Sunday Nights
from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. @ the Nu Cafe

Hosted by Dave Keali'i, Liz Heath, Danny Balel and occasional others.

The Poets' Asylum meets at the Nu Cafe (formerly Jumpin' Juice and Java), 335 Chandler Street in Worcester.

The Poets' Asylum reading is the weekly Sunday night open poetry reading, feature and slam event run by the Worcester Po8ry Project, a group of poets and lovers of poetry dedicated to advancing poetry in performance in Worcester. The reading is open to all poets and writers, all ability levels, all styles, all ages with no constraints on content or language.

The average Sunday night at the Asylum consists of an open reading, followed by a 30-40 minute reading by a spotlighted (also known as a featured) poet. About once a month there's an open slam - a friendly competition judged by randomly chosen audience members. More info on the Slam can be found by clicking the Slam button on the left.

The Asylum runs on a no cover, donation-bucket philosophy. The money collected in the bucket goes to pay the feature and support the reading. Please give generously when the bucket comes your way!

While it has had many homes over the years the Poets' Asylum current resides at the the Nu Cafe (formerly Jumpin' Juice and Java), 335 Chandler Street, Worcester. We appreciate the space & opportunity they have given us for the reading. We ask that you help support their business by enjoying the great coffee, fine sandwiches, and tasty snacks they offer. Please tip the servers as well, they work hard keeping us caffeinated and deserve to receive the rewards of their labor.

Click here for directions to the Nu Cafe.

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The Schedule - Sunday night features include internationally known poets, local talent and the ever popular slam. Here's what's happening over the next month.

2010 - our 20th Anniversary Year!!!
August 1	Our feature this week is Dave Keali'i, a Worcester resident for about three years, who has also been a Poets' Asylum co-host for about the same time. Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts; he made the move to Worcester because of poetry and slam. A member of Worcester's 2009 slam team, he has also had poems published in or forthcoming from USO's On Freeways: An Anthology of Pacific Islander Writers from the Continental U.S, Ballard Street Poetry Journal, and Bread Crumb Scabs. He works as a librarian at an academic and a public library. This is his last area feature before he attends the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in the fall.
August 8	During the month of August the Poets' Asylum will pick a representative to send to the Individual World Poetry Slam (iWPS) Championships. This week we will hold our first iWPS rep Qualifying Slam. The qualifiers will consist of 2 3-minute rounds. Slam poetry can be moving, funny and deadly serious, sometimes all in the same poem. A poet comes up and perform their original work for the audience. Five people randomly chosen from the audience before the bout will give each poem a score. We do some math, more poets perform and at the end of the night a winner (or three) is declared. We think it is a lot of fun and bet you'll have a great time so come on down!
August 15	Join us this week for our second iWPS rep Qualifying Slam for 2010. The top finishers in each qualifier will take part in the Worcester iWPS rep finals on August 29th. One of the best things about poetry slam is the range of poets it attracts. You'll find a diverse range of work within slam, including heartfelt love poetry, searing social commentary, uproarious comic routines, and bittersweet personal confessional pieces. The qualifiers will consist of 2 3-minute rounds.
August 22	Tonight Poets' Asylum co-host Danny Balel will be our feature. A member of the 2005 Worcester Youth team, founding member of the Clark University Slam Team, and member of the 2009 Worcester adult team, Danny like to slam in Worcester as it has the weirdest and friendliest people on the earth. His work has been published in the Ballard Street Poetry Journal and the Albion. A co-host at the Asylum, a touring member of the performance group ARTiculation, and a child still, Danny loves you, whoever you are. And always will.

Looking further out here are some of the great features and events coming up...   Worcester iWPS rep finals (08/29), Erin Jackson (09/05), Worcester Pride Poetry Reading with J*me Caroline (09/12) and Alice Shindelar (09/19).

Bill MacMillan handles the booking and schedule for the Poets' Asylum. If you are a touring poet who will be in the area please drop a note to booking@poetsasylum.org to see if we can work something out.

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Open Reading Guidelines

• Sign-up for the open reading starts around 6:00 p.m. The list can fill up quickly so get there early if you want to be assured a spot.

• The reading usually starts between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Remember though, the reading is run by poets and sometimes we have a very relaxed relationship with time.

• There's a five minute limit for each open mic reader.

• Share up to 2 poems during the open mic as long as you don't go over the 5 minute time limit. Two haiku count as two poems. You can always come back next week to share more of your work.
• There's a microphone, although whether or not you use it is up to you. The space we're in eats sound so it's suggested that most folks make use of the mic.

• No musical instruments, please... although on RARE occasions the host might allow it for a change of pace. Best to ask ahead of time.

• Have fun!!! We do what we do because we love it... we hope you love it too... so don't be afraid to show that.

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Features and Slams

Features are 30 to 40 minute performances by (usually) a single poet. This is a chance to hear a voice in depth. The Asylum regularly hosts features by the best of the local, regional, national and even international performance poetry scene. This is a chance to see and hear some of this genre's finest artists up close.

Slams are the poetic equivalent of jousting. About once a month up to eight poets face off in a two round competition. Five randomly selected judges from the audience use Olympic style scoring to render their opinions on original work performed by the poets. The top two winners of each slam face off in a semi-final competition held twice a year. At the end of the season of slams, usually in May, a final slam is held pitting the top finishers from each of the semi-finals. The top scorers in the finals represent Worcester at the National Poetry Slam Championship held each year somewhere in the USA in August.

If you've never seen a slam c'mon down and check it out. They're a lot of fun. We don't take it too seriously, you'll be treated to poets giving you their all and YOU can be the judge of how well they gave what they had to give! More info on can be found on our Slam page.

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Miscellaneous

If you're a touring poet who'll be in the area drop a note to booking@poetsasylum.org and let's see if we can work something out.

Got a question about the Poets' Asylum? Drop us a line at webmaster@poetsasylum.org.

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