Featured poets Brendan Constantine and Rayon Lennon

Every second Sunday Rattle presents a reading featuring poets from the current issue at the Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse. Admission is free. Scheduled poets are subject to change.

BRENDAN CONSTANTINE was born in Los Angeles, the second child of two working actors. His first collection, Letters To Guns, was released in 2009 from Red Hen Press.

His other recent collections are Birthday Girl With Possum (Write Bloody Publishing, 2011) and Calamity Joe (Red Hen Press, 2012). A popular performer, Brendan tours regularly, bringing his poetry and workshops to theaters, schools, libraries, correctional facilities, and community centers across the nation. In addition to his post as poet in residence at the Windward School, Brendan regularly volunteers with organizations like the Art of Elysium. Constantine’s fourth collection, Dementia, My Darling, was published in the spring of 2016. His poem “Harping” appears in Rattle #58.

RAYON LENNON was born in Jamaica and immigrated to New Haven County, Connecticut, at age 13. He holds a BA in English from Southern Connecticut State University and a master’s degree in Social Work from Southern Connecticut State University. He works as an adolescent clinical therapist, treating teenagers struggling with substance use and mental health challenges. His work has been published widely in various literary magazines, including Main Street Rag, StepAway Magazine, Folio, African American Review, Connecticut Review, Callaloo and others His first book of poems, Barrel Children, is a finalist for the 2017 Connecticut Book Award for best book of poetry. Lennon’s poem
“Heard” won the 2017 Rattle Poetry Prize and appears in issue #58.