This series presents readings by a range of emerging, mid-career, and established poets from St. Louis and across the United States. 100 Boots is co-organized by Jessica Baran, poet and Associate Director of Curatorial and Program Development at Barrett Barrera & Projects Plus Gallery; and Ted Mathys, poet and educator at St. Louis University. At each reading, limited-edition broadsides are available for free to audience members, and a selection of the poets’ books are for sale courtesy of Left Bank Books. The second season of 100 Boots kicks off with readings by poets Rickey Laurentiis and Stephanie Schlaifer.
Rickey Laurentiis is the author of “Boy with Thorn” (2015), selected by Terrance Hayes for the 2014 Cave Canem Poetry Prize (University of Pittsburgh Press). He is recipient of a 2014 fellowship from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Italy, a 2013 Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a 2012 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation.
Stephanie Schlaifer is the author of “Cleavemark,” her debut collection of poems selected by Shane McCrae. Her works have been featured in Best New Poets, Georgia Review, Harvard Review, AGNI, The Offing, Denver Quarterly, LIT, Colorado Review, and Fence. In addition, she served as the Greyfriar Writer in Residence at Sienna College last fall.
