***POETRY NEWS***
Here is your Poetry News for the week of April 13, 2015
Scroll down to see or link to more poetry in Worcester, the Berkshires, Boston, Vermont and other areas.
To receive Poetry News in your email or to request posting of events write to lori@thepoetrynews.com.
Some Highlights of This Week in Western MA (more below):
Thu. April 16 – Explosion of Poetry at Wheeler Memorial Library, Orange, 6:30pm
Sat. April 18 – Florence Poets Society Poets Reading, Invisible Fountain, Eastworks, Easthampton, 7pm
Sun. April 19 – Leslea Newman Book Release reading, Congregation B’nai Israel, Northampton, 11am
POETRY IN THE VALLEY AND BEYOND
New Open Mic WED nights in Northampton!
Calling all Poets and Storytellers!
Sam’s Pizza and Cafe is now hosting
an open reading night, Wednesdays, 7pm
Sam’s Pizza, Northampton
ORANGE WORD
Open mic, featured readers:
First Monday every month, 6:30pm
The Bohemian Kitchen
23 N. Main St. , Orange, MA
Email paul@humanerrorpublishing.com for more information
Weekly Poetry Open Mic at The Deuce
Every Tuesday Night 8pm – 10pm
Open Mic Signup starts at 7pm.
World War II Club, Conz St. Northampton,MA
Upcoming Featured Poets and Slams
4/14 – Rich Michelson
4/21 – Chanel Dupree
Please bring a 3-5 minute selection of your work to share
Fabulous website with featured poets http://www.northamptonpoetry.com/
Writers Night Out!
by Straw Dog Writers Guild.
Every first Tuesday of the month, 7-9 pm
The Basement, 21 Center St., Northampton.
Five minute open mike slots, then featured reader.
Florence Poets Society will wreak havoc with the SPOKEN WORD
at Luke Cavagnac’s Invisible Fountain.
Saturday, April 18, 7pm
Scheduled Poets to appear include: Tommy Twilite, Lori Desrosiers, Anita Gallers, Bruce Bynam, Sasha Berman, Brooks Robards, Rich Puchalsky, Robert Lipton, Howie Faerstein, Marian Kent, Linda Wlodyka, Eileen Kennedy, and Michael A.M. Invisible Fountain Gallery is on the 2nd Floor of the Eastworks Building, Easthampton.
Lesléa Newman will read from her new poetry collection,
I CARRY MY MOTHER, which explores a daughter’s journey
through her mother’s illness and death and her own grief.
Sunday, April 19 at 1100 a.m. at Congregation B’nai Israel,
253 Prospect Street, Northampton. Free of charge. All are welcome.
Poetry & Potluck Pablum: an Evening of Sustenance
Tue. April 21, 6pm
Featuring The Chartreuse Poetry Booth
Bring a poem, a light dish or both to share with others and help celebrate National Poetry Month
Whately Public Library
202 Chestnut Plain Rd.
Whately, MA
Writers Read presents:
Djelloul Marbrook & Elizabeth Thomas
Thursday, April 23, 5:30pm
at the Good Purpose Gallery
40 Main Street, Lee
“7 Minutes: A Literary Arts Spotlight”
Saturday, April 25, 1 pm-3 pm
Community Room, Springfield City Library-Central Branch, 220 State Street, Springfield, MA
In honor of National Poetry Month, join us for an afternoon of readings. Some of the poets who will feature include Lynnette Johnson, Narelle Thomas, Anita Gallers, Kathleen McElroy, and María Luisa Arroyo.
Mary Ruefle at Smith Poetry Spring Reading Series
April 21, Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith College, Northampton
Mary Ruefle’s poems sparkle with life and idiosyncrasy. Her talky speakers favor fragments, direct address, questions, miss-readings, and conjectures. As she says, “The human mind is a tool for survival like none other I know.” Ruefle is author of a dozen books, and her honors include a Whiting Award and fellowships from the N.E.A. and the Guggenheim Foundation.
At 4 pm there will be a Q&A session in the Poetry Center.
Open Field Press invites you to a celebration of two new poetry collections:
Missy-Marie Montgomery, Half-Life of Passion
Henry Lyman, The Land Has Its Say
Readings & revelry
Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.
A.P.E. Gallery, 126 Main Street, Northampton
Books will be available at the event, at local bookstores, and online at http://www.openfieldpress.org
Gail Thomas Book Tour
Congratulations to Gail Thomas on her new book, Waving Back.
April 25, 3:30 p.m. — Gail Thomas book launch for Waving Back, Forbes Library, Northampton
April 29, 4:00 p.m. — Reading by Gail Thomas and Floyd Cheung, Smith College Poetry Center
Call for Submissions: Plum
Plum, GCC’s online literary journal, seeks submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction from writers from western Massachusetts and southern Vermont. Our mission is to celebrate the rich tradition of writing alive in our regio, and create an engaging exchange of stories, ideas, and experiences that strengthens the community as a whole. Read an interview with Sally Bellerose, poems from Ed Rayher and Maria Louise Arroyo, and stories from Wilson Roberts, plus many other poems and stories by students and area writers! http://www.gcc.mass.edu/plum
Write Like a River: Women’s Writing Workshops with Chivas Sandage (Northampton, MA)
Jump start, reboot, develop, and deepen your writing in a supportive circle of women. Generate new material and/or make progress on an ongoing project. Count on intriguing prompts, time to write, supportive feedback, and discussion of craft, strategy, and writing as a practice. The end of each session features a balanced manuscript critique for rotating participants. Nurture and connect with your work and a lively community of writers. This multi-genre, generative workshop is appropriate for all levels. Space is limited.
Chivas Sandage’s first book, Hidden Drive (Antrim House, 2012) was a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Awards in Poetry and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. MSNBC just released a mini-documentary in which she speaks of her current work on a nonfiction book about the 2012 double shooting of a young lesbian couple in south Texas. Sandage holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a BA from Bennington College.
When: April 16 on Thursdays / 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Where: Writers in Progress Studio, a literary arts center located in the Arts & Industry Building on 221 Pine Street in Florence, MA (http://artsindustryopenstudios.blogspot.com)
For more info: http://www.writelikeariver.com
May 15-17 Writing Retreat with Chivas Sandage at Wellspring House in Ashfield, Massachusetts
2 openings left. We arrive at Wellspring House (http://www.wellspringhouse.net) on Friday afternoon for a workshop with prompts and a writing session followed by dinner, time to visit the lake, and an inspirational evening offering. On Saturday, we begin at 10:00 a.m. with a craft workshop called Lyric Vision and Voice on image-driven writing (whether prose or poetry) that emphasizes the rhythms and sounds of language and indulges compression and fragmentation. Prompts and a writing period follow until 1:00 p.m, then a two-hour break for lunch, a walk to the lake or café, time to chat or nap, read or draw. We start back up at 3:00 p.m. with a presentation and workshop on revision, followed by a discussion of strategies for writing and completing your book project, ending at 5:30. The evening is free for dinner and socializing, dancing and writing, with a short overnight assignment. Sunday begins with a reading and discussion, then brunch at Elmer’s, and a final writing session and reading, ending at 4:00 p.m. For more information, go to http://www.writelikeariver.com. To apply, contact Maya at writelikeariver@gmail.com.
Call for Submissions: Slate Roof Press,
a member-run, not-for-profit collaborative, is pleased to announce our 3rd Annual Poetry Chapbook Contest. The winner becomes an active member of the press and will have his/her chapbook published by Slate Roof. We publish limited-edition, art-quality chapbooks with letterpress covers — beautiful books by an award-winning book designer and printer. Winners make a 3-year commitment to the press, including monthly meetings in Greenfield, MA, and share work responsibilities for many aspects of publishing. Submit no more than 28 pages of poetry. $25 reading fee. Deadline (upload/postmark): May 15, 2015. For full contest guidelines, visit http://www.slateroofpress.com or http://slateroofpresscontest.submittable.com/submit.
Poetry Critique Group Seeks Members
A Belchertown based poetry critique group is seeking members who actively write poetry, have previously published their work, and can commit to meeting the second and fourth Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.Contact: dcfontaine @yahoo.com
Weekly Workshops with Nerissa Nields
are full of joy, humor, camaraderie and great writing. We’re starting a new session in January. Sessions go for 10 weeks, and I have three groups. Monday Writers (meets 7-9pm), Tuesday Writers (meets 12:30-2:30pm) and Wednesday Writers (meets 7-9pm).Send me a message to join! And please spread the word. I have one spot left in each group.http://nerissanields.com/garden-groups.html
Advanced Poetry Writing Workshop led by Tom Daley
Eight Mondays, March-April 2015
For poets working at an advanced level, particularly those preparing to apply to MFA programs, and for those ready to begin submitting poems to journals and magazines. Also useful for graduates of MFA programs who wish to continue to work at their craft in the workshop format at an advanced level.
With optional exercises based on the poetry of James Dickey
At the instructor’s house in West Cambridge (free parking, accessible by three bus routes from Harvard Square)
Eight Mondays from 7:45-9:45 pm starting March 2, 2015.
Dates: March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6, 13, 20, 27.
Cost: $200
For more information, contact the instructor at tom.daley2@verizon.net
To apply, send 3-5 recent poems in the message box of an e-mail (no attachments, please) to tom.daley2@verizon.net
Tom Daley serves on the faculty of the Online School of Poetry and teaches poetry writing at the Boston Center for Adult Education and poetry and memoir writing at Lexington Community Education. His poems appear in a number of journals including Fence, Massachusetts Review, Denver Quarterly, Crazyhorse, Harvard Review, Barrow Street, Prairie Schooner, 32 Poems, In Posse Review, Poetry Ireland Review, Diagram, and Rhino and have been anthologized inHacks: The Grub Street Anthology, Unlocking the Poem, and the Poets for Haiti anthology. His manuscript, Shim, was a finalist for the Emily Dickinson First Book Award. He is a recipient of the Charles and Fanny Fay Wood Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets and the Dana Award in Poetry. His book, House You Cannot Reach—Poems in the Voice of My Mother and Other Poems, will be published this summer by FutureCycle Press. He is the author of two plays, Every Broom and Bridget–Emily Dickinson and Her Irish Servants, and In His Ecstasy—The Passion of Gerard Manley Hopkins, both of which he performs as a one-man show.
Fiction Writing Group at East Forest Park Library
122 Island Pond Road (Next to Rite Aid in the plaza)
Springfield
First Wednesday of Each Month
Time: 6:00 pm
Contact: Theresa Boulrice (413) 263-6836)
Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) presents:
“Poetry Conversation”
Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst, MA;
in the Amherst Room, 2nd floor
1st Friday of each month — 2pm – 3:30pm
2nd Thursday of each month — 5:45pm – 7:15pm
All who are interested in sharing thoughts and ideas
in a group discussion based on selected poems/letters by Emily Dickinson are welcome.
FLORENCE POETS SOCIETY
The next business/sharing meeting is Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 6:30pm.
Please consider joining the Florence Poets Society.
Your $20 membership dues (Sept. – Aug.) support our annual journal, Silkworm,
as well as public readings and events.
We meet monthly at the Lilly Library in Florence on the 2nd Thurs. of each month,
and all are welcome.
Please visit our web site for more information: http://www.florencepoets.com
or contact us at info@florencepoets.com.
POETRY A LA CARTE RADIO SHOW
on WMUA-Amherst 91.1 FM Wednesdays at 5:00pm (Note change of day and time!)
WMUA is ably run by students, and the Programmer, who has the unenviable job of arranging a continuous, live, on-air series of shows, 24 hours a day, is hard-pressed to get coverage when the UMass students are on vacation. (DJs are usually about half students and half community members). Hence the change in schedule.
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
New Open Mic in Orange!
ORANGE WORD
Open mic, featured readers
First Monday every month, 6:30pm
The Bohemian Kitchen
23 N. Main St. , Orange, MA
Email paul@humanerrorpublishing.com for more information
Greenfield Word
Third Tuesday in Greenfield
9 Mill Street Greenfield
4/21: James Smethurst and Karl Meyer
And Nick Fleck will read from his new book
Doors open at 7:00
Reading starts at 7:30
There are 10 open mic slots of 5 minutes each
$1 to $5 sliding scale donation
Hope to see you there
Check email in case of a snow cancellation
Paul
paul@humanerrorpublishing.com
Northfield Open Mic
You are invited to an evening of poetry at Northfield Coffee and Books.
Northfield Coffee and Books is at 105 Main St., Northfield, MA.
The series will take place on the third Thursday of every month,
and is hosted by Bernardston poet and track and field coach Jim Bell.
Arrive a little early to sign up.
WORD IN THE BERKSHIRES
Rambling Poets Presents Poetry Slam @ Parlor Cafe
Every third Thursday of the month
The Parlor Cafe 303 Ashland St North Adams, MA
$2-5 Suggested Donation – Bartering Welcomed.
We are a 14 poet, 3 round slam, with cash and prizes awarded to
all poets who sign up.
Sign ups start at 7pm
Poets meeting at 7:45
Event starts promptly at 8pm
http://www.facebook.com/RAMBLINGPOETS
http://www.theparlorcafe.com
OUTSPOKEN!
Pittsfield’s Monthly Performance Series and Open Mic – Outspoken!
hosted by Matt Mcfadden, is held the 3rd Thursday of every month.
– Micro Theater (311 North St. in Pittsfield, Greylock Bldg.
upstairs among the ArtOnNo studios – Up the block from Jae’s Spice –
Entrance to theater is around the corner on Union St. thru Orange door,
right next door to Mary’s Carrot Cake. –
8 pm ($5 suggested donation) –
Interested open mic performers can sign up for 5 minute slot
by e-mailing matt at mcfaddensrus@yahoo.com –
Those needing more information can e-mail the same address
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 Francine Ciccarelli
and there is usually a $1-6 suggested donation for heat and electricity.
There are snacks there provided by whoever wants to bring them.
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 details
ALBANY, NY POETRY
There’s a vibrant and active poetry community in the Albany area.
Go to http://www.albanypoets.com/ for schedules and events!
WORD IN WORCESTER
Poetry, People!
Every Thursday 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm (sometimes later)
@ The Coffee Loft 406 Lincoln Street Marlborough, MA
508.251.1431
Poetry, verse, and short stories are are welcome
at this very friendly, informal open reading.
Now booking for features to start in March.
Please contact Jarad at CoffeeLoftBooking@gmail.com
for more info or to become a featured poet.
The Little “a” Poetry Series
Every Thursday night at 7pm,
with an open mic preceding the feature.
It is free and all ages, and will be held at
The Strange Attractor,
97D Webster St, Worcester MA.
Hosted by “Cowboy” Matt Hopewell,
who also does the booking and can be reached
at themadcowboy@gmail.com or by phone at (508) 479 8311 .
More to follow as August and September dates are confirmed!
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 Dirty Gerund
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 slams and featured poets.
No cover; donations accepted. 21+ Please join us at our new home
CONNECTICUT POETRY
Since CT has a wonderful and comprehensive newsletter online, I have decided to cut the CT Poetry section from Poetry News and only post special events that might be of interest to MA poets. Write to Terri Klein at ctpoetnews@yahoo.com to get the CT Poet newsletter in your email, or the CT Poetry Calendar is online at http://www.ctpoetrycalendar.com
Here’s a cool event coming up, a lecture on Walt Whitman at the Wood Memorial Library in S. Windsor.
http://woodmemoriallibrary.org/programs/whitman-at-the-wood-opening-reception/
BOSTON/CAPE COD POETRY
We are reprinting Dan Bouchard’s Boston Poetry Page here on Poetry News. Check it out!
If you want more events in the Boston area (and there are many more!)
write to Dan Bouchard to get his poetry calendar in your email at bouchard@MIT.EDU
The Brockton Poetry Series
at The Fuller Craft Museum
455 Oak St. Brockton, MA
508-588-6000
Third Saturday each month
Poetry workshop at 12:00
Open mic 2:15
Our feature poets 3:00
New website up artsbrockton.org
The Fuller Craft Museum, in Northwest Brockton,
has invited us to hold our monthly poetry readings in their beautiful facilities.
The Fuller is a highly regarded, internationally known museum with
a lovely reflection pool, kitchen, and of course, interesting monthly craft/art shows.
(fullercraft.org)
Cantab Lounge
Every Wednesday Night at 8,
Featured Poet, Poetry Slam!
738 Mass Ave., Cambridge, MA
Doors for the show open at 7:15.
The open mic begins at 8:00 and the feature performs at approximately 10:00.
When indicated (most nights), an open poetry slam follows the feature.
The show is 18+ (ID required)
and the cover charge is $3 unless otherwise noted.
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
meets from 8-10 pm. every Monday
at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery
at 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge
with an open mic sign-up at 7:30 p.m.
A featured poet follows the open mic.
For links to the feature’s work, information on future features and more,
visit the Stone Soup Web site: http://stonesouppoetry.blogspot.com
For updated info on Cape activities go to Barry Hellman’s website on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/263857693775152/
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 CIntern2@lowellma.gov
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/
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
Cambridge Community Television
Tuesdays at 11:00 PM Saturdays at 10:30PM
Catch the latest from the Boston Poetry Slam
INFO: kentthompson@comcast.net
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
VERMONT POETRY
Brattleboro SLAM and OPEN MIC:
Every first and third Wednesday of the month.
First, Poetry Slam, then is an open mic
Equilibrium 14 Elm Street sign-up at 7:30 event is 8-10pm
http://www.facebook.com/BrattleboroPoetry
For a VT poetry events calendar go to: http://www.phayvanh.com/
For info on Brattleboro poetry and Write Action visit their website – http://www.writeaction.org
Poetry readings at the Putney Library
55 Main Street, Putney VT (802) 387-4407
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