Press Highlights

“You’re not a Pittsburgh bibliophile until you’ve spent a balmy summer evening in James Simon’s uptown sculpture studio, listening to great authors read among the crickets (and sirens) for the Gist Street Reading Series.”
        --Elena Passarello, Pittsburgh Magazine, June 2006

“Much should be said about the quality of writers drawn to the series each month. Or of the series’ cultural value and affordability. But, my thoughts here are more aligned to the value of the Gist Street readings to our Uptown community in particular.”
        --Jeanne McNutt, Chairperson, Uptown Housing and Economic
Development Committee

“Any reservations you may have had before you entered are immediately dissolved by the aura of sociability that fills the studio on reading nights.”
--Anjali Sachdeva, “The Gist Street Reading Series Creates a Literary Community,” Pittsburgh City Paper, December 11-18, 2002

“Standing there [at the poetry reading] I really had the sense that I lived in a real city.”
        --Councilman Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Mayoral Hopefuls Focus on the Arts,” May 10, 2005

“Pittsburgh definitely has a cool ass bohemian/writer scene. Last night was probably the best $3 [now $5 –ed.] evening money could buy.”
        --Katy from Katy and Corey’s Pittsburgh Experience blog

“Intimate, informal, and hospitable all at once …”
        --Bill O’Driscoll, Pittsburgh City Paper, March 2-9, 2005

“This big-little series in Uptown doesn’t know the meaning of vacation …”
        --Pittsburgh Magazine, May 2005

“the region’s small but growing literary world … [is] being nurtured by writers and poets a long way from Social Security, people like Sherrie Flick and Nancy Krygowski of Gist Street …. There is a feeling of freshness and vitality to the events.” –Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 15, 2007

“it can’t hurt that the fledgling indie press [Wave Books] will be hosted in Pittsburgh by the Gist Street Reading Series, which makes out-of-town writers feel at home year-round, no matter how they travel.” –Bill O’Driscoll, Pittsburgh City Paper, September 2006

“Bundle up for Friday’s 8p.m. reading at 305 Gist Street, Uptown. The third-floor studio is on the drafty side, but if the Gist Street series attracts its usual crowd, there’ll be lots of body heat.” –Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Janaury 30, 2007

“Being that tomorrow is the first Friday of the month, literary-types all around town are surely gearing up for the latest installment of the Gist Street Reading Series…. I can't make it tomorrow night but for those brave souls who can I have this advice - go early. REALLY EARLY. I might even suggest setting up camp tonight. Or, if you're a true Pittsburgher, pack up the cooler, fire up the grill and start yourself a tailgate!” –Laurie Koozer, Metroblogging, May 3, 2007

“This is the type of event that draws them back every month and the atmosphere is just one reason…. The Gist Street reading series is six years old this evening, and it has flourished because its readers are exceptional—local and national successes.” –Pop City, “Getting the Gist,” May 2007