CONTRIBUTED GRAPHIC Poets + Performers will take place at 5:30 p.m. on May 8 at the Alliance’s office and will feature Iowa poets Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey and Kelsey Bigelow.

The Marshalltown Public Library and the Arts+Culture Alliance have joined forces to host Poets + Performers, an event that is free and open to the public. It will take place at 5:30 p.m. on May 8 at the Alliance’s office, 126 W. Main Street. It will be held during the Alliance’s regularly scheduled monthly Networking Night for artists.

This evening will feature Iowa poets Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey, who is an author, performer and event producer, and Kelsey Bigelow who works as a mental health poet. The works of 12 Marshall County poets will be on display at the office, starting May 8, and will be up through the month of May.

“We are excited to be partnering again with the Arts + Culture Alliance to bring spoken word poets to Marshalltown — this is our second year of doing it. I think getting to experience the work and talents of both of these poets, with very different styles, is a bonus,” said Youth Services Librarian Joa LaVille. “I think our hope is to continue to connect like this on an annual basis.”

LaVille said she pitched the idea of bringing these two poets to Marshalltown after receiving a recommendation from another Iowa library.

“We have a long history of hosting poets. Some adults might remember when we had Poetry Café in the old building,” she added.

Alliance Marketing & Program Coordinator Shannon Johnson noted the idea to present guest poets led the Alliance to launch a call for poets so locals could have their works on display.

“We had over 45 entries from, I think it was 19 different poets, local Marshall County poets,” she said. “We had a committee that met last Friday to go through all of those poems, and they chose 12 poems by 12 poets. They range in age from 16 to 81.”

The following people will have their poems on display in the Alliance’s office: Afton Stout, Allison Fisher, Dan Sheeler, Amber Cannon, Jennifer Castle, Kim Hanken, Lillie Barker, Nyemade Harmon, Ron Hawn, Sharon Witty, Vicki Meyer and Les McCargar.

Johnson added that the Alliance’s office space is currently featuring the artwork of Marshalltown School District students. That will be taken down to display the poems, which will be poster board in size and easy to read.

“Some poems are fairly long, and there are a few really short ones, so it will be interesting to see it,” she said.

As part of the programming, LaVille will connect the poets with Marshalltown students at both Marshalltown High School and Miller Middle School earlier in the day. LaVille said Marshalltown pupils often do well at state and national poetry competitions such as Poetry Out Loud.

“I know that I am not alone being a person who grew up thinking that I didn’t like poetry, and I think that’s because I was only ever exposed to a very specific kind of poetry,” LaVille said. “Most of us don’t like every style of music, and we’re all different what styles we appreciate. But you just need to keep exploring until you find the style that resonates with you. I think that giving people the opportunity to see that poetry is lots of different things, and especially spoken word poetry, it’s so dynamic and has such an emotional impact.”

Light appetizers and snacks will be served, along with complimentary beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic). Please note, this event is geared toward teenagers and adults. Funding for the event was made possible by the Alliance, Marshalltown Public Library and Friends of the Marshalltown Public Library.

Learn more about Rainey at: thenegroartist.com and Bigelow at: kelkaybpoetry.com.