Chapters and Verse
Lunchtime Reading
1.15 on Wednesday 4th August
Chapters of Parnell St, Dublin 1
With Raven, David Ray, Judy Ray

Raven was born in San Francisco, 1965., raised on the edge of America, within earshot of the ocean, in a house full of books, music and politics, Raven has been writing poetry since a child – as a means of translating the world, distilling chaos to essences he could digest. He found inspiration in the Beats, the radical black poets of the 60’s and 70’s, hip hop. In the early 90’s, started reading publicly at open mics and getting published in local anthologies, small-press magazines. He moved to Ireland in 2005, and moved from reading to performing, getting the opportunity to support Saul Williams twice during his 2006 tour, perform yearly at the Electric Picnic, as well as in Wales and England. He have been published in two anthologies in Ireland, won Balcony TV’s Best Alternative Performer award in 2008, and currently run and perform at the monthly spoken word showcase Tongue Box, in Dublin. In the past year He has been incorporating live music and soundscapes into my work, and a book and cd are in the works.

David Ray's writings focus on a number of leadings, ranging from lyric poems of love and grief to passionate protest and memoir. His memoir, The Endless Search, is a probing search of his early years, which have been described as "Dickensian, full of abuse and tragedy." To this work he brings the insights of a man who has studied his own history as both clinical and mystical reality, a celebration of survival. David has won many awards for fiction, poetry, and essays. He is available for readings and workshops, serves as manuscript reader for publishers and as judge of literary contests. His writing has been widely published in anthologies and magazines in addition to his books. He has been a visiting professor in India, New Zealand and Australia, as well as a teacher of literature and creative writing at American universities and colleges. He now lives David Ray was one of the founders of American Writers Against the Vietnam War in 1966 and co-edited, with Robert Bly, A Poetry Reading Against the Vietnam War, a collection of relevant readings from the classics as well as contemporary sources. Many of these materials have been widely quoted in recent anti-war activities. David writes many new poems and essays on current events, some of which can be read in the on-line publication of Howling Dog Press at www.howlingdogpress.com/XRAYS
Judy Ray is a volunteer teacher of English as a Second Language to adults in the community. When one of her students was murdered, she wrote about it in an essay called "Alice" which can be found in New Letters magazine (Volume 69 Nos. 2/3, 2003). Her writings and photographs have appeared in many publications, including The Chariton Review, Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, Helicon Nine, Nimrod, Paterson Literary Review, Potpourri, River King, Stiletto, West Branch, and others. Judy Ray grew up on an English farm without electricity, and lived in Uganda for six years without a telephone. Her collections are to Fly without wings and Fishing In Green Waters.