The Next Generation: Earth's Daughters

Hopefully there are a good number of readers out there who are aware of Buffalo's feminist and literary arts periodical called Earth's Daughters. I am told that Earth's Daughters is the oldest feminist arts periodical still in publication (since 1971), meaning that there's an important history behind the periodical that warrants community support. 

Coming up on Wednesday November 14th at 7:30pm, at Buffalo East, there will be a fundraiser for Earth's Daughters called The Next Generation. "Earth's Daughters has been a force in the advancement of feminist literary arts since its inception in 1971," said Janna Willoughby (Blood Thirsty Vegans). "Earth's Daughters has also been based in and committed to Buffalo.  We really value the tactile nature of physical books and due to the lack of publishing grant funding, we are holding this fundraiser to ensure that we can keep publishing for the foreseeable future. The cost is $10 at the door and includes a past issue and food.  We are also doing $20 at the door for a 3-issue subscription to Earth's Daughters in addition to the past issue and food. $5 off either price for students with valid ID.

On November 14, 2012, Earth's Daughters Magazine will present a literary reading and fundraiser, EARTH'S DAUGHTERS: THE NEXT GENERATION at Buffalo East, 1412 Main St., Buffalo, at 7:30 p.m., featuring Marina Blitshteyn, Robin Brox, Jennifer Campbell, Kim Chinquee, Sara Ries,  and Janna Willoughby-Lohr, as well as a mini-story/dance performance by Sophia Roberts and Music by BloodThirsty Vegans.  Although Earth's Daughters has been presenting over-50 writers in the Gray Hair Reading Series, (co-sponsored by Just Buffalo and Hallwalls) for 8 years, this event showcases younger women writers, most in their 20's and 30's. Admission is two-tiered: $10 for performances, and a past issue of Earth's Daughters or $20 for performance, past issue, and a three-issue subscription to Earth's Daughters magazine (normally $20 by itself).  For students with ID, the fee is reduced by $5. All inclusive will be an available array of appetizers and munchies.

Marina Blitshteyn was born in Moldova and immigrated to the US in 1991. She completed her BA in English at the University at Buffalo and an MFA in poetry at Columbia University, where she was a writing instructor and consultant. Her chapbook, Russian for Lovers, was published by Argos Books in 2011. She currently lives and works in NYC.

Robin Brox is a poet, book artist, and teacher who has degrees from The University of Maine, Orono and UB. The founder of Saucebox, a performance series turned small press, Robin produces handmade books and hosts poetry readings featuring women writers; she performs with Saucebox annually as part of the Buffalo Infringement Festival.  Her book, Sure Thing, was published by BlazeVOX [books] in 2011. Robin's poetry has appeared in The Buffalo News, Artvoice, Lungfull!, Psychic Rotunda, and other journals. She has published several chapbooks, including an instant-mini chapbook from Binge Press (2010), and others under the Saucebox Books imprint. Her next book, Pomegranates, is forthcoming from Xexoxial Editions, and she also has a chapbook forthcoming from Least Weasel. Robin is the technical and assistant director for Buffalo Poets Theater. She has been teaching writing professionally since 2003.

Jennifer Campbell is an English professor at Erie Community College and a co-editor of Earth's Daughters and of Beyond Bones.  Her first book of poetry, titled Driving Straight Through, was published by FootHills in 2008, and her second book, Supposed to Love, will be published by Saddle Road Press.

Recent work appears in Common Ground Review, Sow's Ear, Saranac Review, Fugue, The Healing Muse, The Pedestal, Earthshine, Bloodroot, Bluestem, Slipstream, and Slant.  She has received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities along with an Honorable Mention in the 2010 New Millennium Writings competition and a Pushcart nomination.

Kim Chinquee is the author of the collections Oh Baby, Pretty, and Pistol.  Her fiction has appeared in several journals and anthologies including The Nation, The Huffington Post, NOON, Conjunctions, Denver Quarterly, Fiction, The Mississippi Review, The Notre Dame Review, The South Carolina Review, New York Tyrant, Best of the Web 2010, The Pushcart Prize XXXI: Best of the Small Presses 2007, and many others. She is an associate professor of English at Buffalo State College.

Sara Ries holds a B.A. in English from Fredonia State College and a MFA in Poetry from Chatham University.  Her first book, Come In, We're Open (NFSPS Press), won the Stevens Poetry Manuscript Competition.  Her parents have owned a diner since she was two-years-old which i where she hosts "Poetry and Dinner Nights at the Woodlawn Diner."  Sara is an adjunct professor of English at ECC South.

Sophia Roberts is an activist, dancer, and performing artist. She was a member of Ice 9 (a performance poetry group) and BCIJPG (the Buffalo Contact Improv Jam Performance Group), and has produced several collaborative shows of mixed performance artistry, with a focus on play, inclusion, diversity, improvisation, contact, and community. She has been a regional coordinator for the Self Advocacy Association since 2002, supporting people with developmental disabilities to speak up for themselves, doing community education and systems advocacy. She holds a degree in Fine Arts and African-American studies from SUNY Brockport and is a facilitator of Dance on the Wild Side.

Janna Willoughby-Lohr is a co-editor and layout artist for Earth's Daughters Magazine and a graduate of Warren Wilson College.  She has been the featured reader at Center for Inquiry, the Burchfield Center, Wordflight Series, Poetry and Dinner Night at the Woodlawn Diner, and elsewhere.  She also performs poetry as her alter-ego "MC Vendetta" and music as "Janna-Ruth." She was a Grand Slam finalist in 2005-2008 for the Nickel City Poetry Slam, and a member of the 2006 Nickel City Slam team at the National Poetry Slam.  Since 2008 she has been performing with her band, The Blood Thirsty Vegans. She has also been the project coordinator and teaching artist for middle-school students in a program in Chautauqua and Erie County.  She works as a graphic designer for Bodycandy.com.

The Blood Thirsty Vegans deliver a "lively mix of energetic hiphop, rock, funk, ska and blues, topped off with socially-conscious, positive lyrics." The band consists of Janna Willoughby-Lohr (Vocals, Trumpet), Alex Mead (Vocals), Bryan Lohr (Guitar), Matt Eppolito (Bass), Kaitlyn Gardner (Keyboard, Clarinet), and Dave Harter (Drums).

Earth's Daughters Magazine, produced by a multi-generational collective of editors (Kastle Brill, Jennifer Campbell, Joyce Kessel, Janna Willoughby-Lohr, and ryki zuckerman), is the oldest continuously published literary feminist periodical in United States and has been one of Buffalo's best kept secrets for 41 years.