Guests of Forrest Fest 2005


Forrest Fest is pleased to welcome back . . .

Peggy Zuleika Lynch, a tireless promoter of poetry and poets, and founder of Poetry in the Arts, Inc., is widely regarded as the "Grand Dame" of poetry in Texas. The author of eight books of poetry and coauthor of 11 others, she has been published in the US, Italy, India and Canada, edited 15 anthologies, including Behold Texas, the only poetry book selected by the City of Austin, Texas, for inclusion in the Centennial Time Capsule to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the University of Texas, and the classic collector's item, From Hide and Horn, a sesquicentennial anthology of poetry about 150 years of the Texas state of mind. She has received three Pushcart Prize nominations, and her awards include the honor of being knighted a Dame of Grace by the Knights of Malta, the World Congress of Poets Lifetime Achievement Award and Poet Laureateship , the Houston Poetry Fest Literary Arts Award, the Poetry Society of Texas Hilton Ross Greer Outstanding Service Award and the Stephen Gill International Peace Award for Poetry. Ms. Lynch reads and lectures in the United States, France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and is the Poet Laureate and permanent Poet-in-Residence at the Paris American Academy, Paris, France. She is listed in the Vista Who's Who of North American Poets, and Who's Who: Autobiographical Sketches of Poets, Writers and Publishers.

Larry Thomas, a native West Texan, has resided in Houston,Texas, since 1967.He is winner of the Western Heritage Award, the 2004 Texas Review Poetry Award and 2004 Violet Crown Book Award (Literary Prose & Poetry category).


Thom the World Poet, Aussie born, Thom now lives in Austin, Texas, where he is one of the driving forces behind the live poetry scene in a city of poets. His spontaneous improvisational artistry, wit and charm always lends a special something to Forrest Fest.

Steve Brooks, a popular Austin folk singer and O'Henry pun off champion, will appear again to entertain attendants to the Fest with his melodic stylings and wit. Steve has a song for every occasion, ranging from comic commentary and crackerbarrel philosophy to lyrical love ballads and sharp-edged snapshots of Texas and the world. Learn more about Steve and his music on his Web site.

Kathleen Romano, an artist, poet, writer and entrepeneur, was born and raised in Boston, where she attended the Boston School of Music and Art, and received her degree in art fom Butera School of Art, Boston. She worked as a freelance illustrator, and copywriter from 1990 until 1992.

She has taken her involvement in the literary arts seriously since the late '90s, and has subsequently authored and illustrated two collections of her poetry, Dreamscapes and Other Wanderings, and Thy Kingdom Come. She has also been published in a number of anthologies, including Outstanding Poets of 1998, The Isle of View, Daydreams, Tides of Memory, Outstanding Poems of America, Homecoming, The Silence Within, Acclamations.

Her avcocations include the Samauri saber and tai chi.
. . . and extend a warm West Texas welcome to our

New Guests

Dr. David Breeden has an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a Ph.D. from the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, with additional study at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. He has published eight books of poetry and four novels. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in such journals as Mississippi Review, Nebo, Poet Lore, Mid-American Review, North Atlantic Review, Boston Literary Review, Turnstile, Nidus, Paragraph, and New Texas. His short film House Whine was funded by the British Columbia Arts Council. His film Off the Wall won “Best of Fest” at the Great Lakes Film Festival. His next novel, A Poet’s Guide to Divorce, will appear soon from Fine Tooth Press. His newest book of poetry, Ice Cream and Suicide, was recently published by UKA Press in the United Kingdom.

http://faculty.schreiner.edu/dbreeden

Andrew McKinight, an environmental engineer-turned-singer/songwriter, Andrew is a high energy crowd pleaser for audiences from intimate unplugged house concerts to large festival stages. Equal parts Shenandoah Valley storyteller and poet blended with ever-present strains of the historian, geographer and naturalist, his rurally-based music reflects an oral history built on the past while firmly musically rooted in the present.

Andrew has released four critically acclaimed CDs on the independent Falling Mountain Music label. His tour itinerary includes 125-150 dates annually across North America, with past performances to his credit at the John F. Kennedy Center and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta; legendary listening rooms like the Birchmere (DC), Anderson Fair (Houston), Eddie's Attic (Atlanta) and Nashville's Bluebird Cafe; and festivals including the Mountain Stage NewSong Festival, Chattanooga's Riverbend Festival, the Herndon and Country Roads Folk Festivals, and Baltimore's huge Artscape festival. He also leads workshops on songwriting, guitar technique, various aspects of the acoustic music industry, and environmental issues. Andrew enjoys an artist endorsement with Elixir Strings.


Dr. Chris Ellery's interests include Poetry, Film, Mark Twain, Arabic Lit. and Language, Middle East Culture and Politics, Peace Studies and Human Rights, Travel, Hiking and Camping. He recently spent a year in Syria on fellowship.
Professor English Angelo State University,
Ph.D., Texas A&M University
M.A., University of Arkansas
B.F.A., Arkansas Tech University

Also hosting afternoon venues will be "The Loft" from Lubbock, Texas, and the Odessa Poetry Society.