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.
If you were not at Valentine’s last Tuesday night for Nitty Gritty Slam #27, you missed out on an incredible night of poetry and spoken word. The room was packed with students, poets, and even some lucky members of the public who wandered in for happy hour at the bar. We started the night with […]
NGS #27 Results – A Full House and a Fantastic Feature Read More »
at McGeary’s Tavern on Clinton Square, especially when we are roasting el presidente of AlbanyPoets.com, Thom Francis, we are not only LOUD but out-fucking-rageous. Of course, led on by our host Mary Panza. But first she had to clear out the room o…
Poets Speak Loud!, September 24 Read More »
Occupy Albany teamed up with AlbanyPoets.com & touring performance poet Jared Paul to present a high-spirited evening of performance & politics at the Social Justice Center in Albany, NY.To start off the night & to represent to the gathered…
Occupy Albany / Jared Paul Reading, September 22 Read More »
With tornado warnings hitting the news, rain pouring down, and bluegrass playing downstairs, the poets still came out to Valentine’s for Nitty Gritty Slam #26 last Tuesday. We were joined by some familiar voices as well as new poets hitting the Nitty Gritty stage for the first time. We kicked the night off with the open mic,
NGS #26 Results – Tornadoes and Bluegrass Read More »
We are at the end of another great week of poetry and spoken word here in Albany. On Tuesday, we had new poets come out and compete at Nitty Gritty Slam #26 with a some new faces walking away with the prize money at the end of the night. We are now looking forward to
Upcoming Poetry Events – Week of September 23, 2012 Read More »
Next week there will be two Banned Books ReadOuts happening in the area. The Albany ReadOut will take place on Friday evening at the University Club on Washington Ave at 6:00PM. And then the next morning the ReadOut moves across the river to Market Block Books in Troy starting at 10:00AM. Here is the information about
Upcoming Banned Books ReadOuts in Albany and Troy Read More »
On Monday , September 24, Poets Speak Loud will present our Third Annual Celebrity Roast! Break out the presidential BBQ sauce because this year the poet on the spit is none other than our own Thom Francis. You read it right! We are not holding back on the man that makes it all look so
Third Annual Poets Speak Loud Celebrity Roast Read More »
We kicked off the second season of the Nitty Gritty Slam on Tuesday, September 4 with one of our smaller crowds. But we overcame and had a great night of poetry and spoken word with some new, dynamic voices on the mic. We started everything off with the open mic that saw a new poet,
NGS #25 Results – The New Season Begins Read More »
Back up to Saratoga Springs, this month with my friend Don Levy tagging along for the first time in many months. It was another full list of open mic poets & a similar program of the featured poets, the Nitty Gritty Slam team out of Albany, NY, fr…
Caffé Lena Open Mic, September 5 Read More »
We made it to the end of our first year of poetry slams last Tuesday night at Valentine’s. Nitty Gritty Slam #24 celebrated a great year of poetry and spoken word. We congratulated and welcomed back Team Nitty Gritty, who were the first slam team ever from Albany to perform at the National Poetry Slam. And we crowned
NGS #24 Results – The Team is Back in Town and a King is Crowned Read More »
So with a little help from arithmetic one could determine that, if this event is held twice a month, #24 would mark the end of a year of slams, & indeed it was, & it also marked the (not quite triumphant, but undaunted) return of the Nitty Grit…
Nitty Gritty Slam#24, August 21 Read More »
We are gearing up for a big week for Albany poetry and spoken word as Team Nitty Gritty will be heading down to Charlotte, NC for the National Poetry Slam representing Albany and upstate New York for the first time ever. Thom Francis and Mojavi will be going with the team (Elizag, ILLiptical, D. Colin,
Upcoming Poetry Events – Week of August 5, 2012 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.
