Poetry News

****POETRYNEWS****
To receive Poetry News in your email write to
or check it out online at http://www.poetrynewscalendar.com/

THIS WEEK check out:
Spoken Word Stage and Page at Academy of Music Northampton Sun Feb 15
Corey Boykins at Teapot Gallery Westfield Tue. Feb 17
Lesléa Newman and Andrea Ayvazian at Green Street Cafe Thu. Feb 19

Also, there are a plethera of wonderful poetry events in Northwest CT, the Berkshires
and in the Boston area to check out below!

Here is your Poetry News for the week of February 16, 2009.
Spoken word events are keeping us warm this week over the Pioneer Valley and beyond.

Please email if you would like to be added to the mailing
or are interested in featuring at Word in Westfield open mic on Tuesdays.
Peace through poetry - Lori


Spoken Word in Westfield:


WORD IN WESTFIELD
Note: Change of time - Now 6-8pm followed by live jazz!
EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT 7PM
at Teapot Gallery
22 Elm Street (route 10/202)
in Westfield, MA
Hosted by Eli Baenziger and Lori Desrosiers

Sign up is at 5:30 and open mic starts at 6:00PM
followed by a guest feature.
All are welcome.
every Tuesday night at 6

Upcoming Features:
Tue. February 17 - Corey Boykins
Tue. February 24 - Open Slam
Tue. March 3 - Heather MacPherson

Please email if you haven't featured in at least 6 months
and would like to return, or if you would be interested in featuring for the first time.

Poetry, Prose,
Verse, Yarns

Come to listen, come to speak,
Your words, words for our times,
Immortal words, mortal words...

Call 562-6966 (Teapot) or 348-7218 (Eli B.)

for info and encouragement,
or email to feature.



Chicopee/Holyoke/Springfield Area Poetry

Starving for Art Presents
open mic Mondays
@ Blue Fusion Bar and Grille
487 St. James Ave
Springfield, MA
doors open at 6pm for social hour.
Showtime is 7-9pm
All poets, musicians, singers, and visual artists are welcome.
This event is free
For more info visit http://www.brendaschild.com/


SPRINGFIELD LIBRARY POETRY

Spoken Word Sundays!
The Springfield City Library's monthly open mic series
is now indoors at the library

Central Library Community Room, 220 State Street.
Come share your voice with the community, or just listen.
Light refreshments provided.
Advance sign-ups are welcome, but not necessary.
Please call Anna (number below) with any questions.
Mark your calendar for March 7th.

Light refreshments provided.
Advance sign-ups are welcome, but not necessary.

Please call Anna (number below) with any questions

Anna Brandenburg Program Coordinator and Training Librarian Springfield City Library 220 State Street Springfield MA 01103
(413) 263-6828 x 426

2:00 pm
All languages, all forms of creative writing, and all ages are welcome. This is a family friendly
event, so please keep that in mind as you prepare your readings.
Advance sign-ups are welcome, but not needed.
For more information, call Anna at 263-6828 x426
or e-mail [email protected].
Springfield City Library — A Place for You

The Library Creative Writing Group will continue to meet
throughout the summer… although the times may change a bit!
No advance sign-ups needed,
but if you'd like more information, contact
Anna at .

Shariff's, Daisy's, and Maurice's
April 12th performances are on youtube -
http://www.youtube.com/user/springfieldlibrary ]

Questions? Or to sign up,
contact Anna at
or 263-6828 x426.
Free parking is available in the State Street lot across from the library,
or in the Elliot Street lot next to the Springfield Museums Welcome Center.

http://www.springfieldlibrary.org/poetry/poetrypage.html
Or contact Anna at
or 413.263.6828 x426.

Bookmark the Poetry Page
http://www.springfieldlibrary.org/poetry/poetrypage.html
for updated information, and to read the work of some of our poets
(anyone who's read at events here, send a poem to be posted!)


Word in the Valley and Beyond

Poetry at Green Street Cafe

Join us on Thursdays this January and February
at Green Street Cafe in Northampton
(64 Green Street,next to the Smith College campus)
for evenings of music and poetry.
In this new series, area poets read their poetry
in the comfortable, casual atmosphere of the Green
Street Cafe dining room. Come for dinner, a drink,
dessert, or just to hear the poetry!
Live music will be performed by, alternately,
William Moebius of UMass Amherst and Julia Read of Northampton.
Poetry to begin at 8:00pm

Calendar of events:

February 5th: Patricia Crapo and Missy Montgomery
February 12th: Wally Swist and Susan Gage Tyler
February 19th: Lesléa Newman and Andrea Ayvazian
February 26th: Mary Koncel and Amy Dryansky


Smith Poetry Center Readings:
Two extraordinary poets read their work - Please join us!

Tuesday, February 24, 7:30 pm
Stoddard Hall Auditorium
Smith College
Marianne Boruch, Distinguished professor of English at Purdue, author of seven books of poetry and two books of essays.
Boruch will also offer a craft lecture on Thursday, February 26. 7:30 pm in the Poetry Center at Smith.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ellen Dore Watson, Director
The Poetry Center @ Smith College


Four Sundays in February Spoken Word Series
Now in its 18th season, the Four Sundays in February Series has become a winter tradition at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton.

On Sunday, February 15th at 2PM Spoken Word: Stage and Page featuring US Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur and slam strategists Taylor Mali and Iyeoka Okoawa, along with emerging talent from the page poetry tradition and slam innovation. Hosted by Northampton Poet Laureate Lesléa Newman. Sunday, February 15th, 2:00 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theatre. All seats $6 in advance; $8 at the door. Sponsored by Smith College. For more information, visit northamptonartscouncil.org.

Richard Wilbur’s first book of poems, THE BEAUTIFUL CHANGES AND OTHER POEMS was published in 1947. Since then, he has published several books of poems, including NEW AND COLLECTED POEMS (1988), which won the Pulitzer Prize and THINGS OF THIS WORLD (1956), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. About Wilbur's poems, one reviewer for The Washington Post said, "Throughout his career Wilbur has shown, within the compass of his classicism, enviable variety. His poems describe fountains and fire trucks, grasshoppers and toads, European cities and country pleasures. All of them are easy to read, while being suffused with an astonishing verbal music and a compacted thoughtfulness that invite sustained reflection." Wilbur has also published numerous translations of French plays—specifically those of the 17th century French dramatists Molière and Jean Racine—as well as poetry by Valéry, Villon, Baudelaire, Akhmatova, Brodsky, and others. Wilbur is also the author of several books for children and a few collections of prose pieces, and has edited such books as POEMS OF SHAKESPEARE (1966) and THE COMPLETE POEMS OF POE (1959).

Among his honors are the Wallace Stevens Award, the Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry, the Frost Medal, the Gold Medal for Poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two Bollingen Prizes, the T. S. Eliot Award, a Ford Foundation Award, two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Edna St. Vincent Millay Memorial Award, the Harriet Monroe Poetry Award, the National Arts Club medal of honor for literature, two PEN translation awards, the Prix de Rome Fellowship, and the Shelley Memorial Award. He was elected a chevalier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques and is a former Poet Laureate of the United States. Richard Wilbur was born on March 1, 1921 in New York City. He studied at Amherst College before serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He later attended Harvard University. A Chancellor Emeritus of The Academy of American Poets, Wilbur currently lives in Cummington, Massachusetts.

Taylor Mali studied drama with members of The Royal Shakespeare Company, and has put those stage skills to use performing poetry all over the world and serving as the official voiceover voice on all Burger King commercials in 1998. A former teacher and lifelong educator, he is the author of several CDs, books, and DVDs of spoken word. Mali is generally considered to be the most successful poetry slam strategist of all time, having led six of his seven national poetry slam teams to the finals stage and winning the championship itself a record four times before anyone had even tied him at three. Mali was one of the original poets to appear on the HBO original series "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry." He was also the "golden-tongued, Armani clad villain" of Paul Devlin's 1997 documentary film "SlamNation," which chronicled the National Poetry Slam Championship of 1996, the year of Mali's first national team championship. A native of New York City and vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching, Mali himself spent nine years in the classroom teaching everything from English and history to math S.A.T. test preparation. He has performed and lectured for teachers all over the world. Mali received a New York Foundation for the Arts Grant in 2001 to develop "Teacher! Teacher!" a one-man show about poetry, teaching, and math which won the jury prize for best solo performance at the 2001 U. S. Comedy Arts Festival.

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is one of the most sought after performance poets in the country and a recipient of the 2008 National Performance Network/NCCC Artist of Color Residency Award. As a dynamic and emerging band in the local scene, Iyeoka and the Rock by Funk Tribe were recently invited to play as support act to popular "World Music" group Zap Mama at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston and were a featured act at the 2008 Boston Arts Festival. Among Iyeoka's lists of credits are: being asked to compose and perform a poem for a dinner event hosted for Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda; being commissioned by Discovery Channel for its 2008 brand campaign; being commissioned by a top-twenty ad agency to write a piece for a diversity training tool; gracing the inaugural cover of the magazine Leverage; receiving a 2007 Massachusetts Industry Committee Hip-Hop Award for Spoken Word Artist of the year; and a New England Urban Music Award for the Best Female Spoken Word Poet of 2006. She's also the only member of the nationally competing Boston Lizard Lounge Slam team to have earned her position eight years in a row. In 2007, Iyeoka lent her coaching abilities as a spoken word expert on the hit PBS KIDS GO! TV series FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman.

Lesléa Newman is the author of 55 books including the poetry collections STILL LIFE WITH BUDDY, NOBODY'S MOTHER and SIGNS OF LOVE. Other titles include the short story collection, A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK, the middle-grade novel HACHIKO WAITS, and the children's book HEATHER HAS TWO MOMMIES. Lesléa's literary awards include poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation. She is the current Poet Laureate of Northampton and our host for Stage and Page. It will, no doubt, take all of her considerable charm and talent to wrangle these wily writers on to our stage set with fine furnishings from Polly Cassel and Artifacts 21st Century. We were excited, and a little nervous, about a show devoted to the spoken word, Lesléa, along with Ellen Watson, David Lenson, Jim Neill, Sean Conlon, Kevin Devaney and amazing number of poetry fans, helped us to connect with a the diverse talent at STAGE AND PAGE. Dara Wier, introduced us to poets from an edition of DECK OF POEMS, published by Factory Hollow Press of North Amherst, including Madeline ffitch, an enthusiast, is an MFA candidate in fiction writing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founding member of The Missoula Oblongata, an experimental theater company with which she creates and tours original performance; Christopher Cheney from Hadley, Massachusetts, his recent publications include DIAGRAM & elimae; Zach Savich's book, Full Catastrophe Living, will be out in March from the University of Iowa Press; David Bartone is an editor of Microfilme Magazine, new and part of the UMass Small Press Bonanza; Jeff Downey is from the panhandle of Nebraska and is an editor of the newly-formed Microfilme Magazine; Amy Adams grew up as one of seven children in Castle Rock, Colorado; Francesca Chabrier lives in Northampton and her poems can be seen in notnostrums; Jack Christian's poems can be found in Diagram 8.2, as well as in jubilat, Mississippi Review and elsewhere; Anne Holmes is from Michigan and currently she lives in a wood-paneled basement in Amherst; Mike Young is the author of two chapbooks: MC Oroville's Answering Machine (Transmission Press) and Real Sturdy Thing (Stormy Petrel Press), he co-edits NOÖ Journal and Magic Helicopter Press; Chris Ward was born in Montour County, Pennsylvania in 1979 and he currently lives in Northampton; Luke Bloomfield lives in Massachusetts ,is a student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and he co-edits notnostrums.com; and Gale Thompson is originally from Greenville, South Carolina but currently resides in Amherst.

Sean Conlon started slam at the Boston Cantab lounge in 2005, and was in finals for all MA venues in his first year of competition. He’s toured behind music and also as a spoken word artist. As the Slammaster of the HC Slam Collective, Sean founded the first National Poetry Slam venue based on a college campus and has taken teams to two national competitions. As a competitor at both events, Sean had the distinction of being the first spoken word poet to open up the Finals night for both the College National (CUPSI) and Adult National (NPS) competitions. Sophia Holtz started performing poetry in the fall of 2007. She has since been a member of both the Slam Collective College team (CUPSI), and most recently, a member of their inaugural Adult Nationals team (NPS). In November of 2007 she self-published her first chapbook. Charley Pope Charley Pope is a relative newcomer to the New England Slam Poetry scene. Hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, he now spends his time trekking around the Northeast to frequent particular poetry venues. He represented Hampshire College at the 2008 College Union Poetry Slam Invitational, and has since been offered several shows at small venues in both Boston and the Pioneer Valley.

One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry during the 1990s, slam has revitalized interest in poetry in performance. Construction worker and poet Marc Smith started the structure of the traditional slam in 1986 at a reading series in a Chicago jazz club. Wordsworth defined poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings;" Emily Dickinson said, "If I read a book and it makes my body so cold no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry;" and Dylan Thomas defined poetry this way: "Poetry is what makes me laugh or cry or yawn, what makes my toenails twinkle, what makes me want to do this or that or nothing.

Four Sundays in February 2009 tickets can be purchased at any of the following ticket outlets.

Cooper’s Corners
Food for Thought
Guild Art Centre
Northampton Arts Council
State St. Fruit
51 State Street
World Eye Books

Week 1: We begin the series on Sunday, February 1st, with our annual Silver Chord Bowl, collegiate a cappella at its best. All 2,000 seats are filled in John M. Greene Hall at Smith College year after year. Featuring Tufts Beelzebubs, McGill Effusion, Rutgers ShockWave, MIT Logarhythms, NYU N’Harmonics, Amherst College Zumbyes, and Smith College Smiffenpoofs
Special guests: the Northampton High School Northamptones.
Emcees: Smith College President Carol T. Christ and Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins Sponsored by Whalen Insurance Agency
All seats $10.00 in advance; $12.00 at the door
FOR SPECIAL $20 PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS CALL 413-587-1269

Week 2: On Sunday, February 8th, we move back to the Academy of Music Theatre, where we will present Being Harry Houdini: three of the best illusionists in the business--Todd Robbins, postmodern master of the sideshow; Michael Paul’s mentalism and magic; and David Garrity’s phenomenal vanishing acts. Sunday, February 8th, 2:00 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theatre.
All seats $8 in advance; $10 at the door
Sponsored by the Kahn Institute’s A Festival of Disorder and Deceit: The Uses of Transparency and Concealment.

Week 3: Spoken Word: Stage and Page On Sunday, February 15th at 2PM we present US Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur and slam strategists Taylor Mali and Iyeoka Okoawa, along with emerging talent from the page poetry tradition and slam innovation. Hosted by Northampton Poet Laureate Lesléa Newman. Sunday, February 15th, 2:00 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theatre.
All seats $6 in advance; $8 at the door
Sponsored by Smith College

KidsBestFest – February 16-20. Films for children of all ages. At the Academy of Music Theatre.
All Seats $3 at the door

YouthFilm – Saturday, February 21. Films directed, crafted and starring local children and teens. Festival starts at noon. All seats $3 at the door for people over 19. 18 and under is free.

Week 4: The series concludes on Sunday, February 22nd with our ever-popular The Really Big Show. David Simpson, director of Commonwealth Center for Change, becomes Ed Sullivan in the 18th annual salute to Valley variety. From Young@Heart to Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra and everything in between.
Sunday, February 22nd, 2:00 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theatre.
All seats $6 in advance; $8 at the door
Sponsored by Coldwell Banker Upton Massamont Realtors

KidsBestFest and Youth Film Sponsors--Florence Savings Bank, Gravity Switch, Faces, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, WGBY and the Valley Advocate. Co-presented by the Academy of Music Theatre.

Four Sundays in February Series Sponsors—City of Northampton, Northampton Arts Council, Daily Hampshire Gazette, United Bank, Lathrop Communities, 93.9 The River, WHMP, and Massachusetts Cultural Council


jubilat and the historic Jones Library present
A jubilat/Jones Poetry Reading
Featuring: Kimiko Hahn and Robyn Schiff
3:00 PM
Sunday, February 22nd
Trustees Room,
Jones Library
43 Amity Street, Amherst
The reading will be followed by a Q & A session with the poets.
At 2 PM, Dara Wier and Lily Ladewig will host a poetry swap
in the Trustees Room; Ben Kopel and Zach Savich will host a teen
writers' swap in the Amherst Room.

Bring a poem--your own or someone else's--to share and discuss.
All events are free and open to the public.

Kimiko Hahn is the author seven books of poems, including Earshot
(Hanging Loose Press, 1992), which was awarded the Theodore Roethke
Memorial Poetry Prize and an Association of Asian American Studies
Literature Award; The Unbearable Heart (Kaya, 1996), which received
an American Book Award; and The Narrow Road to the Interior
(W.W. Norton, 2006). Hahn has received the Shelley Memorial Prize,
a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award, and fellowships from
the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a Distinguished Professor
in the MFA program at Queens College/CUNY.

Robyn Schiff is the author of the poetry collections Revolver (2008)
and Worth (2002), both published by the University of Iowa Press.
Her work has been represented in several anthologies, including
Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century (Sarabande, 2006),
Women Poets on Mentorship: Efforts and Affections (Iowa, 2007), and
Transatlantic Verse, (Duration, 2005). She was a featured poet at the
2007 Poetry Society of America Festival of New American Poets, and
was recognized with an award from the Greenwall Fund by the Academy
of American Poets in 2002. She coedits The Canary and teaches at the
University of Iowa.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Jones Library, jubilat,
the Juniper Initiative of the UMass MFA Program for Poets & Writers,
the Amherst Cultural Council, Factory Hollow Press, and LEVSCo Furniture,
the jubilat/Jones Series showcases established and emerging poets in six
readings each year.

If you have questions, please contact the jubilat office at (413) 577-1064.



The Juniper Summer Writing Institute
and the Juniper Institute for Young
Writers are now accepting applications for
the June 2009 session. Both sessions are held
concurrently from June 21-27, 2009 at the
UMass campus.
Please check out our website at
http://www.umass.edu/juniperinstitute/ for
more information.



New Writing Group
Wednesdays at 2pm,
Windhorse Associates,
211 North St, Noho.
Chaya Grossberg and David Stark.
Lots of poetry, lots of humor.



FLORENCE POETS SOCIETY .
Next business/sharing meeting Thursday February 12
ALL POETS OF ALL TYPES AND AGES are welcome, bring one of your original works to share,
(12 to 15 copies will usually be enough for all to share) The meeting is held at Lilly Library community room and begins at 6:30 PM. Poetry presentation and discussion begins at 7PM


OPEN MIC at Evolution Cafe
1st Thursday evening of each month.
We are now facilitating the open mic at Evolution Cafe,
it is basically an Evolution Cafe event that florence poets will help facilitate using
the resources we have for contacting poets. This venue is open to poets and aimed
at the entire local poetry community. We had a fine turn out on Thursday evening.
IT IS THE FIRST THURDAY EVENING OF EACH MONTH
AT EVOLUTION CAFE, SIGN UP AT 6:30 PM.
Bring a poet friend and tell other poets about this great cafe reading venue.
AND REMEMBER TO PATRONIZE THIS FINE CAFE.!!!!!


Rant workshop and Open Mic
with reception
featuring: JLove Calderon and We Got Issues!
crew members Kibibi Dillon and Adeeba Rana
Saturday February 21, 2009 @ 7 PM
Food For Thought Books
Amherst MA 01002



Valley Writers School:
Now Accepting Applications for Poetry Workshop
The Valley Writers School offers (variously) fiction, non-fiction, and poetry workshops for writers seeking to generate new work, refine works-in-progress, read and discuss great literature, and join a supportive writing community. Poetry workshop begins February 24, 2009 and runs for 10 weeks. Tuition is $290.
Workshop will be serious, fun, eye-opening, and supportive. Location is Northampton. Please contact us at [email protected] or at 413-636-5088 if you have any questions or if you'd like to apply.



WRITING GROUP
Rich Puchalsky and friends meet every 3rd Thursday
at Lilly Library community Room
at 6:30 PM.
See Rich for details, this group is currently open to join.

LASTLY PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING AS A MEMBER
OF FLORENCE POETS SOCIETY. THE FEE IS $15.00 FOR THE YEAR
FROM SEPTEMBER TO AUGUST. Your membership supports our Fall festival,
SILKWORM our annual journal, (these first two items also are supported in part
by the Northampton Arts Council via a grant)
our website http://www.florencepoetssociety.org/,, our po box, the annual contest,
the JAN SLAM, our spring art gallery reading. and our summer reading
at William Cullen Bryant homestead.

For more information:
Email us at or check out our web
page at http://www.florencepoetssociety.org/



Florence Poets Society Readings:

Listen to "Twilite's Poetry Pub" now Weekly!
Enjoy the "Pub" with Carl and Tom every Wednesday from 9-10 am
on Valley Free Radio, WXOJ 103.3 fm, Northampton and now
with improved streaming at http://www.valleyfreeradio.org/ !!!
Poetry to the people!
WXOJ-FM LP 103.3 and streaming at www.valleyfreeradio.org.
Bringing to you a variety of interesting poetry and music!

-----------------------------
All events are free and open to the public except as noted
For more information, Call Tom at (413) 584-5914
or email at: [email protected]
or: [email protected] or visit:
www.florencepoetssociety.org
or visit: http://www.tommytwilite.com/



Poetry Nights in Northampton:

Writer's Group at Packard's in Northampton:
Northampton Writer's Group is an ongoing writer's group
for any kind of written word. We currently have several openings
for new members.
For information please contact Lori
It meets in the library room at Packard's restaurant/bar at
14 Masonic St. in Northampton.
Participants bring copies of their work to read and have
critiqued in a supportive, gentle, constructive environment.
The next dates -
Sunday March 1, 6:00pm
Sunday March 15, 6:00pm



POETRY A LA CARTE
on WMUA-Amherst 91.1 FM
Fridays 4:30-5:00pm
The program, hosted by Daisy Mathias,
includes reading aloud from past
and contemporary poets, and occasionally
features live interview and
poetry-reading with a local poet.


Greenfield/Shelburne Falls and North

Spoken Word Greenfield
Always the third Tuesday of the month
Feb 17th
Greenfield Spoken Word
9 Mill St
Greenfield, MA
Doors open at 7:00
Open Mic starts at 7:30
Open Mic will be 10 - five-minute slots
Donation - Sliding Scale $1 - $5
Feature Readers
Bob Susskind
Abby Dolinger
Susan Tyler
Michael Arraj
Book signing and selling of local writers works will be available

Thanks
Paul Richmond

Directions
If you come up 91
Come into the center of Greenfield
At the lights of Federal and Main
Where the Common is
You take a right
Down the hill
Toyota will be on you left
You go under the railroad bridge
Come to a light
Take a RT
and you are there
That is Mill St
9 is on the corner
You can park in the Art Space next door
or on the street



ARMS LIBRARY READING
Third Friday Prose and Poetry Readings.
7 p.m. at The Arms Library,
Corner of Main and Bridge Streets,
Shelburne Falls, Mass.
413-625-0306.
February 20 is our Third Friday Prose and Poetry night, emceed by the lovely and now-famous Susie Patlove. (Garrison Keillor read Susie's "First Cutting" on air last month!!!
We'll be in the upstairs meeting room. If you have students, of any age, who are writing and would like to read their work, please invite them.

On February 19, Richard Todd will be giving an Author's Talk in the Langford Room at 7 p.m. at the library. His 2008 book, "The Thing Itself: On the Search for Authenticity" has been widely, and quite favorably, reviewed by the likes of Ploughshares (/www.pshares.org), Chicago Tribune (www.chicagotribune.com/), The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com/)... Even Oprah's reviewers caught hold of it. (www.oprah.com)

Held in the upstairs Reading Room, readers should arrive a
couple of minutes early to sign up for a reading slot, and then
have five minutes to share their work.
The building is accessible by entering at lower level
and taking the elevator upstairs.



ALL SMALL CAPS:
A NIGHT OF SPOKEN WORD. READINGS
AT THE DEJA BREW PUB,
57 LOCKES VILLAGE ROAD,
WENDELL, MA.
THE LAST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH
Open Mic Sign Up 7-7:15
Open Mic Readings 7:15-8:00
February 23
Featured Readers: Deborah Poe, Joel Sloman, and Chris Janke
$1-$5 sliding scale admission
This program is supported, in part, by the Wendell Cultural Council, a local agency, The Massachusetts Cultural Council, a
state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

$1 - $5
Sliding scale admission
For directions and additional
information see our website
http://allsmallcaps.blogspot.com


Deja Brew Pub
& Cafe
57 Lockes Village Rd.
Wendell MA
(978) 544-2739

__________

Bart’s Bards

Second Thursdays Open Microphone for Writers

Next meeting:

March 12, 2009

Bart’s Café of Greenfield
286 Main St.
Greenfield, MA
7:00- 9:00 P.M.
(Sign up to read at 6:45)

Featured Reader:

Leslea Newman

Free to All
(Open Microphone readings of 5 minutes or less, sign up at 6:45)

For more information, please contact:
Larry Fader, (413) 475-3321

_______

Collected Poets Series
Features Nikki Finney, Tara Betts and poets from the Holyoke Care Center for Teen Mothers
Thursday March 5, 2008
7:30pm
at Mocha Maya’s Coffee House,
47 Bridge Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
413-625-6292.
Wheelchair accessible. Free.

The 2009 Series
Jan. 8 - Patrick Donnelly, Jeffrey Levine, Art Opening by Liz deNiord: Art + Poetry = Excitation
Feb. 5 - Mary Clare Powell and Diane Lockward
Mar.5 - Nikki Finney, Tara Betts and poets from The Holyoke Care Center for Teen Mothers
Mar.29 - Martha Collins and Lynne Thompson
April 2 - Carey Salerno and Anne Marie Macari
May 7 - Genie Zeiger, Dorianne Laux, and Kerry O'Keefe
June 4 - Two Massachusetts Poet Laureates: Gertrude Halstead of Worcester and Lesléa Newman of Northampton
July 2 - Dara Wier, Lesle Lewis, and Elizabeth Hughey
~ no CPS for August and Sept. ~
Oct. 1 - Patricia Smith and Annie Finch
Nov. 5 - April Ossman, Peter Waldor, and Pamela Stewart
Dec. 3 - Mary Koncel and Kate Greenstreet

The Collected Poets Series highlights the work of established and emerging poets. Each event showcases the remarkable local poets of Western Massachusetts and the finest regional, national, and international talent. The series is usually held every first Thursday of the month. See http://www.collectedpoets.com/ for more info about upcoming events.


______

New Poetry-Sharing Group
"Growing Younger Toward Death Every Day: Poetry To Inspire Our Lives"
is a new group that focuses on recorded poet David Whyte reciting and discussing his own and others' poetry, and inspiring us to live a fully present and engaged life.
The group's 7th biweekly gathering is Monday February 16, 6:15 to 9pm at a participant's home in Greenfield. Participants may attend occasionally or regularly. They will listen to parts of Whyte's CDs, then discuss his message. His line "Growing younger toward death every day" appears in his best-known poem, 'The Faces at Braga'. Participants can also bring and share poems, prose, songs, or other material created by themselves or others, that moves and inspires them deeply. Whyte is a British/Irish poet, author, and public speaker who has lived in the Seattle area for over 25 years. He travels the country and world reading his and others' poetry, and galvanizing listeners to explore their lives and destinies through poetry. He has published 5 books of poetry, and recorded 12 CDs of various readings and talks he's given. Some of his CDs that we will use are: "The Poetry of Self-Compassion"; "A Change for the Better: Poetry and the Re-imagination of Mid-life"; and "Thresholds: Navigating the Difficult Transitions of Life". Some of his recent poetry books include "Everything Is Waiting For You" and "The House of Belonging".The group will also read and discuss parts of the series of recent books edited by Roger Housden, such as Ten Poems To Set You Free and Ten Poems To Change Your Life. For more info, contact John Berkowitz at 413-625-6374,

_____________

New Writing Groups
for beginning and experienced writers

led by Ann McNelly

a.. Come write in an encouraging supportive environment
b.. Experience the deepening and growth of your own writing
c.. Contribute to the deepening and growth of others' writing
d.. No writing experience necessary--only the willingness to put pen to
paper

Groups meet weekly in Greenfield, are ongoing, and open to all genres.
We follow the Amherst Writers & Artists method, emphasizing:
a.. writing together (prompts and exercises offered each week)
b.. positive, supportive comments in response to new work
c.. balanced, constructive critique and discussion of revised work
d.. the development of each writer's unique voice
e.. a safe place where your writing and creativity can flourish.

Introductory fee: $125 per 5-week session, groups limited to 6 - 8 people.

To join, or for more information call 413 772 2375, or email


Ann McNelly, BA, MSN, is an Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) trained
Writing Workshop Leader, a published poet, and has written in local creative
writing and poetry workshops based on the AWA method for the last six years.

________________

News from Mo and Ginger Cat Press

The web site can be accessed with this address:
http://www.thebooksmyth.com/
Maureen
Web site: http://www.thebooksmyth.com/ submission guidelines now available

The Equinox is available at http://www.thebooksmyth.com/


18th Annual Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest *
*Open to residents of Franklin County*
*Two categories: Adult and Young Poet (ages 12-18)*
Submit up to three poems of your choice.
Indicate “Adult” or “Young Poet,” and Young Poets write poet’s age in lower right hand corner of front page, circled. Write name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (if available) on reverse. No personal identification on front. Submit on white paper, printed clearly in ink or type; title of poem on each page, no staples. Poems will not be returned. Include SASE for notification of receipt of entry, or notification will be via email.// Only unpublished poems may be submitted. Previous winners may not submit./

* First Prize, Adult: Poet’s Seat Chair for one year, name engraved on plaque; hand-crafted, poet’s ceramic platter, $20 book store gift certificate, and gift certificate for one night’s stay at Poetry Ridge B&B, Greenfield

* All other prizes: 2nd and 3rd Place Adult, as well as top 4 Youth Poems (Youth poems judged in separate categories, ages at time of submission 12-14 and 15-18): hand-crafted poet’s ceramic mug, $20 book store gift certificate

* Awards Ceremony: Wednesday, April 29, 2009,
Capen Room, Stoneleigh-Burnham School,
574 Bernardston Rd., Greenfield

* * *Send poems to:
POET’S SEAT CONTEST*
*Greenfield** Public Library,
402 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01301*
*Deadline: March 6, 2009 (in hand, not postmark)*

Word in the Berkshires

Power of Words, Open Mic
Tuesday February 17, 2009 AT 7PM,
Hosted by Garfield Reed.
This is an open opportunity to share poetry,
readings, music and other spoken word.
Free and open to the public
Berkshire South Regional Community Center
Crissey Rd. Great Barrington, MA
Every third Tuesday of the month.
Please call Garfield at 528 4127 for more information.

In Words, Out Words in Housatonic
In Housatonic, MA there is an open mic for poets and performers
of all styles and ages.
1st Tuesday of each month at
the Deb Koffman Gallery
137 Front Street,
Housatonic, MA 01236. “In Words, Out Words.”
is hosted by John Meeks and there is usually
a $7 suggested donation for heat and electricity.
There are snacks there provided by whoever wants to bring them.
The sign up technically is at 6:30 however the way it works is a
lottery system. If you go to check it out once, then you can put
your name on the contact email list. The following month you
get an email reminding you of the upcoming event.
If it’s your first time performing at In Words, Out Words,
you are guaranteed a spot on the roster as long as you reply
to the reminder email. If you’ve performed there before then
you are put into the lottery system and randomly names are selected.
Sometimes there are still slots open at the door.
The open mic begins at 7 and the featured performer goes on
for about 20 minutes. It usually lasts until between 9 and 9:30.


Zeitgeist Gallery Pittsfield

Monday Poetry Nights
6 to10pm
648 North Street in Pittsfield
call Alan Nidle, the Director at (857) 991-8448 for details

FREE WRITING WORKSHOPS
AT CHAPTERS BOOKSTORE

In honor of Small Press Month, Ledgetop Publishing will offer a series of free writing workshops during March, at Chapters Bookstore, 78 North Street, Pittsfield.
Under Your Nose: Writing the Personal Essay, taught by Bob Gray, will take place on Saturday, March 7, from 1:00-4:00pm. This workshop will help students develop their skills of observing, journaling, and writing narratives about everyday events and encounters with the natural world. Using their own research and observation, assisted by the instructor’s experience and insights, participants will create essays that reveal the unusual, wonderful, and universal in events that seem ordinary on the surface.

Writing Poems about Loss, taught by Aaron M. Beatty, will take place on Tuesday, March 10, from 5:00-8:00pm. This workshop will explore the art of expressing loss through poetry and will examine a variety of contemporary and classic poems that deal with loss effectively. The workshop will provide a safe and supportive forum for participants to share their own original work and receive constructive feedback. There will also be a few writing exercises designed to generate and discuss new work. Participants are asked to bring 10 copies of a poem that deals with loss for which they wish to receive feedback.

Turning Life into Fiction (or Memoir), taught by Vivian Dorsel, will take place on Saturday, March 28, from 1:00-5:00pm. Participants in this workshop will discover how their own experience can inspire and inform their writing, whether they work in fiction or creative nonfiction. Participants are encouraged to bring journals, letters, photographs, or other mementos that will stimulate memories of the people, places, and events that have been important in their lives. Through the use of examples and exercises, this workshop will help give students’ writing a richness of detail and a unique voice.
Each workshop is limited to 15 participants, and pre-registration is required.

To register, please e-mail or call 413-441-9702

Lee Writers Group
(every 2nd Tuesday of the month)
at the Lee Library Conference Room.

Develop and hone writing skills through constructively critiquing
others as well as receiving helpful hints and suggestions.
This forum will host a variety of short stories, poetic compilations,
insightful and original essays, and other varieties of writing similarly
tangible in length. The purpose of this group is to embody character
and narrator through obsessive directive fervor with written and
spoken words.
The group will meet every second Tuesday sharing original works
via recitation and distribution and should be prepared to accept
constructive feedback and be able to, in return, deliver such
feedback in a respectable and deliberate manner.
Contact
or call 413 243-8116 for further information.

Writing Group at Bartholomew's Cobble in Sheffield
A nature-inspired writing group begins this winter at Bartholomew's Cobble on the second Sunday of each month. Sessions combine outdoor walking with indoor writing. Emerging and experienced writers of poems, songs, memoirs, essays and fiction are welcome! The group will be facilitated by local writing instructor and poet Pauline Clarke with Trustees of Reservations naturalist Tammis Coffin. They will share techniques for tuning into moment and place with the senses and the imagination.

Former New York Times nature columnist Hal Borland lived just down the road from Bartholomew's Cobble, and many of his fine pieces of writing center around the hills, forests, fields, and river of the Weatogue Valley that this group of writers will explore. It is a place of great interest and beauty, with winter ducks and eagles appearing along the river, the tracks of bobcat and coyote in the fields, and some very large trees. The Cobble is registered as a National Natural Landmark for its exceptional scenic value and natural diversity.

Pauline Clarke holds a Masters Degree in Writing from Vermont College . From 1990-2005, she published a column of nature related and local color essays in the Berkshire Record. She is a writing tutor and has taught writing workshops through Berkshire Community College . Tammis Coffin, M.A. has led nature-inspired writing workshops for Inkberry, The Thoreau Society, Massachusetts State Parks , and National Fish & Wildlife.

The cost of the writing group is by donation to The Trustees of Reservations. The location is at the Bartholomew's Cobble Visitor Center on Weatogue Rd. , Sheffield . The group meets January 11, February 8, and March 8 from 1-4pm. To learn more, or to register, contact Tammis at The Trustees of Reservations at 413-298-3239 x3003 or send an e-mail to .



Word Street
is a youth literacy project and creative writing center located at
163 North Street in downtown Pittsfield.
Since 2003, Word Street has offered homework help, tutoring,
MCAS and SAT test prep, creative writing instruction,
mini-magazine publishing, summer camps, and much more to
Berkshire County youth ages 7-18 absolutely free of charge.

"Poets are the theoretical physicists of language.
Rivers of literary magma are flowing just under the
surface all over Berkshire County.
This reading is a volcano."
--Steve Dew

For more information, please contact:
Steve Dew
Development Director
Word Street
163 North Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
( 413) 458-5171 home
(415) 407-3664 mobile
( 413) 997-3307 office
http://www.blogger.com/http://www.blogger.com/

Check out this website for information on
spoken word events in Pittsfield:
There are some great events so check it out.
http://www.wordstreet.org/



Word in Ware/Palmer:

Carpe Stylum! (Latin for Seize the pen!)
meets every Wednesday 6-8pm, usually at the Ware Library
but some meetings are held elsewhere.
This group includes poets, short story writers and novelists.
All are welcome.
Call LuWanda Cheney (413) 277-9676 for a schedule.



Word in Worcester:
___

Worcester Storytellers
Second Friday of each month at Vasa Hall
(1 Ekman Street, Worcester).
The reading starts at 8:00 p.m.
There will be an open mic followed by a feature from Emily Ferrara.
Ferrara is the author of The Alchemy of Grief, a collection of poems selected to win the 2006 Bordighera Poetry Prize. The book was published in bilingual edition (English and Italian) by Bordighera Press in 2007. The Alchemy of Grief is her first full length book. A long-time member of Poem Works: Workshop for Publishing Poetsin Brookline, Ferrara is Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she teaches creative writing and directs the grants and special projects division for the school's Office of Educational Affairs.
Worcester Storytellers never charges a cover. They ask you throw some money into the basket to support the artists who feature. For more info please contact dave...@.

The d'Alzon Arts Series: Poetry Reading
takes place at Assumption College (500 Salisbury Street, Worcester) in the Emmanuel d'Alzon Library on the third Friday of each month during the academic year. The format is an open mic for the first half-hour or so, a short break with refreshments and then 2 featured poets. The reading starts at 7:00 p.m. and typically runs for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Readings run throughout the school year.
Upcoming 2008 features include:
02/20 -- Gertrude Halstead
03/20 -- poets from Adastra Press
04/17 -- Assumption student writers

The Spot at the Kelly Square Yacht Club
The reading meets every other Thursday night at the Hotel Vernon (1 Millbury Street, Worcester) in the Ship Room bar. 7:30 p.m. sign-up with the show starting at 8ish. The format is an open mic and then a features. The occasional slam is thrown in for fun as well.
Upcoming dates & features include:
01/29 -- David Surette
02/05 -- Victor Infante
02/12 -- Clark student fundraiser for New Orleans
02/19 -- Open Qualifying Slam
02/26 -- Jenith Charpentier
No cover but bring some money to buy beverage and to put in the captain's hat!!

Speakout! Youth Slam Saturday Night
The Speakout! Youth Poetry Slam returns from the winter hiatus and is back to meeting every Saturday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The format is an open mic, youth slam (ages 13-19 welcome) and a feature. This week their feature will be 2008 Worcester Slam team member Trevor Byrne-Smith. Come share a poem at the open mic or come to see slammers. Join them in The Bisto in Higgins Student Center (950 Main Street, Worcester).

Poets Asylum
Sundays:

Feb. 22
This week we will hold the next open qualifying slam for the 2009 Worcester Slam team. Plus we'll have a spotlight feature by Jadon Woodward, two time Jacksonville (FL) Youth Poetry Grand Slam Champion.
Poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it. Slam poetry can be moving, funny and deadly serious, sometimes all in the same poem. If that sounds like a good time then join us for some great words. The top finisher tonight moves on to the Team Finals in May.

Head over to Jumpin' Juice and Java (335 Chandler Street, Worcester). The reading starts at 6:00 p.m. No cover; please throw some money in the bucket to support the features.

The Dirty Gerund
There's a new poetry reading in town! The Dirty Gerund Poetry Show will be held every Monday night starting at 8:30 p.m. The reading is being held at Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner (148 Grove Street, Worcester) and is hosted by Rushelle Frazier. There will be an open mic every week with a mix of poetry slams and featured poets.
No cover; donations accepted. 21+
Please join us at our new home,


Shakti Women's Writing Pact
The Shakti Women's Writing Pact meets
every Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. at
the Java Hut (1073A Main Street, Worcester).
Shakti was created with the intention of enhancing women's
sense of belonging within the poetry community through the
an unmoderated writing circle.
For more information please contact Sou MacMillan at
.



Upcoming BSPJ Workshop Series
Workshops are free and limited to 10 participants. Suggested donation of $3-5 dollars. Refreshments provided. Workshops meet at the Worcester County Poetry Association Office at 1 Ekman Street, Quinsigamond Village, Worcester, MA.

Registration is now open for the following workshop series:Poetry Writing from Life with Heather J. Macpherson. This three-workshop series will focus on finding the heightened and mundane moments from our lives to become poetry on the page. This series meets on the following Sundays: March 1st, 8th, & 15th.How do you make the poem on page reflect the poem on stage? with Tony Brown. In this series of three workshops, participants will take two poems from initial conception to public unveiling at a poetry reading. The first session will involve a couple of intensive writing prompts and exercises to create the first drafts of two very different poems. The second will focus on refinement of the poem with an eye toward making line breaks, punctuation, stanza breaks, etc., reflect the actual "voice " of the poem and the poet, while the third will be devoted to refinement of the delivery of the poem in public performance. In all three workshops, oral recitation will be used as a key tool for editing and (more importantly) deep exploration of how to make the poem say what the poet wants it to say. This series meets on the following Sundays: April 12th, 19th and May 3rd.E-mail
Please visit http://www.ballardstreetpoetryjournal.com/ for more upcoming events and workshops. Check our new blog for updates at http://www.ballardstreetpoetryjournal.wordpress.com/.

THE ECLECTIC WORD, Radio Show
Poet and journalist Victor D. Infante hosts The Eclectic Word, an
Internet radio show that will delve into literature's fringe with poets,
satirists, alternative journalists and even (gasp!) bloggers. We'll be
stepping off the beaten path of literature, taking a close look at the odd,
the eccentric and the cutting-edge. Should be fun.

The show will run at 7 p.m. EST the first and third Friday of every month,
as part of The World Wide Word Radio Network. You can listen to the
shows live, or you can download it later for your listening convenience.
So give it a listen! It's going to be a blast!


CT POETRY
-------------------------------------------------------
Visit the CT Poet Online calendar,
updated weekly: http://www.poetz.com/connecticut


Trinity College English Department
Hosts Presentation by Poetry Candidate, Miller

Students and faculty are encouraged to attend the second of three poetry readings sponsored by the English department and featuring candidates for the position of Assistant Professor of Poetry Writing and Literary Studies. This presentation will be held at NOON in the Reese Room of Smith House.
On February 18, Wayne Miller will read. Professor Miller is Associate Professor of English at Central Missouri State University and the author of "The Book of Props" (Milkweed, 2009) and "Only the Senses Sleep" (New Issues, 2006).
Please join us for these insightful sessions and help us welcomethe candidates on their visits to Trinity.

Boutwestindies Group & The Russell Present:
2009 Black History Month Poetry Slam & Expose
1st ,2nd and 3rd place prizes. Limited entrants allowed.
Open to tri-state and surrounding poets
Entrants send email to
Reply by February 15, 2009
Starting promptly with open mic at 7:30PM
Competition begins at 8:30 SHARP
Two 4 min max/Black History focused poems per slam entrant
$5 at door, $10 to enter slam
February 25, 2009, The Russell on Pratt Street
103 Pratt St. Hartford, CT
Corner of Pratt and Trumbull, across from the old Civic Center

Riverwood Poetry Series
Thursday, February 12, 2009
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Riverwood Poetry Series presents an open mic evening of tributes to the ones
we love despite their flaws. Ah, love! True love! Imperfect love! Face it,
President Abraham Lincoln had many good qualities, but he was no hottie. So,
in honor of Valentine's Day and Lincoln's Birthday join us for

My Homely Valentine: A Valentine's Day Poetry Reading.

Hosted by Terri D. Klein who lives in Cromwell, Connecticut. She has been aperformance poet since 1998. Her poetry has appeared without her in print journals (Midstream, Common Ground Review, REAL) and online (Bent Pin Quarterly), as well as in the theater, as part of East Haddam Stage Company's Plays with Poetry (2004 and 2008). She is a member of the poets group Artemis Rising, as well as Floating Theater Company playwrights' workshop, and The Vintage Players, a Midddletown-based community theatre group.

Refreshments will be served
Public is invited Admission is free

Donations of non-perishable foods will also be accepted for the benefit of
St. Vincent de Paul

Wood Memorial Library
http://www.woodmemoriallibrary.org/
783 Main St.
South Windsor, CT

Wintonbury Poetry Series & Open Mike
Third Thursdays 7:00 PM

On February 19 we celebrate "Two Voices" with Julia Paul and Tom Nicotera. Julia Paul is a practicing attorney who has found her way back to poetry after a long hiatus. Her award-winning poems have appeared in fine journals such as Broken Bridge. Tom Nicotera, veteran bard and poetry/drum performer, is the co-host of our Wintonbury series. Mr. Nicotera's poems have been published in many poetry journals, including Poetry Therapy. One of his poems was recently selected by the East Haddam Stage Company to be enacted in their "Plays and Poetry" production in a series of performances around the state.
Tonight’s open mike theme: “Voices”

Joining us on March 19 is John Popielaski. His recent book, A Brief Eureka for the Alchemists of Peace has garnered much praise. As one critic says, "these poems are by turns solemn, comic, earnest, ironic, wistful and hopeful...Popielaski explores the small (and not-so-small) kindnesses and brutalities of humanity." He teaches at Xavier High School.
Open mike theme: “Dreams”

Finally, on April 16 Dana Sonnenschein will be our special guest for National Poetry Month. An author of three full-length collections of poetry, she is a professor of literature and writing at Southern Connecticut State University. Her poems have appeared in The MacGuffin, Seneca Review, The Briar Cliff Review, and The Spoon River Poetry Review.
Open mike theme:
“Memory”

An open mike follows the featured guests each evening. Themes are optional.

Wintonbury Branch Library
1015 Blue Hills Avenue
Bloomfield, CT 06002
860-243-8855

PROSPECTUS: WORD-ART

In the fall of 2003, the Canton Artists' Guild and the Writers' Asylum
presented the first Word-Art show at the Gallery on the Green. It was an
extremely successful venture and the show is now a biennial fixture in the
Gallery's program calendar. This year, in an effort to overlap (somewhat)
with National Poetry Month, Word-Art will be held from mid-March through
mid-April.

The concept for the "Word-Art" show is to explore the synergy between
writing and the visual arts. The show may include paintings or sculpture
that incorporate text or were inspired by the written word; It may include
written pieces inspired by visual arts; or it may include pieces of video art, dance, or theater. We envision a show that will exhibit all media, and
may include screenings, readings, and the publication of a chapbook of the
written work.

The show is an open show: you do not need to be a member of either
organization to participate. As a writer, you may ask any visual artist to
collaborate with you. Likewise, as a visual artist you may pair with any
writer. If, however, you would like to be paired by the show's curators, the
Canton Artists' Guild and the Writers' Asylum maintain members' contact
information and you may reach the curators at the phone numbers listed
below.

SCHEDULE:
March 2, 5 p.m. Written work due for formatting and printing
March 8, 2-7 p.m. Drop off visual art pieces at Gallery
March 13 - April 12 Show Dates
March 14, 6-9 p.m. Opening Reception for Word-Art
April 11, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Evening of Readings from Word-Art
April 12, 5-7 p.m. Pick up visual art pieces at Gallery

Canton Artists' Guild
Kent McCoy (693-8478)

Writers Asylum
Annie Barrett (693-9391)



Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series
NOW IN ITS 3RD SEASON!

at Manchester Community College
Learning Resource Center, Fireside Commons
Great Path, Manchester, CT 06040

Sponsored by MCC Foundation / Hosted by Stephen Campiglio
3rd Thursday of each month from 7-9 p.m.
Free and Open to the Public

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19

Featured Musician: DEBORAH SIMMONS – 7:00 p.m.
Multi-instrumentalist Deborah Simmons, originally from North Carolina, earned three degrees from Teachers College at Columbia University: a master of arts, master of education, and a doctorate of education, respectively in the areas of music therapy, guitar instruction, and adult learning. Since 1995 she has been a music professor at Manchester Community College, where she has more than doubled the size of the choral ensembles and created a jazz and chamber group. In 1997, Deborah became director, arranger and accompanist for the St. Monica’s Episcopal Church Gospel Choir, which continues to perform monthly at the church and throughout Connecticut. She is also a member of a woman’s contemporary fusion group, Swivel Hips, who perform their of blend of funk, jazz, Latin, R&B, pop and rock throughout the greater New England area. Deborah will play and introduce civil rights songs in celebration of Black History Month.

Featured poet: CHARLES COE – 8:00 p.m.
Poet and writer Charles Coe is a coordinator for the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Organizational Support Program, overseeing the grant programs for music and literature organizations. He also oversees the Music Composition Fellowship program, the Massachusetts Cultural Council Advisor Corps, and the Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Project. Before joining the Council, Charles was awarded the council’s Artists Fellowship in Poetry. His poetry and prose have appeared in numerous newspapers and literary reviews and magazines. A volume of his poetry, Picnic on the Moon, was published in 1999 by Leapfrog Press. Charles is also featured on numerous spoken word CDs, including Get Ready for Boston, a collection of stories and songs about Boston neighborhoods, and One Side of the River, an anthology of Cambridge and Somerville poets, including Robert Pinsky, Frank Bidart, Liam Rector, and Gail Mazur. Charles will read from selections of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as original work.
For more information on the Series or directions to MCC, please visit the Mishi-maya-gat web page at: www.mcc.commnet.edu/faculty/spoken.php or call (860) 512-2824.

The Monday Night Windsor Poets
are still meeting for serious poets interested in critique
at 6:30 PM on the second and fourth Mondays
at the Windsor Library, Windsor CT
Call Alice Ahrens Williams at 860-668-6142
or Janet Henderson at 860-688-5770.
Alice and Janet are both on the staff of the Common Ground
Review, an international poetry magazine.


First Tuesday Poetry Series
at Broad Street Books in Middletown

On the first Tuesday of every month, Broad Street Books hosts a featured poet followed by an open mic when all are welcome to come and read, recite, perform their work!

Broad Street Books45 Broad Street Middletown, CT 06457

For more info: Brian Mitchard (860)685-7323

Riverwood Poetry Series Presents
“Valentine’s Secret” Photography exhibition and poetry reading.
What’s “Valentine’s Secret?” Greg Dyro’s provocative images in The Buttonwood Tree’s gallery invite you to come hither and find out. Once the photographs have shared their secrets with you, share them with us poetically at our annual Valentine’s Day poetry reading.

The exhibition runs January 11 - February 14, 2009, whenever The Buttonwood Tree is open.
Admission: free.
The poetry reading is Saturday, February 14, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
A non-perishable food item to be donated to St. Vincent de Paul will be appreciated.
Sponsored by Riverwood Poetry Series and hosted by Terri Klein.
The Buttonwood Tree is located at 605 Main Street, Middletown.
For more information, visit http://www.buttonwood.org/, or call 860-347-4957. Public is invited.

Greg Dyro (photographer) has been making photographic images since the 5th grade, when he first felt the magic of photo paper developing in a neighbor’s darkened basement in Newport, Rhode Island. This show melds the worlds of image and thought, with the possibility of one vision influencing another, as both merge to create new insights. Greg works in Hollywood and lives in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
Every Wednesday 7:30
at: 102 Greenwood Ave,
Bethel CT
Open mike sign up begins at 7:30. The open mic begins at 8
open for people to read their work 3-5 minutes.
The first 8-10 poets will read before the feature
who will read for 30 minutes followed by a
Q & A. Open mic will continue till closing time.
WNPS represents a varied community of people with
a common interest and appreciation for poetry.
The open mic is open to poetry, stories and musician (5 minute time limit).

WNPS, going on 12 years has been the longest
CONTINUOUSLY RUNNING WEEKLY Poetry Open MIC
and featured poet reading series in Connecticut!
For more details and updates: http://www.wedpoetry.net/
Or http://www.wednesdaypoetry.com/
and http://www.wednesdaypoetry.org/


HARTFORD HAPPENINGS


Freestyle Hip-Hop Open Mic
Tuesdays
in Hartford
Filthy Kleen host Sully’s Hip-Hop Open Mic night
every Tuesday in Hartford
Sully’s Pub
2071 Park St.Hartford, CT
860-231-8881
http://www.sullyspub.com/



Boston Area Poetry Info:

Dire Literary Series
""Best Undiscovered Reading Series 2008, Boston Phoenix""
Host: Timothy Gager
Friday, February 6 at 8:00pm
Out of the Blue Art Gallery
106 Prospect St.
Cambridge, MA



The Greater Brockton Society for Poetry and the Arts
Presents
Poetry Series: at the Brockton Library
304 Main Street. New website!! http://www.gbspa.org/

Celebrating Poetry One Saturday Every Month

Sat., February 21, 2009

Jason Tandon http://gbspa.homestead.com/JasonTandon.html
Jose Gouveia http://gbspa.homestead.com/JoseGouveia.html

This is a Free Event
with really comfortable chairs and divine refreshments

12:00 - 2:00 Poetry Writing Workshop
1:30 - 2:00 Sign up for Open-Mic Reading
2:15 - 3:15 Open-Mic Reading
3:30 - 4:30 Feature Poets

During Open-Mic Reading share your own poetry
or read from works of your favorite poets

Upcoming Features (For information on the following poets click on our website)
Sat.Mar 21 - Marguerite Guzman Bouvard
Dawn Gabriel
Sat. Apr 18 - "Poetry Host Showcase"
Tony Brown
Bill McMillan
Sheila Mullen Twyman
Mary Ellen Redmond
Sat.May 16 - Patricia Fargoli
Jean Tupper
Brockton Library Poetry Series
Sheila Mullen Twyman

WEDNESDAYS at the CANTAB
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Central Square's world-famous Cantab Lounge
presents weekly performances from local and national poets, as well as a
chance to present your own work in the open mic or poetry slam.
DJ Muse spins before the show and between poets.
Upcoming features include:

• Wednesday, February 18
IWPS Final Slam! This is it: the final competition to select our 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam representative! The top scoring poets from the January 28 slam will compete in four rounds of 3- and 4-minute work. The last poet standing will represent the Cantab Lounge at the 2009 IWPS, slated to occur Berkeley, California next October. With this much at stake, you can expect a hot show as poets pull out all the stops to take top honors. Cover charge tonight is $5 to help raise funds for our IWPS rep.

• Wednesday, February 25
Dynamic New York poet Akua Doku was the winner of the 2004 Arizona State All-Star Slam Competition and ranked 15th in the 2005 Individual World Poetry Slam. A four-time National Poetry Slam competitor fresh off the 2008 Nuyo semi-finalist team, Akua brings her presence and charisma to her environmental and social work. Open poetry slam in the 8x8 series.

Doors for the show open at 7:30. The open mic begins at 8:00,
the feature performs at approximately 10:00, and an open poetry slam follows.
The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3 unless otherwise noted.
Simone Beaubien, SlamMaster The Boston Poetry Slam at
The Cantab Lounge
738 Massachusetts Avenue,
Cambridge, Mass. http://www.slamnews.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bostonpoetryslam


the Boston Poetry Slam @ the Cantab Lounge bringing contemporary
poetry to the community since 1991

_____
THURSDAYS
Lowell Poetry Slam and Open Mic Every FIRST Thursday at Brew'd
Awakening! Only poets can compete in the slam and win the prize...
but the mic is open to musical performers as well.
Whether you come to perform, compete or just enjoy some coffee
and great local talent, don't miss this event!
7:00pm - 9:30 pm
*Sign-up between 6:30-7:00*
The event is free and open to the public—so come on down for an evening
of good company and some terrific regional voices!
Brew'd Awakening Coffeehaus
61 Market Street
Lowell, MA 978-454-BREW
For more info, please email

* * *
the Poetry Session at O'Shea's
THE CAPE GETS ITS VOICE BACK
7 to 8:30PM Every Third Thursday!
The Poetry Session at O'Shea's is a free monthly all-ages open mic
for poets and lovers of poetry held in the Back Room
at O'Shea's Olde Inne. 348 Main Street,
Rte. 28 West Dennis, MA 02670 Free
Contact Info: Gregory Hischak

* * *
Returning to the Black Spot (formerly the Prodigal Son)
in Hyannis the last Thursday of the month! Cape Poets
Theatre Fourth Thursday Open Mic at The Black Spot.
Free
Mary Ellen Redmond and Jose Gouveia host at the old
Prodigal Son, under new name and ownership, now called
The Black Spot Cafe, 10 Ocean St., Hyannis.
We are the last Thursday of every month, 8PM,
(508) 771-4004

_____
SATURDAYS

The Greater Brockton Society for Poetry and the Arts
Presents
Poetry Series: at the Brockton Library
304 Main Street. Map it! New website!! www.gbspa.org

Celebrating Poetry One Saturday Every Month

This is a Free Event
with really comfortable chairs and divine refreshments

12:00 - 2:00 Workshop with Danielle Legros Georges
1:30 - 2:00 Sign up for Open-Mic Reading
2:15 - 3:15 Open-Mic Reading
3:30 - 4:30 Feature Poets

During Open-Mic Reading share your own poetry
or read from works of your favorite poets

* * *
OPEN BARK
meets @ the Out Of The Blue Art Gallery,
106 PROSPECT ST. (the home of Stone Soup)
CENTRAL SQUARE, CAMBRIDGE.
SIGN-UP AT 8:00pm
OPEN MIC STARTS @ 8:15pm,
FEATURE @ 9:00pm
Come and perform or listen!

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SUNDAYS
Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam Sunday Night!
Cambridge Common
1667 Mass. Ave., Cambridge
$5 Cover Every Sunday
Poetry Slam: 8:00 pm,
Feature: 9:30 pm,
Open Mike: 10:30 pm
617-547-0759 http://poetryjam.org/


_____ MONDAYS
Stone Soup Poetry
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the
Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge)
with an open mike si gn-up at 7:30 p.m.
http://stonesouppoetry.blogspot.com/

_____ TUESDAYS
Newton Free Library Poetry Reading Series Winter 2008.
The series meets the second Tuesday of every month open mic after features.
Starts 7PM For complete information go to
http://newtonfreelibrarypoetryseries.blogspot.com/
Director: Doug Holder http://authorsden.com/douglasholder

* * *
Cambridge Community Television
Tuesdays at 11:00 PM Saturdays at 10:30PM
Catch the latest from the Boston Poetry Slam I
NFO: [email protected]
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LETRA Poetry Nights
in LAWRENCE MASS
Every TUESDAY at
Julio's 99 Club
99 Essex Street Lawrence, MA
Doors open at 7pm open mic starts at 8pm
Admission $3.00
For more information or for directions please call
Michelle Richardson at 978-423-7045

Gypsypashn's Poetry Caravan
at Bestseller's Cafe
24 High Street
Medford, MA. 02155
Third Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM.
Free refreshments open mic.
The Poetry Man' hosts
The Main St. Cafe, North Easton MA.

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News for Poetry News must be received by
by Wednesday for Thursday or Friday publication. Lori Desrosiers - Publisher, Wearer of all Hats, even yours.