Cheryl’s Gone reading series: Create your own ice-cream sundae

March 12, 7:26 PMDC Poetry ExaminerCarrie Addington

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No, there aren’t really ice-cream sundaes at this popular D.C. reading series, so don’t get your hopes up. When asked what dessert this reading series resembles, the current organizer Wade Fletcher explained, “Maybe a create your own sundae bar with lots of choices and a few unexpected toppings.” Well I don't know about you, but I’m sold!

DC has a healthy poetry scene but that’s not to say there isn’t room for new formats and experimentations. Cheryl’s Gone provides just that – a fresh spin on the same ole’ reading series. What’s the main difference?

Here are a few highlights:

• Held at Big Bear Café (and how cuddly and wonderful does that sound?) located at 1st & R NW, every third Thursday of each month at 8:00 pm
• Features two poets, one prose writer, and music or art performances
• Features collaborations and mixed genres (poetry and flute, visual projection and fiction, and even a five-piece experimental improv music ensemble)
• Embraces a variety of writing styles and genres

Whether you are an experienced D.C. area arts-seeker or someone who wants to branch out into undiscovered territory, Cheryl’s Gone is worth taking some time to experience. I found out about the series from a fellow poet and decided to take in the reading series, all along wondering about who this Cheryl character is and how did she manage to get a reading series named after her.

Poet Wade Fletcher, who now runs the series after taking over from the series creator Joe Hall, explains, “Cheryl is an awesome poet who used to work at Big Bear until moving to the Midwest to pursue her MFA.” Well I’m a sucker for a good love story so when I found out the original founder of the series, Joe Hall, got the series started after his girlfriend—the infamous Cheryl—moved away, I was an active supporter. But besides my interest in the story behind the series, was my appreciation for the creative and unconventional format. Eclectic would be the word to describe this series.

Specifically, the poets chosen for this series are varied, representing different facets of the poetry world as we know it and the poetry world as we are still discovering it. Cheryl’s Gone has had great success in its brief existence, drawing in varied communities, including local MFA programs (GMU & UMD), as well as neighborhood locals. Fletcher expresses, “I’d like to see more reading series that bring in newer poets as well as more established poets from outside the D.C. area. There’s so much potential for reading series that blur boundaries and poetic communities. That’s what we are trying to do with Cheryl’s Gone.”

With D.C.s amazing mix of creative writers, and their unparalleled energy and community commitment, Cheryl’s Gone is just one of the reading series that helps expand and evolve the D.C. poetry scene.