2019
December
Featured poet, along with Dana Wildsmith, at
WordStream, Knoxville, TN
November
Reading and reception for SUGAR FIX
hosted by MTSU Write
Featured poet and SUGAR FIX party, Poetry in the Boro
Two book talks with private book clubs
Reading and talk with Murfreesboro Woman’s Club
October
A featured poet, Southern Festival of Books
A featured poet at
Ancestree: An Evening of Spoken Word
21C Museum Hotel, Nashville
Reception and discussion on the exhibit
“Revisiting the Other Side,”
collaborative work by Jessica Goings Nelson, Ginny Togrye, and Kory Wells
at Bradley Academy Museum
Reading/performance and talk for
MTSU English Department’s “In Process” series
with Kelsey Wells
More info on the In Process blog and the MTSU Writing Events page
September
Greenway Arts Festival
on behalf of Murfreesboro Arts Laureates
with Poetry in the Boro, Bloom Stage and Under 1 Roof
Reader at
Under 1 Roof, Murfreesboro
Reader at Rockvale Writers Colony
Birthday Fundraiser Open House Party
Poetry in the Boro
with featured poets
Fred Arroyo and Barbara E. Young
August
Murfreesboro Arts Laureates Exhibit and Reception
“Finish the Story”
in the Rotunda of Murfreesboro City Hall
Poetry in the Boro
with featured poets Lana Austin and Donovan McAbee
The Bloom Stage “Dog Days”
multigenre storytelling show
June
Staging the Page: Cultivating Your Poetic Voice
A workshop with Jamie Stevens and Kory Wells
Murfreesboro Little Theatre
May
Helped produce
“Cornbread and Casseroles: Stories of Comfort Food and Mamas”
a multigenre show with storytelling,
poetry, music and art
April
Appeared on J-Mar’s Transmission radio show, WXNA-FM
with Nashville Youth Poet Laureate Mumina Ali
and Nashville Free Poetry Library/Nashville Poetry Festival
organizer Matt Johnstone
One of the featured poets at the
Nashville Independent Poetry Festival
Conducted workshop
“What I Mean When I Say Poetry”
for Vol State English Department Faculty Retreat
March
Volunteer and panel moderator,
SE-YA Book Festival
(Fangirl alert: I got to meet Greg Howard,
Tiffany D. Jackson, and David Barclay Moore,
and helped in Allan Wolf’s poetry workshop.)
Poetry in the Boro
with featured poet Navita Gunter
and a segment of Actors Reading Poetry
Helped coordinate
Poet’s Corner at Scarritt-Bennett honors Michael E. Williams
Led a poetry workshop/faculty retreat
for English department of Volunteer State Community College
February
Featured poet for Defibrillator:
An evening of storytelling, music, and more
Poetry in the Boro
with featured poets Matthew Johnstone and Mike James
January
Poetry in the Boro
with featured spoken word artist Frank Frizzy Sykes
2018
December
Seasonal poetry and caroling at the Boro Art Crawl.
Poets Nick Bush, Gregory Lannom, DeAnna Osborne, and Kory.
Co-hosted a special Solstice Eve edition of Poetry in the Boro
with featured poet Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum
Spoke to the Murfreesboro Noon Rotary Club
about poetry and local arts movement
November
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro
with featured poets Carlina Duan and Sarah McCartt-Jackson
Was among the poets reading at Barnes & Noble
for the Riverdale Book Fair from 3-8 pm. See this blog post for more info.
October
Organized and contributed to poetry readings
for the HeART of Tennessee celebration at the Boro Art Crawl
A Ghostly Gathering:
A Weaving of Storytelling, Music and Poetry
featuring Kara Kemp, Bryanna Licciardi, Tara Syester & Kory Wells
donations benefit Murfreesboro Little Theatre & Poetry in the Boro
more info
August
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Gregory Lannom;
featured poets Gary McDowell and Catherine Moore.
July
Presented new and formerly published work at the
inaugural Arts Laureates Exhibit
The Other Side: Contrasts in Our Community
Photography by Jessica Nelson
Painting by Ginny Togrye
Poetry by Kory Wells
Murfreesboro City Hall Rotunda, June 26 – August 3
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Nick Bush and Gregory Lannom;
featured poet Dana Malone and a special program called
“In Other Voices: A Collaboration of Poets and Actors”
at Murfreesboro Little Theatre
June
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Gregory Lannom;
featured poet Joshua Moore and storyteller Mark Lamb.
Conducted a workshop for youth,
“Writing and Performing Your Personal Monologue”
with Mark Lamb.
Was a featured storyteller for Come Together Now,
a performance of the annual United We Style event
to benefit United Way. A musical homage to the Beatles
blended with community stories and hair salon high styles!
Participated in my first photo exhibition for Focus on the Boro
May
Talked poetry and arts with the Murfreesboro Kiwanis Club
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Nick Bush;
featured poets Chance Chambers and Lisa Dordal
April
April is National Poetry Month!
I helped people of all ages write “Tennessee tanka”
at events throughout the month at
the Murfreesboro Barnes & Noble
the Boro Art Crawl, where we also had short readings throughout the evening,
and at the Discovery Center on Laureates Day.
I was honored to have a poem included in an exhibit of paintings
by Anne Carothers at the Arts Center of Cannon County.
My poem, “In fullness, all creation” is an ekphrastic response to her work.
March
Talked poetry with 1st graders at McFadden School of Excellence
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Nick Bush;
featured readers Sandy Coomer and Michael Williams
February
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Nick Bush;
featured poets TJ Jarrett and Kerri French
Organized and contributed to reading by poets
at America the Beautiful photography exhibit
featuring work by Amber Vongsamphanh
January
Conducted a Saturday workshop for MTSU Write:
The Jewel of the Scab: Mining Contrasts for Effective Poems
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Nick Bush;
featured poets Erin Elizabeth Smith and Sophia Stid
2017
December
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets Stephanie McCarley Dugger and Nathan Spoon
November
Co-hosted Poetry in the Boro with Nick Bush;
featured readers Jeff Hardin and Bryanna Licciardi
September
One of the featured poets at Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret
at Murfreesboro Little Theatre (a Banned Books Week celebration)
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets Leslie LaChance and Mike Pierce
August
Brief poet laureate reading and comments
at Pirates of Penzance, Murfreesboro Center for the Arts
Hosted Poetry in the Boro’s first birthday at the Boro Art Crawl
Poetry presentation to Murfreesboro chapter of PEO International
July
Inaugurated at City Council meeting as the first poet laureate of Murfreesboro.
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets Christina Stoddard and Jamal Jazz Ukwu
June
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets Nick Bush and Michelle Hendrixson Miller
May
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured readers Destiny Birdsong and Allison Boyd Justus
April
Hosted a special edition of Poetry in the Boro at the Boro Art Crawl.
Over a dozen local poets read!
Led a session on “your online presence as a writer” for the 2017 Tennessee Mountain Writers conference
March
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets Christopher Williams and June Hall McCash
February
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets J.L. Trent and Matthew Leavitt Brown
January
Was a featured poet, along with Joseph Powell, at Poetry in the Boro
2016
December
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets Walker Bass, Kerri French, and Ciona Rouse
November
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poet Amie Whittemore
October
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets DeAnna DeBow Osborne and Aaron Shapiro
Appeared at the Southern Festival of Books with Swedish poet and writer Bernt-Olav Andersson. I read the English translations of some of his poems. Kelsey provided a few fiddle tunes, too!
September
Hosted Poetry in the Boro;
featured poet Alvin Knox (read some of his work on Artvilla).
Performed collaborative poetry and old-time music as The Kelsey Wells Duo,
pre-show entertainment at Nashville’s Shakespeare in the Park.
August
Hosted the first Poetry in the Boro;
featured poets Allison Boyd Justus, Bryanna Licciardi, Daniyah Kazadi, and Denise Wilson.
June
Featured poet at Poet’s Corner, the monthly reading series at Scarritt Bennett in Nashville.
Read with other members of my poetry group, The Delineators, at the Murfreesboro Art Crawl
from 6-9 PM in the Rotunda at Murfreesboro City Hall. Short readings at 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00 and 8:30 pm.
Led several workshops at Collective Impact, the Tennessee Arts Commission statewide conference
in Murfreesboro. Tuesday sessions on social media, Thursday on poetry.
May
Among the local authors who met and mingled with student authors at the Linebaugh Library ESP Children Authors Recognition in Murfreesboro.
April
Read with other members of my poetry group, The Delineators, at the Murfreesboro Art Crawl from 6-9 PM.
March
Guest speaker for poetry night in Gloria Ballard‘s Creative Writing Fundamentals class at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film.
February
Invited reader, For the Love of Writing: A Toast to Bill Brown, presented by East Side Story at The Post East in Nashville.
Moderated Q&A for Ada Limón reading at MTSU
January
Participated in the open-mic at Poetry in the Brew – what a great crowd!
Check out this monthly event if you’re looking for a place to read a new poem or two.
2015
December
Invited reader, December: A Juried Reading hosted by The Porch Writers’ Collective in Nashville.
October
Guest speaker for poetry night in Gloria Ballard‘s Creative Writing Fundamentals class at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film.
August
Kory and Kelsey’s collaborative new media project, “She Ain’t Fetchable” was included in the juried collection “Still Life: The Art of Moonshine” at MTSU’s Todd Art Gallery. The series of six audio recordings with accompanying images, awarded 3rd place in the show, portray the voice of a famous female Tennessee moonshiner from the late 1800s and imagine her response to a popular song of the time about another moonshining woman, “Darling Corey.”
July
Featured poet at Lyrical Brew, the monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt, hosted by Nashville poet Ciona D. Rouse.
March
Workshop and poetry performance for the Alabama State Poetry Society;
“What’s That Song Doing in My Poem?” – Various ways to use songs of any genre to inspire or inform our poems.
March
Guest speaker for poetry night in Gloria Ballard‘s Creative Writing Fundamentals class at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film.
2014
December
Poetry and old-time Christmas tunes for the Grundy County Historical Society
September
Featured poet and performer at the 12th annual Martin Methodist College Literary Festival
April
Tennessee Mountain Writers – Kory presented a session on blogging; Kory & Kelsey performed
March
Guest speaker for poetry night in Gloria Ballard‘s Creative Writing Fundamentals class at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film.
2013
September
Read to Succeed reader training to help anyone – including parents and childcare and education professionals –
make story time more engaging (Kory with Suze Gilbert, Ed.D.)
August
Thunder Radio’s Bluegrass Crossroads Show
March
Performance, The Pensters Writing Group, University of South Alabama, Fairhope
2012
October
Southern Festival of Books‘ Café Stage, Nashville
September
Poet’s Corner, Nashville
April
School visit celebrating National Poetry Month and Read to Succeed, Providence Christian Academy
February
Union Ave. Books, Knoxville (with Tennessee Joltwagon)
Appearance on the Blue Plate Special, WDVX Knoxville (with Tennessee Joltwagon)
2011
December
Appearance on the Blue Plate Special, WDVX Knoxville (with Maggi Vaughn, Tennessee poet laureate)
October
Workshop for the Express Yourself Arts Conference, Murfreesboro
Sessions at the Southern Festival of Books (Kory – both days; Kelsey – Saturday only)
September
Workshop leader, 2011 Memphis Creative Nonfiction Conference
Poetry and music performance with Kelsey at Burke’s Books
June
Rutherford County Schools’ Writers’ Academy (for teachers)
