City Hall features poetry reading

The Writers Guild at Bloomington will organize a poetry reading Friday in the atrium at City Hall.

Anne Haines, Doris Lynch, Shana Ritter and Sue Swartz will read selected works from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The four women are local artists and as recipients of the Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Program Grant.

A silent online auction from Friday to Monday will raise funds in conjunction with the event. The group hopes to raise enough money to pay for a 501(c)(3) non-profit status fee.

Founded in 2010, The Writers Guild is a Bloomington-based group that has grown from four members to 146, chairperson Patsy Rahn said.

“I think we’ve really filled a need,” Rahn said. “We have writers from absolutely every genre. Our members range in experience from up-and-coming to well-known and published.”

Rahn said establishing the guild was an attempt to bring together artists that often work in solitude.

“Writing can be a lonely exercise,” Rahn said. “If you consider yourself a writer or want to be connected to writers or just see if you want to get into it — I think what this is offering people is a chance to form a community.”

The guild is especially trying to reach out to creative writing students and other young people interested in writing, Rahn said.

“One of our goals is to create a closer connection between town and gown, in terms of writing,” Rahn said.

She said the guild is full of professional writers who are happy to lend a supportive ear to those with less experience that are looking to hone their skills.

The guild offers workshops and promotes gatherings throughout the Bloomington community that are related to writing.

Rahn said that once it achieves 501(c)(3) status, the guild will be able to continue offering those services as well as offer tax deduction incentives to those who can donate to the group.

Friday night’s reading is free and open to the public.

To participate in the online silent auction and find out about future events, go to writersguildbloomington.com