The Carter Arts & Lecture Series

Gianna Russo, poet

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 l 7:00 P.M

Gianna Russo is the inaugural Wordsmith of The City of Tampa (2020-22) appointed by Mayor Jane Castor. She wrote and performed “Glorious,” a new poem for the mayor’s second inauguration in 2023 and “How We Rose is How We Rise” for the Mayor’s State of the City address in 2025. She is the author of the poetry collections, All I See is Your Glinting: 90 Days in the Pandemic, with photographer Jenny Carey (Madville Publishing, 2022); One House Down (Madville Publishing, 2019) and Moonflower, winner of a Florida Book Award. She is the editor of the anthology Chasing Light which pairs poems by Florida poets with vintage photographs of Tampa. She has published poems in Green Mountains Review, Gulf Stream, The Sun, Poet Lore, Florida Review, Karamu, and Calyx, among others.

Russo is Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Saint Leo University where she teaches in the graduate and undergraduate creative writing programs and serves as editor-inchief of the literary magazine, Sandhill Review. A third-generation Tampa native, a mother and grandmother, Gianna lives in an almost 100-year-old bungalow with her husband Jeff Karon and their cat Gingko.

Jasmin Arakawa, piano

Thursday, February 12, 2026 l 7:00 P.M

Hailed by Gramophone for her ‘characterful sparkle,’ Jasmin Arakawa has performed widely in North America, Central and South America, Europe, China and Japan. A prizewinner of the Jean Françaix International Music Competition, she has been heard at Carnegie Hall, Salle Gaveau and Victoria Hall, as well as in broadcasts of the BBC and Radio France. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Philips Symfonie Orkest in Amsterdam, Orquestra Sinfonica de Piracicaba in Brazil, and numerous orchestras in the United States and her native Japan. Arakawa released her debut solo album Klavierabend on MSR Classics to critical acclaim, praised by American Record Guide for her ‘rich lyricism’ and ‘supreme clarity’. Arakawa is Associate Professor of Piano and Piano Area Coordinator at the University of Florida, as well as Director of the UF International Piano Festival.

Skip Horack, author

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 l 7:00 P.M Charles H. Kirbo Regional Center, ABAC Bainbridge

Skip Horack is the author of the story collection The Southern Cross (2009), winner of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference 2008 Bakeless Fiction Prize; and the novel The Eden Hunter (2010), a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. His work has also appeared in Oxford American, the Saturday Evening Post, Epoch, The Southern Review, Narrative Magazine, and elsewhere. Horack is a former Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, where he was also a Wallace Stegner Fellow. His novel The Other Joseph was published by Ecco/HarperCollins in 2015, and he is currently director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University.

The Joe Gransden Quartet with the ABAC Jazz Ensemble

Friday, April 17, 2026 l 6:00 P.M. Bainbridge Town Square

Joe Gransden is quickly becoming one of the busiest musicians on the jazz scene. Originally forming his group in 2009, Joe and the band have continued to build momentum and are performing numerous shows around the country. He has released 14 CDs under his own name including Close To My Heart produced by saxophone great Kenny G, and his recent release Go Getta, featuring a saxophone solo by Kenny G.

Renowned for the hard bop of his trumpet, Joe Gransden’s singing voice has been compared to Chet Baker. With his 3rd invitation to perform at the Blue Note in NYC and at Feinstein’s 54 Below, Joe Gransden’s big band has enjoyed accolades from sold-out audiences all across the country including the Tehema Golf Club in Carmel, California (where Joe regularly plays events for Clint Eastwood).

Joe and his quartet will be the featured artist along with the ABAC Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Andrew Peal.