The Las Vegas Voice
Hosted by Vogue Robinson, The Las Vegas Voice is a sixty-minute showcase featuring poets, comics, singers, storytellers, and authors every third Friday at 5 p.m. at Spread the Word Nevada located at 1065 American Pacific Dr #160, Henderson, NV 89074. (Gibson and America Pacific).
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**** We want to let you know about Las Vegas Voice’s response to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation. We are committed to promoting creativity with our showcase featuring writers, singers, poets, comedians and storytellers. We’re also committed to promoting the well-being of our entire community.
*** It seems unlikely that we’ll be able to start up the Las Vegas Voice again until there is a vaccine or better treatment options. Social distancing requirements would make doing events in-person very challenging. It is entirely possible that the Las Vegas Voice will move into a virtual delivery mode at some point. News about this will be posted here! A list of the artists that were scheduled to perform in March, April, May and June can be viewed at the bottom of this page.
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Presenting Artists in February 2020: (Click on their photos for larger images)
Amanda Skenandore is the author of two historical novels, The Undertaker’s Assistant and Between Earth & Sky, winner of the 2019 American Library Association’s Reading List Award for Best Historical Fiction. She’s a Nevada Arts Council grant recipient and Roster Artist. An avid reader, tea-drinker, and wanderlust, Amanda can be found about town haunting bookshops, cafes, and—when she’s lucky—the open road or airport terminal. She lives in Las Vegas, NV with her husband and their pet turtle Lenore. Facebook | YouTube
Diane Taylor has been a Chicago corporate communicator most of her life. After moving to Las Vegas with her late husband Paul, she began a free-lance career writing for her former employer and a tradeshow publication. Later she wrote for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and now has a weekly column at Living-Las-Vegas.com. Diane often thinks about a diet and occasionally is on one. Her writing interests include the Las Vegas convention scene, true stories with a humorous angle, and the many interesting people in the Las Vegas valley. Diane also serves as Secretary of Writers of Southern Nevada. Facebook | YouTube
Erica Raley has lived in Las Vegas since 1988 moving here from Colorado. She has worked for the State of Nevada for the twenty-two years and currently works for the department of Aging and Disability. Erica loves music and has been studying voice over the past year. Facebook | YouTube
Brian Rouff was born in Detroit, raised in Southern California and has lived in Las Vegas since 1981, which makes him a long-timer by local standards. When he’s not writing articles, short stories, screenplays and Las Vegas novels such as Dice Angel, Money Shot, and The House Always Wins, he runs Imagine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm. On a personal note, Brian is married with two grown daughters and five grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing guitar and an occasional visit to the casino buffet lines. Facebook | YouTube
Shirley Cina known as “Shirl the Whirl” to her hundreds of loyal fans, hails from Buffalo, New York and has become the delight of audiences in Las Vegas for the last 30 years. Winner of the World’s Largest Disco competition, she has appeared on stages from coast to coast as a dancer, comedienne and host from New York’s Playboy Clubs and New York’s famed “Fancy Dancin’” to Vegas Shows including Vegas Twins Productions’ “A Touch of Vegas”, “A Touch of the Holidays” and “Sassy”. She was also a member of the acclaimed dance company Las Vegas Follies performing and hosting dance reviews all over Las Vegas. Facebook | YouTube
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Presenting Artists in January 2020: (Click on their photos for larger images)
Drew Cohen is the co-owner of The Writer’s Block, an independent bookstore and education facility located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. He’s currently working on a short-story collection and a novel. Facebook | YouTube
Veronica Klash loves living in Las Vegas and writing in her living room. Her nonfiction can be found in NPR publication Desert Companion. She is a fiction reader for Witness and her fiction work has been published in literary magazines such as Cheap Pop and Ellipsis Zine. You can find Veronica and her work at veronicaklash.com. Facebook | YouTube
A.D. Hopkins spent 46 years as a journalist in Virginia, North Carolina, and Las Vegas. Much of that time he was an investigative reporter and editor, and part of it he was a touring correspondent focusing on small-town life. Hopkins co-authored a respected history of Las Vegas, and is an authority on early Nevada gunslingers. In 2010 he was named to the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame. Hopkins lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Boys Who Woke Up Early is his debut novel and he is working on a sequel. Facebook | YouTube
A life-long resident of Las Vegas and alumna of the University of Nevada, Holly McKinnis knows her city as only a local can. By night, she dresses dragons at the Tournament of Kings dinner show and by day, McKinnis writes about the often hardscrabble lives of her fellow desert denizens and the unlikely city they inhabit. A Justified Bitch, a twisted tale of insanity, murder, and redemption, is her first novel. Facebook | YouTube
Rodney J. Lee is a poet and educator who has lived and performed in Las Vegas, Nevada, for over 35 years. Former Airman, construction worker, casino employee, English teacher, and current School district administrator, he is known for his wide-ranging perspectives on the extraordinary-ordinary of everyday life. His work is poetry against all the odds, by any means necessary—an expression of tough lessons & earned revelations sung in the lyric of living. Facebook | YouTube
***Due to a car accident involving the Las Vegas Voice host, Vogue Robinson, Alumni Las Vegas Voice Artist Harry Fagel stepped in as host until her arrival towards the end of the showcase. Harry read a brand new poem to get the festivities underway. Facebook | YouTube
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Presenting Artists in December 2019: (Click on their photos for larger images)
Geoff Schumacher is the senior director of content for the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, responsible for its exhibits, artifacts and public programs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno, and his master’s degree in history from Arizona State University. He had a twenty-five-year career in journalism, and is the author of Sun, Sin & Suburbia: A History of Modern Las Vegas and Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia, and Palace Intrigue. He is associate editor of the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly and has edited, co-edited or contributed to ten editions of the annual Las Vegas Writes anthology for Nevada Humanities. Facebook | YouTube
Originally from Albany, New York, and a Las Vegas resident since 2003, Linda Lou is a Guinness-drinking humor writer, speaker, and stand-up comic who has entertained audiences nationwide. Her Amazon bestselling memoir, Bastard Husband: A Love Story, is a hilarious account of her experience starting over in Sin City after a mid-life divorce and was also the basis for her one-woman show, “D Words: Dating, Divorce and Other Delights.” Linda also has had several personal essays published in anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul and has recorded humorous essays for Northeast Public Radio. Facebook | YouTube
Brett Riley is professor of English at the College of Southern Nevada. He grew up in southeastern Arkansas and earned his Ph.D. in contemporary American fiction and film at Louisiana State University. The published author of a body of short fiction, Riley has also won numerous awards for screenwriting. Riley lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. His debut novel, Comanche will be available September 1, 2020 and Lord of Order on March 1, 2021 wherever fine books are sold. Facebook | YouTube
Kella T., the lead singer of the Las Vegas band Dead Money, mixes jazz and soul vocal training with a ska/pop rock background. Her writing style mixes her influences to create a unique sound, and she uses inspiration across isles to reimagine cover songs with a personal twist. A notable voice, for a more than notable performance. Facebook | YouTube
Richard Lederer is an American author, speaker, and teacher. He is best known for his books on the English language and on word play such as puns, oxymorons, and anagrams. He has been dubbed “the Wizard of Idiom,” “Attila the Pun,” and “Conan the Grammarian.” His weekly column, “Lederer on Language,” appears in the San Diego Union-Tribune and his articles in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States, including the Mensa Bulletin. He was elected International Punster of the Year in 1989 and was the 2002 recipient of the Golden Gavel of Toastmasters International. Facebook | YouTube
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Presenting Artists in November 2019:
Oksana Marafioti is an award-winning American writer of Armenian-Romani descent. Her memoir, American Gypsy, was published in 2012 by FSG, and translated into Czech in 2019. She has published essays and stories in Time, Slate, The Rumpus, Pilgrimage, storySouth, and several anthologies, including Immigrant Voices (Penguin Books, 2015). Oksana is the recipient of the Library of Congress Kluge Center Fellowship (2013), and of the upcoming Picador Guest Professorship for Literature Award at the University of Leipzig, Germany (2020). She teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Facebook and YouTube Video
Thierrion Kagan was born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs. Socially phobic most of his life, he didn’t begin doing comedy until his early 40s. He has performed at the Comedy Store, Improv, and several other clubs and shows in the Los Angeles area. He has performed locally at the LA Comedy Club inside the Stratosphere. Las Vegas has been a second home to him for the last 25 years, and he is currently moving to the area. White. Male. Heterosexual. And sorry for none of it. Facebook and YouTube Video
Tonya Todd is an author and actress, who serves as Henderson Writers Group’s Education Chair. She’s a reader for BMI’s Witness magazine and is currently staffing the 2020 Las Vegas Writer’s Conference. Tonya coordinates Dime Grinds, a monthly author meet and greet, at the West Charleston Grouchy John’s. Her work is featured in NPR’s Desert Companion magazine and Tales from the Silver State IV. To learn more about Tonya, visit her website www.mstonyatodd.com and follow her on social media @mstonyatodd. Facebook and YouTube Video
Although Ruth Mormon was born and raised in lush green upstate New York and chose to start her teaching career on Long Island so she could live and work minutes away from the beach, the stark, powerful beauty of the Nevada desert stole her heart and holds it to this day. After 43 years in education, Ruth retired and is filling her days travelling, spending time with friends, exploring new interests and volunteering. She now devotes her time and applies the skills she learned as a librarian working with books to help foster literacy through Spread the Word Nevada where she was named Volunteer of the Year in 2019. She may not know the words to the state song, “Home Means Nevada,” but she understands its meaning. Facebook and YouTube Video
Harry Fagel is a native Las Vegan who served the community for 25 years as a police officer, retiring at the rank of Captain. He has been writing poetry at least as long, and has been honored to participate in a plethora of artistic endeavors within and outside of Clark County. With 2 poetry books published by Zeitgeist Press, a chap book, CD, and many anthology inclusions Harry remains an avid supporter of the Vegas cultural scene. He has also been honored to write many tributes for many people, and still writes and performs poetry regularly. He loves his wife and kids more than anything. Facebook and YouTube Video
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Vogue Robinson is a poet, author, and teacher and host of the Las Vegas Voice. Robinson’s first full-length publication, “Vogue 3:16,” was published in 2014 by Wrags Ink. Named Clark County Nevada’s second poet laureate in 2017, Robinson’s writing is known to be largely narrative and conversational. She continues educating others as a teaching artist in local schools and nonprofits in the Vegas Valley. Today Robinson serves as the executive director of Poetry Promise Inc. developing community-based programs to promote poetry and literary arts in the Clark County area. Facebook
YouTube Video November 15th
YouTube Video, December 20th
YouTube Video, January 17, 2020
YouTube Video, February 21, 2020
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The Coronavirus 2020 led to the cancellation of the following scheduled performances. Perhaps, one day we’ll produce an virtual version of The Las Vegas Voice!
March 20th Artist Lineup:
Angela Brommel, Poet
Sara Paye, Poet
Sean L. Taylor, Memoir
Jarret Keene, Short Story
George J. Chanos, Futurist
April 17th Artist Lineup:
Brandi Hoffman, Comic
Michael Ursell, Nonfiction
Valerie J. Runyon, Fiction
Heather Lang-Casssera, Poet
P Moss, Storyteller
May 15th Artist Lineup:
Megan Edwards, Fiction
Toni K. Pacini, Poet
Scott Dickensheets, Nonfiction
Kim Foster, Short Story
Dayvid Figler, Storyteller
June 19th Artist Lineup:
Wayne Turmel, Business Writer
Lori Jones, Historical Fiction
Eric Miller, Nonfiction
Nathan Say, Poet
Kelly Clinton, Storyteller
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