KayLee Chie Kuehl in the Midwest Writing Center's SPECTRA Reading Series at Rozz-Tox -- May 22.
Saturday, May 22, 7:30 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Returning to Rozz-Tox, for the first time in many months, with new readings in the popular SPECTRA series, the Midwest Writing Center brings a trio of lauded literary talents to the Rock Island venue on May 22: spoken-word author and poet KayLee Chie Kuehl, winner of the University of Iowa Chapbook Prize; Xixuan Collins, author of Flowing Water Falling Flowers; and Augustana College's Beth Roberts, who will read from her new book Like You.
Kuehl is a writer, poet, artist, and filmmaker, and her creative works can be found in The Atlas, InkLitMag, earthwords Multitudes, Amplify Black Voices, and Mirror Magazine. Her short film Nepali Negro was shown in the 2019 Bijou Open Screen, and Kuehl’s chapbook Trauma in Rhyme and Rhythm was awarded the 2020 Iowa Chapbook Prize in Poetry. Currently the editor-in-chief of Black Art; Real Stories and the senior contracts manager of Student Video Productions, the Iowa City resident states, "As an adopted and multiracial woman, I’ve often wondered where I fit. Through my creativity, I have discovered both my purpose and my favorite way to love the world. My projects focus on culture, identity, race, spirituality and empathy. It’s my goal to continue creating healing spaces both through my projects and my work.”
Xixuan Collins was born in Hechuan, Sichuan Province, China, grew up in Kangding, on the East Tibet Plateau, and now calls Iowa home. Although she always wanted to be a writer, Collins chose a career path of science and earned an MS in cell biology and a PhD in nutrition, and has taught biology at a community college for the past 15 years. When she’s not teaching or writing, Collins enjoys spending time with her family, reading, dancing (ballroom and Latin), and cooking, and is currently at work on her second novel, a story about an extraordinary woman and her ghost mother.
The daughter of a pastor, Beth Roberts was largely raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and for over 30 years, has been living in the Quad Cities. She earned a 1988 Bachelor's Degree from Western Michigan University and a 1990 Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from the University of Iowa, and her first book of poems, Brief Moral History in Blue, was published by New Issues in 2001. Roberts currently works as the editorial director at Rock Island's Augustana College.
The May 22 SPECTRA reading will be held in the outdoor space of Rozz-Tox at 7:30 p.m., social-distancing measures will be in place, and face masks will be required for anyone wishing to enter the venue. While the readings are free, donations are greatly appreciated, and more information on the night is available by contacting the Midwest Writing Center at (309)732-7330 and MWCQC.org.
