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Rypma will read from her fairytale poems

Sept. 28, 2007

KALAMAZOO--Judith Rypma, a member of the English faculty at Western Michigan University, will read from her latest book of poems, "Rapunzel's Hair," at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the Portage (Mich.) District Library. The reading is open to the public free of charge.

The collection, featuring fairytale characters from Goldilocks and Cinderella to the Little Mermaid and Baba Yaga, often adds new twists that turn traditional tales upside down. Hansel, Gretel and Snow White may become villains, for example, while evil stepmothers and witches appear as victims. Rypma's poems, a combination of narrative and lyric rich with metaphor and imagery, sometimes venture into the forbidden, the lusty, and the sexual, which, she admits, "means that they have returned to their origins--namely to entertain adults."

Rypma's poetry has appeared in more than 100 journals, including New York Quarterly, Gargoyle, Atlanta Review, Minnesota Review and Pearl. She has published two previous chapbooks: "Holy Rocks" and "Mineral Treasures." Her latest book was inspired by her research on folklore and mythology, which she teaches at WMU.

"Rapunzel's Hair" may be ordered directly from publisher All Nations Press at allnationspress.com, from Amazon.com and through local bookstores.

Media contact: Thom Myers, (269) 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu

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