Michelle Gonzalez and Brutus Chieftan featured readers of Literature on the Lawn

Treat the child of your heart to some soft-serve tender-loving poetry and waves of laugh-provoking wit at Riverside’s Literature on the Lawn! The lyrically uplifting Michelle Gonzalez and say-it-like-it-is Brutus Chieftan are sure to leave you satisfied, August 1, 7 pm at the Riverside Public Library, located at 3581 Mission Inn Avenue in downtown Riverside.

Michelle Gonzalez is an educator and writer who has lived in Riverside most of her life. She currently teaches at the Riverside Adult School. As an author of four chapbooks of poetry, she mostly writes about the challenges of life and love. Her poetry is also filled with other themes, such as home and family. Michelle received her MFA in Creative Writing from National University in 2010. Prior to that, she received a BA degree in English from UCR. She has long been a part of the Inlandia Institute’s writing workshops. Michelle has also enjoyed facilitating local workshops in her community. Her books of poetry include Morning in the House by the Field, Afternoon in the Park by the Lake, Evening in the Patio by the Hill, and Wild Chrysanthemum.

“Coming often without / paper or pen, / as you enjoyed listening / to others read. / Somehow changing positions / from observer to facilitator / and one more time to friend” —Michelle Gonzalez, “How We Met”

Brutus Chieftain is founder of the performance poetry troupe “Poets in Distress” and author of multiple indie poetry collections, including The Suburban Fool, Nuns in Uniform get Free Donuts, Brutus in Benderland, and Tales of an American Peasant. He lives in Moreno Valley with his wife and two sons. At readings, he hates long introductions. He encourages poets to “Shut up and read the poem.”

“I wonder pear, how long you’re going to be free / I know you had a scent before refrigeration / You fell from a tree but my yard doesn’t have any trees / Stem at the top like a chimney, puckered at the bottom as we all are / Gonna take a bite, you know that.  Gonna share it with my wife / Gonna share a taste with our wives / Some kind of crazy knowledge like Eve and Adam” —Brutus Chieftan, “Still Life in a Dead End”

This event is free and open to the public.

The Inlandia Institute is a regionally-focused literary nonprofit and publishing house. For more information, please visit www.inlandiainstitute.org.