The reading at Allegory Gallery turned out very well. Besides myself, Amy Yanity, local poet and originator of these particular readings, read from her own work. So did Joanne Mcgough, Jan McLaughlin and Diane Cipa. There was wine and pastries and we all had fun.

The event got me to thinking. There are a number of events in the area held for and by area writers that are not well known, sometimes even among writers. I am aware of only some of them and a quick check with a few of my writing friends turned up a surprising list. Perhaps the most well known group is the Ligonier Valley Writers, which was started a number of years ago by Clark McKowan, who has since moved to California. I am aware of this group because Clark was the first person to give me encouragement in writing and the Ligonier Valley Writers was the first writing group I joined. Another local group is the Beanery Writers, a group that meets in the Coffee Bean Café in Latrobe. I currently belong to that group. Other than those two groups, I understand there are groups located in Latrobe, Somerset, Greensburg, Scottdale, Murrysville and Delmont.

The above is by no means a detailed or complete list and other than writing groups themselves there are events that cater to writers and musicians. One of these is the event I mentioned in the beginning of this piece and which is held at allegory Gallery on the last Thursday of each month. Another is Mellow Mike, held at Ligonier Tavern every Tuesday. Mellow Mike is hosted by Diane Cipa and features local writers, poets, songwriters and musicians. There are other similar events in this area.

I’m going to be doing a bit of searching around to gather more information on other happenings and additional writers’ groups in Ligonier and nearby areas and I will write a bit more about each of them from time to time. There is a lot of talent in Ligonier and surrounding areas. It’s about time this fact becomes a lot better known. Altogether these events provide a rich artistic resource of which we can all be very proud.