Other Readings and assorted links

Special Events -- listed by date.

• The Worcester County Poetry Association and Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary will sponsor a Nature Poetry Workshop on Saturday, September 13th. The workshop will run from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. and will be held at Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (414 Massasoit Road, Worcester).

  The workshop, led by Susan Elizabeth Sweeney, features firsthand advice on writing about nature from John Hodgen and Susan Edwards Richmond.

  Fee: $14 ($10 for members of WCPA or BMB)
  Registration: Enrollment limited to 15.
  To register, please call Broad Meadow Brook at 508-753-6087.

• The Poets' Asylum is pleased to particpate in the 2008 West Boylston Arts Festival on September 20th. The festival will be held at Goodale Park and the West Boylston Middle/High School playfields (125 Cresent Street, West Boylston) and will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with night event continueing until 11:00 p.m. Admission will be $5.

  More info on what the Poets' Asylum will be doing as we near the actual event.

• The second annual NorthBEAST Regional Poetry Slam will take place on October 3rd and 4th in Cambridge's Central Square neighborhood. Teams from across the northeastern U.S. will take part in this huge regional competition. All participants will face off in four-team bouts on Friday, October 3. On Saturday, October 4th the top-scoring individuals from Friday will advance to the three round 2008 NorthBEAST Indy Championship. Venue details below.

  Friday, October 3rd
  Team Poetry Slam @ The Middle East Corner 472 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA doors open at 9:00 p.m. - 18+ - no cover charge		Team Poetry Slam @ The Cantab Underground 738 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA doors open at 8:00 p.m. - 18+ - $3 cover
  Saturday, October 4th
  Individual Finals @ The Cambridge Family YMCA Theater 820 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA doors open at 8:00 p.m. - all ages show - $5 cover

  This event is produced by the Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab Lounge. Individuals wishing to attend or volunteer are invited to email cantab @ slamnews.com for more information.

Central Massachusetts readings

Regularly Scheduled Readings -- listed alphabetically by the name of reading or venue

• Ballard Street Poetry Journal runs an occasional series of Poetry Workshops. The workshops are held on Sunday afternoon between 3 and 5 p.m. at the offices of the Worcester County Poetry Association (1 Ekman Street, first floor, Worcester). During each workshop a facilitator will guide participants through an aspect of the poetic arts. Free with a suggested donation of $3 to $5.

  Each workshop is limited to 10 participants and registration is required. For more information please visit the BSPJ website.

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

  Upcoming 2008 features include:
  09/19 -- Kate Chadbourne & Philip Hasouris
  10/17 -- Lea Deschenes & David Surette
  11/21 -- David Heyes & Sandra Kohler

  For more information visit the website or e-mail the host, Dawn Thistle, at dthistle@assumption.edu.

• Bobby Gibbs is running a poetry reading called The Spot at the Kelly Square Yacht Club. The reading meets every other Thursday night at the Hotel Vernon (1 Millbury Street, Worcester) in the Ship Room bar. 7:30 p.m. sign-up with the show starting at 8ish. The format is an open mic and then a features. The occasional slam is thrown in for fun as well.

  Upcoming dates & features include:
  08/28 -- Carrie Rudzinski
  09/04 -- Jen Mahon and 1st Anniversary Celebration!
  09/11 -- to be announced
  09/18 -- April Ranger

  No cover but bring some money to buy beverage and to put in the captain's hat!! For audio clips and more info check out their MySpace page.

• The Saturday Evening Open Mic meets on the fourth Saturday of the month at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Lincoln Plaza, Worcester. There is an open mic at 7:00 p.m. which is followed by a featured poet. Hosted by Carle Johnson.

  Upcoming 2008 features include:
  09/27 -- to be announced
  10/25 -- Kathleen Spivack

• The Shakti Women's Writing Pact meets on Wednesday evenings between 6 and 8 p.m. at The Q Cafe, 362 Chandler Street, Worcester.

  Shakti was created with the intention of enhancing women's sense of belonging within the poetry community through the creation of an unmoderated writing circle. We try to foster literary and performance growth through writing exercises and honest critique, and a pact that the poems born of this circle will be read in front of a public audience within a week of their creation.

  For more information please contact shakti@poetsasylum.org.

• The Street Beat - Highland Artist Group meets at the WCPA offices at the Village Arts Gallery, 1 Ekman Street, Worcester on the second Thursday of each month. Hosted by Anne-Marie Lucci the reading consists of an open reading followed by a feature. The reading starts at 7:00 p.m.

• Worcester Storytellers is a monthly reading series that meets on the second Friday of each month. All types of spoken word are welcome; poetry, folk tales, short stories, etc. This excellent reading series meets on the first floor of Vasa Hall (1 Ekman Street, Worcester). The reading starts at 8:00 p.m. The night starts with an open mic. Following the open the feature will perform.

  Upcoming features include:
  09/12 -- Joe Fusco Jr.
  10/10 -- Victor Infante

  Hosted by Dave Macpherson. Free & open to the public. A hat is passed so bring some money to support the featured performer. Come on down.

  For more info please contact Dave Macpherson.

• Carle Johnson runs a writer's workshop on the second Thursday of each month at the Richard Sugden Library in Spencer. The group meets at 1:00 p.m. There is a a mix of fiction, poetry, and prose and everyone seems to profit from paying attention to the others' problems and attempted solutions.

  For more information contact Carle Johnson.

Back to the top

Other New England readings

Northeast of Worcester

• Brew'd Awakening Coffeehaus (61 Market Street) in Lowell hosts a monthly open mic and poetry slam on the first Thursday of the month. Sign-up between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. with the event running from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. guest host will be Anthony Febo. 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!

  For more info, please email bzbriger@lowellma.gov.

Back to Other New England readings ... Back to the top

Cambridge and parts east of Natick

• The Boston Slam takes place each Wednesday in the basement of the Cantab Lounge, 738 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA. The open mike begins at 8 p.m., followed by a featured poet and then a slam.

  Upcoming features include:
  08/27 --	2008 iWPS rep Erich Hagan
  09/03 --	Dave Keali'i plus a semi-final slam in the 8x8 series
  09/10 --	Carrie Rudzinski plus Season Final Slam
  09/17 --	Champion of Champions Slam! A best-of-seven bout for $100, wherein returning champ Brian S. Ellis defends his title agains the 9/10 Season Champio.

  Check their web page for more information and an updated schedule of events.

• The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA holds a reading every Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. An eight person slam every week followed by a feature and then an open mic backed by the Jeff Robinson Trio. The cover is $4. More info can be found at their web site.

• Poetribe is going strong with great features and open slams every other Saturday night. They meet in the Community Room of the East Bridgewater Library, 32 Union Street, East Bridgewater. The reading starts at 8:00 p.m. with an open mic, followed by a feature at 9:00 and an open slam at 10.

  Upcoming features include:
  09/13 -- Stephen Dobyns
  09/27 -- Gabrielle Calvocoressi and Sean Singer

  Visit their website for more information. Or contact one of the hosts, Vicki Murray. David R. Surette shares the hosting duties.

Back to Other New England readings ... Back to the top

Western Massachusetts

• The Community Voices Poetry Open Mic is changing place and day, and is now Word In Westfield. The reading will take place every Tuesday night and will start at 7:00 p.m. The new location is the Teapot Gallery, 22 Elm Street (route 10/202) in Westfield, MA. The reading will be hosted by Eli Baenziger and Lori Desrosiers.

  Sign up is at 6:30 p.m. and open mic starts at 7:00 p.m. followed by a guest feature. Feature poets will resume September 9th.

  Upcoming features include:
  Jester's will be closed in July & August so Community Voices will be on hiatus over the summer. See you in September.
  09/08 -- Jason Tandon
  09/15 -- Donnie Darkhorse
  09/22 -- Marla (DiCarlo) Deschesnes
  09/29 -- Greg Scott

  Lori Desrosiers, co-host of Word In Westfield, keeps a blog of poetry happenings in Western Massachusetts. Give it a read by visiting poetrynewsonline.blogspot.com.

Back to Other New England readings ... Back to the top

New Hampshire

• If you have a hankering for a roadtrip and it's the right Friday night you should check out the Open Mic Poetry reading at The Bridge Cafe (1117 Elm Street, Machester, NH). The poetry takes place every other Friday from 7 -11:00 p.m. and there is a $3 cover. Come on down, recite poetry, tell stories, do free-verse, whatever! The first rule is... there are no rules.

  Upcoming features include:
  09/05 -- Slam
  09/19 -- Brian Ellis

  Check out their MySpace page for additional info. You can also contact them at bridgepoetry @ gmail.com.

Back to Other New England readings ... Back to the top

Rhode Island

• The Providence Poetry Slam meets every Thursday night with a slightly different format each week. Some weeks will have a cover, others will not. It's best to check their website for the details.

  All this takes place from at AS220, (Empire Street, Providence, RI).

  Reading starts at 6:30 p.m. Open mic sign-up list goes up before the reading and fills up fast so get there early if you want to read in the open. Cover is normally $4.

Back to Other New England readings ... Back to the top

Connecticut

• A new poetry reading has started up in Putnam, CT. Flood Stage meetings on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at Victoria Station Cafe (91 Main Street, Putnam, CT). There is an open mic - 2 or 3 poems with a maximum of 8 minutes.

• Check out the poetic scene in Connecticut via the The Connecticut Poetry Calendar at www.poetz.com/connecticut. It is updated weekly. .

Back to Other New England readings ... Back to the top

Other poetic links

• The Worcester County Poetry Asssociation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the writing arts. Founded in 1971 to provide a forum for local poets, students, and others to celebrate the rich literary history of Central Massachusetts, the WCPA sponsors readings, workshops, and other activities involving both local and nationally known poets and writers.

  They are the publishers of The Worcester Review.

• gotpoetry.com is a kick-ass website from our friend John Powers down in Providence. There's a plethora of info on upcoming events (both in Providence and the region), poetic news, regular columns from the likes of Victor Infante, Joe Fusco Jr. and Tony Brown, serialized novels from Sou MacMillan and Ryk McIntyre and much more.

  Plus you can submit things that you think are of interest... check out this article for all the details.

• Ballard Street Poetry Journal is a local journal for and by poets and lovers of poetry. The journal comes out twice a year and the organizers host workshops and events. For samples of published poems, submission guidelines, workshop schedules and more please visit their website.

• Haven't had a chance to read the travel journals of Deb Middleton and Lia Klunk's time at the 2001 Taos Poetry Circus yet? Well head on over to the Taos Travel Logs page.

• The Boston Poet web site has articles, poetry, interviews and an open mike + venue guide.

• The Academy of American Poets sounds pretty pretentious. However their website, poets.org provides a poet database with information on 400 poets, over 600 poems, forums and even a listening booth so you can hear poetry the way the author meant it to be heard. As if that weren't enough the academy started National Poetry Month in 1996.

• Poetry Slam, Inc. is the mother organization of poetry slams around the world. Info on what slam is all about, past slams, etc. can be found at this sight.

• livepoets.com is dedicated to promoting quality spoken word and providing an interface for poets and their audiences. It's maintained and cared for by Gabrielle Bouliane.

• You'll find some good information about the Midwest Poetry Slam League, as well as other information about the Detroit Poetry Slam online at http://www.detroitslam.com.

• Located in Washington, DC Myth @ Teaism is a house of slam and an amazing poetry reading. Check it out.

• http://www.ColumbusPoetry.com will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the poetry scene in Columbus, OH.

• Southern California has a wealth of performance poetry to offer as well. Visit http://poetix.net for loads of info, articles, and "the most comprehensive and inclusive calendar and venue listing anywhere in So Cal".

• http://www.daytonslam.net offers up info on the Slam scene in Dayton, Ohio.

• Heading to Chicago, IL? The following sites provide a wealth of info on poetry performances in and around the Chicago, IL area.
  • http://www.chicagopoets.com
  • http://www.e-poets.net
  • http://www.freshpoetry.com

• SWOT stands for Spoken Word of Tulsa and their new website is pretty cool. With a calendar of events, info on the Tulsa poetry scene and CD reviews and samples it's wicked cool. Check it out and let them know what you think.

• About.com's Contemporary Poetry web site has a wealth of info about poets, poems and all things poetic.

• Previous No Poetry Haikus can be found here.

Back to the top

Miscellaneous links

This is a spot for the strange, bizarre and down right nutty things that are referred to during readings.

• NetWorcester is a free website with events listings and business info focused around, you got it, Worcester. 100s of local biz owners list and maintain their business and event information, and network with other local business owners. Over 1,000 weekly readers browse our listings, post items for sale, review local businesses, and participate in our online discussion forum.

  Give them a visit at http://www.networcester.com and see what's happening in our fair city.

• The Darwin Awards are a perennial favorite at the Poets' Asylum reading. The stories of bad luck, bad planning and just plain stupidity make us laugh and cringe. At least the gene pool is getting a good cleaning.

• Peeps Research looks at the ubiquitous holiday marshmallow snack known simply as Peeps. Learn about the basic science of Peeps, what makes them tick, what makes them burst into flame.

  Editors note: I find it mildly disturbing that Peeps do not dissolve in sulfuric acid. It's just wrong.

• Utilikilts Co. - the official kilt of the Poets' Asylum. OK, not really but it sounds cool to have an official anything and both Bill + Andrew have them so they can't too weird, right. :-)

• It only takes a click to donate food to those in need. Head over to the The Hunger Site . All it takes is a click of the mouse and a little bit of your time.

Back to the top