The Open Door Readings: December

The Open Door series presents work from Chicago’s new and emerging poets and highlights the area’s outstanding writing programs. Each hour-long event features readings by two Chicagoland college and graduate writing program instructors and two of their current or recent students. December's Open Door Reading presents Columbia College’s Matthew Shenoda and his student Abigail Zimmer along with Lake Forest College’s Joshua Corey and his student Kaisa Cummings. 

Matthew Shenoda is the author of the poetry collections Somewhere Else (winner of the American Book Award), Seasons of Lotus, Seasons of Bone and the forthcoming Tahrir Suite (October, 2014). He is currently associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. 

Abigail Zimmer is the author of the chapbook fearless as I seam (Dancing Girl Press). Her work has appeared in Jellyfish, ILK, Whiskey Island, and The New Megaphone, among others. She lives in Chicago where she is the poetry editor for The Lettered Streets Press.

Joshua Corey is the author of four books of poetry, including The Barons and Other Poems (Omnidawn Publishing, 2014), and a novel, Beautiful Soul: An American Elegy (Spuyten Duyvil, 2014).

Kaisa Cummings is a recent graduate from Lake Forest College with degrees in both creative writing and art history. Her first chapbook, Home Remedies (Goodmorning, Menagerie Press), is due out in November 2014.