Ghost Matinee

by Cathryn Shea

The next poet whom I want to celebrate during National Poetry Month is Cathryn Shea. Her book Ghost Matinee was published in April 2025 by Unsolicited Press. Cathy is the author of Genealogy Lessons for the Laity as well as five chapbooks, the latest Did Eve (Did) from Dancing Girl Press. Wry, precise, and unafraid, her poems weave together the personal and the political.

Reading together at Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley

She’s also my friend. I met Cathy many years ago in a solstice/equinox writing group, where we get together four times a year and spend the day writing. She’s the one who introduced me to Unsolicited Press. Our books both came out last April. so we launched them together, reading in bookstores and at events like the Petaluma Poetry Walk. We’ve traveled to AWP, and she’s the best roommate you could have.

Here is the poem from her book that inspired its title.

You can find her book along with mine and many other awesome writers at https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/. And for National Poetry Month, buy one poetry book and you get the second one free.

Upcoming Events

Next Saturday I will be at Book Passage in Corte Madera for Authors on the Plaza in celebration of National Independent Booksellers’ Day. Come see me and buy a book, my book, or any book, from an independent bookstore next Saturday, April 25.

Also to celebrate National Poetry Month, Lisa Jensen and I are hosting another Substack reading and open mic on Sunday, April 26 at 1 p.m. PDT/4 p.m. EDT. Our readers are Josh Datko, Ann Collins, and Maya Sarin, who has a book coming out in May. We want to hear your poetry too, if you are so inclined, so please bring a poem to read. And if you don’t want to read, just come and your presence is a gift. Please send me a DM if you would like to attend and I will send you the link to register.