Tryon Writers present “Spring Fever” at the Tryon Fine Arts Center’s Peterson Amphitheater on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to this free event featuring readings of original work from Lee Stockdale, Catherine Gillet, Lee Mink, Susan McNabb, Greg Lobas and David Riddle.

Lee Stockdale, the 2013 Sidney Lanier Poetry Prize winner, hosts the Upstairs Artspace’s monthly Literary Open Stage and is currently working toward a master of fine arts in poetry from Queens University in Charlotte.

Catherine Gillet, an award-winning playwright who recently moved to Tryon from New York, will present a one-act comedy performed by Patti D’Arbanville, a Drama-Logue Award recipient with an extensive list of film and TV credits including “The Sopranos,” and Elvin Clark, veteran of over 30 Tryon Little Theater productions.

Lee Mink, local farmer and sustainable activist, has been a poet for over 20 years, and is actively consolidating a large body of poetry and poetic prose into a book, “Buick and a Rusted Tin Man.”

Susan McNabb is the author of “Tryon Diary: Tales from the Friendliest Town in the South,” writes the Tryon Daily Bulletin’s weekly column “Tryon Diary,” contributes to Life in Our Foothills, and wrote “Drop Dead Gorgeous” (by Suki McMinn).

Greg Lobas’ work has appeared in Outdoor Life, The Cleveland Plain Dealer Magazine, and a variety of other national and regional magazines and newspapers.

David Riddle, a former Polk County middle school science teacher, is “in the process of processing my past (and present) through writing, mainly memoir, poetry, and short fiction.”

In case of rain, the readings will move inside the Fine Arts Center. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Readings may contain some adult content or language.

Tryon Writers is an inclusive group of local writers who promote the literary arts, and will join in celebrating National Poetry Month with the Lanier Library Poetry Festival April 24 and 25.

– Submitted by Susan McNabb