Studio 116 is pleased to announce a special event in honor of April’s National Poetry Month. Distinguished poet Lee Stockdale, and two poets he selected as his mentees—Jackie Knowlton, a senior at UNC Asheville, and Flat Rock resident Mary Beth Stevens—will read from their work. The reading takes place on Wednesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m.—free of charge with a post-reading reception.

The NC Poetry Society’s Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series was designed to foster the reading, writing and enjoyment of poetry across the State. Three Distinguished Poets, one each from Eastern, Central and Western North Carolina, selected mentees from portfolios of poetry submitted by emerging poets, then work with their mentees over the course of four months. The Western mentorship concludes with a reading of poems crafted during the mentorship period, at Western Carolina University’s Annual Literary Festival, on April 6th.