Poetry News January 28, 2008
****POETRYNEWS****
To receive Poetry News in your email write to
or check it out online at http://www.poetrynewscalendar.com/.
Here is your Poetry News for the week of January 28, 2008.
Spoken word events are collecting like gentle snow flurries over 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 January 28 - Johnna Bossuot (Northampton poet)
Monday February 4 - The Klute (Travelling performance poet from Mesa, AZ)
The Klute is a rare breed of Southern Arizona slam poet, originally raised in Southern Florida (however, he's not a native Floridian - rumors trace his origin back to Illinois). Abhors use of rhyme schemes in poetry, writes almost exclusively in free verse. Frequent targets: the goth subculture, neoconservatism (especially Dick Cheney), and crass-commericalism. Member of the 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006 Mesa National Slam teams (Mesa's 2005 slam champion). Former slammaster of the Mesa Poetry Slam. Has released two chapbooks of his work: 2002's "Escape Velocity" and 2005's "Look at What America Has Done to Me".
We are now booking features for February and March.
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 at Jester's.
PATRICIA SMITH AT WESTFIELD STATE COLLEGE
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 6:30PM
Scanlon Hall Living Room, WSC
577 Western Ave. Westfield, MA
As an extremely dynamic African American woman, writer,
mother and grandmother, Patricia Smith leaves her audiences
breathless with the honesty, beauty and energy of her poetry performances.
***********************
Chicopee/Holyoke/Springfield Poetry
Western New England College
To Host Poetry Reading January 28
Western New England College and Writers Spring Forth
will host a reading featuring poets Lynne Thompson of Los
Angeles, Gene Zeiger of Shelburne Falls, and Laura Chagnon
of West Springfield on Monday, January 28 at 6:00 p.m.
in the St. Germain Campus Center Bear’s Den.
The event is free and open to the public.
Lynne Thompson is the 2007 winner of the Perugia Press
First Book Prize for Beg No Pardon. A Pushcart Prize
nominee, she authored the chapbooks We Arrive By Accumulation
and Through a Window and her work has been widely anthologized,
most recently in Voices from Leimert Park and Blue Arc West,
An Anthology of California Poets. Thompson is an attorney and
holds the position of Director of Employee & Labor Relations at UCLA.
Gene Zeiger’s memoir, How I Find Her: A Mother’s Dying and a
Daughter’s Life, was released in May 2001 by Sherman Asher
Publishing of Santa Fe. After being highly praised in “O,” Oprah’s
magazine, Hadassah Magazine, and by many other reviewers, it is
now in its second printing. It was also published in Germany by
Kindler-Verlag in the spring of 2003. Her second memoir, “Atta Girl”
was published in 2005. Zeiger, a frequent commentator for NPR,
including All Things Considered, is also the winner of a Massachusetts
Cultural Council award for poetry. She has published three collections
of poems, Sudden Dancing, (A.W.A. Press) and Leaving Egypt,
Radio Waves, (White Pine Press). She is a creative writing workshop
leader in Shelburne, and the poetry editor for Sanctuary, Massachusetts’
Audubon's magazine. A regular contributor to The Sun, her poems,
stories and personal essays have also appeared in dozens of magazines
including The New York Times Book Review, The Georgia Review,
The Massachusetts Review, and Tikkun.
Laura Chagnon has been writing poetry since 1993. Her works explore
the reality of living with loss and pain, of beauty and hope, and her
love of nature. After an accident in 1989, at age 26, Laura woke
from a five-week coma quadriplegic and legally blind. She spent the
next three years in rehabilitation hospitals. Laura has never put one word
of poetry on paper with her own hand nor has she seen her words in print.
She dictates her poems to her personal care assistants. Her poems have
appeared in local and national publications. In 1996, the Community United
Way of Pioneer Valley chose her poems to be used in the agency’s televised
public service announcements. Laura resides with her family in
West Springfield, Massachusetts.
This reading is the first of five reading events at the Bear’s Den sponsored
by Western New England College and Writers Spring Forth, a women’s
writing group that meets weekly in Springfield. Additional sponsorship is
provided by Blue Moon Coffee Roasters of Springfield. The purpose of
the reading series is to bring forth local and outside writer’s voices to the
greater Springfield audiences. The readings will feature many writers from S
pringfield, Western Massachusetts, New York, Boston, and other cities.
Raffles of the authors’ books and items will take place following the reading.
There will be an opportunity to buy copies of the authors’ books as well.
Women's Writing Group,
Mondays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Springfield location,
beginners welcome, leader trained in Amherst Writers & Artists method,
for information call 413-737-4262
GUMBOLIVE
Has moved to Hartford, CT
See CT POETRY below for details!
Springfield Library Events
Springfield Library Poetry Page:
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
The Last Event
Monday January 28 7PM
A reading in the A.P.E. Gallery
by the members of Group 18
Missy Marie Montgomery, Henry Lyman,
Roz Driscoll, Bill O’Connell, Margaret Lloyd,
Bob Coles, Anne Woodhull, Paul Jacobs,
Donald Brees, Trish Crapo, Rich Michelson
This Reading is in response to the idea of Exit and Emptying…
as the A.P.E. Spaces in Thornes close.
For more information, visit apearts.org
An Afternoon of Poetry
brought to you by Food for Thought Books,
Everywoman's Center, Perugia Press
and the Jones Library
February 3, 2008 @ 4:00
Jones Library/Amherst
Free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible
Featuring:
Nikky Finney, the 2007-2008 Grace Hazard Conkling
Writer-in-Residence at Smith College. Her book of poetry,
Rice, was awarded the PEN American Book Award.
Her most recent book is The World Is Round;
Lynne Thompson, winner of the 2007 Perugia Press Prize
for Beg No Pardon, which also won the Great Lakes Colleges
Association 2008 New Writers Award. She lives in Los Angeles
where she is Director of Employee and Labor Relations at UCLA;
Keli Stewart's current work boldly explores race, class and
gender in the Pioneer Valley. She is the recipient of the Douglas
Turner Ward/Alice Childress Scriptwriting Award given by the
Gwendolyn Brooks Center and has one chapbook titled Womanish;
Kim Rogers won the Pulp City Magazine's Short Story Prize in
2000 and is the winner of the Ruth Olin Corbin Prize for Poetry (2007).
Her poems center on woman's issues, often exploring, recovering
and retelling women-focused historical narratives;
Laurie Guerrero's chapbook manuscript was recently selected by
Naomi Shihab Nye as the winner of the 2008 Panhandler Publishing
competition. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, she is currently
an Ada Comstock Scholar at Smith;
Karen Johnston is a member of the Florence Poets Society.
Her work has been published in Silkworm, Equinox, and can
be found in the forthcoming anthology, Women. Period. (SpinsterInk, 2008).
She has one chapbook, titled Struck Just So.
Food for Thought Books is a non-profit workers' collective
located at 106 North Pleasant Street in downtown Amherst.
Everywoman's Center (EWC) is a multicultural campus-based
women's center established in 1972. Perugia Press is an
independent, not-for-profit literary press publishing one
collection of poetry each year, by a woman at the beginning
of her publishing career.
The Jones Library on Amity Street in Amherst is the town's public library.
Refreshments and booksigning will follow the reading.
For more information contact Food for Thought at 413.253.5432,
Everywoman's Center at 413.545.0883,
or Perugia Press at 413.587.2646.
ALL SMALL CAPS
A NIGHT OF SPOKEN WORD
January 28
Features - John Coletti, Arlo Quint, Frank Sherlock
John Coletti is the author of The New Normalcy (BoogLit 2002),
Physical Kind (Yo-Yo-Labs 2005), and Street Debris (Fell Swoop 2005),
a collaboration with poet Greg Fuchs with whom he also co-edits Open
24 Hours Press. He currently is the editor of The Poetry Project Newsletter.
Arlo Quint is the author of Days On End (Open 24 Hours Press) and
Photogenic Memory (Lame House Press). He is The Program Assistant at
The Poetry Project.Philadelphia poet
Frank Sherlock is the author of Over Here (Katalanche Press),
Daybook of Perversities & Main Events (Cy Gist Press)
and Wounds in an Imaginary Nature Show (Night Flag Books).
A collaboration with Brett Evans entitled Ready-to-Eat Individual is
forthcoming on Lavender Ink Press in the spring.
ALL SMALL CAPS
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
February 7
Open poetry night at 7pm
at
Cafe Evolution
22 Chestnut Street
Florence Mass
phone 413.586.0200
NATURE POETRY WRITING SERIES
with Kathryn Good-Schiff
Wednesdays, February 13 - April 16, 2008, 7 - 9 p.m.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Amherst
Poetry about nature can be personal, political, or simply
descriptive. During this workshop we will explore ways to
write clearly, joyfully, and reverently about nature and our
sometimes complicated place in it. Activities will be directed
by participant interest, and may include reading, discussions
of how to revise, and how to keep up a regular writing practice.
We’ll also look at poetry’s life on the page and delve into the
details that make verses shine. Come with your ideas and
writing-in-progress, and expect to leave with more.
Cost for the series: Member: $140, Non-member: $155
Register by phone (413) 256-6006
or online at http://www.hitchcockcenter.org/
FLORENCE POETS SOCIETY .
The Florence Poets Society celebrates it's 5th year of existence
with the fourth meeting of the new season on
Thursday February 14th 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 January 27, 6-9PM
Sunday February 10, 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.
Shelbourne Falls Poetry
Collected Poets Series
Poets Ellen Doré Watson,
Director of the Poetry Center at Smith College
and author of her most recent book, This Sharpening, and
Kimberley Rogers, winner of the Ruth Olin Corbin Prize for Poetry,
will read from their work as part of the Collected Poets Series,
Thurs., Feb. 7th.
Free.
Mocha Maya’s Coffee House,
47 Bridge Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
413-625-6292. Wheelchair accessible.
Ellen Doré Watson serves as Director of the Poetry
Center at Smith College and poetry editor of The Massachusetts
Review. She is the author of four books of poems, including
We Live in Bodies and Ladder Music, winner of the New England/
New York award from Alice James Books and, most recently,
This Sharpening, from Tupelo Press. Individual poems have
appeared widely in literary journals, including The American
Poetry Review, Tin House, and The New Yorker. Among her
honors are a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artists Grant, a
Rona Jaffe Writers Award, two Pushcart nominations, and a
National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship.
Watson has translated a dozen books from the Brazilian Portuguese,
including The Alphabet in the Park: Selected Poems of Adélia Prado
(Wesleyan University Press), and also co-translates contemporary
Arabic language poetry with Saadi Simawe.
She makes her home in Conway, MA.
Kimberley Rogers is a Northampton native and winner of the
Ruth Olin Corbin Prize for Poetry (2007). Rogers has been
published in several local and national magazines, including
American Writing, and she won Pulp City Magazine's Short
Story Prize in 2000. Rogers' poems center on woman's issues -
often exploring mother-daughter relationships, social issues,
especially Native American concerns, and women-focused
historical narratives.
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.
Please take a moment to visit our new web site:
http://www.geocities.com/annieteekski/now.html
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
JANUARY SALON 12 - 2PM January 27
102 Mechanic Street, Shelburne Falls (413 625 6728)
Ginger Cat Press has a new website: http://gingercatpress.com/
Equinox Poetry Journal Open Mics
February EQUINOX OPEN MIC SERIES 2008
begins on Thursday, February 14 at 7pm
in BART’S CAFÉ located at 286 Main Street, Greenfield.
Bring your valentines for a cozy café, great ice cream,
hot coffee, and terrific story telling
This is the first in the series, LEND ME YOUR EARS,
being scheduled for 2008 throughout Pioneer Valley
Scheduled to date (details will follow):
Greenfield: February 14, 7-9pm at Bart’s Cafe
Hadley: May 18, 3-5pm at Food Bank Farm
Williamsburg: February 17, 3-5 at Blue House Café
Shelburne: September 21, 3-5 at Mocha Maya
Buckland: March 9, 3-5 at McCusker’s
Being arranged: Bernardston, Charlemont, Conway,
Deerfield, Easthampton, Hatfield, Montague, Northampton,
Northfield, Orange, Pittsfield, Sunderland
EQUINOX DEADLINE: May 15, 2008.
The Equinox is available at the Ginger Cat Press website.
Word in the Berkshires
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!!
WRITING GROUP
Saturday Feb 2 and 16
2:30-4:00pm (join any time during the series)
Fresh Ink: Nature Writing Workshop
Bartholomew’s Cobble, Weatogue Road, Sheffield, MA
Join naturalist and author Tammis Coffin for
contemplative walking, looking and listening outdoors
and brief writing exercises indoors. We’ll cultivate a fresh,
spontaneous response to moment and place.
Writers of all levels welcome.
Trustees of Reservations Members and Sheffield Residents: FREE.
Non-members: $5. Please RSVP to the
Trustees of Reservations at 413-229-8600 or .
BOOK GROUP
Saturday Jan 26, Feb 9 and 23 2:30-4:00pm
(join any time during the series)
Reading the Sense of Place
Bartholomew’s Cobble, Weatogue Road, Sheffield, MA
A new Saturday afternoon book group meets
two Saturdays in February to explore cultural and
natural landscapes of the Southern Berkshires as
depicted in various books, poems and essays.
First we’ll share ideas for a possible reading list
and then we’ll choose what to read. FREE.
Please RSVP to the Trustees of Reservations at
413-229-8600 or .
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/
upstreet 4 Call for Submissions
Ledgetop Publishing has announced submission guidelines for
upstreet number four, the fourth issue of its new national literary
magazine. Writers are invited to submit their poetry, fiction, and creative
nonfiction for consideration by the editors.
-Work must be submitted by e-mail only, on or before March 1, 2008.
-Each poem should be single spaced, and begin on a separate page.
-Fiction and nonfiction pieces must be 5,000 words or less, and doublespaced.
-The author's name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript itself.
-Include a separate cover sheet for each prose piece or group of poems
giving title of work, word count (for fiction and nonfiction), author's
name, address, phone number, e-mail, and a brief bio.
-Please do not submit previously published works, or more than three poems,
two fiction, and two nonfiction pieces.
-Please e-mail your work, preferably as a Microsoft Word attachment, to:
-Notification will be made via e-mail, by May 2008.
upstreet number four, which will feature an interview with experimental
fiction writer Michael Martone, is scheduled to appear in July of 2008. Each
author will receive a complimentary copy, and will be able to purchase more
copies at a special author rate.
The guidelines, along with other information, are also available online at
http://www.upstreet-mag.org/
Word in Ware:
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 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. There will be an open mic
followed by a feature from area poet Dan Lewis. Lewis
writes about the everyday but often presents his images and
stories with a philosophical twist that not only makes his
listeners stop and think but keep on thinking for quite a while.
***
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 Jan. 27
The Asylum is pleased to welcome back to our stage
the fantastic Regie Gibson! Poet, songwriter, author,
workshop facilitator, and educator Regie Gibson has
performed, taught, and lectured at schools, universities,
theaters and various other venues on two continents and
in seven countries. Regie is widely published in anthologies,
magazines and journals, such as Power Lines, An Anthology
of Poetry along with three Pulitzer-Prize winning poets
Gwendolyn Brooks, Yosef Komunyakaa, and Lisel Mueller.
Sunday Feb 3
Join us this week for The Klute, an amazing poet from Mesa, Arizona.
A rare breed of Southern Arizona slam poet, originally raised
in Southern Florida (however, he's not a native Floridian - rumors
trace his origin back to Illinois). Abhors use of rhyme schemes in
poetry, writes almost exclusively in free verse. Frequent targets:
the goth subculture, neoconservatism (especially Dick Cheney),
and crass-commericalism. Member of the 2002, 2003, 2005,
and 2006 Mesa National Slam teams (Mesa's 2005 slam champion).
Former slammaster of the Mesa Poetry Slam. Has released two
chapbooks of his work: 2002's "Escape Velocity" and 2005's
"Look at What America Has Done to Me".
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
Innervisions
a poetry workshop group based at the Windsor Library,
will host its first poetry reading
on Monday, January 28 at 7:00.
It will take place on the main floor of the library,
323 Broad St, Windsor, CT,
at the southern end of the town green.
Refreshments will be served! Free and all are welcome.
Wintonbury Branch Poetry Series
Wintonbury Branch Library
1015 Blue Hills Ave.
Bloomfield CT 06002
860-242-0041
Third Thursdays, January – April 2008, 7:00 P.M.
On February 21, David Cappella joins us. He has co-authored
two books on the teaching of poetry, Teaching the Art of Poetry:
the Moves (Erlbaum Associates, 2000) and A Surge of Language
(Heinemann, 2004). His poems have appeared in such journals as
The Connecticut Review and Bryant Literary Review. He travels
through the country giving workshops to teachers and students.
He teaches at Central Connecticut State University.
Open mike theme: “Perspectives on the Real.”
On March 20, Daniel Donaghy, Professor of English at
Eastern Connecticut State University, reads from his new book,
Streetfighting (Curbstone Press, 2005). He has published widely,
with poems forthcoming in Southern Review and Prairie Schooner.
Mr. Donaghy says that the title of his book may be taken two ways,
“either as a literal term, as something I did, because I did get into s
treet fights (in the Kensington section of Philadelphia)…and also as
a metaphor for trying to find a way out of the city.”
Open mike theme: “Contrast/Conflict.”
On April 17, come to an area book launch! Cheryl Della Pelle,
a master gardener and visiting poet in Litchfield public schools,
will read from her first book of poems, Down to the Waters
(Antrim House Books, 2008.) In 1995, she founded Common thread,
a poetry performance group which performs several times a year.
Her poems have been published in Arkenstone and The Connecticut Review.
Open mike theme: “Landscapes of the Heart.”
Open mike for the public follows featured reader at each event. Themes are optional.
Wintonbury Branch Library 1015 Blue Hills Ave. Bloomfield CT 06002 242-0041
NOW IN ITS 2ND SEASON
Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series
at Manchester Community College,
Great Path, Manchester, CT 06040
Thursday, February 14, from 5:45 – 8:45 p.m.
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: Bonnie Riedinger received her
M.F.A. in poetry from Ohio State University and is
director of educational technology at MCC.
* Featured Musician: John. E. Surowiecki, singer,
keyboardist and composer, performs in cafés and
other venues throughout eastern Connecticut.
He is also a member of the popular band,
The Black Burns, which specialize in classic rock.
– beginning at 6:45 p.m.
* Featured Poets: Joan Joffe Hall and John Surowiecki
– beginning at 7:45 p.m.
Joan Joffe Hall has published several volumes of poetry,
including The Rift Zone from Curbstone Press
(finalist for the William Carlos Williams Prize),
Romance and Capitalism at the Movies
(nominated for a Pulitzer Prize) from Alice James Books,
and In Angled Light from Antrim House. Her poems have
also appeared in such journals as the Michigan Quarterly
Review, The Georgia Review, and The Beloit Poetry Journal.
She taught English at the University of Connecticut for many years.
John Surowiecki is the author of two books of poetry,
Watching Cartoons before Attending a Funeral
(White Pine Press, 2003) and The Hat City after
Men Stopped Wearing Hats, (The Word Works, 2006
Washington Prize winner), as well as five chapbooks.
He has won the Poetry Foundation's Pegasus Award for
verse drama, the Pablo Neruda Prize, a Sunken Garden
Poetry Festival National Competition, and other awards.
His poems have also appeared in such journals as Alaska
Quarterly Review, Indiana Review, Nimrod, Poetry, and
Prairie Schooner. He makes his living as a freelance writer
and also teaches the Credit-Free poetry workshop,
“Poetry for Poets,” at MCC.
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.
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.
Donald Hall in New Haven
Please join us for a poetry reading by
former United States Poet Laureate Donald Hall
on Wednesday, February 6th, at 4 pm.
This event is free and open to the public.
For additional information about poetry at the
Beinecke Library visit: http://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com/.
The Beinecke Library is located at 121 Wall Street, New Haven.
Donald Hall was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1928.
He is the author of many collections of poetry including recent
titles such as White Apples and the Taste of Stone: Selected Poems
1946-2006, Painted Bed, and Without: Poems. In 1988 Hall's The
One Day (1988), won the National Book Critics Circle Award and
the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Hall has been awarded two
Guggenheim fellowships, the Poetry Society of America's Robert Frost
Silver Medal, a Lifetime Achievement award from the New Hampshire
Writers and Publisher Project, and the Ruth Lilly Prize for Poetry.
In June 2006, Hall was appointed the Library of Congress's fourteenth
Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. He lives in Danbury, New Hampshire.
For more information about Donald Hall and examples of his work visit:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/264
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/more_hall.html
http://www.identitytheory.com/interviews/birnbaum178.php
The Yale-Readings Listserv is sponsored by the Yale
Collection of American Literature,
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
To post announcements about
poetry and fiction readings, send the full text of the announcement,
including contact information, to nancy.kuhl at yale.edu.
Messages sent directly to the Yale-Readings list may not be posted.
For more information about Poetry at the Beinecke Library,
visit: https://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com/
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).
2/6 Brian Clements - Professor of English/ Coordinator for MFA
residency program at WesConn.
Host: Victoria
2/13 Eros (yikes!) - Better known as Erotic, Exotic, Neurotic night.
Save on flowers for Valentines!
Host: Dan
2/20 Suzanne Frischkorn - Latest publication selected by Mary Oliver
for Aldrich Poetry Award.
Host: Ernie
2/27 Ralph Nazareth- Stamford Poet, war Activist and
Scholar/Professor of English at Nassau Community College.
Host: Louise
3/5 Charlie Rossiter - NEA fellowship recipient, three time
Pushcart Prize Nominee has appeared on NPR and numerous
other Radio Stations for his work.
Host: Robin
3/26 Mighty Mike McGee –
International spoken word artist, writer, performer and comic.
Host: Dan
4/2 Fatih Vicinanza – Founder of WNPS, CT Poet/
teacher/editor will read Mary Oliver.
Host: Ernie
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/
Boston Area Poetry Info:
JOHN ANDERSON
Poetribe
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Poetry Exchange!
7:45 Open Mic Sign Up
8:00 Open Mic
9:00 Feature Poet
The Community Room
East Bridgewater Public Library
32 Union Street
East Bridgewater, MA
http://www.poetribe.org/
future features:
March 1 - David Blair
March 15 - Robert Pinsky
Hosted by David R. Surette and Victoria Bosch Murray
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.
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, January 30
World Qualifier Semi-Finals! Twenty-five past winners
of Cantab poetry slams will slam it out in the first two
rounds of our Individual World Poetry Slam selection
process. Two rounds of “speed slam” –that’s poems
clocking in at just one or two minutes— will narrow the
field for finals next week. Special $5 cover for this event
to help send the winner to IWPS 2008 in Columbus, Ohio.
• Wednesday, February 6
World Qualifier Finals! Top finishers from the
January 30 semi-final battle it out for the big prize:
a chance to represent the Cantab at the 2008
Individual World Poetry Slam! After four rounds of slam,
only one poet will be left standing. Special $5 cover for this
event to help send the winner to IWPS 2008 in Columbus, Ohio.
• Wednesday, February 13
Is it hot in here, or is it just you? The Cantab Lounge presents
the annual Erotic Poetry Open Mic, an annual event perfect
for heating up your Valentine’s Day. Bring your erotic (or neurotic)
poetry to our only themed open mic of the year, and watch the
sparks fly! Special erotic spotlight features TBA.
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 Poets Corner at the Black Spot Cafe
This Thursday, Jan. 31 at 8pm at
The Black Spot Cafe, 10 Ocean St., Hyannis
is Poetry Night, a.k.a. "The Poets Corner."
The night starts off w/ an open mic for all poets,
and features Nigerian born and Boston resident,
poet Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo.
This is a pass-the-hat event, and is handicap accessible.
All are welcome.
About our feature, Iyeoka:
“My goal is simple…I just want to move the world one poem at a time.
”Boston-based Nigerian-American performing artist and award winning
poet Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is at the forefront of creating a new artistic
genre that gracefully interweaves spoken word poetry with jazz, blues,
gospel and neo-soul influenced song. Fresh off a 2007 nomination and
a 2006 New England Urban Music Award for best female poet, a
second top ten finish at the National Poetry Slam in Austin Texas,
and most recently at the 2006 Leon H. Sullivan Summit, "
Africa: A Continent of Opportunities- Building Partnership for Success,"
in Lagos, Nigeria; Iyeoka is currently recording her follow-up CD to her
highly-acclaimed full-length debut disc, Black and Blues (Phanai, Records, 2004),
while seeking publication of her first poetry collection in 2007.
The buzz surrounding her poem-songs has garnered her national
attention through performances at the TBS Trumpet Awards,
the CBS hip hop show The Source All Access and Russell Simmons'
Def Poetry Jam airing on HBO. Iyeoka also has opened for the Tony
Award winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway tour.
A gifted performer, Iyeoka's acting prowess has been featured as the
title character in a PBS documentary on Harriet Tubman, as well as
an off-Broadway play produced by Thema Bryant Davis.
Her poem on Rwanda will also be featured in a new documentary film
"Rwanda Rising" that is being Executive Produced by Andrew Young
the former ambassador to the United Nations.
Don't miss this amazing event!
For more info call The Black Spot Cafe,
10 Ocean St., Hyannis
at 508.771.4004
or Email Jose' Gouveia at
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
BRATTLEBORO VERMONT POETRY SERIES
The reading series in downtown Brattleboro is on the first Saturday of every month.
Hooker-Duhnam Theater
139 Main Street
Brattleboro, VT
7:00 PM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News for Poetry News must be received by
by Wednesday for Thursday or Friday publication.
Lori Desrosiers - Publisher, Wearer of all Hats, even yours.
posted by Lori Desrosiers @ 9:17 AM 0 comments 
