Poetry News

****POETRY NEWS*****

To receive Poetry News in your email or to post events write to [email protected].

Here is your Poetry News for the week of February 1, 2010. Poetry events blowing with the Winter wind in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. Scroll all the way down for more poetry in CT, Boston and other areas. Check out all our links to the right for poetry events everywhere!


THIS WEEK check out:
Wed. Feb. 3 - Forbes Library Reading Series presents Northampton H.S. Slam Poets
Thu. Feb 4 - Collected Poets Shelburne presents Rhett Iseman Trull & Meg Kearney 7:00pm
Thu. Feb 4 - Green St. Cafe Series Northampton presents Brooks Robards & Irene Willis 7pm
Fri. Feb. 5 - Food for Thought Books, Amherst, Evening for Haiti - Incredible poetry! 7:00pm

There are many other poetry events in Western MA and CT this week - Please scroll down!


Word in Westfield


Word at the Y Poetry Contest!
The first annual YMCA poetry contest is calling for poems on the theme of AGE.

You can write about your age, people your age, your generation, aging, remembering being a certain age, looking forward to being a certain age or agelessness. Use your imagination to write a winning poem! Poems will be judged on the level of craft and quality of poetic language, as well as on how well they address the theme of the contest. Try to make your poem unique and different from the rest.

There will be three categories for the contest with prizes for the top three in each category.

Under 12 years old
13-17 years old
18+ (adult)

Prizes will be gift certificates for Westfield YMCA classes, t-shirts and other merchandise.

This contest is FREE and open to all - members and non-members.

Participants may submit up to three poems. Poems are limited to 50 lines. Deadline for submission is February 15th.

Please submit poems at our front desk, attention Rosann Scalise or email them to [email protected].

Judge for this year's contest will be Lori Desrosiers, local poet and Assistant Professor of English at Westfield State College.




Holyoke/Springfield Area Poetry


New Poetry Reading/Open Mic
Friday Nights at 8pm
Boriquen Y QuisQueya
326 St. James Ave.
Springfield MA




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. Showtime is 7-9pm All poets, musicians, singers, and visual artists are welcome. This event is free. For more info visit http://www.brendaschild.com/




Word in the Valley and Beyond


Green St. Poetry Series
Green Street Café
Northampton, Massachusetts

The Green St. Poetry Series showcases the voices of emerging and noted poets from the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts and beyond.

Please join us this Thursday February 4th at 7:30 p.m. to hear the poetry of Brooks Robards & Irene Willis

Future Readings Include:
January 21st — Mike Young & Rachel Glase
January 27th — Christopher Cheney & Lily Ladewig (please note the Wednesday date change)
Feb 4 — Brooks Robards & Irene Willis
Feb 11 — Janet McFayden & Susie Patlove

If you are a poet and would like to read at Green Street, please contact Maria Williams-Russell at [email protected].

Poetry and Flute Neighborhood Ritual
Come and share the hope with Bird Man Samana Eddie Bartok Baratta, a joyful flute player and reciting poet who has taken a Vow of Stability to live the rest of his life in Northampton. Samana will play original flute compositions, recite his powerful poems from memory, and explore questions about who owns the body and how each of us belongs to the group.

The poems and the beautiful, fierce, jazz-inspired, self-taught flute will send you home inspired to change your corner of the world, your apartment, or your heart.

Saturday, February 6, 7:00 p.m.
The Friends’ Meetinghouse
43 Center Street, Northampton, just down from the Iron Horse Musichall

Free, Locally Grown carrots, beets, potatoes, parsnips, and onions will be distributed to all at this event!
Come for the love, and take the food home.

To purchase $5 handmade tickets, call Sarah & Samana. 413.584.8187. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Please invite your friends, neighbors, and family to this Poetry & Flute Neighborhood Ritual.

Seventh Annual Forbes Poetry Series
The series takes place on the first Wednesday of the month from October to May at the Forbes Library. Readings are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served courtesy of the Friends of the Forbes Library.

Upcoming Readings

Always the first Wednesday of the month in the library's elegant Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum. Free and open to all.

Feb. 3, 2010 - Northampton High School Poetry Slam Winners
March 3, 2010 - Middle School Poetry Reading



Gallery of Readers series
The Gallery of Readers was begun in 1990, and takes its name from its first location, in Northampton's Forbes Library art gallery. The readers in the series are participants in Robin Barber and Carol Edelsteins writing workshops.
For more information on other events in the series, please visit http://www.galleryofreaders.org/galleryofreaders/current.html

Northampton High School Slam Poets
Forbes Library
Wed., February 3, 2010 at 7 p.m.

Northampton High School held its 12th annual Poetry Slam in December.
The Slam is the culmination of student poetry writing, a day of poetry
by Valley poets, and a practice session where student work with the
poets/judges to hone their poetry and performance skills the day before
the Slam. This year, over 70 students participated in the event which
was held all day in the NHS auditorium.
Historically, Slam poetry is a competition and the High School Slam is
judged by the local poets as well as students in the audience who are
picked at random on the day of the big event. Judges are looking at both
the poetry and the performance. Due to support from the PTO and local
donors, winners receive monetary and gift certificate awards.
After 12 years of Slamming, roughly 850 students have
participated in the event. Some of our former students have continued to
Slam after high school, and at least one has become a national
recognized slam poet.

Food for Thought Books Evening for Haiti
On Friday February 5, 2010 at 7 PM Food for Thought Books will host Celebrating Resistance, Making Change: An Evening for Haiti.

We are so proud to present this evening of powerful voices that join us as we honor the legacy of resistance in the Haitian community.


Featuring: Djola Branner, Myriam Chancy, Dee Dee Desir, Martin Espada, Jean Dany Jochim, Lenelle Moise and Patrick Sylvain with the soul-stirring music of REBIRTH.

Tickets are available at Food for Thought Books. There is a suggested donation per ticket of $ 25 -12. Community members are encouraged to support the fundraising effort by purchasing seats even if they are unable to attend. There will be an additional ask during the evening.


Resistance is passion,
it's taking a stand,
helping a friend,
helping a stranger,
sharing food in community,
speaking up,
speaking out,
speaking your truth.
Resistance is also
envisioning the world we want to live in,
remembering our histories,
creating a world filled with justice,
never giving up &
MAKING CHANGE

Djola Branner, MFA is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Hampshire College and an interdisciplinary theater artist who combines movement, sound, and light to create portraits of contemporary life for the stage. Cofounder of the critically acclaimed performance group Pomo Afro Homos, he toured extensively with their shows Fierce Love: Stories of Black Gay Life and Dark Fruit. He has created such shows as Sweet Sadie and The House That Crack Built. Publications include such journals and anthologies as XXZYVA and Colored Contradictions, A Guide to the Collaborative Process.

Myriam Chancy, Ph. D., is a Haitian writer/scholar born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and educated in Québec City, Winnipeg, Halifax and Iowa City. Her first novel, Spirit of Haiti (Mango 2003), was a finalist in the Best First Book Category, Canada/Caribbean region, of the Commonwealth Prize 2004. She is also the author of Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women (Rutgers 1997) and Searching for Safe Spaces: Afro-Caribbean Women Writers in Exile (Temple 1997; Choice OAB Award, 1998). She is Professor of English at the University of Cincinnati.

Dominique "DeeDee" Desir is a student at Hampshire College where she serves Community Council Chair. She is the founding member of The Urban Word a performance based group focused on all aspects of spoken word. From her bio: "I am never bound by what others think of me. I am here to build, develop and strengthen our abilities. I am of Haitian background and of a Haitian American up bring. My culture and my past servers as my tutor; and I mentor young girls and boys because there lies the future."

Martín Espada, called "the Latino poet of his generation" and "the Pablo Neruda of North American authors," Martín Espada has published sixteen books in all as a poet, editor, essayist and translator, including; Crucifixion in the Plaza de Armas (Smokestack, 2008), La Tumba de Buenaventura Roig (Terranova, 2008), The Republic of Poetry, (Norton, 2006), Imagine the Angels of Bread (Norton, 1996), which won an American Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Espada is now a professor in the Department of English at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he teaches creative writing and the work of Pablo Neruda.

Jean-Dany Joachim grew up surrounded by poets in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He wrote his first poem at age 14, and his writing became a way to give voice to the life of his country. He moved to Cambridge 16 years ago and began writing in English, while also exploring poetry in other languages. His work has appeared in; A Review of Poetry (Runes), Lovers' Sweet Nothings, A Secret Anthology (Arctos Press) Mémoire d'encrier; Love and Other poems (Trilingual Press). Joachim has been the director of the Sunset Poetry Series at Bunker Hill Community College for over 10 years.

Lenelle Moise - is a "culturally hyphenated pomosexual poet" who creates jazz-infused, hip-hop bred, politicized texts about Haitian-American identity and the intersection of race, class, gender, sexuality, spirituality and resistance. Her essays are featured in several anthologies, including: WORD WARRIORS: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution and We Don't Need Another Wave: Dispatches from the Next Generation of Feminists.

Patrick Sylvain- is a Haitian-American writer, educator, lecturer and photographer who lives and teaches in Massachusetts. He received his Ed.M. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and has been published in African American Review, Agni, American Poetry Anthology, American Poetry Review, The Best of Beacon, 1999, Butterfly's Way, Callaloo, Caribbean Writers, Confrontation, Crab Orchard Review, Haitian Times, Kestrel, Massachusetts Review, Open Gate, Ploughshares, Revue Noire and Step Into the World. His latest book, Love, Lust & Loss/ Lanmou, anvi ak pèdans, was published by Mémoire d'Encrier in October 2005.

REBIRTH: The band born from the "Culture Shock" network, represents a merging of voices inspired by Julius D. Ford and featuring percussion, wind instruments, mc's and vocalists.

"Haiti Will Rise Again" image created by Eastside Art Alliance (http://www.eastsideartsalliance.com/)
Community Collaborators for this event include: Youth Action Coalition and TRGGR Media Group.

Food for Thought Books Collective is a not-for-profit workers' collective located in downtown Amherst since 1976. We specialize in handpicked books, author readings, community events and all manner of nourishment for the heart and mind. We are committed to creating spaces for voices that are overlooked, marginalized or silenced by mainstream media.

Thirsty Word Poetry Reading! - NEW!
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 7pm
Thirsty Mind coffee and wine bar, 23 College Street, South Hadley, MA
Come to the first Thirsty Word poetry reading and hear three of the Valley's feminist poets:

Karen G. Johnston is a social worker by vocation, a poet by avocation, a socialist by inclination, a UU-Buddhist by faith, and mother by choice. Her writing has been published in Silkworm, Equinox, Concise Delight, WordCatalyst, and Women. Period. An Anthology of Writings on Menstruation.

Ellen LaFleche has a special interest in poems about working class people, and issues of health and healing. She has published in numerous journals, including Many Mountains Moving, Alehouse, Alligator Juniper, the Ledge, New Millennium Writings, and Naugatuck River Review.

Jendi Reiter is the author of the poetry collections Swallow (Amsterdam Press, 2009) and A Talent for Sadness (Turning Point Books, 2003), and editor of the writers' resource website WinningWriters.com. Award-winning poet Ellaraine Lockie has said of her work, "Jendi Reiter's poems are arrows that plunge dead center into the hearts of feminism, religion, death, the interior of mental health and psychotherapy."

SUSAN HOWARD CASE MEMORIAL POETRY CORNER

The Forbes Library in Northampton, MA has created a new collection of the works of local poets named the Susan Howard Case Poetry Corner. This collection has been named in memory of a local poet who contributed to the library's rich poetry community through her volunteer service. The non-circulating collection consists of poetry books and chapbooks by Pioneer Valley poets, and locally published literary journals. "The idea for this collection developed in response to the abundance of many gifted poets in our area," said D.M. Gordon, Forbes Library Writer-in-Residence who created the idea for this new collection.

The collection will be housed in the Arts & Music magazine lounge on the library's second floor. The items in the collection are to be read in the library and comfortable seating is available nearby. The library hopes to grow the collection through donations. Anyone interested in donating to the collection should contact Lisa Downing, Assistant Director, at 413-587-1017 or [email protected].



Anthology of Poems about Northampton

Call for Submissions! Deadline is March 1, 2010 Go to: http://www.nohoanthology.blogspot.com


FLORENCE POETS SOCIETY

Florence Poets Society Reading
6:30pm Sat. February 20, 2010,
at The Invisible Fountain, Luke Cavagnac's gallery,
116 Pleasant St., Suite 206, Easthampton, MA.
Open to the Public
Contact Carl Russo at [email protected]


Next business/sharing meeting Thursday February 11, 6:30pm
ALL POETS OF ALL TYPES AND AGES are welcome, bring one of your original works to share,
(12 to 15 copies will usually be enough for all to share) The meeting is held at Lilly Library community room and begins at 6:30 PM. Poetry presentation and discussion begins at 7PM


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 [email protected] or check out our web page at http://www.florencepoetssociety.org/


Florence Poets Society Readings:

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

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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: http://www.florencepoetssociety.org/



POETRY A LA CARTE
on WMUA-Amherst 91.1 FM 5pm to 5:30 pm on Tuesdays this Summer, 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.


Poetry at the Leverett Library

6:30 p.m. on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, Poetry reading at the Leverett Library. 75 Montague Rd. Leverett, MA. Area poets are invited to read. For more information contact Petriana at 413. 549.9336 or by email at [email protected]




Greenfield/Shelburne Falls and North


Bart’s Bards

Second Thursdays Open Microphone for Writers Bart’s Café of Greenfield 286 Main St. Greenfield, MA
7:00-9:00 P.M. (Sign up to Read at 6:45)

February 11: Julie Payne Britton

2010 Featured Readers:
January 14: Janet Aalfs
February 11: Julie Payne Britton
March 11: Maureen Moore
April 8: Kerry O’Keefe
May 14: Wyn Cooper
June 10: Lori Desrosiers
July 8: Janet MacFadyen
August 12: Marie Gauthier
Sept. 10: Lesle Lewis
October 14: Susie Patlove
November 11: Laura Rodley

For More Information, Please Contact: Larry Fader (413) 475-3321 (Open Microphone Readings are 5 Minutes or Less) Free to All

Millers Falls Reading

Feb 10th at the gallery Faces and Places in Millers Falls from 7 -9 - 26 Bridge St. 413-423-3203. It is operated by very talented artist, singer, who has created a gallery space for local artist to sell their work and he host events there. So if you haven't been there this would be a good chance to check out the present show that includes paintings, photo's, works of art, etc and hear and read some poetry. I was asked to read and MC a poetry night at the gallery. So there will be opportunities for others to read. Hope to see you there. The gallery is located on the corner of the main intersection in Millers Falls right next to a new brewery. - Paul Richmond



Greenfield Spoken Word

Always the third Tuesday of the month
This month it is February 16th
9 Mill St
Greenfield, MA
Doors open at 7:00
Open Mic starts at 7:30
Open Mic will be 10 - five-minute slots
Donation - Sliding Scale $1 - $5

Feature Readers
Candace Curran and James Burrill
Book signing and selling of local writers works will be available. Come up to read
Bring your chapbooks to sell. We will have tables at no cost. Hope to see you there

Yes, I know I am talking about Memorial Day:
May 31st
Wendell Spoken Word is the Last Monday of the month from Sept to April
We decided to throw a party, barbque at the Deja Brew Pub & Cafe
A few hours of readings
We are inviting you
We would like to have representation from Northampton, Florence, Greenfield, ....Western MA
Each area be responsible for 30 to 50 minutes
A possible slam at the end
Still being formulated
Save the date
If you want to be a part of this celebration email [email protected]


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

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.



Collected Poets Series
Thursday, Feb. 4th, 2010 at 7:00 pm, poets Rhett Iseman Trull and Meg Kearney will read from their work. Trull’s first book of poetry, The Real Warnings (Anhinga Press, 2009), received the 2008 Anhinga Prize for Poetry. She also edits Cave Wall, a literary journal in Greensboro, NC. Kearney’s newest collection of poetry is Home By Now (Four Way Books, 2009). She is also the author of An Unkindness of Ravens (BOA Editions Ltd., 2001) and The Secret of Me (Persea, 2005). Kearney is the Director of the Solstice Creative Writing Programs of Pine Manor College in MA.

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 at 7pm (new time)

Mocha Maya’s Coffee House,
47 Bridge Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370,
413-625-6292.
Wheelchair accessible. Free.

The Collected Poets Series will now be held the first Thursday of the month at 7:00PM. The Collected Poets Series is also excited to announce the dates and readers for our 2010 series beginning in January. We have many amazing poets from here in the valley and from as far away as England.

2010 Series

January 7 - Nancy Pearson and Afaa Michael Weaver
February 4 - Meg Kearney, Christopher Merrill, and Rhett Iseman Trull
March 4 - Joan Houlihan and Deborah Bernhardt

National Poetry Month
April 1 - Lawrence Raab and Regie O'Hare Gibson
April 15 - Adrian Blevins and James Haug

May 6 - Margaret Lloyd and Sarah Browning
May 16 - Special Appearance by Maxine Kumin at the Buckland- Shelburne Community Center. Sunday, May 16, at 3:30 pm.
June 3 - Mihaela Moscaliuc and Nickole Brown
July 1 - Kristin Bock and Lee Sharkey
No CPS Readings in August or September
October 7 - Josephine Dickinson and Sharon Dolin
November 4 - Barbara Ras and Jennifer Sweeney
December 2 - Aracelis Girmay and Ross Gay

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.

ALL SMALL CAPS
Monday, January 25th, is our next reading for the All Small Caps series.

Please bring your work, work you admire and want to share, or just come listen to the outstanding featured readers.

The reading will be held, as usual, at the Deja Brew (57 Lockes Village Rd, Wendell). Doors will open at 7 and the open mic portion of the reading will begin at 7:30, followed by a short break, followed by the featured readers. There will be food and drink available. If you need directions, a peek at upcoming readings, etc., please look-see our blog: allsmallcaps.blogspot.com

We will also have copies of our third ASC Anthology available for purchase, so you will be able to read work from Season 3 featured readers. If you pay the upper end of our sliding scale, $5, you will receive a copy of the Anthology.

The featured readers:

John Mulrooney was/is the originator of the transgressive poetry movement Poet Without Cat. He has no cats and no strong opinions on cats one way or the other. He also has no strong opinions on fountain pen vs. ball point, the Packer's chances, or the efficacy of attempting to legislate the net. Don't get him started on the methodology of sausage making though. Poet Without Cat is destined to change the pet grooming habits of American Poetry. Stay tuned.

Michael Mauri is a forester working in and around Franklin County. Mike’s side-of-the-road poetry focuses on interactions between people, seasons, the local landscape, hay, timber, firewood, maple syrup, thunderstorms and the global economy, past and present. His self-published books include Mud Flaps (2006), Any Timber? (2008), The Recession is Fundamentally Sound (2008) and That and a Dollar (2009). These slender, affordable, pocket-sized books are for sale at the Montague Book Mill. Another book, Florida Turnips, was published by Longhouse (2008) (see www.longhousepoetry.com).


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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 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/. $125 per 5-week session, 6 - 8 people per group. To join or for more info call or email Ann McNelly: 413 772 2375, [email protected]



Word in the Berkshires


Power of Words, Open Mic

Third Tuesdays 7pm to 8:30 pm Hosted by Garfield Reed.
This is an open opportunity to share poetry, readings, music and other spoken word.
Free and open to the public at Berkshire South Regional Community Center , Crissey Rd.,Great Barrington, MA Every third Tuesday of the month. Please call Garfield at 528 4127 for more information.




In Words, Out Words in Housatonic

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



Zeitgeist Gallery Pittsfield

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



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

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



Word in Ware/Palmer


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



Word in Worcester:

The Love Poems of Ada Jill Schneider
February 14, 2010 at 2:30 PM Valentine's Day
Somerset Public Library
1464 County Street
Somerset, MA 02726
(508) 646-2829
Free
Check out Ada Jill Schneider's website: www.adajillschneider.com

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


Worcester Storytellers
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. Worcester Storytellers never charges a cover. They ask you throw some money into the basket to support the artists who feature. For more info please contact [email protected]


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


The After Nine Poetry Series

Every Thursday Night The The After Nine Poetry Series, formerly The Spot, is a weekly poetry reading in the Ship Room at the Hotel Vernon (1 Kelly Square, Worcester).

The reading is held in the Ship Room of the Hotel Vernon (1 Kelly Square, Worcester). The official start time is 8:00 p.m. but honestly, things get going closer to 9. Maybe this week will be different. 21+ and proper id is required


Poets Asylum

Sunday Jan. 31st:
This Sunday, January 31st, the Poets' Asylum welcomes the 2009 NorthBeast Indy Champion Megan Thoma as our feature. Thoma is a writer and teacher in Providence, RI. Her students don't believe teachers are real human beings that "drive cars or have dance parties in their basements." She does both these things. She is very, very real. She recently joined the slam poetry community and has performed all over New England and the United States. She is Providence's co slam-master, their 2009 Grand Slam Champ, and represented the city at the 2009 National Poetry Slam and 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam. She will also be representing the city at the 2010 Women of the World Poetry Slam. She's an amazing poet, writer and performer. Come check out what she has to share!

Poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it. Slam poetry can be moving, funny and deadly serious, sometimes all in the same poem. If that sounds like a good time then join us for some great words.

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



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


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



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
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Poetry at Broad Street Books
First Tuesday in February
Tuesday, February 2nd at 7:00pm
Featuring Terri Klein!
On the first Tuesday of every month, Broad Street Books hosts a featured poet followed by an open mic. All are welcome to come and read, recite, perform their work!
Terri Klein has been a performance poet since 1998. Her poetry has appeared in print journals (Midstream, Common Ground Review, and RE:AL) and online (Bent Pin Quarterly), as well as in the theater, as part of Middle City Stage Company’s Woolgatherer (2009), and East Haddam Stage Company's Plays with Poetry (2004 and 2008). She is a member of three poets’ groups: Artemis Rising, Riverwood Poetry Series, and Not Just Any Tom Vic and Terri. Her most recent theater credits are portraying Juno in Vintage Players’ November, 2009, production of Juno and the Paycock, and writing Not So Fast, a 10-minute comedy for Floating Theater Company’s June, 2009, showcase. Terri lives in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Come help us welcome Terri Klein to the store and share some of your own work too!
Broad Street Books
45 Broad Street
Middletown, CT 06457
-also-
Tune in to J-Cherry Presents every Tuesday night at 6:30 PM on 88.1 FM WESU in Middletown to hear from local artists from across all genres.
On the first Tuesday of every month, J-Cherry hosts our featured poet on the show!!
Tune in on Tuesday, February 2nd at 6:30 PM to hear Terri Klein!!


Poetry/Reading Series at Billings Forge

The Studio @ Billings Forge is pleased to introduce to its programming a new poetry/reading series entitled,WordForge. WordForge is a series of readings featuring local poets along with an open mike component.

All events will be scheduled for Monday nights, with a 7 p.m. start time.

WordForge is curated and organized by local poet, Jim Finnegan. Harvest Reading, is the first reading in the series, scheduled for Monday, November 16th, and participants are asked to bring a canned good or small donation that will be contributed to a local food bank. Many of the readings will have a featured theme in addition to featured invited poets.

For further information about the WordForge series and to participate, please contact: Jim Finnegan at 860.508.2810 or at [email protected].

The Studio @ Billings Forge is a program of Billings Forge Community Works, a non-profit organization focused on reinvestment in the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hartford. The Studio offers programs that bring vitality and arts to the neighborhood and include jazz and world-class music series, artistic and educational workshops and classes, family film series and more.

Billings Forge Community Works (BFCW), located in the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hartford, is a nonprofit organization committed to revitalization in the community. At the forefront of the project is the award winning Firebox Restaurant.

For further information about The Studio @ Billings Forge contact Janice La Motta,

Program Coordinator, 860.548.9877 or [email protected].




Wintonbury Branch Poetry Series & Open Mike

February 18 - Featured poets: Lori Desrosiers and Elizabeth Kincaid-Ehlers
Third Thursdays, 7:00 p.m. Fall 2009 Hosts: Marilyn Johnston/Tom Nicotera. You're invited to evenings of poetry to stir your heart, soul, and your creativity!
An open mike and light refreshments follow the featured poet at each event.

Wintonbury Branch Library 1015 Blue Hills Ave
Bloomfield, CT 06002
860-243-8855
www.prosserlibrary.info



Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series

at Manchester Community College, Great Path Academy, Community Commons (Use Parking Lot B), Manchester, CT 06040

Sponsored by MCC Foundation / Hosted by Stephen Campiglio

2rd Thursday of each month; 7-9 p.m.

Free and Open to the Public

For more information and directions: www.mcc.commnet.edu/faculty/spoken.php

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11

7:00 p.m. – Daniel Hartington, classical guitar

Hartington performs regularly as both a soloist and as part of a number of chamber and guitar ensembles. He earned a master’s degree from the Hartt School of Music, where he studied with Richard Provost, and serves on the faculty of the Community Division of The Hartt School and at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington. Hartington is also director of the Connecticut Guitar Society’s Classical Guitar Ensemble and a member of Blackledge Music Inc. For his Mishi-maya-gat performance, Hartington will perform classical works by Fernando Sor, Joaquin Rodrigo, Leo Brouwer, Mauro Giuliani, Andrew York, and Roland Dyens. More information on the artist can be found at: www.myspace.com/danielhartington.

8:00 p.m. – Featured Poets: Leslie McGrath and Ravi Shankar

McGrath is the managing editor and nonfiction editor of Drunken Boat, an international online journal of the arts, located at: www.drunkenboat.com. Her chapbook, Toward Anguish, won the Philbrick Poetry Award and was published by the Providence Athenaeum in 2007. She was also awarded an artist fellowship from the CT Commission on Culture & Tourism in 2007. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Agni, Beloit Poetry Journal, DIAGRAM, and Poetry Ireland. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Opulent Hunger, Opulent Rage, was published by Main Street Rag Press in 2009. She is the editor, along with Ravi Shankar, of Radha Says, the posthumous poetry collection of Reetika Vazirani, published by Drunken Boat Press.

Shankar is associate professor and poet-in-residence at Central Connecticut State University and the founding editor of Drunken Boat. He has published a book of poems, Instrumentality (Cherry Grove, 2004) and was named a finalist for the 2005 Connecticut Book Awards. His creative and critical work has appeared in such journals as The Paris Review, Brooklyn Rail, McSweeney’s, and the AWP Writer’s Chronicle. His second book of poems, Deepening Groove, which won the 2009 National Poetry Review, will be published in 2010. He is also co-editor of the recent Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from Asia, the Middle East and Beyond, published by W.W Norton & Co.

More information on both poets is available at the Drunken Boat website or at the poetry audio archive, From the Fishhouse: www.fishousepoems.org.

Wednesday Night Poetry Series at the Blue Z
The Wednesday Night Poetry Series (WNPS or Wedpoetry) meets at the Blue Z Coffeehouse, 127 South Main Street (Route 25) in Newtown CT. For 14 Years and counting: poets, spoken-word artists, monologists and storytellers, acoustic performances by songwriters and musicians are welcome! Read your own work or works by your favorite writers. OPEN MYK SIGN-UP starts at 7:30 PM / OPEN MYK – 7:45 PM /FEATURED READING – 8:45 PM We are a warm, friendly environment for 1st-time readers!

February 3, 2010 Feature is Colin Haskins

Poet Colin Haskins has six books of poetry so far, all by Ye Olde Font Shoppe: No Kisses,Mandlebrats, Sinspiration, Judas Goat, The Bones and Habitual Intemperance. His new book, Drinking of You, will be coming out this year.

Besides writing poetry, he likes to keep readings going around the state. He is executive director of the Riverwood Poetry Series and has the poetry director for the Wood Memorial Library, the Durham Public Library, the Avon Free Public Library The Buttonwood Tree and for One Soldier, One Poem Memorial Reading at Portland Middle School.




Boston Area/Cape Cod Poetry Info:

POETRY FOR HAITI IN BOSTON
On February 10 at 7:30 pm, Robert Pinsky, Rosanna Warren, Jorie Graham, and a dozen other Boston-area poets will join together for a collaborative reading to benefit "Partners in Health" and the people of Haiti. It will take place at Longfellow Hall/Harvard, Appian Way, Cambridge, MA. I have been organizing this benefit with Jim Henle from Harvard, and we will be co-chairing this event. As of today, the confirmed readers are:

Robert Pinsky, Jorie Graham, Rosanna Warren, Afaa Michael Weaver, Fred Marchant, Christina Davis, Daniel Tobin, Barbara Helfgott-Hyett, Jean-Dany Joachim, Patrick Sylvain, Wendy Mnookin, Marilene Phipps-Kettlewell, Nadia Herman-Colburn, Kim Stafford, Tom Daley, Jericho Brown, Franny Lindsey
Requested donation will be $10, with all proceeds going to Partners in Health (PIH). Poets' books will also be on sale, with all proceeds after cost going to PIH. The event is being co-sponsored by the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard and Harvard's Technical and Clerical Workers Union, which is providing much-needed logistical support.

I have to say it’s amazing how responsive people have been – the poets themselves, Harvard, individuals donating time and resources of various sorts. We’ve got people from so many institutions around Boston working on this. It’s going to be an incredible event on so many levels -- a true collaboration. Please support us in any way you can!


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The Poetry Session at O'Shea's
7 to 8:30PM Every Third Thursday! The Poetry Session at O'Shea's is a free monthly all-ages open mic for poets and lovers of poetry held in the Back Room at O'Shea's Olde Inne. 348 Main Street,

Rte. 28 West Dennis, MA 02670 Free Contact Info: Gregory Hischak [email protected]




The Greater Brockton Society for Poetry and the Arts

Presents Poetry Series at the Brockton Library 304 Main Street. Our website www.gbspa.org Celebrating Poetry One Saturday Every Month

Our workshop and venue are free, the seats comfortable, the refreshments delicious.

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

During Open-Mic Reading share your own poetry or read from works of your favorite poets
Upcoming Features (For information on the following poets click on our website)
Sat. Jan. 16 - Fred Marchant Raena Camacho




WEDNESDAYS at the CANTAB

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

Upcoming features include:

• Wednesday, February 3
Bronx Native Eboni Hogan, three-year sensation of the NYC slam scene, 2007 NPS finalist, and NYU theater student, has traveled the country and the world to perform and teach her particular brand of personal narrative. Sensual, sassy, and altogether sincere, Eboni recently released her first collection of poetry, Grits, through Penmanship Books. Open poetry slam in the 8x8 series.

• Wednesday, February 10
The stars have aligned for the Cantab’s hottest open mic of the year, our annual Erotic Poetry Night! On this Wednesday closest to Valentine’s Day, we’ll present the best (and worst) of the erotic (and neurotic) all night long. Our special spotlight features will be better than ever this year: Minneapolis’s erotic queen Cynthia French, the Bay Area’s weird and wonderful Stephen Meads, and our very own local slammer sexpot Dee Taylor. Don’t miss this once-yearly chance to hear our open mic let it all hang out.

• Wednesday, February 17
Once a member of Doc Brown’s Traveling Poetry Troupe, poet David Winter only recently packed up his quiet, intense, and deeply evocative work— and took it to the Sarah Lawrence MFA program. His rich imagery and understated performance once captured the attention of our local audience and is now gaining recognition in the New York scene. Come out to welcome back this much-missed regular. Open poetry slam in the 8x8 series.



Last Thursday Open Mic
at The Cultural Center of Cape Cod

307 Old Main St.,
S. Yarmouth, MA
co-hosts Joe Gouveia and Barry Hellman:
The last Thursday of every month, 7pm.
Open mic and featured poet.
Bring your own refreshments.
Arrive early to sign up for open mic.
For updated info on this and other Cape activities go to:
http://home.comcast.net/~bmhellman

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The Chapel In The Pines in Eastham

CHECK OUT http://home.comcast.net/~bmhellman

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND DETAILS ABOUT CAPE COD POETRY
AND ALL OF THESE EVENTS.



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

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

Celebrating Poetry One Saturday Every Month This is a Free Event with really comfortable chairs and divine refreshments

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

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

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


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


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


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

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


NH/VT POETRY

Wednesday, February 3, 7 p.m - Iowa Poetry Prize poet Lesle Lewis and local poet, Geof Gaddis will read at the Putney Public Library. Admission is free.

also:

Wednesday, February 17, 7 p.m - Local Poet & Painter Elizabeth Lewis, Kate Gleason, winner of the 2008 Zone 3 Press First Book Award,and Paticia Fargnoli, winner of the Jane Kenyon Award and former Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, will read in the second of this two reading series

For VT poetry events calendar go to: http://www.phayvanh.com/

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News for Poetry News should be sent to [email protected]. Please send your announcements in text only format - do not format (no special fonts, colors, etc.) Send by Wednesday for Thursday publication. Thank you , Lori Desrosiers - Publisher.