Poetry News

****POETRYNEWS****
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or check it out online at http://www.poetrynewscalendar.com/.

Here is your Poetry News for the week of April 28, 2008.
Spoken word events are blossoming like the dogwood and forsythia in the Pioneer Valley and beyond.

Please email if you would like to be added to the mailing
or are interested in featuring at Jester's.
Peace through poetry - Lori

Word in Westfield:

Community Voices Poetry Open Mic
EVERY MONDAY NIGHT 7PM
at Jester's Cafe and Deli
124 Elm Street (route 10/202)
in Westfield, MA
Sign up is at 6:30 and open mic starts at 7:00PM
followed by a guest feature.
All are welcome.
This venue is PG 13

Upcoming Feature Poets:
Monday April 28 - Bob Gill (Worcester poet extraordinaire!)
Monday May 3 - Deborah Lambert We are now booking features for September.
Jester's will close for July and August.
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.

New Open Mic in Westfield!
THE SPOKEN WORD
at the Teapot Gallery
Tuesdays, 7-9PM
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

***********************
Irish Poetry Performance
Wednesday, April 30th 7PM
Westfield Athenaeum

Writing Group at the Athenaeum
Saturday April 26, CANCELLED
Saturday May 31, 11AM
Community Room, Westfield Athenaeum
6 Elm Street (on the corner of Court St.)
Westfield, MA
Writing group starting for poetry, memoir and
fiction, facilitated by Lori Desrosiers, local poet and
Adjunct Professor of English at WSC.
There will be prompts and exercises to inspire and
encourage all sorts of creative writing.
FREE
All styles welcome. For info call Lori at 413-250-3008

Chicopee/Holyoke/Springfield Poetry

SPRINGFIELD LIBRARY POETRY

AWARDS CEREMONY FOR WINNERS OF THE
2008 SPRINGFIELD LIBRARY POETRYCONTEST
Saturday, April 26 at 2:00pm
Many of the winners will be reading their winning poems!
*Refreshments to follow in the Community Room*
Free parking across the street, on State Street*
For directions please call: 413-263-6828 x213
Central Library Rotunda
Springfield City Library
220 State Street
Springfield, MA
Winning Poems will be posted soon on the Library's Poetry Page:www.springfieldlibrary.org/poetry/poetrypage.html
For info call: 413-263-6828 x426 or visit http://www.springfieldlibrary.org/

Spoken Word Saturday!
May 10 (day before Mother's Day)1:00 pm
Central Library Community Room
all ages - all forms of creative writing - all languages welcome!
May's featured poet is Eilish Thompson.
Eilish is a sophomore [wise-fool] at Springfield Central High.
Her world revolves around poetry and she takes the greenhouse
gases from the air and breathes out verse. Eilish spends all of her
time pondering what the deeper meaning of anything is, searching
for the next rhyme or inspiration to write. When not writing poetry,
she spends her time writing plays, acting, or singing.

Readings at the monthly Open Mic series should be "family-friendly."
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.

Regarding the 2008 Poetry Contest, all submissions are in,
and the judges will be finalizing their selections soon.
We will contact the winning poets as soon as we know!
You are all invited to the Awards Ceremony
on April 26th, at 2:00 pm, at the Central Library Rotunda.

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

Wednesday, April 30 at 7:00 pm
NORTHAMPTON ARTS COUNCIL ANNOUNCES
INAUGURAL READING BY LESLÉA NEWMAN,
POET LAUREATE OF NORTHAMPTON
The Northampton Arts Council invites you to celebrate Lesléa Newman's
appointment as Poet Laureate of Northampton at an inaugural reading. The
Poet Laureate will take listeners on a poetic journey by reading from
four decades of her work.
*Free & open to the public*
Light refreshments will be served
*Booksigning after the reading
Calvin Coolidge Room
Forbes Library
20 West St.
Northampton, MA

Thursday, May 1 at 8:00 pm
READING BY SUSAN SNIVELY
Susan Snively, the director of the Writing Center
at Amherst Collegeand associate dean of students,
will read from her work. This reading is
a celebration of her work and life at Amherst.
*Reception to follow in the lobby*
Both reading & reception are free & open to the public
Cole Assembly Room
Converse Hall
Amherst College
Amherst, MA
Info: Emanuel Costache, Media Relations Intern at 413-542-2321 or
Caroline J. Hanna, Director of Media Relations at 413-542-8417

SMITH COLLEGE POETRY

The Blue Guitar Gallery
is starting a new monthly event on the heels of
Art Walk Easthampton:
The After Party....an invitation
for folks to come back to the Blue Guitar at 8 pm when
Art Walk ends, to meet friends, have a glass of wine,
and listen to some beautiful music, followed by Open Mike.
It's $5 (to help keep The Blue Guitar open!)
Every Second Saturday, after Art Walk.
Blue Guitar is at
186 Northampton St. (route 10)
Easthampton, MA

A NIGHT OF SPOKEN WORD
ALL SMALL CAPS
April 28 - Last of the Spring Series
Featuring: Lori Shine and Betsy Wheeler
Last Monday of each month at
Déjà Brew Pub,
57 Locke's Village Rd.
Wendell MA
Doors open 7:00 p.m.
Open Mic signup: 7:15
Open Mic: 7:15-8
Featured readers 8:15 - 9:30
All comers are invited to read from their own
work or the works of others, poetry or prose
Admission sliding scale $1 -$5
Deja Brew, between the country store and
Post Office in downtown Wendell .
*If you would like to be one of the two presenters
call 978-544-8784
http://www.allsmallcaps.blogspot.com/


EVOLUTION OPEN MIC
The first Thursday of the month
May 1st
Open poetry night at 7pm
at
Cafe Evolution
22 Chestnut Street
Florence Mass
phone 413.586.0200


FLORENCE POETS SOCIETY .
The Florence Poets Society celebrates it's 5th year of existence
with the next meeting of the new season on
Thursday May 8 at the Lilly Library in Florence.
Our new starting time is 6:30 pm so that Society business can
be conducted prior to the poetry portion of the meeting,
which will be from 7-9 pm. Regular meetings are held the second
Thursday of every month. An annual membership fee of $15 dollars
contributes to our programs and events, however it is not necessary
to be a member to participate.
All poets are welcome to attend and share original work.
We are always looking for new poets.
Discussion and critique is offered if desired.
Look for our new writing group coming soon.

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"
on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Weds from 9-10 am on 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.
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.
Admission is free, and supper and drinks are available for purchase.
The next dates -
Sunday April 27, 6-9PM
Sunday May 11, 6-9PM

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.

THE WOVEN WORD
SUMMER CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP
for Middle and High School Age Writers
July 21-25, 9 AM – 1 PM
in Hadley

About the Workshop: This workshop is designed to create safe space to develop each writer’s unique voice, since there are stories and poems that belong to each of us alone.

The Amherst Writers & Artists method takes writers to both unexpected and familiar places, while supporting them in an affirming space among their peers. We focus on creativity, not grammar or spelling. The workshop is anchored in the conviction that every voice is beautiful, that every person deserves to be heard; and that knowing you are heard is itself a dramatically empowering act.

This workshop program will involve two daily writing and sharing sessions, a recreational break with swimming & kayaking near our houseboat on the Connecticut River, and drawing, painting, or flower picking on the farm land where we live.

Workshop leader Lynn Bowmaster is a published poet who has led workshops in her home, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Middle School, Hilltown Cooperative Charter School, Finn Ryan Road Elementary School, and Holyoke Community College.

For info: contact Lynn at 584-3373, Lrbowmaster
“There is a vitality, a life force, … a quickening, which is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist.” Martha Graham


Greenfield/Shelbourne Falls and North

Hayden Carruth Reading
Sunday, May 04 2008, 3:00 - 4:00PM
Whittemore Theater
Marlboro College
2582 South Rd
Marlboro, VT 05344
Hayden Carruth will give a free, public reading
of his poetry in the Whittemore Theater at
Marlboro College on Sunday, May 4 at 3:00 p.m.

Swirl and Swing
is a free, private online women’s writing group.
Our writers work in a variety of forms, including poetry,
fiction, and memoir. The group is centered around a flexible
weekly writing assignment.

We devote as much time to each other as we would in a traditional
weekly meeting group, but our virtual meeting place enables us
to meet around busy, varied schedules, from across the country,
and without ever braving bad weather to enjoy each other’s company.

We’re a small group looking for a few new members,
with a particular interest in welcoming some experienced poets.
If you’re interested in applying, please send a brief bio and a
sample of two poems or pieces of short fiction that are representative
of your work to Swirl and Swing at

Poet Nick Fleck,
a retired Northfield Mount Hermon English instructor,
will read selections from his body of work
on Sunday, May 20 at 3pm.
at Green Trees Gallery
105 Main Street, Northfield.
Light refreshments offered; free and open to public.
Hosted by the Equinox, a literary journal serving the creatives
of western Mass (and even a bit beyond).

Slope Editions, with the Rendezvous in Turners Falls,
hosts poetry readings the second Monday of each month
during the school year. The remaining readings are:

May 12th
Matt Hart and Amanda Nadelberg
Both readings are at the Rendezvous bar in Turners Falls,
and both start at 7 p.m.


Collected Poets Series

Help celebrate the end of National Poetry Month!
Walk the Bridge of Flowers before coming to the reading.

On Thursday, May 1st, at 7:30pm,
poets Alicia Ostriker, a major American poet and critic, and author
of eleven volumes of poetry, including The Volcano Sequence and
No Heaven and Frannie Lindsay whose newest volume of poetry,
Lamb, was selected for the Perugia Press Award, will read from
their most recent work at
Mocha Maya’s Coffee House,
47 Bridge Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
413-625-6292.
Wheelchair accessible. Free.
This is a reading sponsored by the Collected Poets Series.

Alicia Ostriker, twice nominated for a National Book Award,
is the author of eleven volumes of poetry, most recently
NO HEAVEN (2005). As a critic, Ostriker is the author of two
path-breaking volumes on women’s poetry, Writing Like a Woman
and Stealing the Language: The Emergence of Women’s Poetry in America.
Her most recent critical book is Dancing at the Devil’s Party: Essays on Poetry,
Politics and the Erotic. She has also published three books on the Bible
that re-imagine the Bible from the perspective of a contemporary Jewish woman.
Her poetry and essays have been translated into French, German, Italian,
Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew and Arabic. Ostriker has received awards from
the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Society of America,
the San Francisco State Poetry Center, the Judah Magnes Museum,
the New Jersey Arts Council, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the
Guggenheim Foundation. She is Professor Emerita of Rutgers University
and is a faculty member of the New England College Low-Residency
Poetry MFA Program

Frannie Lindsay is the author of LAMB, winner of the 2006 Perugia Press
Prize and runner-up for the James Laughlin Award of the Academy of
American Poets. With elegant restraint and electric imagery, Lindsay
writes about the devotion that binds together a family in pain. hen love
is uncertain, how does caretaking erode? How does it continue?
Each poem in LAMB is a small quest for a right answer, and for a
reconciliation between the speaker and her mother and father, and within
her body. Ellen Bass calls these poems “hymns of praise for the love we are
able to wrest from our flawed lives.” Her first volume, Where She Always
Was (Utah State University Press, 2004), was selected by J.D. McClatchy
as the winner of the May Swenson Award. Lindsay holds an MFA from the
Iowa Writers’ Workshop, has been awarded fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and
is also a classical pianist.

Mocha Maya’s Coffee House,
47 Bridge Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
413-625-6292.
Wheelchair accessible.
The Collected Poets Series highlights the work of established
and emerging poets. Each event, showcasing this area’s finest poets,
features readings followed by informal discussions.
The series is held every first Thursday of the month.
Please see below.
Contact info: Lea Banks,
20 Severance St., Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
(H) 413.625.6702

The 2008 Series
May 1 - Alicia Ostriker and Frannie Lindsey
June 5 –Chard deNiord and Susie Patlove
~ no CPS for July and August ~
Sept. 4 –Toi Derricotte and Regie O’Hare-Gibson
Oct. 2 - Michael Waters and Carol Frost
Nov. 6 – Wyn Cooper and special guest


Spoken Word Greenfield
Every Third Tuesday
Tuesday May 20th
Featured Readers: TBA
At 9 Mill St in Greenfield
Doors open at 7:00
Open Mike at 7:30
Featured Readers - TBA
$1-5 sliding scale cover
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
We hope to do Spoken Word Greenfield once a month
Open mike will be five minute slots
With 10 open slots
Have open slots for main readers

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

Collected Poets Series

The Collected Poets Series highlights the work of established
and emerging poets. Each event, showcasing this area’s
finest poets, features readings followed by informal discussions.
The series is held every first Thursday of the month.

Contact info: Lea Banks, 20 Severance St.,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370, (H) 413.625.6702

Open Mic at the Arms Library
Third Friday of the Month
Open Prose & Poetry
7:00 pm
Meeting Room
Arms Library
Bridge & Main Sts. Shelburne Falls
Writers of All Ages Most Welcome!
Come and be heard, or just listen to the diverse
voices in our community.
Sign ups at beginning of program.

The Third Friday Reading Series
at the Arms Library
welcomes you
Bridge and Main Streets,
Shelburne Falls, MA
7—9pm, 3rd Friday of each month
Open reading of poetry and prose.
Come early and sign up for a 5 minute reading.
When a writing group is featured,
the 2nd half of the evening will be an open reading.
Please plan to stay for the entire event.
Refreshments will be served.
(now in its twelfth year!)

For more information, please call Arms Library 625-0306
or Lisa Merrill 625-9765

News from Mo and Ginger Cat Press
CALENDAR:
Lend Me Your Words, folks! please join fellow book lovers and
writers/poets for an Open Mic for the Spoken Word,
SUNDAY, MAY 4 from 2:30 to 4:30 in Ashfield.
Bring your poems, prose, proems, (and even a libretto, some musical riffs,
watercolors or any creation light enough to be carried and shared) to the
The Wellspring House, a writers' and artists' retreat, at
284 Main Street in Ashfield (413-628-3276)
Sign ups begin 2:00
Hosted by the Equinox, your local, illustrated literary
journal of repute and enthusiasm. Light refreshments, good fellowship,
free and open to the public. Equinox is grateful for the support of Ashfield
Cultural Council, a local agency, and Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

The web site can be accessed with this address:
http://www.thebooksmyth.com/ NOTE: This address redirects to the
original site name www. gingercatpress.net – it was easier to redirect
rather than to rename, but any computer geeks out there who can tell
me if there is a better way to handle this, feel free to send (free) advice.
hugs to all…. look forward to seeing you Mo

Equinox Poetry Journal Open Mics

EQUINOX OPEN MIC SERIES 2008, "Lend Me Your Ears"
Lend Me Your Ears!
Open Mic for Spoken Word and other creations,
Sign ups begin 6:30.
Hosted by the Equinox, a local, illustrated literary journal
Maureen at

Web site: http://www.thebooksmyth.com/ submission guidelines now available
upcoming - details above
April 24 - Montague
(all sign-ups begin ½ hour before mic opens-in food service venues
feel free come earlier for meal/snacks)
**note corrected address for May 18 mic

APRIL
24 Montague (see above)
? Northampton: tba at Evolution Café, Chestnut Street, Florence
? Orange: tba

MAY
4 Ashfield: Sunday, 3-5 at the Wellspring House, Main Street, Ashfield
18 Hadley: Sunday, 3-5 at Food Bank Farm, 121 Bay Road, Hadley (corrected address)
? Pittsfield tba

JUNE
? Montague tba at the Montague Book Mill,

JULY
? Charlemont tba

SEPT
21 Shelburne: Sunday 3-5 at Mocha Maya 2008 issue Release Party
25 Amherst: Thursday, 7-9 at

SUNDAY SALONS:
APR 27 from 1 to 4 pm featuring chili, chips, chatter & Thou
MAY 25 from 1 to 4 pm featuring chili, chips, chatter & Thou
JUN 29 from 1 to 4 pm featuring chili, chips, chatter & Thou
JUL 27 from 1 to 4 pm featuring hot dogs, chili dogs, etc & Thou
AUG from 1 to when at Sunburn Beach, bring your own snacks and lotions
SEP-DEC no salons,

EQUINOX DEADLINE: May 15, 2008. Submission guideline available on website
http://www.thebooksmyth.com/ or http://www.gingercatpress.net/

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

Word in the Berkshires

Lee Writers Group
Next Meeting:
May 6th, 6 - 7:45PM
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 once every two weeks 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.

Stockbridge Booksellers Open Mic
Garfield Reed hosts our bi-monthly open mike poetry night
every other month on the third Thursday of the month.
...The Power of Words. P.O.W. is open to all poets,
writers and performance artists of all types.
We also welcome those less dramatic types who prefer
to watch from the audience. recently we have seen some
amazing young poets come out and wow their audience.
Don't miss out!!


Coming in May……HIKE AND/OR WRITE
Sunday May 4, 9am-11am
Climb Monument Mountain
Explore the unique ecology, geology and beauty
of a pale-colored quartzite mountain on a two mile
(steep) hike in Great Barrington. Our pace will be slow
to photograph and enjoy the wildflowers and the views.
Free to all. Please pre-register to 413-298-3239 x 3003.

Sunday May 4, 1pm-4pm
Write at Bartholomew’s Cobble
Enjoy a relaxing afternoon of contemplative walking,
watching and listening at a Sheffield site widely known
for the diversity of wildflowers and ferns.
Trustees of Reservations Members $8. Nonmembers $10.
Please pre-register to Tammis at 413-298-3239 x 3003
or via .

Coming in June…CANOE AND WRITE
Sunday June 8, 8:30-11:30am
Paddle the Housatonic River
Join a guided canoe trip on the winding Housatonic
to explore the rich and varied river habitats found
near Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield. Bring hat,
sunscreen, water and binoculars.
All other equipment is provided.
Please pre-register to or to 413-229-8600.
Trustees of Reservations Members $15
Adults Child (10-16) $10, Nonmembers $25 Adults; Child $15.

Sunday June 8, 1-4pm
Write at Bartholomew’s Cobble
Enjoy a relaxing afternoon of contemplative walking,
watching and listening at a Sheffield site widely known
for the diversity of wildflowers and ferns.
Trustees of Reservations Members $8. Nonmembers $10.
Please pre-register to Tammis at 413-298-3239 x 3003
or via .

Tammis Coffin
Education & Outreach Coordinator, Berkshires Region
The Trustees of Reservations
P.O. Box 792
Stockbridge, MA 01262-0792
413-298-3239 x 3003


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, novelists,
historians, political satirists, video game designer and others.
All are welcome.
Call LuWanda Cheney (413) 277-9676 for a schedule.


Word in Worcester:

Worcester Youth Slam Saturday Night
Join the Worcester Youth Slam for a special Open Invitational Tryout
for the 2008 Worcester Youth Slam Team on Saturday, April 26th.
This special event will be held at The Q Cafe
(362 Chandler Street, Worcester) and will start at 7:00 p.m.
This is a ONE TIME ONLY EVENT - no feature or open mic.
They are trying to put a team of 4-6 youth poets (age 13-19)
together for a trip to the 11th Annual Brave New Voices National
Youth Slam Festival (http://www.youthspeaks.org/) to compete against 44
teams from around the country this July in Washington, DC.
The youth slam is looking to hopefully re-establish a regular reading
and slam series in September. Meanwhile come out and support this
special event if you can.

Worcester Storytellers
meets on the second Friday of each month at the
Village Arts Gallery (1 Ekman Street, Worcester).
The reading starts at 8:00 p.m.
Performance Host: Dave Macpherson

***
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
[email protected].

POET'S ASYLUM
Venue Update
The Poets' Asylum now meets at The Q, a cafe located at
362 Chandler Street in Worcester. The owners are excited
to have us on their schedule and are working with us to make
the transition as smooth as possible. Please help spread the word.

Sunday April 27
Please join the Poets' Asylum this week for a feature by Amy Steinberg. With irreverent humor and crafty intelligence, Amy Steinberg uses her original music and poetry to promote tolerance, openness and diversity. Combining a sassy sensibility with a loquacious socio-political and spiritual awareness, Amy brings forth a fresh and solid energy. Check out some of her work at http://www.amysteinberg.net/.

The open mic sign-up list goes out around 7:00 p.m.
and the reading starts closer to 7:30 p.m.
No cover; please throw some money in the bucket to support the feature.

The Poets' Asylum -- in its fifteenth year of
bringing the best in Performance and Slam poetry
to Central Massachusetts and beyond.
http://poetsasylum.org/mailman/listinfo/


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

Poetry at Peaberry's Café Simsbury, CT
ArtSpeak
4th Saturday of every month.
This month's date, April 26th
Because local artists are important, and should be celebrated.
Peaberry's Cafe
712 Hopmeadow St
Simsbury, CT
(860) 658-2930
Host Robert Dauphinais
Peaberry's, a great alternative to the local bar scene, is a cosy little
cafe that seeks to give local artists support, a voice, and a venue!
Help us keep this dream alive! Food is served all night and wine, beer,
and coffee cordials are served after 5:00.

The night will begin at 7:30 and go until 9:30, however,
if there is an abundance of artists, we will go until 10:00.
Our aim is to create an environment where poets of all ages
will feel welcome and wanted, as well as challenged.
We want this to be an atmosphere where artists can share
and network, and, most importantly, grow!

All ages are welcome and we ask that each artist be sensitive
to the audience and what may or may not be appropriate.
Beyond this request, we want to keep censorship to a minimum,
and we support freedom of speech and expression.

So come, bring your friends, students, parents, children, neighbors...
let's see if we can set the CT poetry scene on fire!

Please email Leanne at
with any questions or suggestions.

Charles Olson and Polis is This:
An Evening of Film, Poetry Readings, and Viewing of Literary Manuscripts
May 1, 2008, 7:30pm
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center,
University of Connecticut.

Join us for a special evening celebrating the work, poetics and landscapes –
geological, mythological and cosmological – of American poet Charles Olson.

Olson is the subject of a new, ground-breaking documentary:
Polis Is This: Charles Olson and the Persistence of Place.
The film has been praised as “A visual and auditory dance” and
“a cinematic poem in its own right—a celebration not only of Olson
but of Gloucester, Massachusetts.” Independent filmmaker and co-producer
Henry Ferrini brings his film to the University of Connecticut for a special
screening and will take questions from the audience immediately following.

Special guests will introduce the event, followed by readings of Olson’s
poems by students and faculty. Olson’s letters, manuscripts, and photographs
will be on display in a special exhibit, providing attendees a unique opportunity
to view the poet’s papers held at the University of Connecticut in the Thomas
J. Dodd Research Center. The event is free and open to the public

Wood Reading Series

Thursday, May 1st at 6:30 PM
Spoken Word Series Presents
Beverly Titus and Dolores Lawler,
hosted by Lance Ernest
Open mic follows featured poets
at the Wood Memorial Library
783 Main Street In South Windsor
(860) 289-1783 www.woodmemoriallibrary.org
Admission is free.
Refreshments served.

NOW IN ITS 2ND SEASON
Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series

at Manchester Community College,
Great Path, Manchester, CT 06040

Thursday, May 8
in Fireside Commons, Learning Resource Center, MCC

* Spoken Word Open Mic – beginning at 5:45 p.m.
Sign up for a brief slot upon arrival.
Open Mic Feature: STEPHEN STRAIGHT’s book of poetry,
The Water Carrier, is available through Curbstone Press.
He is professor of English at MCC, where he teaches the
poetry writing courses.

* Featured Music: JAZZ TRIO from the GREATER
HARTFORD ACADEMY OF THE ARTS – beginning at 6:45 p.m.

This talented trio of high school jazz students from the
Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts features Terrance Shider
(Hartford), keyboards; Rachel Housle (Rocky Hill), drums;
and Matthew Dwondzyk (Rocky Hill), bass.
More information on the Academy’s music program can be found at: www.crec.org/magnetschools/schools/artsacademy.

* Featured Poet: MICHAEL PALMA – beginning at 7:45 p.m.
Michael Palma has published three poetry chapbooks,
"The Egg Shape" (1972), "Antibodies" (1997), and the recent title
from New Formalist Press, "The Ghost of Congress Street",
which can be downloaded free-of-charge at http://www.thenewformalist.com/.
Michael has also published one full-length collection,
"A Fortune in Gold" (2000). His poems have appeared in
Northeast, Pivot, Gradiva, Chelsea, Café Review, Rattapallax,
Raintown Review, and other journals, as well as several anthologies,
including Unsettling America (1994). In addition to his own poetry,
Michael is a renowned editor and translator of modern and contemporary
Italian poetry: with Dana Gioia, he co-edited New Italian Poets (1991,
named one of Ten Outstanding Translations of the year by the
American Literary Translators Association; with Alfredo de Palchi,
he co-edited "The Metaphysical Streetcar Conductor:
Sixty Poems of Luciano Erba" (1998); he has published
translations in several Italian poetry anthologies, including
Dialect Poetry of Southern Italy and The Faber Book of
20th-Century Italian Poetry; and his full-length book
translations of single poets include Guido Gozzano
(The Man I Pretend to Be, 1981); Diego Valeri
(My Name on the Wind, 1989); Sergio Corazzini
(Sunday Evening, 1997); and Maura Del Serra
(Infinite Present, 2002; with Emanuel di Pasquale).
In addition, his fully rhymed translation of Dante's Inferno
was published by W. W. Norton & Co. in 2002, and reprinted
as a Norton Critical Edition in 2007. For his translations,
Michael has received the Italo Calvino Award from the Translation
Center of Columbia University; the Premio Speciale of the
Associazione Culturale Campana of Latina, Italy; and the
Raiziss/de Palchi Fellowship for his translation of Giovanni
Raboni, Mortal Songs, to be published in 2008 by Chelsea
Editions. He has been a grants panelist for the National
Endowment for the Arts, and is presently associate editor
for Gradiva and poetry editor for Italian Americana.

Free and Open to the Public
Sponsored by the MCC Foundation
Hosted by Stephen Campiglio

For more information or directions, please visit the
Mishi-Maya-Gat web page at:
www.mcc.commnet.edu/faculty/spoken.php
or call (860) 512-2824.


A “Poetic Duet” featuring poets Rennie McQuilkin and Joan Kunsch.
Saturday, April 26
4 p.m.
The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon
Sharon, CT
Charles Van Doren has commented that “the poems of Joan Kunsch are
“moving, beautiful, startling, and sometimes very funny. The range is extraordinary,
from the dirge for a friend murdered in Zimbabwe to the ode to chocolate.
The short ones are delightful and the long ones grand.” Of Rennie McQuilkin’s
work Dick Allen has said, “Rennie McQuilkin speaks from us and with us
in a language so devoid of all rhetoric it is pure American: the natural man i
s lifted out of himself almost beyond his knowing. My response is one of pure thanks.”
The event is free and open to the public.
A 15-minute open-mike session will follow, and refreshments will be served.
For more information, call 860-364-5185 or visit http://www.hotchkisslibrary.org/.

ENTRYWAYS INTO WRITING POETRY…
Two Poetry Workshops with David Cappella
Thursday May 15 and Thursday May 22
6:30 - 8 pm
Here's a chance to study poetry with a master poet
and to sharpen your own writing skills.
Join us for two poetry workshops led by David Cappella,
a widely published poet and teacher of literature at Central
Connecticut State University. He was also a recent popular
featured poet in our Wintonbury Branch Poetry Series.

Mr.Cappella will lead participants in analyzing master
sample poems from such favorite poets as Emily Dickinson
and Robert Frost as an entryway into the creative process.
In these workshops, you can expect to analyze poetic devices,
do writing assignments, and obtain feedback on your own writing.

Mr. Cappella has co-authored two books on the teaching
of poetry, Teaching the Art of Poetry: The Moves (Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 2000) and A Surge of Language:
Teaching Poetry Day to Day (Heinemann, 2004.)
He travels through the country giving workshops to teachers
and students. He has had poems published in such journals as
The Bryant Literary Review, The Connecticut Review, and
The Bradford Review.
Registration is required. Call 242-0041.
Arrive early for best seating!
Wintonbury Branch Library
1015 Blue Hills Avenue
Bloomfield, CT 06002

GUMBOLIVE
has moved from Chicopee to Hartford
This is an open mic with a feature
and real Gumbo!
It is held on the 1st Thursday of the Month
at Vibz Uptown in Hartford, CT
3155 Main Street.
If people want to feature,
call James Lewis at 413-221-4768.

POETRY POTLUCK at The Sanctuary
Do you love poetry?
Would you like to be part of an ongoing poetry
discussion group offering food for the mind and the heart?

If so, come and join us on the first Sunday of the month
from 4.30-6.00 PM
at The Sanctuary in East Haddam, Connecticut,
to discuss poetry and build community.

This is not about sharing our own work but instead offers
us a chance to share the work of poets we love, so you don't
have to be a poet to be part of this group. Just come and bring
your love of poetry and a poem you would like to share.

Hosted by Greg Coleman, Suzy Lamson,
Marilyn Nelson, and Edwina Trentham
For more information call 860-319-1134.

DIRECTIONS
Directions to the Sanctuary for Poetry Potluck on Bogel Road
– Look for sign: Labyrinth & Yurt (it's a dirt driveway)

FROM MASSACHUSETTS:
Take I-91 South to Rte 9 South. Take exit 7 onto Route 82 East.
Turn LEFT onto Route 154 (Saybrook Road). Turn RIGHT onto
Route 82 (Bridge Road). Turn LEFT onto Route 151 (Town Street).
Turn RIGHT onto Daniels Road. Turn LEFT onto Bogel Road.
Phone number: 860-319-1134

FROM HARTFORD:
Take I-84 East towards East Hartford. Take exit 55 onto Route 2
East towards Norwich. Take exit 16 . Go RIGHT onto Route 149.
Turn LEFT onto Route 151 (Plains Road). Turn LEFT onto Daniels
Road. Turn LEFT onto Bogel Road.
Phone number: 860-319-1134

FROM NEW HAVEN: Take I-95 North towards New London.
Take exit 67; stay to the LEFT at the fork on the ramp. Turn LEFT
onto Route 154 (Middlesex Turnpike). Take Route 9 North towards
Middletown. Take exit 7 onto Route 82 East. Turn LEFT onto
Route 154 (Saybrook Road). Turn RIGHT onto Route 82 (Bridge Road).
Turn LEFT onto Route 151 (Town Street). Turn RIGHT onto Daniels Road.
Turn LEFT onto Bogel Road.
Phone number: 860-319-1134

FROM NEW LONDON: Take I-95 South towards New Haven.
Take Route 9 North towards Middletown. Take exit 7 onto Route 82 East.
Turn LEFT onto Route 154 (Saybrook Road). Turn RIGHT onto Route 82
(Bridge Road). Turn LEFT onto Route 151 (Town Street). Turn RIGHT
onto Daniels Road. Turn LEFT onto Bogel Road.
Phone number: 860-319-1134

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/


Windsor Workshop:
A workshop for serious poets interested in critique
at the Windsor Library, Windsor, CT
each second and fourth Monday at 6:30 PM.
For information call Alice Ahrens Williams 860-668-6142
or Janet Henderson 860-688-5770


HARTFORD HAPPENINGS

SOUL SESSIONS at Vibz Uptown
The creator of Love Jones brings you--
"Soul Sessions" every Wednesday night 9:00 PM - 11:00PM

Join us for live Jazz Jams & share your Poetry and Song
backed by a live band or just come and chill in the vibe
of Hartford’s Hottest Open Mic Event.
Hosted By Charmagne

For more info, call 860-874-8797
or email mailto:[email protected]

Vibz Uptown
3155 Main Street
Hartford, CT
(860) 246-7390

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/

Lisa C. Taylor Reading Schedule

Tuesday, June 10-7-8 pm-
Featured poet
Prosser Public Library
1 Tunxis Ave.
Bloomfield, CT.
For information, call (860) 243-9721


Boston Area Poetry Info:

ROSANNA WARREN
Poetribe
Saturday, April 26, 8 pm
7:45 Open Mike Sign-Up
The Community Room
East Bridgewater Public Library
32 Union Street
East Bridgewater, MA
http://www.poetribe.org/

Rosanna Warren is the author of Departure (W.W. Norton & Company, 2003);
Stained Glass (1993), which was named the Lamont Poetry Selection by the
Academy of American Poets; Each Leaf Shines Separate (1984); and Snow Day
(1981). Her awards include the Pushcart Prize, the Award of Merit in Poetry
and the Witter Bynner Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters,
the May Sarton Prize, the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of
American Poets, the Ingram Merrill Foundation Award, the Ingram Merrill
Grant for Poetry, a Lila Wallace Readers Digest Award, the Nation
"Discovery" Award, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the
American Council of Learned Societies.
Warren served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from1999 to
2005. In the fall of 2000, she was The New York Times Resident in Literature
at the American Academy in Rome.
She is a contributing editor of Seneca Review and the poetry editor of
Daedalus. She is Emma MacLachlan Metcalf Professor of the Humanities at
Boston University and lives in Roslindale, Massachusetts.
"Rosanna Warren lives in our tarnished, everyday, ramshackle world of loss,
anguish, and sacrifice," writes poet Anthony Hecht, "but she inhabits almost
as vividly a realm of classic purity; and in some of her best, most moving
poems she dwells in both regions at once, and within, as it seems, the same
breath. It is a beautiful miracle of bilocation."
Future Features
May 10 Franz Wright
May 24 Ann Killough
Jun 7 Thomas Lux
Hosted by Victoria Bosch Murray and David R. Surette
For info and bookings, contact
Directions to Poetribe (from the East Bridgewater Public Library website
http://www.sailsinc.org/ebpl/): Take Route 24 to Exit 16A, Route 106 East
towards West Bridgewater. Follow Route 106 for about 4 miles to Route 18.
Take a left onto Route 18 North. At the 6-way intersection in East
Bridgewater center stay straight on Route 18. The red brick library building
is one block north on the left, at the corner of Union Street and Route 18.
Poetribe meets in the Community Room, which is a separate entrance toward
the rear of the library.

CAMBRIDGE READINGS

The Boston Poetry Slam Simone Beaubien,
SlamMaster http://www.slamnews.com/

Central Square’s world-famous Cantab Lounge
presents performances from local and national poets, as well as a
chance to present your own work in the open mic or poetry slam.

• Wednesday, April 30
Finals for the selection of the 2008 Cantab Slam Team! The top slammers from April 16th's two-round extravaganza will compete for the four spots (and one alternate position) on the team. The team will travel to Madison, Wisconsin in August for the 2008 National Poetry Slam! Qualified to slam: Adam Stone, Simone Beaubien, Harlym125, Brian S. Ellis, Jme, Casey Rocheteau, April Ranger, Omoisele Okoawo, Sam Teitel. $5 cover tonight to raise funds for the team.

• Wednesday, May 7
Marc Smith, creator of the poetry slam, called them “the best poetry band in the world!” …So what, you say? Well, The Jeff Robinson Trio has been backing poets with first-class improvisational jazz for eleven years now, one Sunday at a time, at the Lizard Lounge Poetry Slam. These amazing musicians have an unrivaled knack for matching melody with words; tonight marks their annual visit to play behind the poets of the Cantab open mic. Semi-final double-header poetry slam tonight.

• Wednesday, May 14
He’s performed as far afield as Mexico City and Paris: now, Tombstone-born Logan Phillips brings his poetry to the Boston area for the first time. Logan has competed at four National Poetry Slams and been described as “the young voice of the Southwest.” His work is emotional, bold, and vivid, yet crafted with the deft touch of a bilingual speaker with authentic respect for the word. Season Championship poetry slam: May 7 semi-final winners face off.

• Wednesday, May 21
Former skinhead Jason Carney has been building on his slam legend status since 1998, but hasn’t featured for the Cantab since 2000. Jason’s work is some of the rawest storytelling that slam has to offer: brutally moving, insidiously witty, and all delivered with a genuine Texas twang. Champion of Champions Slam: Brian S. Ellis faces off against the May 14 winner for the title!

The Boston Poetry Slam
Downstairs at the Cantab Lounge
738 Massachusetts Ave,
Central Square, Cambridge, Mass
(617) 354-2685_
(mailto:) _
www.slamnews.com_ (http://www.slamnews.com/)

Doors for the show open at 7:30. The open mic begins at 8:00,
the feature performs at approximately 9:30,
and an open poetry slam follows.
The show is 18+ (ID required) and the cover charge is $3.

The Boston Poetry Slam at The Cantab Lounge
738 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Mass.

http://www.slamnews.com/


Cambridge Community Television
Tuesdays at 11:00 PM Saturdays at 10:30PM
Catch the latest from the Boston Poetry Slam I
NFO: [email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the Poetry Session at O’Shea’s
THE CAPE GETS ITS VOICE BACK
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 (Route 28) in the village of West Dennis.
Info: call Gregory Hischak at 508-398-5434

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.
August is Biker Poetry Month,
and celebrated at Besteller's on the 13th.
After this reading there'll be a 2nd annual BBQ at Gypsy's.
Come one come all, come and enjoy a night of poetic delight
in a cozy bookshop setting!

Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam
Every Sunday 21+ $5 at door
1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
617-547-0759 Website - http://poetryjam.com/
Blog - http://poetryjam.com/blog/poetryjam.html

Providence Poets

GOT POETRY LIVE
Every Tuesday starting at 7:30 PM
@ Reflections Cafe
8 Governor St, corner of Wickenden St
Providence, RI 02903-4429
(401) 273-7278

http://www.gotpoetry.com/ContactUs.html


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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.