Today we’d like to introduce you to Maureen McDole.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Maureen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Keep St. Pete Lit started in August 2013. We began with the desire to create a larger literary dialogue in Tampa Bay. There were a smattering of open mics around the area and literary events put on by the local colleges, but not a year-round literary voice. The Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading and Writers in Paradise at Eckerd were the big annual event literary events, but they went on only once a year.
We gradually expanded to producing the annual two-week SunLit Festival (coming up April 11-28), a book club at the Museum of Fine Arts, weekly writing classes at Morean Art Center, a kids creative writing summer camp, poetry, and storytelling open mics, writing classes for local at-risk youth and much more.
I am a poet and a lover of literature. I believe whole-heartedly in the power of literature to change the world. I love helping to add value to our art scene and my community. I don’t believe you can have a thriving art community without a strong literary component.
Here is my bio:
Maureen McDole was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. She is a direct descendant of carnies, carpenters, and fishermen. This do-it-yourself ethos in her DNA infuses every area of her life. As far back as she can remember she loved to write. Her first book of poems, “Exploring My Options,” came out in 2006. Her second poetry book, “Longing for the Deep End,” was released in December 2011. Maureen is working on her third collection of poems. She has a BA in English Literature from USF-St. Petersburg and a certificate in Arts & Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania. Her poetry has been set in a variety of different ways including: film, dance, spoken word, art installations, Sprechstimme, and traditional vocal works. She is an Associate Editor of Creative Pinellas Magazine. She is the recipient of St. Petersburg Art Alliance’s 2016 MUSE Award for Literary Arts. She is also the President of Friends of the Mirror Lake Library. Maureen has been leading workshops and speaking about creativity for over 15 years. She founded Keep St. Pete Lit because she believes wholeheartedly in the power of literature to change the world.
Has it been a smooth road?
The Tampa Bay community has been unbelievably welcoming and supportive. Many establish organizations and business have given us space to incubate and grow. They have also helped promote us, which has been immeasurable because we had a very little marketing budget.
St. Petersburg definitely was ready for a literary presence and that has been a joy to witness and be a part of. I had no non-profit experience when I started Keep St. Pete Lit, so the learning curve has been huge! It’s challenging starting an organization with no capital and to learn how to grow in a sustainable way without burning out physically and monetarily in the process. One benefit of having very little money was that we partnered with everyone we could and leveraged their resources and space. They were open to it because we brought value with our literary programming. It has definitely not been an easy ride. We are still working on creating a sustainable model, but it’s worth it to support the literary arts in our community.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Keep St. Pete Lit – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
One thing that sets Keep St. Pete Lit apart as a literary arts non-profit is our partnerships with a wide variety of art organizations in our area. We branched out of the literary box and took reading and writing into places like the Museum of Fine Arts and Morean Art Center. We have several partnerships centered around ekphrastic writing, which uses art, glass, and photography as the inspiration for written work, This has helped to widen the scope of our audience and also helped us align with larger more established art institutions.
I have a craft arts background, I studied pottery all throughout my twenties before I realized I was meant to be a poet. I was married to a fine artist/graphic designer. I wanted desperately to merge the literary arts with the visual arts when I started Keep St. Pete Lit. Going out of our literary “lane” has allowed us to grow in ways I don’t think would have been possible if we didn’t merge with the growing art scene in our city. The time was ripe for our organization to start when it did and thankfully the art community welcomed us with open arms.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Going with my father to the bookstore and the library to get Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I always felt safe in those places and my father was the happiest when surrounded by books. Libraries and bookstores became my church. I have a very curious mind and reading provided the ideal outlet for my curiosity and my insatiable need for knowledge.
Contact Info:
- Website: keepstpetelit.org
- Phone: 727-798-4530
- Email: www.keepstpetelit@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instragram.com/keepstpetelit
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/keepstpetelit
- Twitter: twitter.com/keepstpetelit
- Other: www.sunlitfestival.org
Image Credit:
Tim Arruda
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