We have so much going on in the regional literary community that it is sometimes hard to keep up. Here’s a look at some of the lit events, readings, open micss, and workshops coming up this week.
Thursday, May 18
10:30 AM – Storytime Learn & Play @ Troy Public Library
Join us at the Main Library for your child’s enrichment
7:00 PM – CAPS Be the Feature Open Mic with Heather Christy
The CAPS Be the Feature Open Mic on Zoom is always a fluid evening. Maybe participants read 6 poems. Maybe 5. Maybe 3. Maybe 2…
7:00 PM – The House of Poetry is a Hotel @ Rensselaerville Library
Tom Corrado will discuss “The House of Poetry is a Hotel” as part of the Rensselaerville Library Thursday evening Talk Series.
7:30 PM – Third Thursday Poetry Night featuring Alan Catlin @ The Social Justice Center
Local writer Alan Catlin will read from his work at the Social Justice Center on Thursday, May 18, 2023 with an open mic for community poets.
Friday, May 19
9:00 AM – Early Literacy Storytime! @ Troy Public Library
Kids ages 0-5 are welcome to this early literacy story
10:30 AM – Storytime @ Waterford Public Library
Open to kids of all ages, but geared towards 2-5-year-old’s. No registration is required. Storytime consists of 2-3 stories and a related craft.
10:30 AM – Story Time with our Booksellers @ Northshire Saratoga
Come to the Northshire store in Saratoga Springs for story time with their fabulous staff, where they will share some recent favorite picture books with your little ones.
6:00 PM – Pine Hollow Featured Poet Mark W. O’Brien
The Pine Hollow Arboretum welcomes Mark O’Brien as the featured poet for their first poetry reading and open mic of the season.
7:30 PM – Hudson Valley Writers’ Center Open Mic
Featured Poets and open mic for poets, fiction writers, and essayists with rotating hosts at the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center in Sleepy Hollow.
Saturday, May 20
11:15 AM – A Panel of Possibilities @ Bethlehem Public Library
If you’re interested in how authors keep their series going—how they track characters, plot lines, locations and more—you’ll enjoy the next meeting of the Upper Hudson Sisters in Crime.
12:00 PM – Rooted Revision: How to Grow Your Poems Strong @ The Poetry Barn
In this workshop, renowned poet Annie Finch shares her trademark technique of Rooted Revision, developed over a lifetime of writing and teaching poetry.
1:00 PM – Gregory J. Wolos signs “The Thing About Men” and “The Green Ray” @ Open Door Bookstore
Gregory Wolos spent over three decades as an educator in upstate New York. He taught English at Schenectady High School and holds a doctorate from the University at Albany. More than 100 of his stories and reviews have been published in various journals and anthologies, and his work has won many awards.
2:00 PM – Karin Lin-Greenberg signs and discusses her new book, “You are Here” @ The Book House
As a once-bustling mall prepares to shut its doors for the final time, the residents of an upstate New York town must reckon with a shocking act that forces them to reevaluate who they are in this “remarkable study of ordinary people’s extraordinary inner lives” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
3:00 PM – Maryellen Wander Eyer signs and discusses her book, “Finding the Blaze” @ The Book House
“Finding the Blaze” is an adventure story in the woods that is written for elementary school-age children with ideas and tips about what things to bring on a successful hike. Jeremy, his mother and friend Alex take to the hiking trails to help solve an unexpected problem on the top of a mountain.
7:30 PM – Annie Finch Live! @ The Poetry Barn
Annie Finch is one of our most vital and important American poets and performers. She is the author of six books of poetry, most recently “Spells: New and Selected Poems.”
Sunday, May 21
11:00 AM – Nancy Castaldo signs “The Ultimate Food Atlas” and “The World that Feeds Us” @ Open Door Bookstore
Nancy Castaldo has written award-winning books about our planet for over 20 years from New York’s Hudson Valley. She is a certified National Geographic educator and has served on the boards of her local Audubon Society and Girl Scout Council. Nancy writes to inform, inspire, and empower her readers about the world around them with each book.
12:00 PM – Rooted Revision: How to Grow Your Poems Strong @ The Poetry Barn
In this workshop, renowned poet Annie Finch shares her trademark technique of Rooted Revision, developed over a lifetime of writing and teaching poetry.
2:00 PM – Poetry at the Friary
Fr. Bob Phelps hosts an open mic at St. Lawrence Friary in Beacon, NY
3:00 PM – Roots, Shoots, and Leaves @ The Mount
It’s spring, roots are stretching, shoots are popping, leaves are returning from the south . . . and poets are served al fresco.
Monday, May 22
1:30 PM – Monday Memoir Writing Group (In Person) @ Albany Public Library – Howe Branch
Participate in a group of memoir writers and get feedback
6:00 PM – Northshire Online: Carmen Boullosa – The Book of Eve – with Samantha Schnee
One of Mexico’s leading novelists, poets, and playwrights Carmen Boullosa offers a twist on the Book of Genesis that dismantles patriarchy and rebuilds our understanding of the world–from the origin of gastronomy, to the domestication of animals, to the cultivation of land and pleasure–all through the feminine gaze in her new novel The Book of Eve. She will appear in conversation with her translator Samantha Schnee.
7:00 PM – Poetic Vibe @ The Fish Market
Poet, artist, and performer D. Colin hosts the weekly Poetic Vibe series, a dynamic night of poetry and spoken word.
Tuesday, May 23
10:00 AM – Writing Your Life Stories @ Albany Guardian Society
Part 2 of 2 (You must have taken Part 1)
10:30 AM – Story Time at North Albany @ Albany Public Library
Please join us in the Large Meeting Room for stories, fingerplays, songs and rhymes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and their caregivers.
6:00 PM – Northshire Online: Tim Burkett with Norman Fischer – “Enlightenment Is an Accident: Ancient Wisdom and Simple Practices to Make You Accident Prone”
Tim Burkett, author, Zen Buddhist priest, and psychologist will present Enlightenment Is an Accident, a warm-hearted guide to Buddhist practice for those ready to contend with the reality that enlightenment—the realization of non-self—can’t be achieved by the self. He will appear in conversation with beloved Zen teacher Norman Fischer, author of When You Greet Me I Bow.
6:00 PM – Daniel Wolff, “How to Become an American” and “More Poems About Money” @ Oblong Books
The histories of US immigrants do not always begin and end in Ellis Island and northeastern cities. Many arrived earlier and some migrated south and west, fanning out into their vast new country. They sought a renewed life, fresh prospects, and a safe harbor, despite a nation that was not always welcoming and not always tolerant.
Wednesday, May 24
6:30 PM – The White Hart Speaker Series: Simon Winchester, “Knowing What We Know” @ Oblong Books
From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—award-winning writer Simon Winchester takes a brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.
Did we miss anything? Let us know at info@hvwg.org and be sure to check out https://hvwg.org to find out more about our vibrant literary and arts community.
