Dorothy Nelson and Preston Hood: Writing Through

Preston Hood and Dorothy Shubow Nelson will read

from their recent poems in response to each other’s work, 

and share a few of Vincent Ferrini’s and Charles Olson’s poems as well.

Open mic and refreshments afterwards.

Dorothy Shubow Nelson’s poems have appeared in Polis IV, 2014; Human Architecture VII, 2009; Consequence Vol. I, 2009; Atelier, Café Review, North Shore North, Rhythm Music Magazine, Sojourner, and various community newspapers. Her review of Vietnam Veteran, Bruce Weigl’s collection, The Abundance of Nothing, was published in Consequence Magazine, Vol. V, 2013. Formerly a Senior Lecturer in English at UMass/Boston she has published The Dream of the Sea, Early Poems, 2008 and a chapbook, Something Near. 2004. She is on the Advisory Board of the Gloucester Writers Center and facilitates a Veterans Writing Workshop in Gloucester Massachusetts.

Preston H. Hood III grew up in Swansea Massachusetts and lived most of his life in Maine. He is a former Navy SEAL who served in Vietnam (1970). He earned a Bachelor of Arts, English, Magna cum Maude, University of Massachusetts Boston, a Bachelor Science, University of Southern Maine, and a Master of Education, University of Maine, Orono.

Preston published a CD, Snake Medicine, (2002) and is the author of two books of poetry: A Chill I Understand (2006), which was a (2007) Maine Literary Award Finalist, Poetry and The Hallelujah of Listening (2011) winner of the (2012) Maine Literary Award in Poetry. After attending the William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences for nine years, he co-edited with Jacqueline Murray Loring and Gary Rafferty the Summer Home Review I (2002), and Summer Home Review 2 (2005). Through the Cape Cod Writers Center, he was interviewed with John McHugh, Secretary of Heinrich Böll Association, County Mayo, Ireland for Books of the World Television Program (2006).

With Jacqueline M. Loring, he co-presented an overview of the Sixties Beat Poetry for The Wrinkle in Time Summer of Love (1967) Conference at Osher Life Long Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine. At the same conference, he was participant in the panel discussion of Civil Rights issues, and reasons why we were in Vietnam. In 2005, he was awarded a Residency at Heinrich Böll Cottage through the Heinrich Böll Association on Achill Island to complete his manuscript of his first book, A Chill I Understand (2006).

Preston is widely published nationally and internationally in numerous journals and anthologies including The Café Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Michigan Quarterly Review Nimrod International Journal, Rattle, and Prairie Schooner. His poem, Cullen Four Days Old, Waking was selected by Maine Poet Laureate for Take Heart Anthology I (2012).

Currently, Preston is a retired teacher and administrator, stone mason and carpenter, who has taught Therapeutic Creative Writing at Osher Life Long Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine, and at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke MA for Veterans and Families. He lives in Colrain MA on 2.8 acres on the East Branch of the North River, is writing his memoir, and walks, hikes, bikes, and kayaks.