Penny Carlton finds herself on stage more and more these days. Whether she is MCing the Door Stop Productions open mic, singing with the 80's cover band Rubix Cubed, or reading her own poetry, performance becomes less daunting and more a source of joy and momentum. With the encouragement of Sean Lau and Jeffrey Whitman, Penny is also exploring the mechanics and mysticism involved in writing and recording songs. In the coming years, she plans to record her poems as well and challenge herself to more experimentation in the performance space.
A poet and Tampa native, pen* explores the aesthetic of kitsch in Florida and beyond. As noted by others, her current works further integrate the influence of song and music, which has always been a force in her life. Penny received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2002 from Naropa University in Boulder, CO. She is influenced by the Beat poets, Blues and Spirituals, Japanese Haiku and Rock n' Roll. After teaching Creative Writing for several years, Penny has gone back to her studies and, in addition to her full time job at USF, she is pursuing another Bachelors, this time in Psychology.
Always relishing a challlenge, Penny wants to continue giving back to her community as she moves toward her ultimate goal of bridging the creative and scientific as an academic and practicioner. Door Stop Productions, her newest project, was begun in 2008 with Nyssa Hanger to foster Performance and Community in the Tampa Bay Area. Door Stop presents an open mic every Thursday evening from 7-9 PM at Cafe Hey near downtown.