Jeff Metcalf, Cheryl Collins, Gael Newman Pardi and and Richard Severy will present their work at the Salt Lake Public Library on November 2nd and 7:00 P.M. in the A/B conference room as part of the City Art Reading Series. Jeff Metcalf recently retired from teaching ìat riskî high school students for the past 30 years. The recipient of the Hunstman Award for Excellence in Education, the National Council for Teachers of English Outstanding teacher Award, the Writers at Work Lifetime Achievement Award and a Fulbright Memorial Scholarship, Metcalf is now an Associate Professor of English at the University of Utah. His play ìThree Comedians in Purgatory was performed in Nice, France and recently, his play ìWhere To?î was performed as part of Cabbies, Cowboys, and the Tree of the Weeping Virgin was performed during the Winter Olympics by the Salt Lake Acting Company. Elik press published the chapbook The Last Steelhead. Cheryl Collins was intuitively drawn to nature, photography, Art and poetry. Creative writing has always been a favorite and writing has been a constant source of grounding and self-therapy throughout her life. She attended Brigham Young University . Collins is also a glass artist and has designed glass and steel outdoor sculptures, including ìHealing towers at the main entrance of the IHC hospital in St. George. In 2001 Gael Newman Pardi graduated, magna cum laude from Mills College with a degree in English and Creative Writing. Gael has written many short stories and has recently completed a novel for the young adult reader about AmericaÃs disillusionment with the Vietnam War. Gael is a partner in an interior design firm that specializes in creating tranquil environments in hospitals for cancer patients. She resides in Oakland, California. Richard Severy - Raised in the UK on the Goon Show, Monty Python, Fawlty Towers etc. Law degree, Bristol University. Discovered Beckett, Pinter, Bunuel, Ray, Bergman, and then Dennis Potter and Mike Leigh. Tried to write novel. Failed. Got married. Became attorney. Had 3 beautiful daughters. Dropped out. Tried to write novel. Failed. Divorced. Became attorney again. Met present wife, American Pop Artist, Jann Haworth. Inherited 2 more beautiful daughters. Dropped out again. Tried to write novel again. Failed(again). Became teacher. Had beautiful son. Wrote kidsà book. Did self-sufficiency thing on small farm in Somerset. Wrote 8 more kidsà books ( published by Julia MacCrae, Methuen and Collins) Came to Sundance, Utah. Taught writing at local State College. Wrote several adult novels. CouldnÃt get them published. Mislaid agent. Went to Sundance Film Festival every year. Got inspired by independent films and Sundance Institute Lab events. Did 2 day seminar on screen-writing with Dan Decker. Bought expensive Movie Magic Screen-writer program. Wrote Dirty Girls. Entered it in Filmmakers/Radmin Screen-writing Contestà The event is free and open to the public. City Art is sponsored by the Utah Arts Council, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, Zoo, Arts, and Parks, and audience donations. The featured reading will be followed by an open reading. __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com