Live Poetry: Lucy Sage, Eli Goldblatt, MJ McGinn, Rebecca Petchenik & George Schaffer

Wednesday October  21, 2026 @ 7pm

Fergies Pub, 1214 Sansom Street

Lucy Sage began writing poetry at a young age. In addition to creating poetry, Sage likes to paint portraits and abstracts, walk, and explore cities. Recently, she lived in St. Petersburg, Florida for eight years and contributed a number of poems to Neptune, a local poetry and art magazine. Her first book of poetry, I Am From the 20th Century was published b in April 2026. Her poems have been published in several Moonstone anthologies, Quail Bell, The Closed Eye Open, Underwood Press, and Writing in a Woman’s Voice, among others.

Eli Goldblatt is author of From Away, For Instance, Sessions 1-62, Speech Acts, and Without a Trace. His two books for children are Leo Loves Round and Lissa and the Moon’s Sheep.  His scholarly books include Alone with Each Other: Literacy and Literature Intertwined and Writing Home: A Literacy Autobiography.  His poems have appeared in literary journals such as Epoch, Hambone, 6ix, Louisiana Review, and Another Chicago Magazine since 1973. He is Professor Emeritus of English at Temple University and former director of New City Writing, an institute focused on community-related literacy projects in North Philadelphia

MJ McGinn received his MFA from Adelphi University and was a VCCA resident in 2019. His work has been included in the Wigleaf 50 best very short stories and has previously appeared in the Guernica/PEN Flash Series, Necessary Fiction, Lost Balloon, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, LIT Magazine, and elsewhere . He lives and teaches middle school in Philadelphia

Rebecca Petchenik is a strange and intense queer author and dramatist raised in North Carolina, rumor has it, by wolves. She is best known for her play, KAIT, which boasts stagings in Portland Oregon and Boston Massachusetts and her short fiction published in The Screen Door Review, the Pointed Circle, Plain China Anthology, Reader Beware Magazine, and many others. Most recently, her antics and wiles have led her to be the featured poet at numerous live readings. She lives in West Philadelphia with her cat, The Grande Dutchess Winnifred T. Katz, and wants to be a pirate when she grows up.

George Schaffer was born in Philly 6 decades ago. He endured a childhood in the ‘burbs. Poetry seemed like a good idea at the time. He keeps writing as there’s really nothing better to do. Titles include Thru Peripheral Vision and American Zen Koans.

Sean Hanrahan Host – Open Reading Follows