Editor’s note: This event has already taken place.

SCHENECTADY– Congregation Gates of Heaven will welcome three local Jewish poets and authors—Susan Cominos, Shira Dentz, and Janet Bowdan—for an evening of poetry, conversation, and reflection on Thursday, Sept. 24, from 7– 8:30 p.m. The program will be at the temple, 852 Ashmore Ave., Schenectady.

The three writers will share selections from a new poetry anthology The Color Wheel (Terrapin Books, 2026), a thematic collection exploring the range of hues within human experience. They will also read selections from their own published works. Additionally the evening will offer an opportunity for conversation about what it means to be a Jewish writer today.

Susan Cominos is the author of Out of Nowhere: Poems (Stephen F. Austin State University Press/Texa A&M University Press, 2022) and serves as poetry editor for Judith magazine.

Shira Dentz is the author of several poetry collections, most recently Sisyphusina (Astrophil Press, 2025), and is a former professor of creative writing at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

Janet Bowdan is the editor of Common Ground Review and author of Making Progress (Finishing Line Press, 2018). She is professor emerita at Western New England University.

Arnold Rotenberg, Congregation Gates of Heaven director of congregational Jewish living, at 518-374-8173 or arotenberg@cgoh.org can provide details.

Books by the participating authors will be available for purchase following the reading.