I founded Landline Poetry Series in March 2024 at Abby’s HWY 40, one of Reno’s oldest bars, to create a monthly space for poetry, performance, and meaningful connection. Each reading features a thoughtfully curated lineup of local and visiting poets (and the occasional prose writer), offering energetic, engaging shows that bring poetry to life.

The two landline phones present at each reading symbolize Landline’s mission: to connect less digitally and more intentionally through poetry, art, and community. The bright orange phone I found at a thrift store in Kansas City during the AWP conference in February 2024 just weeks before the first reading. The black rotary phone is especially meaningful to me as it belonged to my great-grandmother and was recently passed down to me from my aunt. Like a landline phone call, poetry allows us to reach across time and distance, bridging personal and collective histories and finding solace in each other.