Jessica Layton

Thom Francis at Nitty Gritty Slam #21

NGS #21 Results – A Hot Night in the ALB

What an incredible night of poetry in the not too hot and suprisingly haze-free second floor of Valentine’s. We even had almost enough seating for everyone who came in for

NGS 21 Winners

Nitty Gritty Slam #21, July 3

Tonight Nitty Gritty Slam, Albany poets entry to the world of Slam, had its 21st event, now legal to drink (& we did) — upstairs at Valentines while a band set up downstairs. Someone somehow scrounged up a bunch of chairs & benches so most of…

PV, Dain, and Shannon

Nitty Gritty Slam #15, April 3

It was such a slow crowd growing — who knew if we’d have enough for the Slam, let alone judges (always a problem), but the folks kept on coming in (while even Mojavi the open mic host was late). But AlbanyPoets Thom (el presidente) Francis took over …

D. Colin, the winner of NGS #14

Nitty Gritty Slam #14, March 20

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…

Urban Guerilla Theatre, March 16

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…

Shannon Shoemaker

Nitty Gritty Slam, February 21

Tonight, much to the chagrin of the official Slam bartender Kim, we were upstairs at Valentines to make room for a band in the usual poets’ spot. We were just as funky & even louder to carry our voices over the sound of electric guitars & drum…