Below are upcoming and past events where Celisa Steele will read or has read. If you’re interested in inviting her to read, use the contact form.

Upcoming Events

Celisa has no upcoming readings scheduled at this time. To invite her to read, contact her.

Previous Events

Saturday, January 23, 2016, 10 am | Emrys Writing Room, M Judson Books, 130 S Main St., Greenville, SC 29601

Celisa Steele will lead a for-fee workshop entitled “Poetics as Persuasion” as part of the Writing Room series, an independent creative writing program founded by Mindy Friddle and sponsored by the Emrys Foundation. See the Emrys Web site for details about the workshop and how to register.

Saturday, December 5, 2015, 10 am | Friends of the Orange County Public Library Annual Meeting, Orange County Library, 137 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278

Celisa Steele is one of three headline speakers for the Friends of the Orange County Public Library Annual Meeting, organized around the theme of “Creating a Passion to Read.” Award-winning Hillsborough author Jill McCorkle and Tom Stevens, mayor of Hillsborough, are the other two headline speakers.

Saturday, October 17, 2015, 7 pm | West End Poetry Festival, Century Hall in the Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC 27510

Celisa Steele, as the current Carrboro poet laureate, will read at the final event of the 2015 West End Poetry Festival, followed by Ansel Elkins, whose debut collection, Blue Yodel, won the prestigious Yale Series of Younger Poets competition in 2014. The West End Poetry Festival Web site has the full schedule and bios for those participating in the free two-day festival.

Sunday, May 3, 2015, 2:30 to 4:30 pm | Poetry at Carrboro Day, Board Room in Town Hall, Carrboro, NC 27510

Carrboro Poet Laureate Celisa Steele will participate in a reading in the round, hosted by the Carrboro Poets Council, for poets and fans of poetry—all are welcome. Come to read your own work; come to share a poem you love by someone else; come to listen only. Leave (quietly, respectively) whenever you wish. Or stay the whole time.

Sunday, April 19, 2015, 3 pm | Writers’ Group of the Triad, Third Sunday at Three, Common Grounds Coffeehouse, 602 S Elam Ave., Greensboro, NC 27403

Celisa Steele and Michael Gaspeny will be the featured poets, followed by open mic.

Thursday, April 16, 2015, 6 pm | Orange County Library, 137 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278

The Orange County Library celebrates National Poetry Month with a reading by Hillsborough Poet Laureate Aaron Belz; Jaki Shelton Green, 2014 inductee into the NC Literary Hall of Fame; Crystal Simone Smith, managing editor of Backbone Press; and Carrboro Poet Laureate Celisa Steele. The event is free and open to the public.

Friday, April 10, 2015, 6 pm | Second Friday ArtWalk, Weaver Street Realty, 116 E. Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510

A poem by Celisa Steele will be featured along with poems by 16 other local poets as part of National Poetry Month. The poems on display take on subjects as diverse as Carrboro itself, waxing poetic about the town, boxing, light switches, and love. An opening reception, as part of the Second Friday ArtWalk, will be held Friday, April 10, 6 to 9 pm, at Weaver Street Realty. The poems will remain up through the month of April. The 17 participating poets include Joan Barasovska, Abigail Browning, Jay Bryan, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Sara Claytor, Tyree Daye, Jaki Shelton Green, Maura High, Tyler Johnson, Barbara Kenyon, Lenard D. Moore, Gary Phillips, Alan Shapiro, Crystal Simone Smith, Susan Spalt, Celisa Steele, and Ross White.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 7:30 pm | Carrboro Board of Aldermen Meeting, Carrboro Town Hall, 301 W. Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510

Mayor Lydia Lavelle will make a proclamation in honor of April being National Poetry Month, and Carrboro Poet Laureate Celisa Steele will read two poems.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014, 7 pm | Emrys Reading Room, Chicora Alley, 608 South Main Street, Greenville, SC 29601

Celisa Steele will read with Scott Gould as part of the Emrys Reading Room series, which started in 1990.

Saturday, October 18, 2014, 7 pm | West End Poetry Festival, Century Hall in the Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC 27510

Celisa Steele, as the current Carrboro poet laureate, will read at the final event of the 2014 West End Poetry Festival, followed by the wonderful Cathy Smith Bowers, poet laureate of North Carolina from 2010 to 2012. The West End Poetry Festival Web site has information about the 8 events and 20+ poets who will be participating in the two-day festival.

Saturday, October 11, 2014, 7 pm | Women Writers of the Triad, Second Saturdays at Tate Street Coffee House, 334 Tate Street, Greensboro, NC 27403

Celisa Steele and Howard Craft will be the featured poets, followed by time for open mic.

Monday, April 21, 2014, 6 pm | Poetry on Your Plate, Century Hall in the Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC 27510

Carrboro’s annual Poetry on Your Plate event will feature Celisa Steele, Bruce Lader, and Bartholomew Barker in 2014. Each poet will read for a half hour, leaving time for questions at the end. Those attending are encouraged to bring dinner from home or one of the great local restaurants; Carrboro’s Recreation and Parks Department will provide coffee and cookies.

Saturday, April 12, 2014, 10 am | Chapel Hill Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Celisa Steele will read with her former writing group Carrboro Poetica (Sara Claytor, Phyllis Green Jean, Barbara Kenyon, and Susan Spalt).

Thursday, February 6, 2014, 7 pm | Cup 22 on the second floor of the Haw River Ballroom, 1711 Saxapahaw Bethlehem Church Road, Saxapahaw, NC 27340

Celisa Steele will be the featured reader at the monthly Writer’s Night at the Haw River Ballroom. Open mic for writers of all stripes will follow.

Saturday, October 19, 2013, 7 pm | West End Poetry Festival, Century Hall in the Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC 27510

Celisa Steele, as the newly appointed Carrboro poet laureate, will read at the final event of the West End Poetry Festival, followed by Gabrielle Calvocoressi, the new Walker Percy Fellow in Poetry at UNC-Chapel Hill. The West End Poetry Festival Web site has information about the 7 events and 20+ poets who will be participating in the two-day festival.

Thursday, October 17, 2013, 7 pm | A Night of Local Poetry, Oasis in Carr Mill, 200 North Greensboro Street A5 (inside Carr Mill Mall on the first floor), Carrboro, NC 27510

Celisa Steele, Bennett Meyers, and Lou Lipsitz will read before Lou hosts a poetry open mic.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013, 7 pm | Carrboro Poetica Reading, Purple Crow Books, 109 West King Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278

Celisa Steele, Sara Claytor, Phyllis Green Jean, Barbara Kenyon, and Susan Spalt (collectively, Carrboro Poetica) will read and sign books.

Monday, September 16, 2013, 2 pm | Carrboro Poetica Reading, Seymour Center, 2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Celisa Steele and the four other members of Carrboro Poetica (Sara Claytor, Phyllis Green Jean, Barbara Kenyon, and Susan Spalt) will read before tea is served.

Monday, August 12, 2013, 8 pm | Monday Night Poetry & Music, East Bay Meeting House, 160 East Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401

Celisa Steele (reading poetry) and Jeff Cobb (playing guitar and singing) will again be the featured performers at Monday Night Poetry & Music, an every Monday show of poetry and music. Open mic for poets and musicians will follow.

Sunday, May 5, 2013, 1 to 2:45 pm | Poetry at Carrboro Day, Board Room in Town Hall, Carrboro, NC 27510

Celisa Steele will participate in a reading in the round, hosted by the Carrboro Poets Council, for poets and fans of poetry—all are welcome. Come to read your own work; come to share a poem you love by someone else; come to listen only. Leave (quietly, respectively) whenever you wish. Or stay the whole time. Learn more about Carrboro Day.

Thursday, February 21, 2013, 6 pm | Third Thursday Open Mic Night, Lazy Lion Used Books & More, 601 East Broad Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

Celisa Steele will be the featured reader at the monthly third-Thursday reading and open mic at the Lazy Lion, hosted by Jan Parker, Nancy Young, and Laura Towne and sponsored by Main Street Rag.

Thursday, December 13, 2012, 7 pm | Second Thursday Poetry Reading Series, Flyleaf Books, 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Celisa Steele will be a featured reader, and open mic will follow at this series co-hosted by Stan Absher and Debra Kaufman.

Saturday, October 20, 2012, 3 pm | West End Poetry Festival, Century Hall in the Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC 27510

As part of the 8th annual West End Poetry Festival, Celisa Steele with read in a session called “Tending the Garden: Why We Write,” facilitated by Alan Shapiro. Poets Tyler Johnson, Susan Spalt, and William Stott are also scheduled to participate. The West End Poetry Festival runs October 19 and 20; features poetry readings, Q&A with poets, sessions on publishing and the role of poetry in social change, an open mic, and time for socializing; and is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 5:30 pm | Poetry Hickory, Taste Full Beans Coffee House, 29 2nd Street Northwest, Hickory, NC 28601

After an open mic, Celisa Steele and Jo Barbara Taylor will be the featured poets at Poetry Hickory, hosted by Scott Owens.

Sunday, May 6, 2012, 4 pm | Freshly Picked Poetry at Carrboro Day, training room inside the Carrboro Fire Department, Carrboro, NC 27510

Celisa Steele will read along with other poets hailing from Carrboro: Jay Bryan, Grey Brown, Glenn Cassidy, Sara Claytor, Ricky Garni, Tyler Johnson, Stephanie Levin, and Susan Willey Spalt.

Monday, March 19, 2012, 8 pm | Monday Night Poetry & Music, East Bay Meeting House, 160 East Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401

Celisa Steele (reading poetry) and Jeff Cobb (playing guitar and singing) will be the featured performers at Monday Night Poetry & Music, an every Monday show of poetry and music. Open mic for poets and musicians will follow.

Friday, February 17, 2012, 6 pm | Barnhill’s Books Wine Art Gifts, 811 Burke Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Celisa Steele and Becky Gould Gibson will read.

Monday, January 23, 2012, 7 pm | Emrys Reading Room, Ford’s Oyster House & Cajun Kitchen, 608b South Main Street Greenville, SC 29601

Celisa Steele will read with Alan Michael Parker as part of the Emrys Reading Room series, which started in 1990.

Friday, December 9, 2011, 12 noon | Osler Literary Roundtable, Duke Clinic, Room 1993, 200 Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710

Celisa Steele will be read at the Osler Literary Roundtable, organized by the Health Arts Network at Duke. All are welcome–and welcome to bring lunch to eat during the reading and discussion. Directions and parking information are available on the DukeHealth.org Web site.

Thursday, November 17, 2011, 6 pm | Third Thursday Open Mic Night, Lazy Lion Used Books & More, 601 East Broad Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

Celisa Steele and Helen Losse will be the two featured readers at the monthly third-Thursday reading and open mic at the Lazy Lion, hosted by Malaika King Albrecht, Jan Parker, and Laura Towne and sponsored by Main Street Rag.

Celisa’s readings and events from before November 2011 are not included here.