Book Release Party for She Was Wild Grass by Katie Bennett

Please join us for the release party for She Was Wild Grass by Katie Bennett! Featuring readings by the author and friends, snacks, and karaoke. Byob. 7pm at The Perch, 2321 Emerald Street, Philadelphia, PA.

She Was Wild Grass (Brink Books, September 2026) is a hybrid memoir that intertwines Bennett’s own artistic coming-of-age with the haunting story of Joan Vollmer, the remarkable yet overlooked figure of the Beat Generation whose life was tragically cut short when her husband, William S. Burroughs, shot her in 1951. Braiding past and present, Bennett explores art, ambition, gender, and freedom, asking what it means to create in a world where women’s stories are so often silenced and forgotten. For readers of Kate Zambreno, Maggie Nelson, and Nathalie Léger.

Katie Bennett is a writer based in West Philadelphia. She Was Wild Grass is her first book. Learn more at www.katiepbennett.com

Steph Cawley is a poet in Philadelphia. They are the author of No More Flowers (Birds, LLC) and My Heart But Not My Heart (Slope Editions). 

Hannah Bonner is the author of Another Woman (EastOver Press 2024) and Bree: An Autobiography (Sticking Place Books 2026). She lives with her family in Philadelphia. 

Sam Heaps is the author of the novella, The Living god (SARKA), the memoir, Proximity (Clash), and an untitled essay collection forthcoming from Future Tense late 2026. Their work has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Bomb, Bright Wall / Dark Room, and many other wonderful places. They live in West Philadelphia and teach writing at Temple University.