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:
Carey Salerno & Anne Marie Macari at Collected Poets Shelburne Falls Thu. April 2
Evolution Cafe Open Mic Florence Thu. April 2
Green Street Cafe Northampton presents Carolyn Creedon Thu. April 2
Poets Asylum in Worcester presents a Blue Collar Slam Sunday April 5
Joy Harjo at Smith College! Monday April 6
Word in Westfield at Teapot Gallery, Ken McManus Tue. April 7
Hershman R. John at Westfield State College Tue. April 7

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 April 6, 2009.
Spoken word events are popping up like crocuses in 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 6:30-8:30pm
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 6:30

Upcoming Features:
Tue. April 7 -Ken McManus
Tue. April 14 - Lori Desrosiers book release
Tue. April 21 - Michael Fisher
Tue. April 28 - Open Slam (winner will be on Westfield Slam Team)


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.



Hershman R. John at Westfield State College
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Scanlon Banquet Hall 6 pm

Hershman John is both a poet and a short fiction writer. He will read from his 2007 poetry collection, "I Swallow Turquoise for Courage" published by The University of Arizona Press. John says of his poetry, "My writing reflects who I am and where I come from. I am Navajo, and I am from Sand Springs, Arizona. My clans are of the Deer Spring People (my Mother's clan) and the Bitter Water People (my Father's clan). Other stories and poems come from my travels and from my friends and family who tell some of the greatest tales."

He received his BA in English and MFA in Creative Writing, both from Arizona State University. As a full time faculty member at Phoenix College, Arizona, he teaches composition, poetry and American Indian Studies courses.His works have been widely published by anthologies and literary journals: Arizona Highways, Flyway-A Literary Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Journal of Navajo Education, Puerto del Sol, Wicazo Sa Review, O Taste and See: Food Poems, Family Matters: Poems of our Families.



Chicopee/Holyoke/Springfield Area Poetry

Starving for Art Presents
open mic Tuesdays
@ Blue Fusion Bar and Grille
487 St. James Ave
Springfield, MA
doors open at 6pm for social hour.
Showtim e 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 Saturdays!
Please join us one Saturday a month for Spoken Word Saturday!
Central Library, 220 State Street.

Advance sign-ups for the Open Mic are welcome, but not necessary.
Please call Anna (number below) with any questions.

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-ups20are welcome, but not needed.
For more information, call Anna at 263-6828 x426
or e-mail .
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!)


Cultivate the Art and Craft of Poetry:

Workshop Series with María Luisa Arroyo
Are you looking to experiment with poetic forms?
Want to write, share and perform new poems?
Join us for three Saturdays in April: 4, 11, 18
from 10 a.m.-noon in the Central Library Community Room,
220 State Street, Springfield, MA.
The fourth date, May 16th at 2 pm, will be a public poetry showcase for our community.

María Luisa Arroyo, local award-winning Puerto Rican poet, educator, and creative artist will facilitate.
Topics will include “Snapshots of the City of Homes:
Prose Poems about Springfield”; “The Secret Language of Objects and Photographs”; and “Playing with Poetic Forms..”=2 0For poets of all levels of experience, age 18+.
Space is limited; to sign up call Anna at 263-6828, x426.
This program is supported by a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.



Word in the Valley and Beyond

Map to the Next World: An Evening with Joy Harjo
Monday, April 6, 7:00 p.m.
Graham Auditorium
Hillyer Hall-Smith College


An Evening With the Haiku Poets of Western Massachusetts
Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m.
Broadside Bookshop
Northampton, MA



Maria Luisa Arroyo – Gathering Words/Recogiendo Palabras
Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m.
Odyssey Bookstore
9 College Street, South Hadley, MA



Green Street Cafe Poetry Series

April 9th: Smith College Labrys Preview

Green Street Cafe
Northampton, MA

Upcoming features:

April 16th: Art Stein and Ed Rayher
April 23rd: Janet MacFayden and Mary Clare Powell



Poetry Book Drive
Northampton Poet Laureate Lesléa Newman is launching a poetry book
drive, to be held during the month of April.

Now is the time to weed through your bookshelves! Poetry books looking for a good home will be collected and then distributed to places in Northampton
that have waiting rooms.

"Sometimes you might be in the mood to read PEOPLE MAGAZINE while
you're waiting to get your oil changed or your teeth cleaned," said
Newman. "And sometimes, you might want to read Allen Ginsberg, or
Pablo Neruda, or Stanley Kunitz or Maya Angelou. Wouldn't it be great
to pass the time immersed in a book of poetry?"

If you want to drop off a book (or two or ten) please bring it to the
Arts Council office located in Memorial Hall at 240 Main Street,
Northampton, on Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 and
4:15 during the month of April. Books must be in good condition.

If you have a business with a waiting room and would like to enhance
it with some poetry books, please call the Arts Council at 587-1069
and leave a message with the name of your business and its address.
Books will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis.

Artist & Poet, Denise Fontaine-Pincince,
presents Hardware in Poetry & Paint
at the Palmer Public Library, April 2 – 29^th.
Reception with the artist: April 4^th from 1-3 pm.
1455 North Main St., Palmer.
For info call 413-244-3290.


Poets 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.


AMHERST CINEMA READING
Poet Martín Espada will read from his recent work
Wednesday April 15 at 7 p.m. at the cinema.
Free and open to the public.
Reception to follow at Tabella Restaurant in Amherst.



Bread and Poetry
To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Hungry Ghost Bread presents an evening of Pizza & Poetry. On Thursday, April 16th, from 7 -9pm, they will be offering some of their premium, gourmet 'zas, baked on the wood-fired hearth. In keeping with tradition, a selection of the year's bread poems will be read aloud by customers -maybe you! Hungry Ghost Bread is located at 62 State Street in Northampton.


Steven Riel and Lea Deschenes in Monson
April 16th, 6:30 P.M. Monson Free Library
2 High St., Monson, MA
413-267-3866
Monson native Steven Riel will read from his just released thirdcollection of poems, Postcard from P-town, published by SevenKitchens Press as the runner-up for its Robin Becker Chapbook
Prize.
Worcester poet Lea C. Deschenes author of thirteen chapbooks and her first full-length
collection The Constant Velocity of Trains will also read.



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 April 9
ALL POETS OF ALL TYPES AND AGES are welcome, bring one of your original works to share,
(12 to 15 copies will=2 0usually 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.



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 http://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:
or: or visit:
http://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 April 26, 6:00pm
Sunday May 24, 6:00pm


POETRY A LA CARTE
on WMUA-Amherst 91.1 FM
6pm to 6:30 pm on Mondays this semester,
streamed live at http://www.wmua.org/.
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
Tuesday April 21
At 9 Mill St in Greenfield
Doors open at 7:00
Open Mike at 7:30
Feature Readers
TBA
Will read from their works
Book signing and selling of local writers works will be available
Refreshments
Come up to read
Bring your chap books to sell
We will have tables at no cost
Open mic will be 10 five minute slots
Hope to see you there
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 Rt
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 conner
You can park in the Art Space next door
or on the street
If you are coming up 5 & 10 into Greenfield
When you come to the lights
Where you can either go left
Or Right under the Railroad bridge
You want to go Left
That is Mill St
9 is the first building




ARMS LIBRARY READING
Third Friday Prose and Poetry Readings.
7 p.m. at The Arms Library,
Corner of Main and Bridge S treets,
Shelburne Falls, Mass.
413-625-0306.


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
March 30
Featured Readers: TBA
$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:

April 9, 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:

Kimberley Anne Rogers

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 Carey Salerno and Anne-Marie Macari
Thursday April 2, 2009
7:30pm
at Mocha Maya’s Coffee House,
47 Bridge Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
413-625-6292.
Wheelchair accessible. Free.

To help kick off National Poetry Month, poets Anne Marie Macari with her latest collection, She Heads Into Wilderness will read along with Carey Salerno, author of Shelter on Thursday, April 2nd, at 7:30 pm. Free. Mocha Maya's Coffee House, 47 Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370, 413-625-6292. Wheelchair accessible. See www.collectedpoets.com or www.mochamayas.com for more information.

Jan. 8 Patrick Donnelly, Jeffrey Levine, Art Opening by Liz deNiord
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 Anne Marie Macari and Carey Salerno
May 7 Genie Zeiger, Dorianne Laux, and Kerry O'Keefe
May 24 Maxine Kumin and Sydney Lea
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 Annie Finch and Special Guest
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.


______

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 country20and 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,

_____________

Writing Groups
for beginning and experienced writers

Come write in an encouraging supportive environment, experience the deepening and growth of your own writing, and contribute to the deepening and growth of others' writing. 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 (AWA) method (http://www.amherstwriters.com%29./

The group leader is Ann McNelly, AWA-trained Writing Workshop Leader and po et.Introductory fee: $125 per 5-week session, groups limited to 8 people.

To join, or for more information call 413 772 2375, or email
Note: Have one or two slots available in daytime group now through April 15th.
Looking to start another daytime or evening group.

________________

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/



Word in the Berkshires

Power of Words, Open Mic
Tuesday April 21, 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 c all Garfield at 528 4127 for more information.



Adastra Press Poetry Reading
Saturday April 12, 2009 3 PM
The Bookstore
Lenox, Mass. 637-3390
Featuring

David Giannini
author of AZ TWO: Words of Travel (Adastra Press 2009)
“As a set, there is something redemptive blended with the melancholy here, making AZ TWO a great addition to any small press collection of high quality poetry”--Lilliput Review.

and

Gary Metras
Publisher of Adastra Press and author of
Francis d’Assisi 2008 (Finishing Line Press 2008)
“There is a communion of chapters, a natural love of story telling and as grace beyound words”--Ibbetson Update.
“It reads like a shining chapter in a poetic Lives of the Saints”--John Hodgen

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 detail

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.




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 a re 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/

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

Art & Poetry

1455 North Main St., 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:
___
The Little "a" Poetry Series
at the Q Cafe, 362 Chandler St in Worcester, MA.
We run the reading every Monday night, the sign-up list for
the open mic goes up at 7:00pm and we get started shortly thereafter.




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.




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:
04/17 -- Assumption student writers





The Spot at the Kelly Square Yacht Club
The reading meets every other Thursday night at th e 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:


This week The Spot, the weekly poetry reading at the Hotel Vernon (1 Kelly Square, Worcester), will hold an open mic. After the open the fantastic Sou MacMillan will be their feature. Sou has been on multiple slam teams and is a gifted poet, writer, musician and visual artist. Her novel Chrysanthemum was released in 2007.

The reading starts at 8:00 p.m. with a brief open mic. 21+ and proper id is required.

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:

April 5
It's time for another just-for-fun slam. Join us tonight for the Blue Collar Slam. Poems used in the slam must be about work. This will be a two-round slam and the usual rules (3 minute limit, original work, no props, etc) apply. The winner of the slam will receive a gift card to Jumpin' Juice & Java.
Proceeds from the slam will help fund the 2009 Worcester Slam team. Please join us and give generously when the bucket comes your way.


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 s lams 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
.




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


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

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



Poetry Month at Wilson Branch Library
On April 18th, from 2-3 PM at the Wilson Branch library in Windsor, people are invited to participate in America's Favorite Poem Project by reading aloud a favorite poem (by another author) and mentioning why it is a favorite. Please register in advance by calling (860) 247-8960.
On April 25th, from 2-3 pm, the PIPs writing group will read from their new book, Everybody Says Hello. Poets represented in this book include Christine Beck, president of Connecticut Poetry Society, Bob Jacob, recently nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and 6 other widely-published poets. Read a poem of your own at the open microphone following the reading if you wish. Advance registration suggested, especially if you want to read at the open mic.

Wilson Branch Library, 365 Windsor Ave., Windsor, CT 06095. (860) 247-8960


Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series

NOW IN ITS 3^RD SEASON!

at Manchester Community College

Learning Resource Center, Fireside Commons

Great Path, Manchester, CT 06040

Sponsored by MCC Foundation / Hosted by Stephen Campiglio

3^rd Thursday of each month from 7-9 p.m.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

Featured Musicians: C-, THE BAND – 7:00 p.m.

C- is made up of four MCC faculty members, English professors Ken Klucznik and Patrick Sullivan, who both sing and share the lead on guitars; Mike Stefanowicz, director of Transitional Programs, on bass; and Dr. Andy Paterna, guitar and vocals, who is a professor in the Health Department, as well as an MCC graduate, singer Holly June Jacobs. C- has become known for its charitable shows in the central CT area. Proceeds from their CD are also donated to various charities that the band supports. The band’s sets mix original songs from their debut recording, C-, The Band: 10- Track Long Playing Album (available via their web site: http://www.c-theband.com/), with some interesting covers by Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Wilco, the champion of the Indy recording artists.

Featured poet: SAM CORNISH – 8:00 p.m.

Sam Cornish is the City of Boston’s first Poet Laureate. Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced at the 2008 State of the City Address: "The task force succeeded in honoring Boston's fine literary tradition by selecting [Mr. Cornish], an ideal first Poet Laureate.” Cornish’s new book of poems is An Apron Full of Beans (CavanKerry Press, 2008), which is described as an African-American sequel to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Written with influences from the blues, spirituals, and the language of writers such as Langston Hughes and Margaret Walker, the poems grow out of the historical and personal reminiscences of these artists and their traditions. The poems are both biographical and autobiographical, as they revisit American history through the art forms of film noir, science fiction, the blues, jazz, and other aspects of American history and popular culture. His previous books include Songs of Jubilee (Unicorn Press, 1986), Folks Like Me (Zoland Books, 1993), and Cross a Parted Sea (Zoland Books, 1996).

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.

Riverwood Poetry Series presents An Evening to Celebrate New Publications!
featuring Christine Beck and Lori Desrosiers.

Christine Beck, is president of the Connecticut Poetry Society, and Contest Chairperson of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. Her poems have been published in the anthology, Proposing on the Brooklyn Bridge, Grayson Press, 2003, J Journal, John Jay School of Criminal Justice, Passager, Connecticut River Review, Connecticut Poetry Society, Long River Run, and Caduceus, Yale Art Place. Her poems have also won contests in the Connecticut River Review and the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. She is an attorney and instructor of legal studies at the University of Hartford. Her textbook, Forensic Evidence in Court: A case Study Approach, was published in 2008 by Carolina Academic Press.

Lori Desrosiers grew up on the banks of the Hudson River in New York, but now calls Westfield, MA her home. Her new chapbook of poetry, Three Vanities, is a recent release by Pudding House Press. Her poetry has been published in BigCityLit, The Equinox, Blue Fifth Review, Ballard Street Poetry Journal, November 3rd Club, Common Ground Review, Gold Wake Press’ five-poem mini-chapbook series and Silkworm. She is the Editor of Naugatuck River Review, a journal of narrative poetry, and also publishes Poetry News, an online newsletter of poetry-related events in the CT/MA region. Lori teaches English at Westfield State College. She earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing/ Poetry from New England College.

Thursday, April 30, 2009
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Come early to enjoy a musical prelude by Michael Zapatka on piano and Haley Shmidt on flute

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(860) 289-1783


STUDIO 59 POETRY CIRCLE ~ BARBER STREET
Saturday April 18th, 2009
7:30 to 9:30 pm
An evening of dynamic poetry readings with the masterful piano music of Timothy Alexandre Wallace
Featuring:
Eileen Albrizio, a writer of poetry and prose, whose works have appeared in numerous literary publications. She is the author of three print volumes of poetry: MESSY ON THE INSIDE, RAIN - DARK AS WATER IN WINTER, PERENNIALS: NEW & SELECTED POEMS (Nominated for the 2008 CT Book Award) and ON THE EDGE, a recitation of her poetry on CD. She has been a recipient of prestigious fellowships, has penned several plays, two novels, and is currently working on a compilation of short fiction. Ms. Albrizio a former broadcast journalist and NPR host also holds a BFA in Theatre and an MA in English from CCSU. She has taught poetry and creative writing in several colleges and cultural institutions. Read more at her website: www.angelfire.com/art/albrizio.

Cover: $10.00
Studio 59
59 Barber Street
Torrington, CT
860.482.6801
gmail.com


First Tuesday Poetry Series
at Broad Street Books in Middletown
At Broad Street Books we will be celebrating National P oetry Month by starting the month of April with two events!

45 Broad Street











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




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:20http://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:

Provincetown Poetry Festival

The Provincetown Poetry & Literary Arts Festival is a celebration of National Poetry Month. The Cape Cod Poets Theater wants to celebrate Provincetown and all of Cape Cod as a national center for supporting poetry and literary arts, both historically and into the future.

The festival will run from April 15 - 20. A variety of events at venues all over Provincetown (and areas near-by), are coming together daily. Our venues include The Provincetown Theater, WOMR, The Art House, Napi's Restaurant, The Mews, Grace Gouveia Building, The Unitarian Universalist Meeting House and the Provincetown Library. Events include workshops, open mics, performance poetry, Favorite Poem readings, musical poetry, and a teen event hosted by last year's teen slam champion. Featured poets come from all age groups and all areas of the Cape and beyond.

For information and schedule of events go to http://www.capecodpoetstheater.com/.






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, April 8
Cantab Team Selection Semi-Finals: the absolute biggest poetry slam of the year! Twenty of this season’s slam winners have earned an invite to two rounds of no-holds-barred, no-story-left-untold poetry slam. The top poets will advance to team finals on April 29, all in the hopes of performing at the 2009 National Poetry Slam in West Palm Beach.

• Wednesday, April 15
All the way from Downeast Maine with four published books to his name, the father of the Boston Poetry Slam himself: our own MC Emeritus Michael Brown rides into town to edify and entertain. Now living in Robbinston, Maine, he and his partner Valerie Lawson host a monthly reading and publish the poetry journal Off the Coast. Brown writes for the local newspaper, works in theater, and is writing a book on American education. No poetry slam tonight.

• Wednesday, April 22
San-Jose-turned-Boston performer Caroline Harvey comes out of retirement to bring us unflinchingly honest work, paired with her matchlessly powerful presence. No poetry slam tonight.

• Wednesday, April 29
Cantab Team Finals: the top nine poets from the April 8 slam advance to tonight’s Finals to select the 2009 Cantab Slam Team. The top five poets will travel to the 2009 National Poetry Slam in West Palm Beach, Florida.
_____

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
=0 A
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!

_____
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 Librar y 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:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.



VT/NH Poetry

Lea Banks and Wyn Cooper
will read from their work at the Windham Wine Gallery, 30 Main Street, Brattleboro, on Thursday, April 9, at 7:00. The event is free. For more information, call 802-246-6400.

Lea Banks is the author of All of Me, a collection of poems published by Booksmyth Press in 2008. She was a finalist for The Pavel Srut Fellowship in Prague and has had two poems nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize. Banks is the founder of the Collected Poets Series in Shelburne Falls, MA, editor of Oscillation: Art and Poetry in Motion, poetry editor of the Equinox, and editorial assistant for the Marlboro Review. She attended New England College’s MFA program, facilitated stroke survivors’ writing workshops, and is a full-time poet, community organizer, freelance editor and writer. Banks has been published in several journals including Poetry Northwest, Slipstream, Diner, and American Poetry Journal.

Wyn Cooper’s most recent book of poems is Postcards from the Interior, published by BOA Editions in 2005. His earlier books are The Way Back (2000), and The Country of Here Below (1987). His poems are included in 25 anthologies of contemporary poetry. He has written songs with Sheryl Crow, Bill Bottrell, David Broza, and David Baerwarld, and has released two CDs with the novelist Madison Smartt Bell, Forty Words for Fear and Postcards Out of the Blue. He has taught at Bennington and Marlboro colleges, as well as at the Frost Place Festival of Poetry. He helps run the Brattleboro Literary Festival in Vermont, and works for the Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, a new think tank funded by The Poetry Foundation in Chicago.


Award-Winning Poet Laura Davies Foley Salutes National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, when lilacs begin to blossom and mud season finally dries up and vanishes.At Kingdom Books, award-winning New Hampshire poet Laura Davies Foley will read her work for the annual Poetry Party, on Saturday April 18, starting at 11 a.m. Introducing Foley will be Vermont poet and editor of poetry April Ossmann.

Foley is the author of two books of poetry: "Syringa" and "Mapping the Fourth Dimension." She lives and writes on the wide banks of the Connecticut River in Cornish, New Hampshire, and was recently awarded the grand prize in the "Atlanta Review" international poetry competition. Foley holds graduate degrees in English Literature from Columbia University. In addition, she does chaplaincy work in hospitals and prisons, and has completed a training course at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care.

Her poems offer an acute eye for the poignant and powerful in the natural world and in ourselves. Here is the opening of "It Is Time": "It is time to gather sticks of wood / so we can cook the sap that / we have drawn from the earth. / We will bore holes into the maple trees / collect buckets, stir the froth as it boils. / Then we'll finish it on the stove in the barn." From this quiet opening, Foley tests the strength of love and life, and the forces of time and aging.

April Ossmann, long the director of Alice James Books in Maine, brought her passion for teaching and editing with her in her recent relocation to Vermont. Her work in shaping poetry collections continues to connect her with New England's poets.

After the reading, there will be time for questions and discussion, and light refreshments will be served. The event is free; books will be on hand for purchase. Kingdom Books is a poetry and mystery specialty shop at 283 East Village Road, Waterford, Vermont.

For directions, see http://www.kingdombks.com/ or call 802-751-8374.
More of Foley's poetry can be found at http://www.lauradaviesfoley.com/.


Poetry Workshop & Writers’ Conclave
with Pam Bernard, poet, professor, editor, painter
Walpole, New Hampshire 603-756-4177 http://www.pambernard..com/

Full Scholarships Available. Call or email Pam
Mondays 7-9:30 PM
June 1— July 20)8 Evenings $300

Beginner and Intermediate Level
Small group sessions in my home, around a big table in an inviting space, fireplace in cold months, lovely porch and deck in warm.

I provide a nurturing, productive atmosphere where we go forward as a group toward a better understadning of how to draft, shape, and finish poems . This workshop will be more than a group critique. It will provide a community of writers where each will be encouraged to share work, receive careful, particularlized attention, and offered a safe place to discuss ideas and thioughts, and where participants’ poems are given thoughtful, rigorous feedback.

Each session is based on three components and conducted in this format:
A) We start by reading a poem by a contemporary poet, which we will explore and discuss with regard to craft.
B) I will offer writing prompts in a relaxed, free-write atmo sphere for the purpose of generating new drafts of poems.
C) We will then work as a group on each poem brought to the workshop, focusing in particular on whether the poet’s deep intention is successfully translated into language. As well, we will explore and discuss artistic choices related to craft as a way to further the poem’s project.
Not sure whether a workshop is right for you? Come to a free introductory session or two.

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