Poetry Reading and Student Artwork Exhibition

The Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Foundation (MVCAF) hosted a Poetry Reading and their first Student Artwork Exhibition on Sept. 5 at their new location in the Stoneridge Towne Center. Richard Archer, the President of the Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Foundation, explained that the student artwork shown at the gallery was one of the first of their summer series. This week, the artwork was by 3rd and 4th grade students from Cloverdale Elementary and Northridge Elementary. For the poetry reading, Archer introduced Matt Nadelson, an English Professor at Norco College and the Inlandia Institute, as the poet of the night. Nadelson started out the readings with a few poems about Riverside and his experience as a college student at UCR, one even included a story about stolen toilet paper from his college years. He then went on to describe his interest of rats, reading a poem about a few pet farrell rats he once owned. After his readings, Nadelson explained that he has always been a writer, “…starting from when I was five, I’d write song lyrics.” Quoting a famous poet, Nadelson said, “...the me in my poems is much more interesting than the me in real life,” as he explains how most of his poems are non-fiction, basing them on his everyday life experiences. Overall, Richard Archer and the MVCAF hosted a successful event. Archer mentions that the galleries new location will allow them to host bigger and better events, “We have our Art Walk coming up on the third Saturday of the month and we are hosting the First Annual Dia De Los Muetros Fiesta on Nov. 1.”