Poetry News March 30, 2009
****POETRYNEWS****
To receive Poetry News in your email write to
or check it out online at http://www.poetrynewscalendar.com/
THIS WEEK check out:
ALL SMALL CAPS Reading Turner's Falls Mon. March 30
Open Slam at Teapot Gallery Tue. March 31
Carey Salerno & Anne Marie Macari at Collected Poets Shelburne Falls Thu. April 2
Evolution Cafe Open Mic Florence Thu. April 2
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 March 30, 2009.
Spoken word events are stirring like the crocuses underground 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. March 31 - Slam
Tue. April 7 -Ken McManus
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!)
Teatro Vida (the other TV)
"...and literacy for all!"
A multi-media original performance featuring:
The Teatro Vida Ensemble
Heshima Moja and his band,
OfrecimientoDance! Music! Video! Photography!
Raffles!
and the first Teatro Vida, S.N.A.P! Press
Anthology with intergenerational writing by Springfield authors
will be on sale...a limited edition....and more surprises...
Sunday, March 29, 2:00 p.m.
Davis Theater
in the Michele and Donald D'Amour
Museum of Fine Arts
at the Springfield Museums
21 Edwards Street,
Springfield, MA.
Plenty of Free Parking!
Appropriate for ages 12 and older.
No late seating. (Latecomers may be seated during intermission if seats are available.)
We expect to be sold out; ticket orders are already coming in!
To purchase tix in advance send check or money order to:
Teatro Vida
Hispanic Resources, Inc.
P.O. Box 80722
Springfield, MA 01138-0722
You may pick up your tickets at the theater box office on the day of the show.
Box Office opens at 1:00 p.m.
General Admission: $10 Seniors and Students: $5
Please indicate number and type of tickets.
Make payable to Hispanic Resources, Inc.
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
Green Street Cafe Poetry Series
Patrick Donnelly and Henry Lyman
Thursday, March 26, 8 p.m.
Green Street Cafe
Northampton, MA
Upcoming features:
April 2nd: An evening with Carolyn Creedon
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.
presents Hardware in Poetry & Paint
at the Palmer Public Library, April 2 – 29th.
Reception with the artist: April 4th from 1-3 pm.
1455 North Main St., Palmer.
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We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon
and Poets for Palestine Editors and Contributors: Kathy Engel, Remi Kanazi, Suheir Hammad, Margaret Gibson and Richard Schaff Saturday April 4, 2009 7:00 PM Food For Thought Books Amherst MA 0100 |
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Please join us for an evening of community building and poetry as resistance! Kathy Engel (co-editor of We Begin Here) and Remi Kanazi (editor of Poets for Palestine), will be joined by contributors and poet co-conspirators Suheir Hammad, Margaret Gibson and Richard Schaff and a crew of local community organizers and Palestinian solidarity builders. Community members and contributors will read from the anthologies We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon and Poets for Palestine. This event is a fundraiser for the Palestinian Isreali Education Project. Donations will be welcomed throughout the evening; nobody will be turned away due to lack of funds!
This event is co-sponsored by The Women of Color Leadership Network, Students for Justice in Palestine (Hampshire and Amherst Colleges) and Interlink Publishing. |
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.
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/
Floren ce 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 March 29, 6:00pm
Sunday April 12, 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 Martha Collins and Lynne Thompson
Sunday March 29, 2009
7:30pm
at Mocha Maya’s Coffee House,
47 Bridge Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
413-625-6292.
Wheelchair accessible. Free.
On Sunday, March 29th, at 7:30 pm, prizewinning poets Martha Collins, author of five books of poetry including the recent Blue Front and Lynne Thompson, author of the poetry collection, Beg No Pardon will read from their work. This program is a Primer for National Poetry Month and sponsored by the Collected Poets Series and Mocha Maya's.
Also, 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.
The 2009 Series:
Feb. 5 - Mary Clare Powell and Diane Lockward
Mar.5 - Nikki Finney, Tara Betts and poets from The Holyoke Care Center for Teen Mothers
Mar.29 - Martha Collins and Lynne Thompson
April 2 - Carey Salerno and Anne Marie Macari
May 7 - Genie Zeiger, Dorianne Laux, and Kerry O'Keefe
June 4 - Two Massachusetts Poet Laureates: Gertrude Halstead of Worcester and Lesléa Newman of Northampton
July 2 - Dara Wier, Lesle Lewis, and Elizabeth Hughey
~ no CPS for August and Sept. ~
Oct. 1 - Patricia Smith and Annie Finch
Nov. 5 - April Ossman, Peter Waldor, and Pamela Stewart
Dec. 3 - Mary Koncel and Kate Greenstreet
The Collected Poets Series highlights the work of established and emerging poets. Each event showcases the remarkable local poets of Western Massachusetts and the finest regional, national, and international talent. The series is usually held every first Thursday of the month. See http://www.collectedpoets.com/ for more info about upcoming events.
______
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.
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
Adastra Press Poetry Reading