Join us for a reading from visiting poet Bruce Willard, who will be sharing work from his most recent collection, Violent Blues (Four Way Books). Bruce will be joined by poet Joe Brundidge.

Violent Blues is a blues-harp album of words, a soundtrack of loss, introspection and renewal—one man’s search for intimacy and enduring music. Its poems are rooted in the natural world and tethered by concrete experience.

Bruce Willard’s poems have appeared in 5 A.M., African American Review, Agni online, Harvard Review, Ploughshares, Salamander, NPR’s Writer’s Almanac, and numerous other publications. His first collection of poems, Holding Ground, was published by Four Way Books in 2013. Willard is a graduate of Middlebury College and holds a MFA from Bennington College’s Writing Seminars program. He spends his time in Maine, Colorado, and California. In addition to his work as a poet, Willard currently runs 32 Bar Blues and oversees several other clothing businesses.

Joe Brundidge is an author, host, and public speaker living in Austin, Texas. He has hosted a number of open mics for almost 20 years to include his own show, “Spoken&Heard” at Kick Butt Coffee. He also served as the Director of the Austin International Poetry Festival for three years, from 2012-2015. He is currently co-host of KOOP 91.7fm’s “Writing On The Air.”