NEWS & APPEARANCES  News  Paola will be traveling to Madison, Wisconsin, to accept the Tillie Olsen Award for  Creative Writing from the Working Class Studies Association for The Laundress  Catches Her Breath. The Laundress Catches Her Breath is a Binghamton University Milt Kessler Book  Award Finalist and ForeWord magazine’s Poetry Book of the Year Finalist.   Paola will be giving some special readings of Once I Was Told the Air Was Not for  Breathing about Pittsburgh steelworkers and garment workers in the Triangle  Shirtwaist Factory Fire and in sweatshops today. Profits from book sales at these will go toward relief efforts for victims of the Bangladesh factory collapse. The Laundress Catches Her Breath, Paola’s latest poetry book, is out with  CavanKerry Press. Read an Interview with Nin Andrews.  Read about The Laundress Catches Her Breath in the Bryant Park Blog.  Paola’s newly released poetry collection Once I Was Told the Air Was Not for  Breathing includes an introduction by Michele Fazio and Michelle Tokarczyk. Look for Paola’s “Put Objects to Work in Your Fiction” in the September 2012  issue of The Writer. Her article includes interviews with Alice Walker and Annie  Proulx along with Gerald McCarthy, Fred Misurella, Lisa Nichols, Elizabeth Sanders,  and Meredith Sue Willis.  Paola was among the judges for the Working Class Studies Association’s Tillie Olsen  Award for Creative Writing who selected the winning title, Sweet Hope: A Novel by  Mary Bucci Bush.  Paola's Catina's Haircut is on Family Tree Magazine's Recommended  Genealogy Reading List for its May 2011 Book Remarks.   Penn State University's radio station WPSU selected Paola's Catina's Haircut as  part of its Amazon Associate Program. Check out the link for details. Only-the-Blog-Knows-Brooklyn's Louise Crawford interviewed Paola for Park Slope  Patch.  Paola's short story collection Catina's Haircut is on Library Journal’s “First  Novels: Fall Firsts" notable list.  Catina's Haircut is featured in the article "Pearls on a String: The novel in  stories is a literary form worth trying" by Evan Marshall on The Literary Life  Psychology Today blog.  Paola wrote about self-censorship and in the publishing industry in "From Without  and From Within" in Glimmer Train Bulletin No. 45, October 2010.  The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Rege Behe wrote an article about how Paola  fictionalized the immigrant experience in Catina's Haircut.  Two of Paola's poems were published in Women's Review of Books Jan./Feb. issue and will appear in her poetry collection Once I Was Told the Air Was Not for  Breathing forthcoming in 2012.  . . . 2013 Appearances JANUARY  Friday, January 18, 2013 “Folktakes From Around the World” Writers in the Wall Reading Series Hosted by Paola Corso 7-8:30 p.m. Aspinwall Municipal Building 217 Commercial Avenue Aspinwall, PA 15215 (412) 781-0213 A family-friendly event free and open to the public Join us for an evening of folktales that will trot the globe. Featured readers: Keiko  Maeda Edwards, Japan; Janina Kvedaras, Venezuela; Javier Rodriguez, Puerto Rico;  Beth Cusick Ruff, Ireland. Ethnic refreshments will be served.  MARCH  Saturday, March 9, 2013 CavanKerry Press: The Lives Brought to Life Reading Noon to 1:15 p.m. Associated Writing Programs Conference in Boston Alice Hoffman Bookfair Stage, Exhibit Hall D, Level 2 Teresa Carson, Nin Andrews, Paola Corso, Joan Cusack Handler, Michael Miller. Paola  Corso, The Laundress Catches Her Breath; Joan Cusack Handler, Confessions of  Joan the Tall, and Michael Miller, Darkening the Grass will read from their recently  published books, plus Nin Andrews will read selections from The Waiting Room  Reader II: Words to Keep You Company.  APRIL   Friday, April 12, 2013   Poems to Save the Earth  7 p.m. Poets House 10 River Terrace, NYC Hosted by Daniela Gioseffi. Readers: Joanne Monte, Alfred Corn, D. Nurkse, George Guida, Vivian Demuth, Burt  Kimmelman, Gil Fagiani, Juanita Thompson, Pat Falk, George Held, Eliot Katz, Maria  Lisella, Rob Marchesani, Stephen Massimilla, Nancy Mercado, Maria Terrone, Paola  Corso.   MAY   Friday, May 17, 2013   Writers in the Wall: Aspinwall’s Reading Series  Featuring Julie Cecchini, Andrew Edwards and Open Mic. Hosted by Paola Corso 7:30 p.m. Aspinwall Municpal Building 217 Commercial Ave. Aspinwall, PA 15215 (412) 781-0213 Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Julie Cecchini lives in Penn Hills. She is active with several poetry and writing groups  in Pittsburgh. She is currently studying poetry at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.  Her poems have appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Loyalhanna Review,  Tattoo Highway, and other journals. When she’s not writing, she enjoys trail walking  and experimenting with art.    Andrew Edwards is a writer, teacher, and librarian currently tutoring in the Greater  Pittsburgh area. He is the author of The Kobe Reality Series, a book of poetry based  on his experience living in Japan. During his stay there, he flew to St. Petersburg,  Russia, to attend the Summer Literary Seminar where he met Robert Creeley who  compared his work to that of William Carlos Williams. Andrew is married to Keiko  Maeda and lives in Aspinwall with their two sons.   JUNE   Thursday, June 13, 2013   Fighting Forward: A Labor and Working Class Summit Musical and Cultural Event   2013 Conference of the Working Class Studies Association 7:30–10 p.m. Madison College Downtown Education Center Madison, Wisconsin   Emcee: Jim Leary, Comparative Literature and Folklore Studies, UW-Madison.   Featuring Bucky Halker, Company of Folk, Chicago, IL, The Madison Solidarity  Singers, and Spoken Word Performances. Paola will read from The Laundress  Catches Her Breath, winner of the Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing from the  Working Class Studies Association. She will attend the Friday banquet to accept her  award.   Thursday, June 27, 2013   An Evening of Poetry with Paola Corso  7 p.m. Mt. Lebanon Public Library 16 Castle Shannon Blvd Pittsburgh PA 15228 412-531-1912 X 214   Paola will read poems from her new books, The Laundress Catches Her Breath,  winner of the Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing, and Once I Was Told the Air  Was Not for Breathing about Pittsburgh steelworkers and garment workers in the  Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and in sweatshops today. Profits from her book sales that night will go toward relief efforts for victims of the Bangladesh factory collapse.   Tuesday, July 9, 2013   Hemingway’s Summer Poetry Series 8 p.m. Hemingway’s Café 3911 Forbes Ave. Oakland section of Pittsburgh   Hosted by Jimmy Cvetic and Joan Bauer. Paola will read with Rina Ferrarelli and Sheryl St. Germain followed by an open mic.   Saturday, October 6, 2013   Poetry at the Pump House Featuring Jan Beatty, Peter Oresick, and Paola Corso 1:30 p.m. Waterfront Drive Munhall, PA . . . 2012 Appearances JANUARY  Wednesday, January 4, 2012 New Hungers for Old Anthology Group Reading 8 p.m. Saint Mark's Poetry Project 10th Street and 2nd Avenue New York, New York Introduction by Editor Dennis Barone with readers J.T. Barbarese, David Cappella,  Christine Casson, Paola Corso, Peter Covino, Ray DiPalma, Elaine Equi, Mary Giaimo,  George Guida, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Daniela Gioseffi, Vittoria Repetto, Matthew  Longabucco, Jerome Mazzaro, Nick Piombino, Clare Rossini, and Maria Terrone.  JUNE  Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Word for Word Poetry 7-9 p.m. The Bryant Park Reading Room New York Public Library http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2012/06/12/word-for-word-poetry Paola will read with fellow CavanKerry Press authors Carole Stone and Kevin Carey.  OCTOBER Thursday, October 4, 2012 Writers in the Wall Writing Workshop Hosted  by Paola Corso 7-8:30 p.m. Aspinwall Municipal Building 217 Commercial Ave. Aspinwall, PA 15215 (412) 781-0213 Free and open to the public   The workshop welcomes writers from all genres and levels. There will be in-class  writing prompts and exercises. Bring a poem or a couple pages of prose to critique if  you'd like.  NOVEMBER Thursday, November 2, 2012 Writers in the Wall Reading Series Hosted by Paola Corso 7-8:30 p.m. Aspinwall Municipal Building 217 Commercial Ave. Aspinwall, PA 15215 (412) 781-0213 Free and open to the public The reading series will feature published authors and emerging writers giving book  talks and readings with audience Q&A to follow. Light refreshments will be served.  . . . 2011 Appearances JANUARY  Saturday, January 8, 2011 The Italian American Writers Association 5:45-7:45 p.m. Cornelia Street Café 29 Cornelia Street, NYC (212) 989-9319; www.corneliastreetcafe.com. The evening starts with Open Mic readings of five minutes each. IAWA is a 501(3)©  not-for-profit corporation. Since 1991, the organization has given voice to writers  through its Open Reading series at Cornelia St. Café every month. For membership  information, visit www.iawa.net. Visit the Italian American Writers Cafe blog  http://www.i-italy.org/bloggers/italian-american-writers-cafe.  Paola will be reading with Lisa Marie Basile. More info at http://www.i-  italy.org/bloggers/16398/iawa-presents-award-winning-author-paola-  corso-and-lisa-marie-basile-saturday-january. FEBRUARY  Friday, February 11, 2011 The Park Slope Food Coop's Wordsprouts Reading Series Open House with co-curators Paula Bernstein and Paola Corso 7 p.m. The Park Slope Food Coop Meeting Room 782 Union Street, Brooklyn 11215 (btw 6^th and 7^th Aves) (718) 622-0560 Free and open to the public  Drop by for a refreshment and learn about all the fab Coop authors, their books,  and upcoming events. Wordsprouts Reading Series co-curators Paula Bernstein and  Paola Corso would love to hear about your writing projects and news for an  upcoming Wordsprouts column or suggestions for future Wordsprouts events. Check  out our bag of writing resources. Sign up for a critique of your writing with Script  Doctors Paula and Paola. Paula Bernstein is the co-author of Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins  Separated and Reunited (Random House, 2007). She has a Masters in Cinema  Studies from NYU and has taught memoir writing at mediabistro.com.  Paola Corso's most recent book of fiction is Catina's Haircut: A Novel in Stories,  included on Library Journal's notable list of first novels last fall. She is a writer-in-  residence at Western Connecticut State University's MFA Program in Creative and  Professional Writing.  MARCH  Friday, March 18, 2011 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Centennial Commemoration Reading 6-8 p.m. Bread and Roses Gallery or SEIU 1199 at 310 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 http://rememberthetrianglefire.org/ Paola will read poems about the Triangle fire from her forthcoming book, Once I  Was Told The Air Was Not for Breathing, due out in 2012. The poems were  originally published in Feminist Studies and were excerpted in the book Teaching  Italian American Literature, Film, and Popular Culture edited by Edvige Giunta  and Kathleen Zamboni McCormick.   Sunday, March 20, 2011 The Park Slope Food Coop's Wordsprouts Reading Series Open House with co-curators Paula Bernstein and Paola Corso Noon The Park Slope Food Coop Meeting Room 782 Union Street, Brooklyn 11215 (btw 6^th and 7^th Aves) (718) 622-0560 Free and open to the public Drop by for a refreshment and learn about all the fab Coop authors, their books,  and upcoming events. Wordsprouts Reading Series co-curators Paula Bernstein and  Paola Corso would love to hear about your writing projects and news for an  upcoming Wordsprouts column or suggestions for future Wordsprouts events. Check  out our bag of writing resources. Sign up for a critique of your writing with Script  Doctors Paula and Paola. Paula Bernstein is the co-author of Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins  Separated and Reunited (Random House, 2007). She has a Masters in Cinema  Studies from NYU and has taught memoir writing at mediabistro.com.  Paola Corso's most recent book of fiction is Catina's Haircut: A Novel in Stories,  included on Library Journal's notable list of first novels last fall. She is a writer-in-  residence at Western Connecticut State University's MFA Program in Creative and  Professional Writing.  APRIL  Saturday, April 9, 2011 The Unicorn Writers Conference 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saint Clements Castle Portland, CT Paola will lead a fiction workshop, "Gotta Have Story." More info at http://www.unicornwritersconference.com/Speakers.html Sunday, April 10, 2011  The Park Slope Food Coop's Wordsprouts Reading Series Group Reading hosted by Co-curators Paula Bernstein and Paola Corso 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. The Union Hall 702 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 718-638-4400 Free and open to the public Co-Curators Paula Bernstein and Paola Corso will host a group reading of Park Slope  Food Coop authors at the Union Hall this month, featuring Tom Angotti, Michele  Carlo, Vincent Collazo, Louise Crawford, Grace Edwards, Ellen Freudenheim, Thomas  Glynn, Fran Hawthorne, Daniel Levin, James Luke, Torrey Maldonado, Donna  Minkowitz, Matt Mitler and Thomas Rayfiel.  Paula Bernstein is the co-author of Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins  Separated and Reunited (Random House, 2007). She has a Masters in Cinema  Studies from NYU and has taught memoir writing at mediabistro.com.  Paola Corso's most recent book of fiction is Catina's Haircut: A Novel in Stories,  included on Library Journal's notable list of first novels last fall. She is a writer-in-  residence at Western Connecticut State University's MFA Program in Creative and  Professional Writing.  Thursday-Saturday, April 28-30, 2011 "The 3 Fs in Italian Cultures: Critical Approaches to Food, Fashion, and Film" The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute 25 West 43rd Street, 17th floor, New York, NY 10036. For further information visit www.qc.edu/calandra or call 212-642-2094. At the conference, Paola will likely read an excerpt from her novel in stories,  Catina's Haircut, or a work-in-progress, both focused on food. MAY Wednesday, May 18, 2011  Canzoniere Intergenerazionale: An intergenerational celebration of Italian American poets & book launch party 7-9 p.m. Poets House 10 River Terrace (212) 431-7920 Free and open to the public "Canzoniere Intergenerazionale" brings together an intergenerational lineup of  diverse and powerful voices from the Italian American literary community. Spanning  multiple generations, this event features readings from poets Maria Lisella, Gil  Fagiani, Paola Corso, Amy Barone, Barbara Hoffman, Nicholas Matros, Marisa  Frasca, Kristina Gramlich, Anthony Buccino, Susan Scutti and Robert Viscusi. Hosted  by Angelo Zeolla, this event is also a celebration and launch of Michael Cirelli's  controversial new poetry collection, Everyone Loves The Situation, that explores  Guido culture (and loss of culture), and flips the cultural zeitgeist, MTV's Jersey  Shore, on its gelled and sprayed head. Book signing to follow. Admission is free.  Thursday, May 19, 2011  Fifth Annual Edgy Mother's Day Reading 8 p.m. The Old Stone House Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope's Washington Park $5 donation includes free wine and snacks Paola will join novelists Sophia Romero and Yona Zeldis-McDonnough, essayists  Nancy McDermott and Judy Antell, graphic novelist Jennifer Hayden and MORE for  an annual reading about motherhood and mothers by writers with razor sharp wits  and pointy pens. Curated by Sophia Romero and Louise Crawford.  OCTOBER  Saturday, October 15, 2011  Between Two Shores Poetry Reading at B. Amore's Naples/New York Exhibit 2-5 p.m. David Filderman Gallery in the Axinn Library Bldg 9^th Floor Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY (516) 463-5672 Join artist B. Amore and invited Italian-American guest poets, including John  Barrale, Louisa Calio, Paola Corso, Pellegrino D’Acierno, Woody Dorsey, Jason  Eisenberg, Marisa Frasca, Fred Gardaphe, Daniela Gioseffi, George Guida, Maria  Lisella, Charles Sant’Elia, Maria Terrone, and Bob Viscusi for an afternoon of poetry.  Poems will cover themes touching upon the life and cultures of both Naples and New  York. Friday, October 21, 2011  An Evening of Memoirs Featuring Donna Minkowitz, Jacob Slichter and You! The Park Slope Food Coop's Wordsprouts Reading Series co-curated by Paula Bernstein and Paola Corso 7 p.m. The Park Slope Coop Meeting Room 782 Union Street, Brooklyn 11215 (btw 6^th and 7^th Aves) (718) 622-0560 Free and open to the public Writer, drummer and Coop food-processor Jacob Slichter is the drummer for the  platinum-selling band Semisonic. Slichter’s memoir, So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll  Star (published by Broadway Books in 2004), is a behind-the-scenes look at the  workings of the music business as well as the mind of a performer who chases after  superstardom with failure ever at his heels. He has also written for The New York  Times and is anoccasional contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition.  Donna Minkowitz won a Lambda Literary Award for her memoir Ferocious  Romance: What My Encounters with the Right Taught Me about Sex, God and Fury.  A former columnist for the Village Voice, she has also written for the New York  Times Book Review, Salon and others. Minkowitz recently completed a second  memoir, The Marvelous Toy, which combines approximately 87% true memoir with  the fantasy that her mother created her as a golem. Minkowitz and Slichter will read from their memoirs and then there will be an open  mic, so you can read from your work (5-minute time limit, sign up at 6:45 p.m.).  Refreshments will be served.  NOVEMBER  Sunday, November 13, 2011  Editor's Panel Discussion and Q&A Featuring Tom Angotti, Alexander Dwinell, and Judy Goldberg The Park Slope Food Coop's Wordsprouts Reading Series co-curated by Paula Bernstein and Paola Corso Noon The Park Slope Coop Meeting Room 782 Union Street, Brooklyn 11215 (btw 6^th and 7^th Aves) (718) 622-0560 Free and open to the public Tom Angotti is Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning and Director of the Hunter  College Center for Community Planning and Development. He is co-editor of  Progressive Planning magazine, Participating Editor for Latin American Perspectives  and Local Environment, and co-edited Service-Learning in Design and Planning:  Education at the Boundaries, to be released in Januuary 2012 by New Village Press.  Believing in the role of books and the written word in creating social change,  Alexander Dwinell has worked for the past decade as an Editor/Publisher with  South End Press and as a collective member of the Lucy Parsons Center, a radical  bookstore and community space. He has also worked as a freelance editor and  designer, toured in a punk band, and, with thousands of people, prevented the  passage of the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) agreement. Judy Goldberg is a senior editor at Parents magazine. She assigns and edits  features—everything from food stories, special reports, and essays, to straight up  service pieces. Previously she was at Scholastic where she was the editor  contemporary literature magazine for high school students. She has two kids, a  hilarious husband, and a golden retriever.  DECEMBER  Saturday, December 3, 2011  Children's Poetry Workshop and Reading by DuEwa Frazier The Park Slope Food Coop's Wordsprouts Reading Series co-curated by Paula Bernstein and Paola Corso 6 p.m. The Park Slope Coop Meeting Room 782 Union Street, Brooklyn 11215 (btw 6th and 7th Aves) (718) 622-0560 Free and open to the public DuEwa Frazieris an author, educator and performer. She is the author of Ten  Marblesand a Bag to Put Them In: Poems for Children, Shedding Light From My  Journeys andStardust Tracks on a Road. DuEwa is the editor and publisher of the  Image Award nominated anthology, Check the Rhyme: An Anthology of Female  Poets & Emcee.She earned her M.Ed. degree in Curriculum and Teaching at  Fordham University and her M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing at The New School. 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