Renée Alberts listens to rivers and shortwave radio to create poetry, collage, sound, and photography. Her poetry collection, No Water, came out in 2009, and her work has appeared in The New Yinzer, Encyclopedia Destructica, Pittsburgh City Paper and Subtletea. She has given dozens of readings, including on WYEP’s Prosody, WRCT’s A Live Show, and as a 2001 and 2004 member of the Steel City Slam Team. She organizes numerous poetry and music events, including the long-running WordsSwordsWords showcase and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Sunday Poetry & Reading Series, for which she edited Natural Language: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Sunday Poetry and Reading Series Anthology, a collection that includes the work of 35 academic, experimental, and spoken word Pittsburgh poets. She posts writing and artwork at animalprayer.com.
Mary Biddinger slept with a minimum of thirty stuffed animals on (and in) her bed until she went away to college and thinned the herd. She maintains a penchant for horses, and thinks hedgehogs are tragically misunderstood. She lives in Akron, Ohio, where she teaches poetry writing and literature, edits a journal named after her favorite bird, and writes poems about epic love.
Juliet Cook’s peculiar poetry has recently appeared within Action Yes, Diagram, Diode, Dusie, Oranges & Sardines and many more print and online entities. She is the editor/publisher of Blood Pudding Press (print) and Thirteen Myna Birds (online). Juliet’s first full-length poetry collection, ‘Horrific Confection’ was published by BlazeVOX. She also has oodles of published poetry chapbooks, most recently including Soft Foam (Blood Pudding Press for Dusie Kollektiv 4), FONDANT PIG ANGST (Slash Pine Press) and Tongue Like a Stinger (Wheelhouse). Her very latest Blood Pudding Press chapbook, ‘Angel Face Trailer, will be an extra special event between Juliet and her darkly delicious Italian Translator, Letizia Merello. To find out more about all of the above and other yummy details, feel free to visit www.JulietCook.weebly.com.
The Bridge City Bombshells are the premiere burlesque troupe of Pittsburgh. Specializing in everything but ordinary burlesque, the bombshells bring a very alternative and entertaining twist to every performance.
The Hood Gang is the The Undisputed no.1 Most Partyingest Band. Fun incarnate. An experiment in harnessing the positive energy of humanity in the context of a party / performance using multiple genre evolutions revolving around high energy dance music, thrilling stunts, performance art, inclusion, optimism, and love.
In a post-millenium world of beer and prepackaged Chex Mix™, LUPEC works tirelessly to breed, raise, and release cocktails that are endangered or even believed to be extinct.
Gab Bonesso has carved out a quirky niche in a crazy business. She specializes in Alternative Comedy, and she is definitely an alternative to the traditional kind of club (frat boy) comedic style. Her dad died at Christmas. Naturally, Gab somehow finds the humor. A dog gets a little too friendly with an unsuspecting infant. Gab examines the canine’s point of view.
