Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, and Ragged Sky Press, a local publisher focused on poetry, host their monthly Second Sunday Poetry Reading on May 12 at 4 p.m. featuring two regionally based poets. The readings take place at the Princeton Makes store in the Princeton Shopping Center followed by a limited open mic for the first 10 to sign up.
Michael Montlack is the author of two poetry collections, most recently “Daddy” (NYQ Books), and editor of the Lambda Finalist essay anthology “My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them” (University of Wisconsin Press). His poems recently appeared in Poetry Daily, Prairie Schooner, Barrelhouse, december, Cincinnati Review, and phoebe. His prose has appeared in The Rumpus, Huffington Post and Advocate.com. He lives in New York City, where he teaches poetry at CUNY City College.
A sample of his poetry is below.
John Amen is the author of five collections of poetry, including “Illusion of an Overwhelm,” finalist for the 2018 Brockman-Campbell Award, and work from which was chosen as a finalist for the 2018 Dana Award. He was the recipient of the 2021 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize. His poems and prose have appeared recently in Rattle, Prairie Schooner, American Literary Review, Tupelo Quarterly, and Los Angeles Review, and his poetry has been translated into Spanish, French, Hungarian, Korean, and Hebrew. His music, literary, and film reviews appear widely in such publications as Colorado Review, No Depression, Beats Per Minute, and PopMatters. He founded and is managing editor of Pedestal Magazine. His new collection, “Dark Souvenirs,” will be released by New York Quarterly Books in 2024.
A sample of his poetry is below.
Second Sunday Poetry, Princeton Makes (next to Metropolis), Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street, Princeton. Sunday, May 12, 4 p.m. Free.
For more information, contact Princeton Makes coordinator Jim Levine at princetonmakes@gmail.com.
For more information on Ragged Sky Press, visit www.raggedsky.com.

John Amen.,
