JULY 22 Waterbean Poetry Night Welcomes Featured Poets CAROLINE KANE KENNA + DIANA (DEDE) MITCHELL
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Greetings, Poets & Friends!
Summertime is heating up in the Lake Norman region as we near the 250th Birthday of our nation this weekend. Later in July we'll celebrate our poetic freedom with the readings & book signings by two fabulous featured poets at Waterbean Poetry Night:
Please SAVE the DATE for WED., JULY 22, when I’ll welcome CAROLINE KANE KENNA and DIANA (Dede) MITCHELL to the Waterbean stage! These loyal Waterbean regulars/open mic poets will each step into their first Waterbean spotlight as they share their debut books of poems in our featured program!
BIOS:
CAROLINE KANE KENNA discovered poetry in Huntersville, NC, with Tuesday Morning Writers at a Barnes & Noble Booksellers café. The group’s anthology, Above the Fold (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2014) was a spark. Caroline’s poems placed in Charlotte Writers Club’s contests, and are published in Kakalak, Queen City Arts Gallery exhibits, and on NC Poetry Society’s Poetry In Plain Sight posters. She’s a former journalist, and past-president and board member of Charlotte Writers Club. Caroline and husband Mike have three sons, two grands, and travel with their dog, Guinness. Keep Your Damn Seat (Finishing Line Press, 2026) is her debut.
Caroline's Book Link: https://finishinglinepress.com/product/keep-your-damn-seat-by-caroline-kane-kenna/
DIANA (Dede) MITCHELL’s poetry has appeared in Amethyst Review, Cider Press Review, Kakalak, and North Carolina Literary Review, among other journals. An earlier collection, Mnemosyne’s Daughters, was a finalist in the Kore Press First Book competition. Dede’s new collection, We Are All Singing (The Bridge, 2026), an homage to her mother, gives voice where it’s been absent and offers a mother/daughter narrative. From 2018–2022, Dede contributed to OurBlueBoat.org, a blog she and two friends created to honor and celebrate the natural world. She holds an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, and lives in Cornelius, NC, with her husband.
Dede's Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Are-All-Singing-Diana-Mitchell/dp/B0GPR28NDS
GENERAL DETAILS:
7 PM • WEDNESDAY • 22 JULY 2026
at Waterbean Coffee - Huntersville
9705 Sam Furr Rd., Ste. A
Huntersville, NC 28078
in NorthCross Shopping Center
(NC-73 at US-21)
We'll begin at 7:00 sharp & have a hard stop at 8:50 (venue closes at 9:00).
Following the featured program & a 15-minute break for Caroline & Dede’s book sale/signings, stick around to enjoy the OPEN MIC. Kindly support venue, baristas, & featured poets if you can.
OPEN MIC GUIDELINES:
ARRIVE by 6:30–6:45 to sign up in person. Spots are limited & go quickly. No holds. Each open mic reader has (at host’s discretion) up to five (5) minutes on stage to share 1–2 one-page poems. Keep intro/comments brief. If you sign up to read, please stay to hear your fellow poets read. We build community through mutual support.
Facebook users, please mark yourself GOING to this event if you’ll attend. Feel free to SHARE this event with friends on or off Facebook--anyone can view.
Bring a poem or two, a friend or three! This in-person event is FREE & open to the public, part of Waterbean Poetry's monthly reading series that offers an INCLUSIVE, SAFE SPACE for all poets & friends of poetry.
MISSION: Fostering Diversity, Kindness, Community, & Peace through Poetry.
Wishing you and yours a Safe and Happy Independence Day, and Happy Birthday, America—we hopeful poets haven’t given up on you!
Peace & poetry for all,
Leslie
Leslie M. Rupracht
Host & Co-founder • Waterbean Poetry Night at the Mic
Editor • Poet • Writer • Artist • Ally • Community Builder
Summertime is heating up in the Lake Norman region as we near the 250th Birthday of our nation this weekend. Later in July we'll celebrate our poetic freedom with the readings & book signings by two fabulous featured poets at Waterbean Poetry Night:
Please SAVE the DATE for WED., JULY 22, when I’ll welcome CAROLINE KANE KENNA and DIANA (Dede) MITCHELL to the Waterbean stage! These loyal Waterbean regulars/open mic poets will each step into their first Waterbean spotlight as they share their debut books of poems in our featured program!
BIOS:
CAROLINE KANE KENNA discovered poetry in Huntersville, NC, with Tuesday Morning Writers at a Barnes & Noble Booksellers café. The group’s anthology, Above the Fold (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2014) was a spark. Caroline’s poems placed in Charlotte Writers Club’s contests, and are published in Kakalak, Queen City Arts Gallery exhibits, and on NC Poetry Society’s Poetry In Plain Sight posters. She’s a former journalist, and past-president and board member of Charlotte Writers Club. Caroline and husband Mike have three sons, two grands, and travel with their dog, Guinness. Keep Your Damn Seat (Finishing Line Press, 2026) is her debut.
Caroline's Book Link: https://finishinglinepress.com/product/keep-your-damn-seat-by-caroline-kane-kenna/
DIANA (Dede) MITCHELL’s poetry has appeared in Amethyst Review, Cider Press Review, Kakalak, and North Carolina Literary Review, among other journals. An earlier collection, Mnemosyne’s Daughters, was a finalist in the Kore Press First Book competition. Dede’s new collection, We Are All Singing (The Bridge, 2026), an homage to her mother, gives voice where it’s been absent and offers a mother/daughter narrative. From 2018–2022, Dede contributed to OurBlueBoat.org, a blog she and two friends created to honor and celebrate the natural world. She holds an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, and lives in Cornelius, NC, with her husband.
Dede's Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Are-All-Singing-Diana-Mitchell/dp/B0GPR28NDS
GENERAL DETAILS:
7 PM • WEDNESDAY • 22 JULY 2026
at Waterbean Coffee - Huntersville
9705 Sam Furr Rd., Ste. A
Huntersville, NC 28078
in NorthCross Shopping Center
(NC-73 at US-21)
We'll begin at 7:00 sharp & have a hard stop at 8:50 (venue closes at 9:00).
Following the featured program & a 15-minute break for Caroline & Dede’s book sale/signings, stick around to enjoy the OPEN MIC. Kindly support venue, baristas, & featured poets if you can.
OPEN MIC GUIDELINES:
ARRIVE by 6:30–6:45 to sign up in person. Spots are limited & go quickly. No holds. Each open mic reader has (at host’s discretion) up to five (5) minutes on stage to share 1–2 one-page poems. Keep intro/comments brief. If you sign up to read, please stay to hear your fellow poets read. We build community through mutual support.
Facebook users, please mark yourself GOING to this event if you’ll attend. Feel free to SHARE this event with friends on or off Facebook--anyone can view.
Bring a poem or two, a friend or three! This in-person event is FREE & open to the public, part of Waterbean Poetry's monthly reading series that offers an INCLUSIVE, SAFE SPACE for all poets & friends of poetry.
MISSION: Fostering Diversity, Kindness, Community, & Peace through Poetry.
Wishing you and yours a Safe and Happy Independence Day, and Happy Birthday, America—we hopeful poets haven’t given up on you!
Peace & poetry for all,
Leslie
Leslie M. Rupracht
Host & Co-founder • Waterbean Poetry Night at the Mic
Editor • Poet • Writer • Artist • Ally • Community Builder
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Where is it happening?
Waterbean Coffee #2 - Huntersville, 9705 Sam Furr Rd, Huntersville, NC 28078-5046, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherWaterbean Poetry Night at the Mic
