The first workshop of Friday for me was titled “Writing the Disaster,” held in the Langston Room of Busboys & Poet. It was moderated, & recorded for subsequent radio play by Marc Steiner of WEAA 88.3FM, Baltimore. The participants were Pa…
Split this Rock!, March 23 Read More »
Executive Director of Split This Rock, Sarah Browning served as our MC for the first evening reading, held at the Carlos Rosario International School, a brisk walk up 11th Street from U. Street. The 2012 Split This Rock Festival is dedicated to t…
Split this Rock!, March 22 — Evening Reading Read More »
Starting only about a half hour late, el presidente, Thom Francis began the open mic with his poem of being “… in your cold embrace …” “Shackle” followed by Prof. Daniel Nester’s long piece about being run over by a lawnmower when he was 19 & s…
Nitty Gritty Slam #14, March 20 Read More »
Thom’s 10 Things… a weekly look at Thom Francis’ thoughts on upcoming projects, Albany Poets, and the local poetry and spoken word community… 1 – What I am we are Missing in Woodstock and Kingston There is a lot going on downstate that I never seem to be able to make it to. Not because
There was a group gathered in front of the UAG Gallery on Lark St. at 7:30 for the 7:30 sign-up, but the gallery was dark, so we wandered off, collectively & singly, but then wandered back & there was Rob dragging out the sign & the lights …
St. Poem Reading Series, March 19 Read More »
How does an Albany-based slam poet fare against the nation? Elizag, one of the Nitty Gritty Slam’s stars, participated as a storm poet at the Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWps) in Denver this year. WOWps is an annual National Competition orchestrated by Poetry Slam, Inc. (PSi) in a different city every year. Poets
Nitty Gritty Slam Poet Goes to a Nation Poetry Slam Read More »
I was brought up in the Albany poetry scene on open mics. Slams were something completely out there to me. In many ways, they are still a vague concept to me. When the idea for the Nitty Gritty Slam was brought up last summer I thought “Freaking great. I hate slams.” I didn’t have to
Panza’s Nitty Gritty Take on Slam Read More »
This was a special UGT titled “Herstory” for Women’s History Month hosted by Tenesha Smith (but of course Mojavi was there too). In fact, in addition to the usual performances of spoken word, music & comedy, there was a fashion show by Shekihah Be…
Urban Guerilla Theatre, March 16 Read More »
So we gathered once again, this time on the Ides of March, at the Social Justice Center not to stab Caesar but to read poetry. It looked like a short night but as the evening progressed more readers showed up. Tonight when I invoked the Muse it was …
Third Thursday Poetry Night, March 15 Read More »
I am pleased to co-host (with Nancy Klepsch) this monthly free event at the Arts Center of the Capital Region. A number of us had just been here the day before to participate in the Write Here! Writers Conference sponsored by the Arts Center & the…
Poetry + Prose Open Mic, March 11 Read More »
Thom’s 10 Things… a weekly look at Thom Francis’ thoughts on upcoming projects, Albany Poets, and the local poetry and spoken word community… This is the first in a weekly series of blogs about my thoughts on the local poetry community. I have been reading at open mics and events for 18 or so years
An early harbinger of Spring, like that first crop of dandelions, is Metroland’s Readers’ Poll, from Best Car Wash to Best Poet. After years of dumpster diving, bribery & computer hacking to find out the actual final tallies for Best Poet (Metrol…
Metroland’s Readers’ Poll, March 8 Read More »
The Hudson Valley Writers Guild supports the efforts of writers in all genres by sponsoring readings, workshops, and contests and providing a number of valuable resources for the entire literary community.
