Publico was more than a gallery, and Dana Ward is more than a poet. He’s the editor/publisher of local Cy Press poetry, an advocate at the Over-the- Rhine Learning Center and the curator of the former Clay Poetry series at Publico.
CityBeat asks this expatriated Northern Kentuckian and avid Rap enthusiast some questions about poetry, Publico and Since You’ve Been Gone at the Weston.
CityBeat: How did you get involved with Publico?
Dana Ward: Sometime in early 2004 I wanted to host a poetry reading for some friends who were passing through town and I needed a venue. My friend Joey Versoza had gone to school with Paul Coors and shown some work at the gallery and suggested that Paul would probably be interested in having Publico host. He was, and the reading was a real success.
CB: What was your role in Publico?
DW: With the exception of curating/cocurating a reading series, my role was the same as the other members — curate and install the exhibitions. I also brought a lot of the beer. Read the entire interview here.