TABLE OF CONTENTS_______________________________________
- Quotes
- Poem of the Month
- Book of the Month
- Web Site of the Month
- News Items / Writing Workshops
- Poetry Calendar for April
- Subscription and Contact Information
http://www.poetz.com/connecticut (updated weekly)
__QUOTES________________________________________________
Of the responses I received for the "Poetry is..." contest of sorts, I chose the three below because...well, because I liked them. Many were wonderful, though (and a few were rather odd). I'll sprinkle some into the Quotes section in the coming months. Thank you to all who sent in a response.
Poetry is collaboration. The reader of a poem continues its composition.
– Rennie McQuilkin
Poetry is the alchemy that transforms emotion into language.
– Charlie Margolis
Poetry is iffy, itchy, icy, and incandescent.
– Mark McGuire-Schwartz
One special mention: My favorite quote was "Poetry is every word John Jeffrey writes!" (It's the exclamation point that got me.) But I disqualified it because it was obviously stolen from Coleridge or Yeats, one of the greats.
__POEM OF THE MONTH_________________________________
DOVER CLIFF
F. Wyville Home (1851 - unknown)
Last April, when the winds had lost their chill,
I lay down dreamily upon the verge
Of Shakespeare’s Cliff, where sea and sea-wind scourge
The eternal barrier that withstands them still.
I heard the billows break beneath and fill
The wide air with the thunder of the surge;
And near my cheek, half fearful to emerge,
A violet grew upon the grassy hill.
There while I lay, Poet, I dreamed of thee.
Thy very voice, whose matchless music yet
O’ermasters all the world’s, surrounded me,
Singing, and in the sound of it there met
With all the might and passion of the sea
The utter sweetness of the violet..
__BOOK OF THE MONTH________________________________
Each month we highlight a book of poetry by a Connecticut author.
IN THE EXTREME: SONNETS ABOUT WORLD RECORDS
by Kim Bridgford
Kim Bridgford wrote In the Extreme: Sonnets about World Records, winner of the 2007 Donald Justice Poetry Award, in part because she was fascinated by people who hold world records and wanted to commemorate them. Her favorites are about Mike, the chicken that lived the longest without a head, and the woman with the longest fingernails in the world. Poet R.S. Gwynn noted, "Kim Bridgford's In The Extreme would be a considerable achievement for its simply being a flawlessly realized sonnet sequence; when you factor in that every poem is inspired by an entry in The Guinness Book of World Records it climbs to the level of tour de force."
Kim Bridgford earned a Ph. D. from the University of Illinois and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the first graduate program in creative writing. Her poetry has appeared in The North American Review, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Iowa Review. She is a professor of English at Fairfield University, an editor of Dogwood, Fairfield's journal of poetry and prose, and also editor of the online women's magazine, Mezzo Cammin. She's the author of three books of poetry, Undone, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, Instead of Maps, nominated for the Poets' Prize, as well as In the Extreme: Sonnets about World Records.
$14.95 (ISBN: 978-0978599782)
Contemporary Poetry Review Press
__WEB SITE OF THE MONTH____________________________
POETRY DAILY
From the web site: "Poetry Daily is an anthology of contemporary poetry. Each day, we bring you a new poem from new books, magazines, and journals.
"Poems are chosen from the work of a wide variety of poets published or translated in the English language. Our most eminent poets are represented in the selections, but also poets who are less well known. The daily poem is selected for its literary quality and to provide you with a window on a very broad range of poetry offered annually by publishers large and small. Included with each poem is information about the poet and the poem's source.
"Our purpose is to make it easier for people to find poets and poetry they like and to help publishers bring news of their books, magazines, and journals to more people. Well over 1,000 books of poetry are published in the United States alone each year, but they can be difficult to find, even in areas brimming with bookstores. The numerous journals presenting new poetry and poets can be even more elusive. We will lead you to them and, in the meantime, we give you a new poem to carry with you through your day and share with others."
http://www.poems.com
__NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS__________________
Saturday, Apr 19 2008
1:00pm - 3:00pm
THE ART OF CREATING A SUCCESSFUL POEM, A Workshop with Eileen Albrizio
Join Eileen Albrizio, recipient of the 2008 Greater Hartford Arts Council New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship, for a poetry workshop, The Art of Creating a Successful Poem.
The event is FREE but seating is limited! Registration required; contact Karen at 860-537-5752. Participants need only bring writing materials. There is no need to bring previously written poetry. For more information: http://www.angelfire.com/art/albrizio
Cragin Memorial Library
8 Linwood Avenue,
Colchester, CT
Whether one has been writing poetry for years or has only just begun, understanding the fundamentals of poetry, including form, meter, rhyme, and rhetorical devices such as repetition and metaphor is essential in building a successful poem. Form, however, is only a foundation. Real success lies in the creative mind and the artistry of the poet. Through hands-on exercises and volunteer discussion, we will concentrate in this workshop on the structure of poetry and how knowledge of that structure contributes to writing successful "formal" and “free" verse poetry. Join award-winning writer and former journalist Eileen Albrizio for this intensive workshop.
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Sunday, Apr 27 2008
10:00am - 5:30pm
SUNDAY WRITING RETREATS in CT and BLOCK ISLAND WRITING RETREATS
with Sharon Charde, award-winning poet and author, Bad Girl At The Altar Rail, and Four Trees Down From Ponte Sisto.
Day-long writing retreats available at Sharon’s home in Lakeville, CT. 10:00am-5:30pm. $75.00 for a day or $60.00 for 4 sessions or more. Each session is limited to eight women. The dates are Sunday, April 27, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 21, November 9, and December 7.
Also available are three-day weekend retreats at “Turning Point”, a secluded compound overlooking Sachem Pond and the North Light on Block Island, May 16-18 and Oct 24-26. Limited to ten women. There are spaces available in May and October. The fee is $450, inclusive.
For detailed information or to register, visit her web site http://sharoncharde.com (click Writing Retreats), email mailto:sharchar@sbcglobal.net, or call 860-435-0110.
__POETRY CALENDAR FOR APRIL_____________________
Tuesday, Apr 1 2008
7:00pm
DANIEL DONAGHY at ECSU
Poet Daniel Donaghy reads at Eastern Connecticut State University with fiction writer Christopher Torockio.
Daniel Donaghy's first collection of poems, Streetfighting, was published by BkMk Press in 2005 and named a Finalist for the 2006 Paterson Prize. His poems and stories have appeared in The Southern Review, Quarterly West, Prairie Schooner, Alaska Quarterly Review, and many others, and have been featured on Poetry Daily and the Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. Both his poetry and his fiction have received Pushcart Prize nominations. Donaghy is an Assistant Professor of English at Eastern Connecticut State University.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments are available. A reception and book signing will follow the reading.
Student Center Theatre
Eastern Connecticut State University
83 Windham Street
Willimantic, CT
860-465-5000
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Tuesday, Apr 1 2008
7:00pm - 9:00pm
FIRST TUESDAY POETRY (Middletown)
featuring Ravi Shankar
Broad Street Books will be hosting a monthly poetry reading, First Tuesday Poetry Series, with a featured poet followed by an open mike, on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:00pm beginning in April! Admission is free.
Our first featured poet will be Ravi Shankar; Associate Professor and Poet-in-Residence at Central Connecticut State University and the founding editor of the international online journal of the arts, Drunken Boat . He has published a book of poems, Instrumentality, named a finalist for the 2005 Connecticut Book Awards, and along with Reb Livingston, a collaborative chapbook, Wanton Textiles. His creative and critical work has previously appeared in such publications as The Paris Review, Poets & Writers, The Massachusetts Review, McSweeney's, the AWP Writer's Chronicle, and Scribner's Best American Erotic Poems from 1800 to the Present, among many others. He currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Connecticut Center for the Book, reviews poetry for the Contemporary Poetry Review, and along with Tina Chang and Nathalie Handal, is the co-editor of Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from Asia, the Middle East and Beyond.
45 Broad Street
Middletown, CT
Broad Street Books
For more information, contact Brian Mitchard 860-685-READ
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Tuesday, Apr 1 2008
7:30pm
FIRST TUESDAY POETRY (Wilton)
First Tuesday group meets every month on the first Tuesday, offering an open mike and a mix of guest poets and featured regular readers. Please come, listen, and bring a favorite poem. Better still, read your own poems.
Borders Books
14 Danbury Road (just past the Norwalk/Wilton line on Rt 7)
Wilton, CT 06987
203-834-0600
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Wednesday, Apr 2 2008
4:30pm
URAYOÁN NOEL at UCONN
Urayoán Noel has performed his poetry and rock/spoken word throughout the US and Puerto Rico as well as the Dominican Republic and Peru. His collection of poems, Kool Logic/La Logica Kool is designed to "confound and delight the enlightened masses." In the book, Noel "fuses pop riffs, Beat whimsy, Nuyorican punch lines, and modernist deadpan."
Puerto Rican Latin American Cultural Center
Student Union
2110 Hillside Road
Storrs, CT
860-486-5027
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Wednesday, Apr 2 2008
7:30pm
POEMALLEY at Curley's Diner
Read poetry, discuss writing and other topics of interest.
Curley's Diner
62 West Park Place
Stamford, CT
203-327-3716
mailto:ayarmal@earthlink.net
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Wednesday, Apr 2 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm
WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring Faith Vicinanza reading Mary Oliver at WNPS
Faith Vicinanza, WNPS founder, consultant and host, as well as its former executive director. She is poet, editor, publisher, educator, & nature photographer. She's read from San Francisco to Stockholm and has several books of poetry out including Faith Vicinanza: Greatest Hits from Pudding House Press. Her work has been published in The Paterson Review, The Connecticut River Review, The Red Brick Review, The Fairfield Review, in Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry, In The Raw, Poetry Superhighway, and Selected Poems From The Daily Grind, among many others. She and her late husband Peter rode touring bicycles from Key West Florida to St. Stephens, Canada and a book on their three-month journey is in the works. You can read the trip blog at http//www.UtterFolly.com See also http://www.notquiteblank.com/about.htm.
WNPS, the longest running weekly poetry series in Connecticut, boasts an open mike, feature poets, a Q&A with the feature, and a poetry critique workshop.
Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313
http://www.wedpoetry.net
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Wednesday, Apr 2 2008
9:00pm - 11:00pm
THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC
Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.
Free event. Hosted by Charmagne.
Vibz Uptown
3155 Main Street
Hartford, CT
860-246-7390
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Wednesday, Apr 2 2008
9:30pm - 11:00pm
POETRY NITE at the Huntington Street Café
Poetry Nite every Wednesday at the Huntington Street Café. Run by Sammy and Natalie, it's open to everyone. Stop by to check the scene or even read a little something. Walk in and you'll be added to the list.
Email mailto:Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.
Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
Phone: 203-925-9064
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Thursday, Apr 3 2008
3:00pm
POETRY COFFEEHOUSE & WORKSHOP with Bessy Reyna
Quinebaug Valley Community College, celebrating National Poetry Month, presents a poetry coffeehouse, open mike, and workshop with special guest poet, Bessy Reyna.
Write. Listen. Speak. Learn. English. Spanish. Poetry.
Free coffee and pastry.
Eastern Perk
Main St
Willimantic, CT
For more information visit: http://www.qvcc.commnet.edu/library/poetry
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Thursday, Apr 3 2008
6:30pm
SPOKEN WORD SERIES II at Wood Memorial Library presents Gerard Brooker and Dana Sonnenschein
Hosted by Sympetalous
Gerard Brooker has published two books of poetry, a novel, over two hundred poems and articles. He is active in international peace and hunger activities, for which he has received the Peace and International Understanding award from the National Education Association, as well as the Mahatma Gandhi-Martin Luther King, Jr. award from the Connecticut Education Association. He holds two honorary degrees and in 1995, was named the 21st Century Connecticut Educator of the Year. Mr. Brooker has a doctorate from St. John's University and was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1998.
Dana Sonnenschein's first collection, Corvus, won the Quentin R. Howard chapbook contest, and her second, No Angels But These, was chosen for Main Street Rag's Editor's Choice chapbook series. Her most recent collection is Natural Forms. Dana's poetry has appeared in Amazing Stories, Connecticut Review, The Iowa Review, The MacGuffin, Seneca Review, Quarter After Eight, The Spoon River Poetry Review, and elsewhere. She is a professor of English at Southern Connecticut State University.
An open mike follows featured poets. The evening will conclude with refreshments. Admission is free
Wood Memorial Library and Museum
783 Main Street
South Windsor, CT
860-289-1783
For more information, visit the website:
http://www.woodmemoriallibrary.org
Or email: mailto:wood.memorial.lib@snet.net
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Friday, Apr 4 2008
6:00pm - 8:00pm
A POETICAL HAPPENING in NEW HAVEN
A poetical happening for three readers, together for the first time, featuring Victoria Muñoz, Frank Crowley and Chet Schnepf. Reception to follow.
Elm City Co-op Artists
284 York Street
New Haven, CT
Frank Crowley retired from Gateway Community College in 2004, enjoying open mikes around town, just coming into his own voice and topics (social justice, spiritual awakening); moreover, he brokers other writers in publishing, finding new voices and making a place for them in Stories From The Other Side. The next edition will be out in 2009.
Victoria Muñoz, as poet and singer/songwriter, has performed extensively. Her work is inspired by both the world around her and by her parents, who were Spanish language poets. She has published a chapbook, During Your Reading, and her work can be found on Poetz.com, in the forthcoming Wood Memorial Library Anthology, and elsewhere. She is a member of "Not Just ANY Tom, Vic and Terri" poetry ensemble, was co-host with WNPS for two years, and works as a Music Therapist.
Chester H. Schnepf is a Professor of English and Chair of the Humanities Department at Gateway Community College in New Haven. He is the author of The Sadness In Pine Needles Falling, a book of poems which represents the various stages of one's slow disintegration under the crush of our unresponsive society. He also has several poems in the anthology, Stories From The Other Side, 4th edition, 2007, in use at Gateway as a composition reader and poetry primer.
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Saturday, Apr 5 2008
6:30pm
SPOKEN WORD SERIES: MEGA MIC! at Buttonwood
Mega Mic! is an open invitation to musicians and poets! Anything goes!
The event is free; donations are accepted.
The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
mailto:near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org
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Saturday, Apr 5 2008
7:30pm - 9:30 pm
JOHN STANIZZI & RENNIE McQUILKIN in SIMSBURY
A "poetry jam" in which the poets will read their work to a musical background provided by Loukoum, a hot new trio out of Hartford with a passion for world music. The group consists of Kryssi Battalene on guitar, Kate Melarkey Dunphy on accordian, and Danielle Turano on violin.
About the work of John Stanizzi, Ruth Daigon has commented thus: "Stanizzi is a poet of courage and passion who manages to be achingly sensual without a scrap of sentimentality. There is no separation between his personal world and the world at large." And Dick Allen has said this about the work of Rennie McQuilkin: "McQujilkin speaks in a language so devoid of all rhetoric it is pure American: the natural man is lifted out of himself almost beyond his knowing. My response is one of pure thanks."
There will be no cover charge, but a donation to the artists is suggested. For further information, call 860-658-2930
Peaberry's Cafe
712 Hopmeadow St
Simsbury, CT
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Sunday, Apr 6 2008
2:00pm
JOHN BASINGER PERFORMS PARADISE LOST
In celebration of John Milton's 400th anniversary, John Basinger will be performing a different book of Paradise Lost every Sunday afternoon.
All readings start at 2:00pm (April 6, 13, 20, 27)
The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
mailto:near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org
The event is free; donations are accepted.
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Sunday, Apr 6 2008
2:00pm - 3:30pm
ROBERT FROST DISCUSSION WITH JOANNA ECKE
Joanna Ecke will "kick off" National Poetry Month by leading a discussion on the poetry of Robert Frost, and latter-day Frostians influenced by Frost's way of looking at nature. Dr. Ecke, a graduate of Smith College, selected Robert Frost for her Ph.D dissertation at Duke University. She is a retired Wilton High School English teacher and columnist for The Wilton Bulletin. Advance registration recommended.
Wilton Library
137 Old Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT
203-762-3950
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Sunday, Apr 6 2008
2:00pm - 4:00pm
BEAN & LEAF OPEN MIKE POETRY READING
hosted by Tom Weigel
Old poets read, new voices heard in a new venue with "a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee and pastries." Visit the web site for more information.
Bean & Leaf Cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000
http://www.bean-leaf.com
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Sunday, Apr 6 2008
3:00pm
VALZHYNA MORT
The Poet's Voice and Fairfield Public Library are proud to present Valzhyna Mort.
Valzhyna Mort was born in Minsk, Belarus. She has been published in various literary magazines and anthologies, including an Anthology of Belarusian Poetry (Sofia, 2002). Her first book, Factory of Tears, is forthcoming by Copper Canyon Press in the spring of 2008, co-translated with Franz Wright. Valzhyna is famed throughout Europe for her remarkable reading performances. She is the winner of several poetry competitions in Belarus, and in 2004 she received the Crystal of Velenica Award in Slovenia, which is awarded for reading performance. Valzhyna's first collection, I'm as Thin as Your Eyelashes, is startlingly assured and reveals a powerful poetic voice. She is the 2005 recipient of the Gaude Polonia stipendium. In 2006 she was a poet-in-residence at Literarisches Colloquium in Berlin, Germany. She currently lives in the United States.
"Valzhyna Mort is electrifying." -Franz Wright
"Valzhyna Mort...can justly be described as a risen star of the international poetry world. Her poems have something of the incantatory quality of poets such as Dylan Thomas or Allen Ginsberg. But she is a true original." -Kevin Higgins, Cuirt International Festival of Literature
Fairfield Public Library
1080 Old Post Road
Fairfield, CT
203-256-3155
http://www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org
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Sunday, Apr 6 2008
4:00pm - 5:30pm
PABLO MEDINA SPEAKS on OCTAVIO PAZ
Poetry Central: Branching Out at the Hartford Public Library presents poet Pablo Medina discussing Octavio Paz.
Octavio Paz, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1990, was arguably the most influential Mexican poet and essayist of the 20th century. A man of encyclopedic knowledge and vast intellectual range, he was able to bring together in his poetry four great streams of modernity: the European, the Eastern, the Mexican, and the North American. In this talk, “The Cosmic Poetry of Octavio Paz,“ Pablo Medina explores how these four influences made their way into Paz's work and life as threads of a vivid tapestry, an embodiment, if you will, of what Mexican historian Jose Vasconcelos called "the cosmic race."
Free. For more information, http://www.hplct.org/branchingout.htm
Hartford Public Library
500 Main Street
Hartford, CT
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Monday, Apr 7 2008
7:30pm - 9:00pm
POETRY BEAT
Poetry open mike at Las Vetas Lounge.
Las Vetas Lounge
1462 Post Road
Fairfield, CT
203-255-1958
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Monday, Apr 7 2008
7:30pm - 9:30pm
SPOKEN PALABRA
A weekly spoken word open mike at La Paloma Sabanera every Monday Evening: signup at 7:30pm, starts at 8:00pm.
"The open mike everyone's been asking for." Hosted by MIRA and Mind Evolution.
La Paloma Sabanera
405 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT
Ph: 860-548-1670
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Monday, Apr 7 2008
9:00pm
BEATNIK 2000
Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.
http://www.cafenine.com/schedule.html
Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281
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Tuesday, Apr 8 2008
6:30pm
NCCC MAD RIVER LITERARY FESTIVAL with Maurice Doubleday
Opening of the 12th Annual NCCC Mad River Literary Festival. Open Reading by students, staff, & community members, with featured poet Maurice Doubleday. Sign up to read: mailto:jtreat@nwcc.commnet.edu or call 860-738-6340.
Authors' books are available for purchase signing. Refreshments served. Free and open to the public.
Founders Hall
Northwestern CT Community College
Route 44 & Old Rte 8 North
Winsted, CT
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Tuesday, Apr 8 2008
7:00pm
BRAD DAVIS AT THE POMFRET SCHOOL
Brad Davis reading from his new book, No Vile Thing, a series of meditations on the biblical psalms. As in his two earlier volumes, Though War Break Out and Song of the Drunkards, the poems range from the personal to the political, from rage to joy, from melancholy to meditation. Mary Oliver has stated that "Brad Davis' poems are modest and intense at the same time. His subject – all of us, and all things, considered as they are, sorrowful and joyful, and as they might be – invites us to remember the old irreplaceable story of our making: its divinity, its possibility. No Vile Thing is in every way a comfort, a reminder, and a prod."
Jahn Reading Room
Pomfret School
398 Pomfret St
Pomfret, CT
For more information including directions, call 860-963-6100 or visit http://www.pomfretschool.com
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Tuesday, Apr 8 2008
8:00pm
NCCC MAD RIVER LITERARY FESTIVAL with Sean Thomas Dougherty
Continuation of the 12th Annual NCCC Mad River Literary Festival. Sean Thomas Dougherty was born in 1965. He is the author of nine books including Nightshift Belonging to Lorca, a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize, and Except by Falling winner of the 2000 Pinyon Press Poetry Prize from Mesa State College. His awards include two Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Fellowships in Poetry. Known for his electrifying performances, he has toured extensively across North America and Europe. He received an MFA in poetry from Syracuse University and lives in Erie, PA where he teaches writing workshops.
Authors' books are available for purchase signing. Refreshments served. Free and open to the public.
Founders Hall
Northwestern CT Community College
Route 44 & Old Rte 8 North
Winsted, CT
Call 860-738-6340 for more information.
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Wednesday, Apr 9 2008
4:00pm
JOY HARJO at YALE
Poet Joy Harjo reads at the Yale Center for British Art. This event is co-sponsored by the Yale Collection of American Literature at the Beinecke Library and the Native American Cultural Center at Yale. The reading is free and open to the public.
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, poet Joy Harjo is an enrolled member of the Muskogee Tribe. She is the author of many collections of poetry, including How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems, A Map to the Next World: Poems, The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, which received the Oklahoma Book Arts Award, and In Mad Love and War, which received an American Book Award. She has received the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award, the American Indian Distinguished Achievement in the Arts Award, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund Writer’s Award, the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship.
Yale Center for British Art
1080 Chapel Street
New Haven, CT
http://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com/
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Tuesday, Apr 9 2008
6:30pm
NCCC MAD RIVER LITERARY FESTIVAL with Ekiwah Adler-Belendez & Valzhyna Mort
Continuation of the 12th Annual NCCC Mad River Literary Festival. Poets Ekiwah Adler-Belendez (Mexico) and Valzhyna Mort (Belarus) read.
Authors' books are available for purchase signing. Refreshments served. Free and open to the public.
Founders Hall
Northwestern CT Community College
Route 44 & Old Rte 8 North
Winsted, CT
Call 860-738-6340 for more information.
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Wednesday, Apr 9 2008
7:00pm
JAKE ADAM YORK at ECSU
Jake Adam York is the author of Murder Ballads, winner of the Elixir Press Poetry Prize, The Architecture of Address: The Monument and Public Speech in American Poetry and, most recently, A Murmuration of Starlings, the second in a projected series of volumes that elegize the martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. York has an M.F.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University and is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Colorado-Denver, where he serves as a faculty advisor and editor for Copper Nickel, an impressive new literary journal. A reception and book signing will follow the reading.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments are available.
Johnson Community Room 204
J. Eugene Smith Library
Eastern Connecticut State University
83 Windham Street
Willimantic, CT
860-465-5000
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Wednesday, Apr 9 2008
7:30pm
POEMALLEY at Curley's Diner
Read poetry, discuss writing and other topics of interest.
Curley's Diner
62 West Park Place
Stamford, CT
203-327-3716
mailto:ayarmal@earthlink.net
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Wednesday, Apr 9 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm
WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring Jack McCarthy
A WNPS favorite, Jack McCarthy is the author of Grace Notes, his first book of poetry, two chapbooks (Actual Grace Notes and Too Old to Make Excuses (But Still Young Enough to Make Love)), a 60-minute cassette tape (Poems for Hannah), and a CD (Breaking Down Outside a Gas Station). A major book, Say Goodnight, Grace Notes, was released in 2003 by EM Press to rave reviews. Jack was a member of the Boston team at the 1996 National Poetry Slam, and was an engaging minor character in the feature film "Slamnation," which documented those proceedings, and he was a member of the Worcester team at the 2000 National Poetry Slam, where he finished as the 10th ranked individual. The Boston Phoenix has named him "Best Standup Poet," the Boston Poetry Awards "Best Love Poet," and the Cambridge Poetry Awards "Best Spoken Word" and "Best Humorous Poet." The Boston Globe says, "In the poetry world, he's a rock star."
For info, visit: http://www.wedpoetry.net
WNPS, the longest running weekly poetry series in Connecticut, boasts an open mike, feature poets, a Q&A with the feature, and a poetry critique workshop.
Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313
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Tuesday, Apr 9 2008
8:00pm
NCCC MAD RIVER LITERARY FESTIVAL with William Hunt
Continuation of the 12th Annual NCCC Mad River Literary Festival. Poet William Hunt, Associate Professor of English at NCCC, reads.
Authors' books are available for purchase signing. Refreshments served. Free and open to the public.
Founders Hall
Northwestern CT Community College
Route 44 & Old Rte 8 North
Winsted, CT
Call 860-738-6340 for more information.
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Wednesday, Apr 9 2008
9:00pm - 11:00pm
THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC
Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.
Free event. Hosted by Charmagne.
Vibz Uptown
3155 Main Street
Hartford, CT
860-246-7390
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Wednesday, Apr 9 2008
9:30pm - 11:00pm
POETRY NITE at the Huntington Street Café
Poetry Nite every Wednesday at the Huntington Street Café. Run by Sammy and Natalie, it's open to everyone. Stop by to check the scene or even read a little something. Walk in and you'll be added to the list.
Email mailto:Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.
Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
Phone: 203-925-9064
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Thursday, Apr 10 2008
5:30pm - 7:00pm
RECEPTION for Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship award-winner, Eileen Albrizio
A reception for the recipients of the Greater Hartford Arts Council's 2008 New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship will display poetry by Eileen Albrizio, the only literary arts recipient.
The reception will be held at 500 Enterprise Drive in Rocky Hill, CT. For info, call Janice LaMotta at 860-680-3596.
Eileen's work, along with the work of the other performers and visual artists who received awards, will be displayed at the Paesaggio Gallery at 100 Pearl Street in Hartford, CT from April 10, 2008 through June 7, 2008.
For more information on the recipients, see: http://www.letsgoarts.org/NETCOMMUNITY
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Thursday, Apr 10 2008
5:45pm - 9:00pm
MISHI-MAYA-GAT Spoken Word & Music Series
presents Marilyn Nelson
5:45pm - Spoken Word Open Mike. Open Mike Feature is Patrick Sullivan has two graduate degrees from Wesleyan University and the University of Connecticut and is professor of English at MCC.
6:45pm - Music: C- is a folk and rock trio featuring the aforementioned Patrick Sullivan (guitar and vocals), Holly June Jacobs (vocals and percussion), and Ken Klucznik (guitar, mandolin and vocals). They have recorded a CD, C-, The Band, and their eclectic sets include originals and covers by such performers as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Neil Young. Check out http://www.c-theband.com.
7:45pm - Poetry: Marilyn Nelson. Bio below. There will be a book-signing after her reading.
Free and Open to the Public. Sponsored by the MCC
Foundation and hosted by Stephen Campiglio.
Fireside Commons, Learning Resource Center
Manchester Community College
Great Path
Manchester, CT
For more information or directions, please visit the Mishi-maya-gat web page at:
http://www.mcc.commnet.edu/faculty/spoken.php
or call 860-512-2824.
Marilyn Nelson, Poet Laureate of Connecticut from 2001-2006, has received two NEA creative writing fellowships, the 1990 Connecticut Arts Award, an A.C.L.S. Contemplative Practices Fellowship, a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, and a fellowship from the J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Her books include The Homeplace, which won the 1992 Annisfield-Wolf Award and was a finalist for the 1991 National Book Award; The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems, winner of the 1998 Poets' Prize and a finalist for the 1997 National Book Award and the Lenore Marshall Prize; Carver: A Life in Poems, which won the 2001 Boston Globe/Hornbook Award and was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award; Fortune’s Bones, which was a Coretta Scott King Honor Book; A Wreath for Emmett Till, winner of the 2005 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award and 2006 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book; and The Cachoiera Tales and Other Poems, which won the L.E. Phillabaum Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award. She is professor emeritus of English at the University of Connecticut and founder and director of Soul Mountain Retreat (http://www.soulmountainretreat.com), a small writers' colony in East Haddam.
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Tuesday, Apr 10 2008
6:30pm
NCCC MAD RIVER LITERARY FESTIVAL with Brian Johnson and Bessy Reyna
Continuation of the 12th Annual NCCC Mad River Literary Festival. Poets Brian Johnson and Bessy Reyna read.
Authors' books are available for purchase signing. Refreshments served. Free and open to the public.
Founders Hall
Northwestern CT Community College
Route 44 & Old Rte 8 North
Winsted, CT
Call 860-738-6340 for more information.
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Thursday, Apr 10 2008
6:30pm
RENNIE MCQUILKIN & JOAN KUNSCH in TORRINGTON
A "Poetic Duet" featuring poets Rennie McQuilkin and Joan Kunsch.
Charles Van Doren has commented that "the poems of Joan Kunsch are moving, beautiful, startling, and sometimes very funny. The range is extraordinary, from the dirge for a friend murdered in Zimbabwe to the ode to chocolate. The short ones are delightful and the long ones grand." Of Rennie McQuilkin’s work Dick Allen has said, "Rennie McQuilkin speaks from us and with us in a language so devoid of all rhetoric it is pure American: the natural man is lifted out of himself almost beyond his knowing. My response is one of pure thanks."
Torrington Library
12 Daycoeton Place
Torrington, CT
860-489-6684
For information, call 860-217-0023 or e-mail mailto:AntrimHouse@comcast.net
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Thursday, Apr 10 2008
7:00pm
THE STILL RIVER WRITERS in LEBANON
Live poetry at the Jonathan Trumbull Library!
The Still River Writers & Friends--Lisa C. Taylor, Charlie Chase, Gabrielle Zane, Barbara Batt, Ken McManus, Kevin Brodie--will read to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Jonathan Trumbull Library
580 Exeter Rd.
Lebanon, CT
Telephone 860-642-7763
http://www.lebanonctlibrary.org
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Thursday, Apr 10 2008
7:00pm
CATHLEEN CALBERT in Middletown
Cathleen Calbert to read from and sign copies of her new book, Sleeping With a Famous Poet, at Broad Street Books. She has also authored two other books of poetry: Lessons in Space and Bad Judgment. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Feminist Studies, Fiction, The New Republic, The Paris Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, and The Women's Review of Books. She was awarded The Nation Discovery Prize in 1991, the Gordon Barber Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America in 1994, the MacLeod-Grobe in 1996 and the Bullis-Kizer Award in 1998, both from Poetry Northwest, and a Pushcart Prize in 2001. Currently, she is the Director of Creative Writing at Rhode Island College.
Admission is free.
Broad Street Books
45 Broad Street
Middletown, CT
For more information, Brian Mitchard 860-685-7323
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Saturday, Apr 12 2008
12:00pm
POLLY BRODY in "MEET THE SOUTHERN AUTHORS"
Polly Brody will participate in "Meet the Southern Authors" an event taking place at noontime, in the Food Court of the Student Center at Southern CT State University. There will be a book table and author's signing. Polly Brody's latest books are The Burning Bush (essays with poetry) and At The Flower's Lip (poetry chapbook).
Links to each book:
www.antrimhousebooks.com/brody.html
www.antrimhousebooks.com/brody2.html
Student Center
Southern CT State University
501 Crescent Street
New Haven, CT
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Saturday, Apr 12 2008
8:00pm
ANTRIM HOUSE POETS in CANTON
A reading by Antrim House poets Cheryl Della Pelle, Geri Radacsi, Jim Kelleher, and Rennie McQuilkin. Refreshments will be served. A donation is suggested.
Gallery on the Green
Canton Town Green
Route 44
Canton, CT
For more information, contact Ann Barrett at mailto:barrettann@att.net
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Sunday, Apr 13 2008
2:00pm
JOHN BASINGER PERFORMS PARADISE LOST
In celebration of John Milton's 400th anniversary, John
Basinger will be performing a different book of Paradise
Lost every Sunday afternoon.
All readings start at 2:00pm (April 6, 13, 20, 27)
The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
mailto:near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org
The event is free; donations are accepted.
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Sunday, Apr 13 2008
2:00pm - 4:00pm
BEAN & LEAF OPEN MIKE POETRY READING
hosted by Tom Weigel
Old poets read, new voices heard in a new venue with
"a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee
and pastries." Visit the web site for more information.
Bean & Leaf Cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000
http://www.bean-leaf.com
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Sunday, Apr 13 2008
5:00pm
DOLORES HAYDEN in Stony Creek
Celebrating Poetry April is National Poetry Month, the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library presents Dolores Hayden, reading from American Yard and from her new book in progress, Nymph, Dun, and Spinner.
Dolores Hayden's poems have appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Yale Review, Southwest Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Slate, Verse Daily, and many other journals and anthologies. Her most recent collection, American Yard, was runner-up for the best book award in 2005 from the New England Poetry Club. She's won the Poetry Society of America's Emily Dickinson Award and is a Connecticut Performing Artist. She teaches at Yale. Her recent non-fiction books include Building Suburbia and A Field Guide to Sprawl.
Please join us for poetry, wine, and hors d'oeuvres!
Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library
146 Thimble Islands Road
Stony Creek, CT
Sponsored by the Friends of Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library
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Monday, Apr 14 2008
7:15pm
MONDAY NIGHT POETRY in STAMFORD
Monday Night Poetry meets on the second Monday of each month at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Stamford Town Center.
Please come and listen to local poets, bring a favorite poem, or read your own.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Stamford Town Center
100 Greyrock Place Suite H009
Stamford, CT
203-323-1248
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Monday, Apr 14 2008
7:30pm - 9:30pm
SPOKEN PALABRA
A weekly spoken word open mike at La Paloma Sabanera every Monday Evening: signup at 7:30pm, starts at 8:00pm.
"The open mike everyone's been asking for." Hosted by MIRA and Mind Evolution.
La Paloma Sabanera
405 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT
Ph: 860-548-1670
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Monday, Apr 14 2008
8:00pm - 10:00am
FOLDS OF FLESH: WOMEN WEARING WORDS
Freshwater presents "Folds of Flesh: Women Wearing Words"
The following students from Poetry and Women's Lives will read their poetry:
Corey Aretz
Stay-C Cauley
Kate Dion
Justine Frazier
Sherry Gelbwasser
Allison Grigely
Lynn Hoffman
Ann Kenny
Paige Steinert
Michelle Szydelko
Joyce West
Kristah West
The reading is free and open to the public and will be followed by an open music and poetry mike. Refreshments will be served.
The Coffee House Cafeteria II
Asnuntuck Community College
170 Elm Street
Enfield, CT
For information: Contact Edwina Trentham at 860-253-3105 or etrentham@acc.commnet.edu
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Monday, Apr 14 2008
9:00pm
BEATNIK 2000
Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.
http://www.cafenine.com/schedule.html
Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
12:00pm
MARILYN E. JOHNSTON in BLOOMFIELD
As part of Friends of the Prosser Library's Spring Luncheon at Seabury Retirement Community, Marilyn Johnston will read from her work and answer questions about her writing and publishing life.
Marilyn E. Johnston, a library assistant for the Prosser Public Library, will be reading excerpts and signing copies from her new book of poetry Silk Fist Songs, which was released recently by Simsbury-based publishers Antrim House.
The cost is $20.00. Advance registration is required. Please contact Jeanne Hunciker at 242-6329 for more information.
Seabury Retirement Community
200 Seabury Drive (off Wintonbury Avenue)
Bloomfield, CT
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
7:30pm
CALLING ALL POETS!
In celebration of National Poetry Month the Silas Bronson Library is Calling All Poets! (and Poetry Lovers) for a poetry recitation and book signing. Featuring poets Lorna Cyr, Mary Elizabeth Lang, Sandra Maineri, and Victoria Muñoz. Bring your favorite poem to read. Originals welcome. Admission is free.
Silas Bronson Library
267 Grand Street
Waterbury, CT
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
7:30pm
POEMALLEY at Curley's Diner
Read poetry, discuss writing and other topics of interest.
Curley's Diner
62 West Park Place
Stamford, CT
203-327-3716
mailto:ayarmal@earthlink.net
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm
WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring Poetry magazine
The April 2008 issue of Poetry magazine will be discussed after the evening's open mike. The discussion is part of the Poetry magazine's celebration of National Poetry Month. A summary of the discussion will be shared with the magazine publisher who is providing copies of the April issue.
For more info, visit the website: http://www.wedpoetry.net
WNPS, the longest running weekly poetry series in Connecticut, boasts an open mike, feature poets, a Q&A with the feature, and a poetry critique workshop.
Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
8:00pm
LISA ROBERTSON at Wesleyan
Wesleyan University's Distinguished Writer's Series presents poet Lisa Robertson, a member of Vancouver's Kootenay School of Writing, and the author of XEclogue, Debbie: An Epic, The Weather, and The Men. Her essays and collaborative texts for the visual arts have been collected in the book Occasional Works and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture, a Village Voice top book of 2004. Currently she is a visiting artist at California College of the Arts.
Organized by Prof. Elizabeth Willis. Sponsored by Edward W. Snowdon Fund and the Wesleyan Writing Program
Free of charge and open to the public. Seating is limited. Contact Joanna Tice at Russell House Programs, 860-685-3448 or RussellHouse@wesleyan.edu
Russell House, Room 104
350 High Street
Middletown, CT 06459
860-685-3448
www.wesleyan.edu/writing/distinguished_writers
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
8:00pm
PATRICIA SMITH in Manchester
Manchester Community College presents Patricia Smith, a poet, teacher, performance artist and author. Born in 1955, she is the author of four books of poetry: Teahouse of the Almighty, a 2005 National Poetry Series selection; Close to Death; Big Towns, Big Talk, which won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award; and Life According to Motown. Her poems have been published in many anthologies, including American Voices, The Spoken Word Revolution, and Bum Rush the Page. She is also the author of a history book, Africans in America, along with a children’s book, Janna and the Kings. She is currently working on Fixed on a Furious Star, a biography of Harriet Tubman.
A four-time individual champion on the National Poetry Slam, Smith has also been a featured poet on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and has performed her work around the world. She has written and performed two one-woman plays, one of which was produced by Derek Walcott’s Trinidad Theater Workshop. She is a Cave Canem faculty member and has served as the Bruce McEver Chair in Writing at Georgia Tech University. She lives in New York.
Admission is free.
Fireside Commons, Learning Resource Center
Manchester Community College,
Great Path
Manchester, CT
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
9:00pm - 11:00pm
THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC
Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.
Free event. Hosted by Charmagne.
Vibz Uptown
3155 Main Street
Hartford, CT
860-246-7390
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Wednesday, Apr 16 2008
9:30pm - 11:00pm
POETRY NITE at the Huntington Street Café
Poetry Nite every Wednesday at the Huntington Street Café. Run by Sammy and Natalie, it's open to everyone. Stop by to check the scene or even read a little something. Walk in and you'll be added to the list.
Email mailto:Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.
Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
Phone: 203-925-9064
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Thursday, Apr 17 2008
6:30pm
BRENT TERRY at UCONN
Brent Terry is the author of two collections of poetry, the chapbook yesnomaybe and Wicked, Excellently. His poems and essays have appeared in 5 a.m., Pebble Lake Review, Hunger Mountain, Rain Taxi, and many other publications. He holds an MFA from Bennington College. A former poet laureate of Minneapolis' Linden Hills neighborhood, Terry has taught at The College of Saint Catherine and in various community-based writing programs, and currently teaches at Eastern Connecticut State University.
UConn Co-op
2075 Hillside Road
Storrs, CT
860-486-5027
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Thursday, Apr 17 2008
7:00pm
WINTONBURY LIBRARY POETRY SERIES
featuring Cheryl Della Pelle
Cheryl Della Pelle will read from and sign her new book, Down to the Waters. The book tells the story of one woman's search for herself and for the sort of fulfillment that comes only to those who refuse to settle for less than everything. Sandra Bishop Ebner has written, "In this amazing debut book, the poet Cheryl Della Pelle takes us on a journey into a landscape filled with the sensual, the contemplative, the wisdom of the child's eyes... These poems are elegant, poignant, and memorable." Joan Kunsch is equally impressed: "This poet's gift is to imbue the ordinary with a significance that makes daily happenings into peak experiences."
An themed open mike follows the featured poet. Watch for announcements of theme nights for our open mike sessions. For more information, please call the Wintonbury Branch at 860-242-0041.
Wintonbury Branch Library
1015 Blue Hills Avenue
Bloomfield, CT
http://www.prosserlibrary.info/wintonbury_branch.htm
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Thursday, Apr 17 2008
7:00pm
JAZZ & POETRY in STAMFORD
An evening of jazz with Richard "Cookie" Thomas, and poetry with Herb Davison. Open mike too. Co-sponsored by CTE, Inc. and The Connecticut Center for the Book.
Ferguson Library - South End Branch
34 Woodland Avenue
Stamford, CT
(located in the South End Community Center)
203-351-8280
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Thursday, Apr 17 2008
7:30pm - 9:00pm
THIRD THURSDAY OPEN MIKE
Third Thursday every month in Stamford Borders near Merritt Parkway exit 35.
1041 High Ridge Road
Stamford, CT
203-968-9700
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Friday, Apr 18 2008
1:00pm - 2:45pm
POETRY DISCUSSION GROUP
Topic: TBA
Retired English professor Alan Holder leads this once-a-month poetry discussion, which take place on the third Friday of the month at 1:00pm. Each month a different poet's work will be up for discussion. New members always welcome.
A limited number of free copies of the book to be discussed will be available for approximately one month before the meeting. See the library's Circulation Desk. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
Location: Dayton Program Room
Ridgefield Library
472 Main Street (Route 35)
Ridgefield, CT
Contact: Lesley Lambton, 203-438-2282 or mailto:rdgprograms@biblio.org
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Friday, Apr 18 2008
7:30pm
JACK McCARTHY at Word of Mouth
Arts and Literature Laboratory’s Word of Mouth Poetry, Hosted by Long Wharf Theatre
Featuring Jack McCarthy
Word of Mouth: Each month on the third Friday, this New Haven poetry series celebrates the region’s eclectic mix of poetic voices. There will be an open mike, and Boston area original, Jack McCarthy will feature. The Boston Phoenix has named him “Best Standup Poet”. Recipient of the Boston Poetry Awards “Best Love Poet,” and the Cambridge Poetry Awards “Best Spoken Word” and “Best Humorous Poet.” The Boston Globe says, “In the poetry world, he’s a rock star.” Don’t miss the opportunity to hear Jack read his poetry. Visit standupoet.net
Please note the change of venue. This event will not take place at the Arts and Literature Laboratory. Long Wharf Theatre (www.longwharf.org) has generously offered to host the series this month while we search for a permanent home in New Haven. Please enter Long Wharf on the Stage II side of the building.
Long Wharf Theatre
222 Sargent Drive
New Haven, CT
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Saturday, Apr 19 2008
10:00am - Noon
FAXON POET'S CRITIQUE GROUP
The Faxon Poet's critique group meets on the third Saturday of the month.
The Faxon Library
1073 New Britain Avenue
West Hartford, CT
860-523-5545
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Saturday, Apr 19 2008
1:00pm - 3:00pm
THE ART OF CREATING A SUCCESSFUL POEM, A Workshop with Eileen Albrizio
See NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS
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Saturday, Apr 19 2008
2:00pm
CADUCEUS BOOK READING
Editor Tony Fusco announces a reading to launch Caduceus 5, at which contributing poets will read their work.
The Yale Bookstore At Barnes & Noble
77 Broadway
New Haven, CT
203-777-8440
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Saturday, Apr 19 2008
2:00pm - 3:00pm
SALLY BLIUMIS-DUNN IN GREENWICH
Sally Bliumis-Dunn teaches Modern Poetry and Creative Writing at Manhattanville College. Her poems have appeared in Nimrod, The Paris Review, Prairie Schooner, RATTLE, Rattapallax, and Spoon River Poetry Review. In 2002 she was a finalist for the Nimrod/Hardman Pablo Neruda Prize. Her manuscript, Talking Underwater, which has been a finalist for The University of Arkansas Press' First Book Prize in 2006, a semifinalist for The Kenyon First Book contest in 2002, the Bright Hill Press in 2005, and a finalist for the Richard Snyder Poetry Prize from Ashland Press in 2006, was published in 2007.
A book-signing follows reading. Free. All are invited.
Meeting Room
Greenwich Library
101 West Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT
For more information, contact Alice Bonvenuto 203-622-7919
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Saturday, Apr 19 2008
2:00pm - 4:00pm
CPS POETRY WORKSHOP in WILTON
Wilton Chapter of the Connecticut Poetry Society (formerly Saugatuck Chapter) will meet in Room A of the Wilton Library in Wilton Center.
The meeting format will be a structured workshop. Bring one poem and copies of it for the other participants. Poems should be no longer than 2 pages of Font 12. The workshop is free.
Wilton Library
137 Old Ridgefield Rd
Wilton, CT
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Sunday, Apr 20 2008
2:00pm
JOHN BASINGER PERFORMS PARADISE LOST
In celebration of John Milton's 400th anniversary, John Basinger will be performing a different book of Paradise Lost every Sunday afternoon.
All readings start at 2:00pm. (April 6, 13, 20, 27)
The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
mailto:near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org
The event is free; donations are accepted.
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Sunday, Apr 20 2008
2:00pm
JOHN ALTER AND DAVYNE VERSTANDIG
Join the Hickory Stick Bookshop as local poets John Alter and Davyne Verstandig will read their poems, published and unpublished.
Alter will be signing copies of his recently published Hanuman's Home, in which he "celebrates the sixty-year odyssey (he) has made." He teaches English at The Gunnery School here in Washington.
Verstandig has published two books of poetry, Pieces of the Whole and Provisions, and has performed improvisational work “composing on the tongue” while painting simultaneously. She is also director of the Litchfield County Writers Project.
The Hickory Stick Bookshop
2 Green Hill Road
Washington Depot, CT
860-868-0525
www.hickorystickbookshop.com
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Sunday, Apr 20 2008
2:00pm - 4:00pm
BEAN & LEAF OPEN MIKE POETRY READING
hosted by Tom Weigel
Old poets read, new voices heard in a new venue with "a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee and pastries." Visit the web site for more information.
Bean & Leaf Cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000
http://www.bean-leaf.com
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Monday, Apr 21 2008
6:00pm - 8:00pm
CPS POETRY WORKSHOP in DANBURY
The Danbury Chapter of the Connecticut Poetry Society holds a writing workshop at the Danbury Library on the third Monday of each month. Newcomers are welcome! Bring poems for sharing and discussion (about 6 copies to pass around, if possible).
For information, contact: mailto:dmh2000@sbcglobal.net
Danbury Library
Upstairs Conference Room
170 Main Street
Danbury, CT
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Monday, Apr 21 2008
6:30pm
DOUG ANDERSON in DANIELSON
The Julius Sokenu Poetry Prize Dinner with special guest poet, Doug Anderson.
Free food and poetry.
Thai Basil
187 North St
Danielson, CT 06239
860-774-1986
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Monday, Apr 21 2008
7:30pm - 9:30pm
SPOKEN PALABRA
A weekly spoken word open mike at La Paloma Sabanera every Monday Evening: signup at 7:30pm, starts at 8:00pm.
"The open mike everyone's been asking for." Hosted by MIRA and Mind Evolution.
La Paloma Sabanera
405 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT
Ph: 860-548-1670
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Monday, Apr 21 2008
9:00pm
BEATNIK 2000
Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.
http://www.cafenine.com/schedule.html
Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281
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Tuesday, Apr 22 2008
1:15pm
ALICE FULTON in HARTFORD, with John Harrity
The English Department of the University of Connecticut, in association with The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and The Hartford Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens, is pleased to announce the 45th annual presentation of the Wallace Stevens Poetry Program with featured poet Alice Fulton. Accompanying Fulton will be the high school student winner of the Wallace Stevens Prize, John Harrity. A resident of Hartford, and a student at the Watkinson School, Harrity will be reading the poem that earned him the Wallace Stevens prize and scholarship.
The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts
15 Vernon Street
Hartford, CT
Fulton has published six highly acclaimed works of poetry as well as a book of prose. She has received fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Ingram Merrill Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, The Michigan Society of Fellows, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been included in five editions of The Best American Poetry series and in the 10th Anniversary edition, The Best of the Best American Poetry, 1988-1997. Fulton’s poems have appeared in Poetry, The New Yorker, Parnassus, The Paris Review, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, and many other magazines.
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Tuesday, Apr 22 2008
6:30pm
POET'S OPEN MIKE
Enjoy an evening of poetry with Poet's Open Mike. Read something or just come and listen.
Harry Bennett Branch Ferguson Library
115 Vine Road
Stamford, CT
203-351-8291
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Wednesday, Apr 23 2008
7:30pm
BILINGUAL POETRY RECITATION
In celebration of National Poetry Month, The Hartford Public Library will have a poetry event featuring readings by local poets and an open microphone. Their works of Luis Araya, Marta Soledad, and Evelyn Dominguez will be read in Spanish.
All adult and young adult aspiring poets are invited to share poems, English and Spanish, during the open microphone session. If you would like to share your work, you may pre-register at 860-695-6353 by leaving your name and phone number. Come and enjoy what promises to be a great night of poetry!
Free. For more information, www.hplct.org
Third Floor Program Room
Hartford Public Library
500 Main Street
Hartford, CT
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Wednesday, Apr 23 2008
7:30pm
POEMALLEY at Curley's Diner
Read poetry, discuss writing and other topics of interest.
Curley's Diner
62 West Park Place
Stamford, CT
203-327-3716
mailto:ayarmal@earthlink.net
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Wednesday, Apr 23 2008
7:30pm
SUSAN KINSOLVING in Newtown
Susan Kinsolving will give a poetry reading in celebration of Poetry Month, reading from her most recent collection of poems, The White Eyelash.
The complex struggles of age and youth, mothers and daughters, families and their not-so-tender truths. Sense and madness, innocence and sour fruit. This mixed bag of a life is found in Susan Kinsolving’s new collection, The White Eyelash.
Susan Kinsolving's books include The White Eyelash, Dailies & Rushes, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Among Flowers. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications including The New York Times Book Review, Poetry, Yale Review, and The Paris Review. She has been invited to present her poems at universities, clubs, libraries and literary festivals throughout the world.
The Cyrenius H. Booth Library History
25 Main Street
Newtown, CT
203-426-4533
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Wednesday, Apr 23 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm
WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring Rennie McQuilkin
Rennie McQuilkin founded and until 2000 directed the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival at Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington which led naturally to his most recent venture: the establishing of Antrim House, whose mission is to publish the work of New England poets. His own poetry has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Poetry, The Southern Review, The Yale Review, The Hudson Review, The American Scholar, and elsewhere. Two of McQuilkin's nine books have won major awards, and he has received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as several fellowships from the CT Commission on the Arts. Other awards include first prize in the 2000 Yankee Awards series, the Ruth Fox Award of the New England Poetry Club, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Center for the Book. He is the Poet Laureate of Simsbury, CT, where he and his wife, the artist Sarah McQuilkin, live on a small farm. Richard Wilbur has written that "Rennie McQuilkin's poems are pungently exact about the properties of the real world… In a book which has poignancy, gusto, and many another mood, there is never a false feeling." Dick Allen adds, "He has a voice unlike that of any other contemporary poet—so natural, so sympathetic, so convincing...McQuilkin speaks from us and with us in a language so devoid of all rhetoric it is pure American: the natural man is lifted out of himself almost beyond his knowing… My response is one of pure thanks."
For info, visit: http://www.wedpoetry.net
WNPS, the longest running weekly poetry series in Connecticut, boasts an open mike, feature poets, a Q&A with the feature, and a poetry critique workshop.
Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313
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Wednesday, Apr 23 2008
8:00pm
ALICE FULTON at UCONN, with Michael Pontacoloni, Katrina Leno, and Matthew Harding
The English Department of the University of Connecticut, in association with The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and The Hartford Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens, is pleased to announce the 45th annual presentation of the Wallace Stevens Poetry Program with featured poet Alice Fulton. Fulton will be joined by the University of Connecticut prize winners, Michael Pontacoloni, Katrina Leno, and Matthew Harding.
Fulton has published six highly acclaimed works of poetry as well as a book of prose. She has received fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Ingram Merrill Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, The Michigan Society of Fellows, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been included in five editions of The Best American Poetry series and in the 10th Anniversary edition, The Best of the Best American Poetry, 1988-1997. Fulton’s poems have appeared in Poetry, The New Yorker, Parnassus, The Paris Review, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, and many other magazines.
First place winner Michael Pontacoloni, an English major and a Geography minor from Windsor, also won the McPeek Scholarship Essay Competition earlier this year. Second place winner, Katrina Leno, an English major from Somers, won first place in the IMPAC-CSU Young Writers Competition for prose in 2003. Third place winner, Matthew Harding, an English major from Enfield, is a repeat winner of the Wallace Stevens prize and in 2003 also won the Asuntuck Community College’s Freshwater Poetry Contest.
Konover Auditorium
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
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Wednesday, Apr 23 2008
9:00pm - 11:00pm
THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC
Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.
Free event. Hosted by Charmagne.
Vibz Uptown
3155 Main Street
Hartford, CT
860-246-7390
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Wednesday, Apr 23 2008
9:30pm - 11:00pm
POETRY NITE at the Huntington Street Café
Poetry Nite every Wednesday at the Huntington Street Café. Run by Sammy and Natalie, it's open to every-one. Stop by to check the scene or even read a little something. Walk in and you'll be added to the list.
Email mailto:Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.
Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
203-925-9064
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Thursday, Apr 24 2008
6:00pm
CATHLEEN CALBERT at Yale Bookstore
Cathleen Calbert reads poems from her collection, Sleeping with a Famous Poet, followed by open mike poetry readings.
Cathleen Calbert has also authored two other books of poetry: Lessons in Space and Bad Judgment. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous publications, including Feminist Studies, Fiction, The New Republic, The Paris Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, and The Women's Review of Books. She was awarded The Nation Discovery Prize in 1991, the Gordon Barber Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America in 1994, the MacLeod-Grobe in 1996 and the Bullis-Kizer Award in 1998, both from Poetry Northwest, and a Pushcart Prize in 2001. Currently, she is the Director of Creative Writing at Rhode Island College.
Location: Periodicals Department, Upper Level
The Yale Bookstore At Barnes & Noble
77 Broadway
New Haven, CT
203-777-8440
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Thursday, Apr 24 2008
6:30pm - 8:30pm
POETRY MATTERS!
featuring Ginny Connors and Jim Finnegan
West Hartford's Poet Laureate Maria Sassi invites all poets and poetry lovers to a community reading. Come early and sign up to read a poem. Ginny Connors and Jim Finnegan will start us off.
Downstairs at the Noah Webster Library
20 South Main St.
West Hartford
860-561-6950
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Saturday, Apr 26 2008
4:00pm
RENNIE MCQUILKIN & JOAN KUNSCH in SHARON
A "Poetic Duet" featuring poets Rennie McQuilkin and Joan Kunsch.
Charles Van Doren has commented that "the poems of Joan Kunsch are moving, beautiful, startling, and sometimes very funny. The range is extraordinary, from the dirge for a friend murdered in Zimbabwe to the ode to chocolate. The short ones are delightful and the long ones grand." Of Rennie McQuilkin’s work Dick Allen has said, "Rennie McQuilkin speaks from us and with us in a language so devoid of all rhetoric it is pure American: the natural man is lifted out of himself almost beyond his knowing. My response is one of pure thanks."
The event is free and open to the public. A 15-minute open-mike session will follow the features, followed by a wine and cheese reception.
The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon
10 Upper Main Street
Sharon, CT
For more information, call 860-364-5185 or visit http://www.hotchkisslibrary.org.
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Saturday, Apr 26 2008
7:30pm
ARTSPEAK - A New Open Mike in Simsbury!
Peaberry's Café of Simsbury is starting Artspeak, a poetry open mike on the fourth Saturday of every month hosted by Rob Dauphinais. We are hoping to generate interest in every corner of CT, so spread the word! The night will begin at 7:30 and go until 9:30, however, if there is an abundance of artists, we will go until 10:00. Our aim is to create an environment where poets of all ages will feel welcome and wanted, as well as challenged. We want this to be an atmosphere where artists can share and network, and, most importantly, grow!
All ages are welcome and we ask that each artist be sensitive to the audience and what may or may not be appropriate. Beyond this request, we want to keep censorship to a minimum, and we support freedom of speech and expression.
Artspeak will feature another experimental element, improvisational jazz. We're interested in the marriage of poetry and music, words and rhythm. If you are a jazz musician interested in playing, please come! These events will be relatively fluid and open. Our desire is to cultivate a dialogue between the art of words and the art of music.
Peaberry's Café
712 Hopmeadow Street
Simsbury, CT
860-658-2930
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Sunday, Apr 27 2008
2:00pm
JOHN BASINGER PERFORMS PARADISE LOST
In celebration of John Milton's 400th anniversary, John Basinger will be performing a different book of Paradise Lost every Sunday afternoon.
All readings start at 2:00pm. (April 6, 13, 20, 27)
The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
mailto:near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org
The event is free; donations are accepted.
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Sunday, Apr 27 2008
2:00pm
JOAN KUNSCH and CHERYL DELLA PELLE
Join the Hickory Stick Bookshop as local poets Joan Kunsch and Cheryl Della Pelle read in celebration of National Poetry Month.
Joan Kunsch has had work published in the U.S.A., Norway, England and India. She translates contemporary Norwegian poets, presents readings in Norwegian as well as English, and her book, Playing with Gravity, contains a number of her Norwegian translations. She also performs “Flute Meets Poem” in a duo with her sister, Kathi Byam.
Cheryl Della Pelle, the author of Down to the Waters, also founded the Walking Haiku Meditation Workshop, drawing on the Zen tradition which inspires poetry born on the tongue. In 1995 she co-founded Common Thread, a poetry performance group, producing several evenings of poetry, dance and music throughout the year. As an educator, she is a visiting artist in public schools, colleges and retreat centers, helping students find expression through poetry. Her own poems have been published widely, and she has read at venues throughout Connecticut.
The Hickory Stick Bookshop
2 Green Hill Road
Washington Depot, CT
860-868-0525
www.hickorystickbookshop.com
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Sunday, Apr 27 2008
2:00pm
AN AFTERNOON OF STAMFORD POETRY
Enjoy an afternoon of poetry in Spanish and English with a local Stamford literary group.
Ferguson Library - Main Library
Third Floor Auditorium
One Public Library Plaza
Stamford, CT
(Corner of Broad & Bedford Sts.)
203-964-1000
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Sunday, Apr 27 2008
2:00pm - 4:00pm
BEAN & LEAF OPEN MIKE POETRY READING
hosted by Tom Weigel
Old poets read, new voices heard in a new venue with "a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee and pastries." Visit the web site for more information.
Bean & Leaf Cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000
http://www.bean-leaf.com
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Monday, Apr 28 2008
7:30pm - 9:30pm
SPOKEN PALABRA
A weekly spoken word open mike at La Paloma Sabanera every Monday Evening: signup at 7:30pm, starts at 8:00pm.
"The open mike everyone's been asking for." Hosted by MIRA and Mind Evolution.
La Paloma Sabanera
405 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT
860-548-1670
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Monday, Apr 28 2008
9:00pm
BEATNIK 2000
Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.
http://www.cafenine.com/schedule.html
Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281
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Wednesday, Apr 30 2008
6:00pm - 8:00pm
SUE HOLLOWAY: A Remembrance in Prose & Verse
"I believe there's hope for the future, but we have to acknowledge the place of wonder and beauty that is our connection with the world." - Sue Holloway (December 24, 1944 - April 10, 2007)
Sue Holloway, PhD, expressed her extraordinary passion--and compassion--for the natural world in her writing, photography, teaching, wildlife rescues, and nature advocacy. She was a prolific writer of prose and poetry, was a former editor of The Connecticut River Review and faculty member of Xavier High School. Join friends and the members of Sue's writing circle as they celebrate Sue's singular spirit -- in her own words and in works inspired by Sue. Carol Altieri, Claire Zoghb, Kevin Carey, Tony Fusco and others will read.
Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
James Blackstone Memorial Library
758 Main Street
Branford, CT
For more information, contact Carol at 203-245-5764 or Sally at 203-481-0061
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Wednesday, Apr 30 2008
7:00pm
LISA C. TAYLOR in CHAPLIN
Lisa C. Taylor reads from her new collection of poetry, Talking to Trees, nominated for the L.L. Winship PEN New England Award.
Lisa C. Taylor teaches at Eastern Connecticut State University and at Arts at the Capitol Theater. She is writer-in-residence at EASTCONN. Her books include Talking to Trees, Safe Love and Other Political Acts, and Falling Open. Her work has been published in many journals and reviews.
Refreshments served.
William Ross Public Library
130 Chaplin Street
Chaplin, CT
860-455-9424
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Wednesday, Apr 30 2008
7:30pm
POEMALLEY at Curley's Diner
Read poetry, discuss writing and other topics of interest.
Curley's Diner
62 West Park Place
Stamford, CT
203-327-3716
mailto:ayarmal@earthlink.net
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Wednesday, Apr 30 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm
WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring Sharon Charde
Sharon Charde, a retired family therapist, is a writing teacher who has been published in over twenty journals and anthologies and has won a number of awards for her poems, including six Pushcart nominations. She edited and published an anthology of poetry, I Am Not A Juvenile Delinquent, the product of her weekly writing workshops at Touchstone, a residential treatment facility where she has volunteered since 1999. Her chapbook Bad Girl At The Altar Rail won first prize in the Flume Press 2005 chapbook competition, and Four Trees Down From Ponte Sisto, a chapbook of poems about her son's death and its aftermath, won first prize from the Dallas Poets Community in 2006. Her full-length collection, Branch In His Hand will be published this coming year. She has won the Litchfield County Inge Morath Award, given for the significant social impact she has had in the arts, and the "Making A Difference For Women Award" from Soroptimist International of Greater Waterbury. She also leads women's writing retreats in Lakeville, CT, and Block Island, RI.
For info, visit: http://www.wedpoetry.net
WNPS, the longest running weekly poetry series in Connecticut, boasts an open mike, feature poets, a Q&A with the feature, and a poetry critique workshop.
Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313
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Wednesday, Apr 30 2008
9:00pm - 11:00pm
THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC
Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.
Free event. Hosted by Charmagne.
Vibz Uptown
3155 Main Street
Hartford, CT
860-246-7390
.......................................................................................
Wednesday, Apr 30 2008
9:30pm - 11:00pm
POETRY NITE at the Huntington Street Café
Poetry Nite every Wednesday at the Huntington Street Café. Run by Sammy and Natalie, it's open to every-one. Stop by to check the scene or even read a little something. Walk in and you'll be added to the list.
Email mailto:Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.
Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
203-925-9064
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