SPECTRA lives! We are excited to have a lineup of so much talent, and a line up of entirely gender nonconforming writers, at that. This is going to be a really special show for our press and for our community.
What: SPECTRA Reading Series featuring Elliott Sky Case
When: Wednesday, October 9, Doors at 7:00 p.m. | Show at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Rozz-Tox (2108 3rd Ave., Rock Island, IL 61201)
Cost: Event is free and open; copies of Get Home Safe will be available for purchase. Donations appreciated.
Line up for this event includes author Chuy Renteria, Kai Newell, and Lyn Kress.
About Elliott Sky Case & their book #GetHomeSafe:
Elliott Sky Case is a genderqueer poet and visual artist. They were born and raised in Los Angeles, attended UC Santa Cruz, and currently live in San Jose. Their work has appeared in The Wanderer, Voicemail Poems, and Cheers From The Wasteland, as well as three self-released poetry & photo zines. Elliott is a Virgo sun / Scorpio rising / Libra moon and married to the sunset. They can be found online at elliottskycase.com.
Jesus “Chuy” Renteria is an author, artist, dancer, and teacher, but above all, they are a storyteller. Born in Iowa City and raised in West Liberty IA, both sides of his family are from border towns in Mexico that transplanted to meatpacking towns in the Midwest. Growing up in West Liberty, he oscillated between the Mexican, Laotian, and small-town cultures that made up Iowa’s first majority-Hispanic town. Chuy tells stories celebrating the spaces between cultures, of mangled Spanglish and generational clashes, of the messiness of people finding themselves. In addition to his writing, Chuy is a Success Coach with the non-profit RSFIC (Resilient Sustainable Future For Iowa City) where they support community partners looking to create meaningful connections with their neighbors. They write the Substack, “Of Spanglish and Maximalism,” which details, among other things, the trials of being a former DEI professional in upper academia. They were the host of The Englert’s Writers of Color Reading Series podcast. Their first full-length publication, a memoir titled “We Heard it When We Were Young,” released in November 2021 with The University of Iowa Press. He spends his free time with his wife Darcy and their first born Marisol Alana.
Kai Newell is a dynamic author, LGBTQ+ advocate, and Prevention Specialist at The Project of the Quad Cities, born and raised in the Quad City area. Holding Bachelor’s degrees in Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication, as well as Business, Kai brings a unique and informed perspective to both their writing and advocacy. As a nonbinary individual, they are deeply passionate about promoting inclusivity, acceptance, and equality, especially within the queer community.
Beyond their professional achievements, Kai is a published author who dedicates their work to crafting stories that reflect the complexities of life while advocating for a more supportive and equitable community for their children. They actively engage in promoting LGBTQ+ rights, breaking barriers, and fostering positive change in both personal and professional spheres. In their free time, Kai enjoys spending quality time with their children (both human and animal), indulging in early 2000s emo music, and getting lost in a good book. Driven by the belief that everyone deserves equal access to resources, Kai strives to amplify voices and promote understanding in the pursuit of a more inclusive future.
Lyn Kress is a freshman at Knox College who is a recovering high school emo poet from Rock Island that has now moved on to a little less emo poetry that is written in a cramped dorm room an hour away.
Praise for GET HOME SAFE:
“A true namer of unnameable moments, of one’s own body and gravity, of ‘no-skin’ feelings, Elliott Sky Case creates a magic both ‘big and small all at once.’ Walking with this poet in the early morning haze, there is such intimacy, such bravery to know the space around you, and to love your place in it.” – JAMIE MORTARA, AUTHOR OF “SOME PLANET” AND “GOOD MORNING AMERICA I AM HUNGRY AND ON FIRE”
The SPECTRA Reading Series is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council.
