Local Poetry Reflections: National Poetry Month

Name: Local Poetry Reflections: National Poetry Month
Start: 2026-04-20T18:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-04-20T20:00:00-04:00
Location: 271 W Main St, Kutztown, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19530

Schedule

Mon Apr 20 2026 at 06:30 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

271 W Main St, Kutztown, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19530 | Kutztown, PA

We are pleased to continue celebrating National Poetry Month with Local Poet Reflections, an evening celebrating the strength and diversity of our regional poetry community. Berks County and the greater Lehigh Valley area are home to a vibrant network of writers, and this event brings together a selection of local voices, each offering their own perspective, style, and themes.
The evening will feature readings from Kayla Ackelson, Esteban Hernandez, and Brian Mahoney. Time permitting, we will also open the floor for a community open mic. This event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.
Our featured poets and their recent work:
Kayla Ackelson is a writer, mixed-media artist, and podcast host based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her work explores themes of self-awareness, healing, and intentional living, drawing closely from lived experience. She is the creator and host of Unhurried, a podcast focused on slowing down and engaging in meaningful, honest conversation. In addition to her creative work, she is a mother and teacher, and her practice reflects a commitment to simplicity, presence, and thoughtful living.
Ackelson’s writing and visual art sit at the intersection of creativity and mental health, offering a reflective exploration of the inner world. Often working in a stream-of-consciousness or journal style, she invites readers to pause, turn inward, and reconnect with themselves. Her work centers honesty and vulnerability, creating space for both the beauty and complexity of growth and healing. Her writing appears on Substack and in her self-published collection Thinking Out Loud, alongside shorter reflections shared through her ongoing creative work. She has a website.
Esteban Hernandez is a Mexican American writer whose work is grounded in lived experience, emotional honesty, and the courage to express what often goes unsaid. Shaped by early hardship, his writing reflects a deep understanding of struggle, resilience, and quiet endurance.
In addition to his writing, Hernandez has built a career in the manufacturing sector, where his approach to leadership emphasizes accountability, service, and care for others—values that carry directly into his work on the page. His poetry and prose are experiential rather than imagined, drawing from memory and reflection. In The Hardest Things to Say: A Man’s Heart, Unhidden, he traces an intimate path through grief, regret, and forgiveness, reflecting on personal loss and the enduring weight of unspoken words. Through direct and unguarded language, his work speaks to the universal experience of love, loss, and the process of learning to live with both.
Brian Mahoney, of Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, is the author of two poetry collections. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education/English from Kutztown University (2012) and an Associate’s degree from Lehigh Carbon Community College (2019).
His debut collection, Uncommon Kaleidoscopes (Aperture Press, 2011), introduced a voice attentive to memory, perspective, and shifting emotional landscapes. His most recent work, Discovering Sea Glass (Parisian Phoenix Publishing, 2026), continues this exploration through poems that engage with love, mortality, philosophy, and narrative. Mahoney’s writing moves between free verse and structured forms, often drawing on personal memory as well as broader cultural and psychological themes.
We look forward to having you join us for an evening of reflection, connection, and shared poetry.