Northern Michigan University assistant professor Patricia Killelea signs a copy of “Counterglow,” her latest collection of poems, during Bards & Brews, a public poetry reading held regularly on the third Thursday of the month at the Ore Dock Brewing Co. in Marquette. (Journal photo by Corey Kelly)

MARQUETTE– Let’s drink to poetry. Bards & Brews is a public poetry reading held regularly on the third Thursday of the month at the Ore Dock Brewing Co. in Marquette. March’s reading came from Northern Michigan University assistant professor Patricia Killelea out of her new book, “Counterglow.” The event was also a release party celebrating Killelea’s second published collection of poetry.

“The book is a full-length collection of poems mostly dealing with issues of environmental crisis, hunger and issues surrounding language,” Killelea said.

Its title, “Counterglow,” is borrowed from the astronomy term meaning a faint light in the night sky that appears directly opposite the sun. This glow is hard to detect unless the observer views it from a place without light.

“The driving idea is the idea of counterglow, which is an astronomical term for the counter shine — a light that you can only see in a very dark place,” Killelea said. “So the book is trying to deal with that; what happens when you are in a dark place and you’re looking for some kind of light to cling to.”

Bards & Brews was started by the 2015 U.P. Poet Laureate as a platform for local and visiting poets to share their work. Killelea is the author of the poetry collections “Counterglow” from Urban Farmhouse Press and “Other Suns” from Swan Scythe Press. “Counterglow” is available through Amazon and the Urban Farmhouse Press website. Future Bards & Brews events will be posted on the Ore Dock Brewing Co. website, at www.ore-dock.com.

Corey Kelly can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 243. Her email address is ckelly@miningjournal.net.