Poets William Evans and Barbara Fant will be the featured performers during the Tuscarawas County Public Library System's Speaking of Poetry event. (Submitted)

New Philadelphia, Ohio - The Tuscarawas County Public Library System is celebrating National Poetry Month with an appearance by two nationally-recognized spoken word performers.

Poets William Evans and Barbara Fant will be the featured performers during the library's Speaking of Poetry event that starts at 3pm on Saturday, April 6th.

Evans is a writer, instructor, and performer from Columbus, Ohio. His work can be seen online in Radius Poetry, The Legendary, Joint Literary Magazine, and other publications. His latest collection of poetry, "Still Can't Do My Daughter's Hair", was published by Button Poetry in 2017. His powerful performance of "My Wife Is Shaped Like" has been viewed on Facebook more than five million times. 

Fant is a Youngstown native, minister, poet, and artist facilitator. She has been on three National Poetry Slam teams from Columbus and has represented the city in four Individual National and World Poetry Slam competitions. Her first poetry collection, "Paint, Inside Out", was released in April 2010 from Penmanship Books of New York City when she was awarded The Cora Craig Award for Young Women Authors. 

TCPL Assistant Director Andrea Legg says they're excited to host these performers as the kickoff for their 2019 Visiting Author Series.

"We are excited to see these talented artists perform their incredibly powerful and beautifully vulnerable poems LIVE in Tuscarawas County."

Legg says there will also be an opportunity for local poets to share their original works during the event.

"If you've written poetry that you'd like to share with a supportive audience, please bring your work to share with us once Evans and Fant have performed their pieces," she says.

The event is free to attend but registration is required. For more information or to register, call 330-364-4474 ext 101 or visit www.tusclibrary.org.