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Fall for poetry 2026
Celebrate the Season with New Books and Poems from Hudson Valley Poets
- Catherine Arra
- Mary K O'Melveny
- Betty MacDonald
- Lisa St. John
- Jan Zlotnik Schmidt
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8
1:45 - 4:30 PM
Complimentary appetizers & desserts / Cash bar
320 Sawkill Road
Kingston NY 12401
MEET THE featured poets
Mary K O'Melveny
Mary K O’Melveny, a multiple Pushcart Prize nominee, is the author of five poetry collections and a chapbook. Her newest book is What Remains? (Broadstone Books 2026). Other titles include If You Want To Go To Heaven, Follow A Songbird (Jerry Jazz Musician 2024), which combines poetry with music and art. Her collection Flight Patterns (2023) was nominated for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. Her book, Merging Star Hypotheses (2020), was a semi-finalist for The Washington Prize, sponsored by The Word Works. Mary has won or been a finalist in many other competitions, including Slippery Elm Literary Journal, Poet's Billow's Pangaea Prize, Atlantis Award and Bermuda Triangle Prize; Raynes Poetry Competition; Tom Howard & Margaret Reid Poetry Competition sponsored by Winning Writers and Anthology Magazine ("Highly Commended"). Her poem “Writing About The Invisible” won Second Prize in the 2024 Fish Poetry Contest (judged by Billy Collins). Her poem “Centennial Miles” was performed on opening night of the 2026 Julliard Fall Festival at Lincoln Center. Mary is an active member of the Hudson Valley Women’s Writing Group and a co-author of the Group’s two published anthologies, A happily retired lawyer, Mary lives with her wife near Woodstock, New York. Her website is: https://www.marykomelvenypoet.com.
Lisa St. John
Lisa St. John is the author of Ponderings (Finishing Line Press) and Swallowing Stones (Kelsay Books). A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, Lisa’s writing has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. A workshop junkie, Lisa takes writing classes online and in person whenever she can. She believes that art is hope and that there is beauty in possibility. Her essays and memoir excerpts have been published in magazines and nonfiction collections. When poems allow, Lisa works on her Substack, Widow’s Words, and her memoir. For a list of publications, please visit her at https://www.lisachristinastjohn.com
Jan Zlotnik Schmidt
Jan Zlotnik Schmidt is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita at SUNY New Paltz in the Department of English where she taught autobiography, creative writing, American and contemporary literature, Women’s Literature, and Holocaust literature courses. Her work has been published in many journals including Alaska Quarterly Review, Broadkill Review, Cream City Review, Home Planet News, Kansas Quarterly, Memoir (and), The Vassar Review, and Westchester Review. Her work has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize Series. She has had two volumes of poetry published by the Edwin Mellen Press (We Speak in Tongues, 1991; She had this memory, 2000) and two collections of autobiographical essays, Women/Writing/ Teaching (SUNY Press, 1998) and Wise Women: Reflections of Teachers at Mid-Life, coauthored with Dr. Phyllis R. Freeman (Routledge, 2000). In addition, she coauthored with Laurence Carr an anthology of women’s writing from the Hudson Valley: A Slant of Light: Contemporary Women Writers of the Hudson Valley (Codhill, 2013), which won the USA Best Book Award for an anthology. One chapbook, The Earth Was Still, was published by Finishing Line Press and another, Hieroglyphs of Father-Daughter Time, was published by Word Temple Press. Her full-length volume, Foraging for Light, was published in 2019 by Finishing Line Press. Recently a chapbook about the life of Bess Houdini, Over the Moon Gone: The Vanishing Act of Bess Houdini, was published by Palooka Press. Her latest chapbook, coauthored with Tana Miller and published by Kelsay Press is Joseph Cornell: The Man Who Loved Sparrows. Her poetry has been anthologized in An Apple in Her Hand (co-author) (Codhill Press), Rethinking the Ground Rules (co-author) (Mediacs Books). Her latest poetry volume, Rose Petals Falling in the Grand Canyon: New and Selected Poems just was published by Kelsay Press.
Betty MacDonald
Savoring the freedom of no longer having to take care of anyone else, I find it’s Never Too Late to present poetry and memoir that touch on joy and grief, fulfillment and loss, and finding beauty everywhere. From Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, a mountain top in far northern British Columbia, a beach in Vancouver, a Woodstock house in Bearsville, and a remote farm in upstate New York, I dropped out, I dropped back in. In the eighties I supervised an arts organization in Woodstock and became a freelance writer for a travel industry magazine which gave me the opportunity to hone my writing and computer skills while indulging in free travel.
For close to 10 years I've hosted Words Carry Us livestream offering interviews, readings, and performances from Green Kill Gallery in Kingston, NY. I’ve performed with Community Playback Theatre in New York’s Hudson Valley since 1986. All My Monsters Are Dead My first
book was published by Codhill Press in 2023 when I was 89. At 92 I look forward to my second book It's Never Too Late coming out in December 2026.
Catherine Arra
A Pushcart nominee, Arra is a native of the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, where she teaches part-time and facilitates local writing groups. Her poetry and prose have appeared in numerous literary journals online and in print, and in several anthologies. She is the author of four full-length poetry collections and five chapbooks. A former English and writing teacher, she now facilitates local writing groups. Her newest full-length collection, Last Evening With All the Versions of Myself, was first finalist in the 2025 Donna Wolf-Palacio Poetry Book Prize and will be published by Finishing Line Press, September 2026. A collaborative ekphrastic chapbook, The Razor Tip of an Arrowhead, fourteen photos by Alex Stolis and poems by Catherine with a few co-written with Alex, is forthcoming from Dos Madres Press in 2026. Arra lives in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York with her partner Alex Stolis and their dog Daisy. www.catherinearra.com
featured artist - krisha patenaude
Hi! I’m Krisha Patenaude, a singer/songwriter currently living in upstate NY.
Music has always been a grounding focal point of my life. I come from a musical family, so it was only natural to want to sing. I still have fond childhood memories of playing gigs with my mother, as her backing vocalist, as well as learning jazz standards with my father in the evenings, before dinnertime. I often sang with friends and always participated in special choirs and musical-theater. These experiences taught me the joy of collaboration and gave me the gift of harmony, which is still one of my greatest passions.
I have a number of working bands and ongoingstudio projects. The 209s (my full funk/soul/R&B and originals Band), Krisha & The Krew (Swing Band), The Krisha-Jordan Duo, Circadian Rhythm, World Piece @ Stepping Stone and Wind & Stone are a few you can see here in the area regularly. My talented musical community feeds and inspires me, and through cultivating these connections I feel like I have finally found a safe landing place for my unique voice and sound to emerge.
The Aligned Being Experience
ALIGNED BEING EXPERIENCE / APRIL 23-27
We collaborated with Aligned Being to host their signature program, The Aligned Being Experience. This 5-day immersive retreat is designed for women ready to elevate their lives, leadership, and relationships. Through powerful conversations, guided exercises, and intentional community, participants gained clarity, deepened self-trust, and left with practical next steps to bring the vision they hold for their lives into reality.
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Our Vision
At Stepping Stone, we believe in fostering creativity and wellness. Our mission is to provide a nurturing environment for artists and wellness enthusiasts to thrive and connect.
OPEN SEASONALLY APRIL THRU DECEMBER
Our brand is designed to foster creativity and wellness for anyone ready to start their creative journey and for those already on the path. Our team of talented individuals will help you every step of the way and leave no stone unturned. We hope to see you soon!
Joseph McIntyre - Owner