Kestrel: A Journal of Literature and Art and the Fairmont State University Department of Humanities are pleased to announce a Virtual Kestrel Celebration for issues 42 and 43 taking place Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5. The weekend celebration will include readings and two panel discussions featuring 12 contributors and an open mic session on Saturday evening.

On Friday from 6 – 8 p.m., Kestrel  poetry editor Elizabeth Savage will moderate the panel  “I heed the little one, a likeness,” from the poem “Adam and Little Eve” by Marion Brown. Panelists will share a poem or short prose work by a writer whose work inspires them and then read a short selection from their own work. Panelists will discuss how they chose the representative poem or prose piece, and what aspects of the work have been important to their own writing.

The panel on Friday will feature Marion Brown (Kestrel 43), Rick Campbell (Kestrel  42), Michael Gills (Kestrel  43), René Houtrides (Kestrel 43), Jimmy Long (Kestrel 42) and Ellen McGrath Smith (Kestrel 42).

On Saturday from 2 – 4 p.m., fiction editor Suzanne Heagy will moderate the panel “the long commute to perception,” from the poem “Diane Arbus” by Richard Terrill. Panelists will discuss how perception changes when the casual glance turns into the contemplative gaze.

This panel will feature Kimberly Parish Davis (Kestrel 43), Steve Oberlechner (Kestrel 42), David Rock (Kestrel 42), Stanley Patrick Stocker (Kestrel 42), Richard Terrill (Kestrel 43) and Jim Zimmerman (Kestrel 43).

In addition, on Saturday from 6 – 8 p.m. all contributors to Kestrel 42 and 43 are invited to read in a Virtual Open Mic Event to celebrate the latest Kestrel issues.

“This Virtual Kestrel Celebration is particularly notable this year,” Mirta M. Martin, president of Fairmont State University, said. “In spite of the challenges this historic pandemic presents, this celebration is proof that art and literature will triumph.”

All events will be live streamed on WebEx and are free and open to the public. For more information about events or participating writers, see events at www.fairmontstate.edu/kestrel/ and the Kestrel Facebook page or contact Dr. Donna Long, donna.long@fairmontstate.edu.