Word of Mouth Cincinnati (WoMC), a literary event consisting of both an Open Mic and a Feature Performance, runs the last Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. upstairs at MOTR Pub.
Word of Mouth Cincinnati, which began in January 2014, is co-hosted by fellow writers Jim Palmarini and Mark Flanigan. It was founded in memory of the late Aralee Strange who, after many years living, writing and producing work in the Cincinnati area, moved to Athens, Georgia where she co-founded Athens Word of Mouth.
Our feature on April 24, 2018 is Michael Henson (Cincinnati, OH)
Michael Henson is author of four books of poetry and four books of fiction. His most recent work is Maggie Boylan, a collection of linked stories centered on nine months in the life of a woman addicted to opiates in rural Appalachia. Kate Flaherty, writing in Ploughshares, called it, “a devastating collection . . . easily the best fictional account of the widespread meth and Oxy wreckage in Appalachia since Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone.”
Henson holds degrees from Xavier University and the University of Chicago. He has worked as a community organizer, painter, factory hand, rural schoolteacher, adjunct professor, and for many years, a substance abuse counselor and clinical supervisor. He holds the rank of shodan (black belt) in Aikido and he plays mandolin and guitar in Carter Bridge, a bluegrass band. He is a co-editor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, the annual publication of the Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife Elissa Pogue.
WoMC is an intentional arc of both past and future utterance, inspired by our most revered voice, with a nod to her Athens, GA compatriots. Word of Mouth asks poets to Show Up, Mouth Off and Pay Attention.
