We are celebrating National Poetry Month with our annual poetry contest, Ink Cloud. Entries of original poetry and artwork are due by April 19th.

This year we are sponsoring an open mic poetry reading featuring the contest winners, on April 25th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Anthony Commons. You can participate by reading a favorite poem – written by you or someone else! Or just listen to others read.

To inspire you, we are displaying books from our poetry collection. (There is more in our online ebook collections, and in these journals.)

Meet David Rudny Winn, who coordinates our Poetry contest and offers us general  literary guidance.

What do you do at the Library?

I am the clerk at the library desk every weekday morning.  I’m there to help you check out books, navigate library resources, and assist with using our technology.  I also help with some research questions that aren’t involved enough to need a librarian’s assistance.

In addition to running the annual Ink Cloud Poetry Contest, I process and curate the library’s Baker and Taylor book collection, which are popular new books that we lease for a limited time.  This collection can include anything from the latest popular thriller to a must-read memoir, up-and-coming YA fiction or even graphic novels. [Editor’s note: we are thrilled by the selections David captures for us. Our wait lists are not long, either!]

How did you gain your expertise?

I received my B.A. in English from the University of St. Francis in 2012.  I have been employed at the Allen County Public Library since 2012 and here at Ivy Tech since 2014.

Please tell us a little about your personal life.

I live on the south side of Fort Wayne with my wife Alex.  We have been together for seven years and married for two.  I play bass and share vocals in the grunge/hard rock band Withered Veins. We are just finishing up our first EP, and we’d love to see you in the crowd as we play shows around the area.

What is a favorite book you would recommend?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a book that will leave you feeling exhausted, but it is well worth reading.  While post-apocalyptic stories are more popular than ever, the core of the father-son relationship and the relentless bleakness of this tale makes it something uniquely potent, especially when delivered in McCarthy’s terse, but hauntingly beautiful style.

What is a favorite website you would recommend?

If you’re looking to waste some time dipping into the weird, you can’t go wrong with Atlas Obscura. It’s a collection of short articles detailing the weird and wonderful from around the world that can also function as a travel guide if you’re looking for something off the beaten path.