Lido Gallery Owner Shares Passion for Poetry With Summer Series

Art connoisseur Diane DeCillis is no stranger to beautiful things. As owner of the Lido Gallery in downtown Birmingham, DeCillis has made it her business to bring imaginative gifts, jewelry, sculpture, framing and other aesthetic delights to her clientele for over more than decades.

However, DeCillis doesn’t limit her tastes to just the visual. As a staunch supporter and craftswoman of the written word, DeCillis will be using her gallery as a venue for the Lido Mondays Summer Poetry Series kicking off July 11.

DeCillis, who writes both poetry and fiction, says she has long had a love for literature and hopes fellow poetry lovers will appreciate the series.

“If you’re interested in a lot of things, you have something to write,” said DeCillis.

The summer poetry series is presented alongside the literary organization Springfed Arts based out of Royal Oak and has a lineup of poets including Terry Blackhawk, Ed Haworth Hoeppner and Karin Hoffecker.

The Lido Gallery, formerly known as The Print Gallery, opened in Birmingham in fall 2010 after DeCillis moved from her Southfield location of 31 years. DeCillis said she was looking for a more receptive audience, and feels so far that the transition to Birmingham has been a positive one. 

“Everyone loves it here,” DeCillis says of the new location, which she said provides the perfect space and ambiance for the various events at the gallery.

Prior literary events at Lido Gallery have been well attended with anywhere from 80 to 90 people showing up for the readings. “Where can you go in this economy and have such great free entertainment?” said DeCillis of the popular events. “It’s a great evening.”

If you go

The Lido Mondays Summer Poetry Series begins at 7 p.m. July 11 and runs through Aug. 8. Parking is available at The Lido Gallery, housed in the old Gramophone building at 33535 Woodward Ave. The lineup of authors includes:

• July 11: Ed Haworth Hoeppner, Terry Blackhawk, Karin Hoffecker
• July 18: Desiree Cooper, George Dila, Phillip Sterling
• July 25: Lori Volante, Alise Alousi
• Aug 1: Dorene O'Brien, Rick Bailey, Diane Dickinson
• Aug 8: Winners from the 2011 Springfed Arts Writing Contest read their winning entries

Events are free and open to the public. For questions call 248-792-6248; or click here for more information on the individual readings.