Well-RED Poetry Reading

Feature: Dennis Noren and Anshu S. Johri. 

Anshu Johri authors poems, short stories and plays in English and Hindi. She has a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University. Her work in English has appeared in Dukool, Vine leaves Literary Journal, Calliope, Creation and Criticism, Caesura, Storizen and an anthology Desi Girls published by Hope Road Publishing U.K. She has appeared and recited her poetry at local radio stations in Berkeley (KPFA @94.1FM) and San Jose (KKUP@91.5). She has organized several poetry and literary events through local non-profit organizations located in the Bay Area. She is also a founder of a group called “Suncatchers” with her kids, and performs “poetry and musical interpretation of poetry” at Alzheimer’s centers and various senior centers located in the South Bay. Her published books in Hindi include Khule Prishtha (Bare Pages, poems, 1990), Shesh Phir (More Later, short stories, 2004), Boond ka Dwandwa (Dilemma of a Raindrop, poems, 2014) and Adrishya Kinara (Invisible Shores, stories, 2015). Her Audiobook of Hindi fiction Adrishya Kinara is now available at Audible, Itunes and CDbaby. Her poems and stories have appeared in reputed Hindi literary journals of the world. She was a guest speaker at a discourse on “New Feminism and New Responses” among other writers from different languages, organized by the Sahitya Academy of India, a highly reputed literary organization of India in Bangalore in June 2015. Besides writing her other interests are theatre, painting and music. She can be contacted at anshu@udgam.com.

Dennis Noren is an enthusiastic participant in the poetry community of the South Bay. He is on the Poetry Center San José Advisory Board and organizes the Center’s activity at the Edwin Markham House at History Park. Dennis was one of five winners of the 2012 Poetry on the Move contest and first prize winner of the 2010 Tokutomi Haiku Contest.