Cat Dixon
The Imaginary Gardens Reading Series
Michael Skau, inspired by this quote about poetry from Marianne Moore "...imaginary gardens with real toads in them...", created the monthly Imaginary Gardens Reading Series in the fall of 2014. The readings are held at Mister Toad (1002 Howard St., Omaha) in the Old Market on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm. Our events are well-attended and our audiences love poetry. Please join us!
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The reading series is on a break beginning Auugst 2024.
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Stay in touch with the reading series by liking us on Facebook--go here for our Facebook page.
If you are a poet with a published chapbook or full collection, please contact us to be a part of this reading series by clicking here.
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Past guests:
September 2014 -- Michael Skau
October 2014 -- Greg Kosmicki and Cat Dixon
November 2014 -- Barbara Schmitz and Todd Robinson
December 2014 -- Natasha Kessler and Matt Mason
January 2015 -- Sarah McKinstry-Brown and Miles Waggener
February 2015 -- Laura Madeline Wiseman and Paul Dickey
March 2015 -- Marilyn Coffey and Chad Christensen
April 2015 -- Brenda Sieczkowski and Rodger Gerberding
May 2015 -- Lee Ann Roripaugh and Steve Langan
June 2015 -- P. Ivan Young and Britny Cordera Doane
July 2015 -- Unbound Reading: Rich Wyatt, Genevieve Williams, Heidi Hermanson
August 2015 -- Susan Aizenberg and JV Brummels
September 2015 -- Cat Dixon and Michael Catherwood
October 2015 --Twyla Hansen and William Trowbridge
November 2015 -- Amy Plettner and Art Homer
December 2015 -- Mary K. Stillwell and Clif Mason
January 2016 -- canceled due to weather
February 2016 -- Laura Madeline Wiseman and Robert Klein Engler
March 2016 -- Erik Campbell and Marilyn June Coffey
April 2016 -- Marjorie Saiser and Al Ortolani
May 2016 -- Bill Trowbridge and Sara Amelia Snelling
June 2016 --Michelle Lyles, Michelle Troxclair and Darian Stout
July 2016 -- Trent Walters and Teri Youmans Grimm
August 2016 -- Miles Waggener and Cat Dixon
September 2016 -- Michael Catherwood and Marjorie Saiser
October 2016 -- Laura Madeline Wiseman and Dennis Etzel Jr.
November 2016 -- Karen Shoemaker and Erik Campbell
December 2016 -- Greg Kuzma and Maria Nazos
January 2017 -- Lisa Fay Coutley and John Price
February 2017 -- Rich Wyatt and Lisa Sandlin
March 2017 -- Laura Madeline Wiseman and Greg Kosmicki
April 2017 -- Katie Berger and Ted Wheeler
May 2017 -- Lisa Knopp and Mj Taylor
June 2017 -- Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of The Backwaters Press
July 2017 -- Kelli Allen and Michael Skau
August 2017 -- Jeanne Emmons and William Trowbridge
September 2017 -- Laura Madeline Wiseman and Timothy Schaffert
October 2017 -- Cat Dixon and Ted Wheeler
November 2017 -- Leah Sewell and Michael Catherwood
December 2017 -- Rebecca Rotert and Bud Shaw
January 2018 -- The Flat Waters Stirs: An Anthology of Emerging Nebraska Poets Anthology (WSC Press, 2017) Reading Event.
Featuring: Robert Klein Engler, Maritza N. Estrada, Kellie Hayden, Heidi Hermanson, Jim Plath, Nathan Sousek, Trent Walters, and Aubree Woelber
February 2018 -- Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry (The Backwaters Press, 2008) Reading Event.
Featuring: Michael Catherwood, Marilyn Coffey, Paul Dickey, Shelly Clark Geiser, Steve Langan, Clif Mason, Sally Molini, J.J. McKenna, Sarah Voss, and David (Rich) Wyatt
March 2018 -- Misbehaving Nebraskans: An Eclectic Collection of Poetry, Stories, and Art (2017) Reading Event.
Featuring: Marilyn Coffey, Maritza Estrada, Deirdre Evans, Heidi Hermanson, Greg Kosmicki, Clif Mason, Charlene Pierce, Michael Skau, and Connie Spittler
April 2018 -- Candace Black and Richard Robbins
May 2018 -- Barbara Schmitz and Pete Miller
June 2018 -- Lisa Dordal and JV Brummels
July 2018 -- Traci Brimhall and Neil Harrison
August 2018 -- Marjorie Saiser and Miles Waggener
September 2018 -- Laura Madeline Wiseman and Dennis Etzel Jr.
October 2018 -- Michael Skau
November 2018 -- Todd Robinson and Heidi Hermanson
December 2018 -- Liz Kay and Kevin Clouther
January 2019 -- Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry (The Backwaters Press, 2008) Reading Event.
Featuring: Michael Catherwood, Marilyn Coffey, Lorraine Duggin, Steve Langan, Matt Mason, Mike Skau, James Solheim, Sarah Voss, and David (Rich) Wyatt
February 2019 -- canceled due to weather
March 2019 -- Marianne Kunkel and Trey Moody
April 2019 -- canceled due to illness
May 2019 -- Drucilla Wall and Eamonn Wall
June 2019 -- Sarah McKinstry-Brown and Matt Mason
July 2019 -- Jamie Wendt and James Solheim
August 2019 -- Amy Plettner
September 2019 -- Ruth Williams and Bradford Tice
October 2019 -- Sarah Voss and Barbara Schmitz
November 2019 -- Bill Trowbridge and Twyla Hansen
December 2019 -- Cat Dixon and Nathanael Tagg
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The reading series was on hiatus from January 2020 - April 2023
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May 2023 -- Bill Trowbridge and Twyla Hansen
No reading in June
July 2023 -- Cat Dixon and Michael Catherwood
August 2023 -- Marjorie Saiser and Rich Wyatt
September 2023 -- Sarah Voss and Clif Mason
October 2023 -- Lucy Adkins and Duane Anderson
November 2023 -- Trey Moody and David Mullins
December 2023 -- Sarah McKinstry-Brown and Matt Mason
January 2024 - canceled due to weather
February 2024 -- Heidi Hermanson and Kevin Clouther
March 2024 -- Carolina Hotchandani and Theodore Wheeler
April 2024 - Bonnie Johnson-Bartee and Neil Harrison
May 2024 - Barbara Schmitz and Bill Trowbridge
No reading in June
July 2024 - Kiara Nicole Letcher and Miles Waggener
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Michael Skau is an emeritus professor of English at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He studied under Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Gregory Corso at Naropa Institute and has published books of literary criticism on Corso and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Skau has published poems in Carolina Quarterly, Northwest Review, Kansas Quarterly, Laurel Review, and Texas Review, among many others. He was named Winner of the 2013 William Kloefkorn Award for Excellence in Poetry, and his collection of poems, Me & God, was published by Wayne State College Press in 2014. His chapbook, After the Bomb, was published by WordTech Editions in 2017.
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Organizer and creator: Michael Skau
Social media manager: Cat Dixon
Manager of Mister Toad and sound system engineer: Joe Mullin
