This December’s BONK! event will be held on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Central time). The event will be held on Zoom webinar and streamed on Facebook Live at the BONK! Facebook page. Curated and hosted by Alex Reilly, BONK! will feature spoken word artists Joe Engel, Nina Corwin and Donzo Helverson. For more information visit the BONK! website.
Featured Artists
Joe Engel, is the Poet Laureate of Kenosha, WI. He lived several years in Madison before moving to La Crosse where he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. After college, he landed back in Kenosha WI, his hometown, which he has come to appreciate greatly. His poems have been in various journals including “Harpur Palate,” “Cold Mountain Review,” “Other Poetry” and “Left of the Lake.” He currently works at Gateway Technical College, however, his 10-year-old son thinks he should skateboard more like he used to.
Nina Corwin is the author of two poetry books, The Uncertainty of Maps, and Conversations With Friendly Demons and Tainted Saints, as well as three chapbooks, most recently, Dear Future (Glass Lyre, 2017). Her poetry has appeared in Drunken Boat, Harvard Review, Hotel Amerika, New Ohio Review/nor, Southern Poetry Review and Verse. Corwin, twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, has been privileged to collaborate with musicians, dancers, and poets around the country. In daytime hours, she is a psychotherapist known for her work on behalf of victims of violence.
Donzo Helverson is a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a car accident ruined his dreams of a career in sports, Donzo directed his focus towards music and storytelling. He studied under John Curtis (later co-founder of Boston’s Pousette-Dart Band) and Brother Blue, a Cambridge storyteller. Donzo attended Reed College after which he had a brief career in comedy, both stand-up and improv, including taking Tracy Morgan’s place in the troupe Guilty Children, touring New England and the East Coast. In 1988, Donzo moved to California to write comedy. He worked for many top comics and became a close friend with Jonathan Winters, who hired him to brainstorm on television appearances and specials. Still playing guitar and writing songs, he is now a songwriter living in Los Angeles.
About BONK!
BONK! exists to bring healing, justice, equity, joy, connection, and quality of life to the Racine community and beyond, through a variety of educational and community-building initiatives, including a world-class performing arts series. The BONK! series showcases poets, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and all sorts of talent in between. Founded in the fall of 2008, the BONK! series has been running with an event every month for over thirteen years now. BONK! Is made possible by The Racine Public Library, the Racine Community Foundation, the Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, the Friends of the Racine Public Library, and Olde Madrid restaurant.
For more information about BONK!, you can visit the BONK! website, contact Alex Reilly at 262-989-2930 or e-mail them at contact@bonkseries.org.