Poet Melinda Clemmons book launch with Kim Addonizio and Tracey Knapp

Oakland writer Melinda Clemmons will be joined by Kim Addonizio and Tracey Knapp to celebrate the publication of her first book of poems, Closer, published by Pine Row Press. “Melinda Clemmons' Closer is a luminous catalog of wonder, a collection attuned to the quiet ways revelation enters our lives. With the expansive longing of youth and the hard-earned wisdom of experience, Clemmons guides readers toward a deeper attentiveness to the world around them.” —Kelly Grace Thomas, author of Future Tense Melinda Clemmons’ writing has appeared in One Art, Rust & Moth, Midwest Review, West Trestle Review, The Imprint, and elsewhere. Closer, published in fall 2026 by Pine Row Press, is her first poetry collection. She was a finalist for the 2025 Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Poetry Prize from Ex Ophidia Press as well as the 2026 Wandering Aengus Press Book Award. Kim Addonizio is the author of nine poetry collections, two novels, two story collections, and two books on writing poetry: The Poet’s Companion (with Dorianne Laux) and Ordinary Genius. Her poetry collection Tell Me was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her latest collection is Exit Opera. Tracey Knapp's second poetry collection, Swerve, was released from Pine Row Press in spring 2026. Her first full-length collection of poems, Mouth, won the 42 Miles Press Poetry Award and was published in 2015. Tracey’s work has appeared in Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, Best New Poets, Poetry Daily, Rattle, Five Points, New Ohio Review, and elsewhere.