Thom Francis is the president of Albany Poets and has been organizing, promoting, and hosting open mics and poetry / spoken word events in Albany such as Nitty Gritty Slam, School of Night, Albany Poets Presents…, and the Albany Word Fest for over 15 years. As a poet and performer, Thom has been featured at many of the upstate poetry and spoken word events from Saratoga to Woodstock as well as LarkFest, Art on Lark, 1st Friday, and the Albany Word Fest.
Editor Jill Crammond (left) with poetry co-conspirator Carolee Sherwood As I have been wont to say during April, “In Albany, every day is Poetry Month.” Especially today as the week-long WordFest 2013 starts, & this is my second poetry event of the day. It was the “book launch” for the new poetry journal Up the […]
WordFest 2013, Day 1, April 14 Read More »
With it being Word Fest week and all, we thought it would be nice to have a little fun and try something different at NGS. And what better way to have fun than a good old fashion tournament of three line poetry? For 42nd installment of Nitty Gritty Slam we are holding our first ever Haiku Battle!
2013 Albany Word Fest – Tuesday, April 16 – Nitty Gritty Slam #42 Haiku Battle Read More »
We are now within two weeks until the 2013 Albany Word Fest, our annual celebration of National Poetry Month and the poetry and spoken word of upstate New York. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, April 14 – Saturday, April 20, 2013 at seven different venues in and around Albany, NY. The week will
Getting Closer… Two Weeks Until the 2013 Albany Word Fest Read More »
Things are really heating up as we get closer to selecting the team to represent Albany and NGS at the National Poetry Slam in Boston. This 41st edition of Albany’s poetry slam series will be another special slam for the top nine points leaders battling it out in the second semi-final to be part of Team NGS
Nitty Gritty Slam #41 – The 2nd Team NGS Semi-Final at Valentine’s on Tuesday, April 2 Read More »
The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza was the scene of the book-signing of R.M. Engelhardt‘s latest (his 13th he says) book of poems, The Resurrection Waltz. Just that morning the Metroland Readers’ Poll was published & Rob, a perennial contender in this rite of Spring, tied for 2nd place with, of all people, me —
Book Signing: The Resurrection Waltz by R.M. Engelhardt, March 14 Read More »
This coming Thursday, March 14, at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza local poet R.M. Engelhardt will be launching his brand new book, The Resurrection Waltz, with a special reading and a performance by Murrow (Thom Francis and Keith Spencer). R.M. has been a a big part of the local poetry scene for over 20 years. In that time
The Resurrection Waltz – The New Book of Poetry from R.M. Engelhardt Read More »
Even though there is snow on the ground, we are still looking ahead to Spring. We turn the clock ahead this weekend and kicking things off with the Poetry + Prose open mic at the Arts Center in Troy hosted by Dan Wilcox and Nancy Klepsch. The words then keep flowing in downtown Troy the
Upcoming Poetry Events – Weeks of March 10, 2013 Read More »
We don’t always have featured poets at Nitty Gritty Slam, but when we do, we like to bring in some of the most dynamic and powerful performers that we can find. So far this season we have welcomed John Survivor Blake, Meg Waldron, Robyn Bateman, Influence, and McPherson. For NGS #40 activist, educator, poet, musician Jared Paul is coming into town
Nitty Gritty Slam #40 Featuring Jared Paul – March 19, 2013 Read More »
In celebration of National Poetry Month, Albany Poets is proud to present the 2013 Albany Word Fest featuring the poetry and spoken word of upstate New York. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, April 14 – Saturday, April 20, 2013 “What a great way to celebrate National Poetry Month right here in Albany.
Jessie & Alex get ready How could I not be there? All women poets in the Slam! But first an open mic (the only way I could read my poems tonight) hosted by Mojavi. Brian Dorn was here for the 1st time testing the waters, starting off with a love poem about a smile, then
Nitty Gritty Slam #38 – The Women of Albany Poetry Slam, February 19 Read More »
Once a year we have a slam event that goes against one of the biggest rules that we have spent so much time telling you about. You have been told that in the slam you have to recite your own work, you cannot read other people’s poetry. Well, on Tuesday, March 5, that rule goes
Nitty Gritty Slam #39 – The Dead Poet Slam Read More »
Albany Poets was/were the featured poets one of the events of this week-long arts festival in Pittsfield, MA, at the yBar on North Street . The (whole sick) crew consisted of el presidente Thom Francis, Jill Crammond, Mojavi, Shannon Shoemaker, Kevin Peterson, Algorhythm & me (DWx). Thom introduced the night with a bar poem, served
10×10 Poetry Festival, February 18 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.
