FIRST THURSDAY POETRY: JAMES STIDFOLE & FRIENDS

James Stidfole has been involved in theater for 54 years and with Hygienic Art, Inc. for 31 years.  While his own poetry has been less extensive, several years ago, he was the New London area champion of the regional Poetry Slam and went on to compete in Middletown, CT.  Since then, Mr. Stidfole edited "Days of Creativity," a publication of the collected poems of Jon Norman.  Mr. Stidfole has also been selected as the Artist in Residence for a number of regional high schools at which he performed his own poetry and discussed his work in relation to true stories from his life.

Travis Gibbs, an intense slam poet known for complex rhyme patterns and tricky metaphors, has been performing his own material for about a decade all throughout Connecticut. Under the former stage name "Psykosus" he's performed at The Oasis Pub and The El & Gee in New London, The VFW in Old Saybrook, The Iron Chef in Essex, Eastern CT College,  and Toad's Place in New Haven.

Kim Abraham is a resident artist at the Hygienic.  On several occasions, she has performed with Mr. Stidfole during the annual solstice celebration, "Make We Joy," at Connecticut College.