(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Princeton Makes, a new Princeton-based artist cooperative, and Ragged Sky Press, a local publisher focused on poetry, will host a Second Sunday Poetry Reading on Sunday, December 12 at 4:00pm.  The readings will take place at the Princeton Makes store in the Princeton Shopping Center. The December 12 reading will feature Michaels Simms, the lead editor of over 100 published books, and Shannon K Winston, a teacher for the Princeton Writing Program at Princeton University. Their readings will be followed an open mic available to up to 10 audience members who would like to read their original poetry.

Michael Simms’s published books include the bestselling Autumn House Anthology of Poetry, now in its third edition.  In 2011, he was awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Pennsylvania State legislature for his contribution to the arts.  Simms’s most recent poetry collections are American Ash (2020) and Nightjar (2021), both published by Ragged Sky Press.  

Shannon K. Winston’s book, The Girl Who Talked to Paintings, was published in 2021 by Glass Lyre Press.  Her individual poems have appeared in RHINO Poetry, Crab Creek Review, The Citron Review, the Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere.  She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and a PhD from the University of Michigan.  She lives in Princeton.

Princeton Makes is a cooperative comprised of 32 local artists who work across a range of artistic genres, including painting, drawing, stained glass, sculpture, textiles, and jewelry. Customers will be able to support local artists by shopping for a wide variety of art, including large paintings, prints, custom-made greeting cards, stained glass lamps and window hangings, jewelry in a variety of designs and patterns, and more.  Princeton Makes is an ideal place for holiday gift ideas.

Ragged Sky is a small, highly selective cooperative press.  They work with their authors closely.  Authors retain copyright and they use their experience and professional resources to support the author’s work through the editing, production, and design process.  Ragged Sky Press has historically focused on mature voices, overlooked poets, and women's perspectives.