What a great week of poetry and spoken word we have lined up. Our friends over in Pittsfield at WordXWord are part of a great city-wide arts festival called 10X10 and Albany Poets has been invited to be a part of it. We will be bringing a great mix of Albany poets on Monday to yBar in Pittsfield to be a part of this exciting event. Then on Tuesday we head back to Valentine’s for the Women of Albany Poetry Slam!
Lots of poetry and spoken word, a solid seven days ahead of us in Poetryland.
Sunday, February 17
8:00pm – WxW 10X10 Poetry Festival – Young Poets
yBar, 391 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
The week kicks off Sunday evening with talented young, high-school aged poets from six different schools in Berkshire County. Poets include Rachel André (Pittsfield High School), Katelyn Snow (McCann Tech), Meagan Fraser (Miss Hall’s School), Kyle Clairmont (Drury High School), Jan R. Jurchak (Bard College at Simon’s Rock), Ingrid Olsen (Drury), Jeanette Lambert (Berkshire Arts And Technology Charter School), and Caitlin Mayes (BART).
Monday, February 18
8:00pm – Club Harmony
Wok ‘N Roll Cafe, 52 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock, NY
Weekly poetry open mic with a featured reader hosted by Michael Platsky.
8:00pm – WxW 10X10 Poetry Festival – Albany Poets in Pittsfield
yBar, 391 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
Second up on the schedule is a diverse group of slam, spoken word, and page poets from Albany Poets including Kevin Peterson, Jill Crammond, Mojavi, Dan Wilcox, Shannon Shoemaker, Algorhythm, and Thom Francis.
Tuesday, February 19
7:00pm – Emack and Bolio’s Open Mic Night
Emack & Bolio’s, Delaware Ave., Albany, NY
A weekly open mic for music and poetry.
7:00pm – Colonie Tuesday Night Live Poets’ Corner
Colonie Town Library, Maxwell Rd, Colonie
Local poets and writers of all ages are invited to present six to ten minutes of their original work at this open reading forum. The public is encouraged to stop in and listen. Hosted by William Robert Foltin.
7:30pm – Nitty Gritty Slam #38 – The Women of Albany Poetry Slam
Valentines, 17 New Scotland Ave., Albany
Albany Poets, Urban Guerilla Theatre, and The Frequency North Reading Series are bringing slam back to Albany with the NITTY GRITTY SLAM on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday’s of each month. If you’re not into slam, but want to get on stage and share your work, we have an open mic before the slam. Sign up begins at 7PM, open mic starts at 7:30, and the slam starts at 8PM. Admission is $5.00 ($3.00 with student ID). For this special slam four of the area finest female slammers, Alex Sherman-Cross, Tasha Davis, Kristen, and Alyssa Niman, will compete for the win and a place in the Grand Slam coming up in the spring to determine Team Nitty Gritty 2013.
8:00pm – WxW 10X10 Poetry Festival – Writers Room Open Mic
yBar, 391 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
The WXW Writers Room Open Mic night takes on a special character to celebrate 10×10 Upstreet. Host Gabriel Squailia will keeps things moving and the energy up – this is NOT your grandmother’s open mic night!
Wednesday, February 20
7:00pm – Bank Square Coffeehouse
The Bank Square Coffeehouse, 129 Main Street, Beacon, NY
Monthly open mic hosted by Adrianna Delgado and Glenn Werner with a featured poet.
8:00pm – Pauly’s Hotel Open Mic Night
Pauly’s Hotel, 337 Central Ave., Albany, NY
Poetry, Music, Comedy and more take center stage at Pauly’s weekly Open Mic Night hosted by Keith Spencer.
8:00pm – WxW 10X10 Poetry Festival – Melissa Quirk
yBar, 391 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
Melissa Quirk is a poet, performer, and teacher who has performed in various local slams, including Western Mass championships and the first WXW slam. Ms Quirk who frequently finds herself in the neutral corner as WXW’s favorite slam master, takes center stage for a program of her original work.
Thursday, February 21
7:00pm – Rockhill Bakehouse Open Mic
Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe, 19 Exchange Street, Glens Falls, NY
Weekly open mic for musicians and writers.
7:30pm – Third Thursday Poetry Night
Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave, Albany, NY
A reading by poet William Seaton, an open mic for community poets, and the annual holiday visit from Sanity Clause with a gift of poetry for all readers hosted by Dan Wilcox. $3.00 Donation.
8:00pm – Starving Artist Thursdays
Hudson River Coffee House, 227 Quail Street, Albany, NY 12203
A weekly open Mic for music, poetry, and spoken word at one of Albany’s best new coffee shops.
8:00pm – The Safe Haven
The Book Club, 153 S. Pearl Street., Albany, NY
A positive poetry open mic series hosted by Poetyc Visionz with a new theme every week.
8:00pm – WxW 10X10 Poetry Festival – Nakeida Bethel-Smith
yBar, 391 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
Pittsfield’s Lady Nakeida appeared as part of WXW’s Page+Stage program last summer. For 10×10 Nakeida returns to present a program of her original work. “I’m a woman of many shoes, you never know which pair I’m wearing, but know I’ll wear them well and confidently!”
Friday, February 22
7:00pm – Between The Lines
Enchante Tea Room 169 River St. Troy, NY
A new monthly poetry open mic hosted by D. Colin with a featured poet Kat SoPoetic in beautiful downtown Troy.
8:00pm – WxW 10X10 Poetry Festival – Marie-Elizabeth Mali
yBar, 391 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
Marie-Elizabeth Mali returns to the Writers Room with selections from her published and newer work. Ms Mali is the author of Steady, My Gaze (Tebot Bach, 2011) and co-editor with Annie Finch of the anthology, Villanelles (Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets, 2012).
Saturday, February 23
8:00pm – WxW 10X10 Poetry Festival – Joanna Hoffman
yBar, 391 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
Joanna Hoffman is a poet, performer, teaching artist and LGBTQ advocate and ten-year veteran of competitive performance poetry, or slam. Joanna has featured at schools, venues and festivals across the country, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Atlanta Queer Poetry Festival. Her work has appeared in decomP, Spindle, Sinister Wisdom and as part of the recent GirlChild Press anthology, Women’s Work and the Jewish lesbian poetry anthology Milk and Honey. Her full-length book of poetry will be published by Sibling Rivalry Press in August 2013.
If we are missing anything on this list, check out the full events calendar. If you would like to have your poetry event listed on AlbanyPoets.com, send an email to albanypoets+events@gmail.com with the details.
For a full listing of all of the poetry and spoken word events in upstate New York, head over to the events calendar page. And if you live in the Western Massachusetts / Connecticut area, be sure to check out Lori Desrosiers‘ Poetry News Calendar.
