, SWWIM, The California Quarterly, Thimble, and the anthology Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Motown Poetry Review (Madville Press). Betsy is the author of two chapbooks, Alinea, and In the Muddle of the Night, the latter co-written with Alan Walowitz. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net and were chosen as the winner of the Alexandria Quarterly’s First Line Poetry Contest Series and of The Poetry Salon’s Practiced Poets Prize. Betsy’s photos have been featured in Spank the Carp, Soul Poetry, and used in Rattle as an ekphrastic prompt. She is a lifelong poet, writing her first poem (at age 5 or so) in Portuguese––an elegy for her cat––while her family lived in Brazil. Betsy currently works intermittently as a substitute teacher, but her “mission” is poetry. And, apparently, supporting the local veterinary professionals.

Penelope Moffet is the author of the poetry chapbooks Cauldron of Hisses (Arroyo Seco Press, 2022), It Isn’t That They Mean to Kill You (Arroyo Seco Press, 2018) and Keeping Still (Dorland Mountain Arts, 1995). Born in Ohio, she has lived in Southern California most of her life. As a freelance journalist she interviewed many poets for the Los Angeles Times and other publications. She also worked as a publicist for non-profit organizations and as an editor, then held a legal secretary job for a quarter-century. By living very simply, she can now give as much time as she wants to writing, reading, hiking, swimming, drawing, painting, civic action and friends. She lives in a light-filled condo with a sweetly dictatorial elder cat named Emily.

About Beyond Baroque

Beyond Baroque is one of the United States’ leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public’s knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California. The Center offers a diverse variety of literary and arts programming including readings and workshops. The building also houses a bookstore with a large collection of new poetry books for sale.

Tickets will be available at the Beyond Baroque bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. Please arrive early.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.