February 14, 2025

Event Announcement

Valentines Day

February 14, 2025

Poetry & Art

John Philip Johnson, Bob Hall, Sophie Johnson, & Sue Kouma Johnson

On Valentine's Day, Friday, February 14th, John Philip Johnson, a Pushcart Prize-winning poet, and the first editor of UNL's undergraduate literary magazine Laurus, will read from his and other's work at The Lion, 13th & R streets here in Lincoln. Doors open at 5:30; poetry starts at 6:00, and is scheduled to end by 7:30. He will be joined by Bob Hall, of Marvel and DC comics fame, who will read his own poems as well as some of John’s that he illustrated for their poetry comic books.

Joining them will be Sophie Johnson, who will read her poems and some by Susan Strayer Deal. Bob and Sophie will be showing their original art, as will Sue Kouma Johnson, a professional fine artist and book illustrator. Art prints and poetry comic books will be available.

Bios:

John Philip Johnson has work in or forthcoming Southern Poetry Review, Image, Rattle, Strange Horizons, Pedestal, Rust & Moth, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, the newspaper column, “American Life in Poetry,” and many other places. He has two comic books of graphic poetry, Stairs Appear in a Hole Outside of Town and The Book of Fly, the latter which won an Elgin Award. He would live on Mars if his wife would go with him. 

Bob Hall is a writer and theatrical director, and the founder of the Flatwater Shakespeare Festival. Besides that, he is a veteran comic book artist, having drawn Batman, Spider-man, The Avengers, among many other titles for Marvel and DC Comics. He earned a Master in Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska. www.bobhall.com

Sophie Johnson is an artist and writer. She has had her poetry and art published in literary journals including New Bile, Pyre Magazine, and Illuminations, the Southeast Community College publication. She frequently paints relics from mid-century America. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska.

[Susan Strayer Deal died in 2002, but her "CV" with a video link to one of her readings can be seen at Nebraska Authors ]

BIOGRAPHY 

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John Philip Johnson has work in or forthcoming from Southern Poetry Review, Image, Rattle, Strange Horizons, Pedestal, Rust & Moth, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, the newspaper column, “American Life in Poetry,” and many other places. He has two comic books of graphic poetry (aka "Visual Poetry," in Japan), Stairs Appear in a Hole Outside of Town and The Book of Fly, the latter which won an Elgin Award. He would live on Mars if his wife would go with him. He was the first editor of Laurus Magazine, UNL's Undergraduate literary magazine.

Bob Hall is a writer and theatrical director, and the founder of the Flatwater Shakespeare Company. Besides that, he is a veteran comic book artist, having drawn Batman, Spider-Man, The Avengers, among many other titles for Marvel and DC Comics, and Valiant Comics. He earned a Master’s in Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska. He has been the artistic director of the Nebraska Repertory Theater as well as of the Flatwater Shakespeare Company. He co-wrote The Passion of Dracula: A drama in three acts. He was co-founder of The Rude Mechanicals, an off-Broadway theatre company in New York.

Sophie Johnson is an artist and writer. She has had her poetry and art published in literary journals including New Bile, Pyre Magazine, and Illuminations, the Southeast Community College publication. She frequently paints relics from mid-century America. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska.

Biographies, Bibliographies, etc.

• John Philip Johnson | The Poetry Foundation 

• John Johnson | Pushcart Prize Winning Science Fiction Poet and Writer 

• John Philip Johnson ( of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July/August 2016) 

• String Theory - James Gunn's Ad Astra 

• Amazon.com: John Philip Johnson: books, biography, latest update