September 1, 2008

THE CONNECTICUT POET ONLINE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 229

Poetry in Connecticut - September, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS_______________________________________

  • Quotes
  • Poem of the Month
  • Book of the Month
  • Website of the Month
  • News Items / Writing Workshops
  • Poetry Calendar for September
  • Subscription and Contact Information

I:__QUOTES________________________________________________

I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything.
– Steven Wright

If you had a million Shakespeares, could they write like a monkey?
– Steven Wright

If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know?
– Steven Wright


II:__POEM OF THE MONTH__________________________________

I KNEW A WOMAN

Theodore Roethke (1908 - 1963)
I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them;
Ah, when she moved, she moved more ways than one:
The shapes a bright container can contain!
Of her choice virtues only gods should speak,
Or English poets who grew up on Greek
(I'd have them sing in chorus, cheek to cheek.)

How well her wishes went! She stroked my chin,
She taught me Turn, and Counter-turn, and stand;
She taught me Touch, that undulant white skin:
I nibbled meekly from her proffered hand;
She was the sickle; I, poor I, the rake,
Coming behind her for her pretty sake
(But what prodigious mowing did we make.)

Love likes a gander, and adores a goose:
Her full lips pursed, the errant note to seize;
She played it quick, she played it light and loose;
My eyes, they dazzled at her flowing knees;
Her several parts could keep a pure repose,
Or one hip quiver with a mobile nose
(She moved in circles, and those circles moved.)

Let seed be grass, and grass turn into hay:
I'm martyr to a motion not my own;
What's freedom for? To know eternity.
I swear she cast a shadow white as stone.
But who would count eternity in days?
These old bones live to learn her wanton ways:
(I measure time by how a body sways.)

III:__BOOK OF THE MONTH_________________________________

This month we' ve selected a DVD performance as the highlighted book of poetry by a Connecticut author.

JOHN MILTON'S PARADISE LOST
Performed by John Basinger

In this new DVD, John Basinger, who has committed all twelve books of John Milton's “Paradise Lost” to memory, brings the text to dramatic life. (Let's pause for a minute here, folks, to consider the accomplishment: That's over ten thousand lines of poetry! Memorized! It makes my head hurt. Ok, back to the newsletter.) He has performed across the country and brought audiences to a keener appreciation of Milton's poetic masterpiece. This DVD was recorded in 2001 as Mr. Basinger presented a 3-day one-man dramatization of all twelve books at Three Rivers Community College's Basinger Auditorium in Norwich, CT.

The 4 DVD Set includes all 12 books on 3 DVDs plus a 4th of special features, including: the documentary: “Thus Spake John.” (Basinger, that is.)

“John Basinger's dramatic recitation of Paradise Lost drives home the majesty and power of the work, while highlighting the dramatic origins of the epic. The tonal range of Milton's verse achieves its fullest amplitude through John Basinger.” - Professor Albert C. Labriola, Editor, Milton Studies, and Secretary of the Milton Society of America

“A stunning and humbling feat of memory and devotion. Our students were inspired and amazed.” - Michael Posnick, Director, Department of Dance and Theater, Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York

“John Basinger's impressive stage performance shows us the landscape of heaven and hell. Playing all the characters from intriguing demons to ecstatic angels, John startles us into remembering why this is the creation story of Western Culture.” - Bob Falls, Director, Poetry Live

Professor Emeritus of Theater and Sign Language at Three Rivers Community College, John Basinger's credits include a long-time involvement with Theater and Storytelling. With the National Theatre of the Deaf, John performed as actor and musician in many of the company's national and international tours, as well as on Broadway. He is presently a member of the board of the National Theater of the Deaf. John was a member of the arts week faculty at the Omega Institute for 11 years. He appeared in Paramount Pictures' Children of a Lesser God, at the Long Wharf Theater, Hartford Stage Company, the Vineyard Playhouse on Martha's Vineyard and the Manhattan Theater Club. John was a Mellon Fellow in Theater at Yale University and is the author numerous plays including the outdoor drama “Benedict Arnold: A Brave Revenge,” which had its inaugural production in Washington Park in Groton, Connecticut, in 2003. John is a nationally recognized storyteller, an enthusiastic supporter of the Slam Poetry movement, and an arts activist in Middletown, CT.

$42.95 (Egress Films) http://www.paradiselostperformances.com/
You can also purchase the DVD at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown.

John will be performing from Paradise lost every Sunday in September at the Buttonwood Tree. See the Poetry Calendar below.


IV:__WEBSITE OF THE MONTH______________________________

PREDITORS & EDITORS

An interesting if somewhat haphazard website loaded with links, descriptions, information, and warnings about all things creative, including Submissions, Contests, Awards, Magazines, Workshops, and more. The editor automatically refuses to recommend any contest that charges a fee (which is most), but you can chose on your own whether the possible prize is worth the fee.

From the website: “A guide to publishers and publishing services for serious writers. Information for Artists, Composers, Game Designers, Poets, and Writers of all persuasions.”

www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors


V:__NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS____________________

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Bent Pin Quarterly, an online journal, is currently seeking submissions for its October 2008 and January 2009 editions. Poetry, flash fiction, essay, and a form called Story within Story are needed.

After reading our submission guidelines at http://www.bentpinquarterly.net/, please send an email with a maximum of five works to: BentPinQuarterly@yahoo.com.

NOTE: Bent Pin does not open attachments. Please include your legal name and address on your submissions as well as any pen name under which you'd like to publish. Also include a short bio. No cover letter is required, but if you send one, it will be read.

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Monday, September 8, 15, & 22 2008
5:15pm - 7:15pm


TIME & PLACE IN POETRY
a Poetry Writing Workshop with Pit Pinegar.

The three 2-hour sessions, from 5:15 to 7:15pm, will meet on Monday, September 8th, 15th, and 22nd.

Workshop facilitator Poet Pit Pinegar is the author of three collections of poetry, a teaching artist at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, a Sunken Garden Poetry festival reader, and owner of A Creative Life.

Registration fee $150. Please make checks payable to the Farmington River Literary Arts Center. Include your name, home phone, and e-mail address.

Farmington River Literary Arts Center
40 Mill Lane
Farmington, CT

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Saturday, September 20 2008
1:30pm - 3:00pm


THE BEAT AND NOTHING BUT THE BEAT: a Catalog of American Noise
A workshop with Roger Bonair-Agard

Poetry Central presents The Beat and Nothing but the Beat: a catalog of American Noise. This writing workshop will walk participants through two different exercises, in which the senses are forced to catalog, and by so doing 'tell' the American landscape. The poems of Terrance Hayes, Joan Larkin and the King James version of the Bible will be used to cultivate the participants' “ear” and draw out—in tryptic—the very vastness of what it means to be American, from the public/political to the personal/intimate.

Participants will have—time permitting—the opportunity to read their drafts out loud and get some immediate feedback for their subsequent drafts. Some time will be left for question and answer at the end.

Registration Ends: Sept 19 at 2:30pm.

Hartford Public Library
500 Main Street
Hartford, CT
Contact: Elizabeth Davis: 860-695-6295

Roger Bonair-Agard is a native of Trinidad and Tobago, a Cave Canem fellow and author of two collections of poetry; Tarnish and Masquerade and Gully (forthcoming in 2009). He is co-founder and Artistic Director of the louderARTS Project. Writer/Performer of the critically acclaimed one man poetry concert Masquerade: poems of calypso and home, Roger teaches and performs throughout the world. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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Sunday, September 21 2008
10:00am - 5:00pm


SUNDAY WRITING RETREATS
with Sharon Charde

Many of us sense that there are stories within us that need to be told, but cannot find the time, space or circumstances in our busy lives to do so. This series of Sunday writing retreats with Sharon Charde will provide that opportunity. The retreats are intense community writing experiences. Together we create a safe and supportive writing environment that encourages risks we would never take alone. We are fed by the listening of others, the rest from our busy lives, the delicious lunch. There is no critical feedback, only focused attention and deep acceptance.

The group is limited to eight women, many who attend on a regular basis. The cost is $75 per session, or $60 if you sign up for four or more. The next date is September 21. (There will also be meetings on November 9 and December 7.) We meet from 10:00 to 5:00. The location is Lakeville, CT, at the home of Sharon Charde. See her website, http://www.sharoncharde.com/, for more information and testimonials from women who have attended in the past. Write her at sharchar@sbcglobal.net to register or to ask other questions.


VI:__POETRY CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER___________________

Monday, September 1 2008
7:00pm


THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC

Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.

$5.00 cover. Hosted by Darlene Brandon Scott.

The Russell
103 Pratt Street
Hartford, CT

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Monday, September 1 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, September 1 2008
9:00pm


BEATNIK 2000

Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.

www.cafenine.com/schedule.html

Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281

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Tuesday, September 2 2008
7:30pm


FIRST TUESDAY POETRY (Norwalk)
featuring Van Hartmann

Van Hartmann is Professor of English at Manhattanville College, in Purchase, NY, where he teaches literature and film studies. Hartmann’s poetry has been published in numerous journals and his first book of poems, Shiva Dancing, was published in June, 2007. Shiva Dancing takes the reader on a journey across a physical and emotional landscape of loss, grieving, and renewal. The poems are lyrical and elegiac. They probe the multiple layers through which we experience the loss that comes with living and the redemption made possible by confronting that loss with honesty, concreteness, and compassion. He lives in Connecticut with his wife.

The First Tuesday Poetry group meets every month at Barnes & Noble Booksellers. (Note the new location. First Tuesday Poetry no longer meets at Borders in Wilton.)

Please come and listen to local poets, bring a favorite poem, read your own poems too. We offer a mix of guest poets, featured regular readers, Open Mike, and Occasional Workshop sessions.

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Shoprite Plaza
360 Connecticut Avenue
Norwalk, CT
203-866-2213

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Wednesday, September 3 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
ayarmal@earthlink.net

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Wednesday, September 3 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm


WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
Labor Day open mike theme

Work takes more than we bargain for, sometimes it gives more too. What do you labor at? What do you labor for? What kind of labor? Do you work for money? For time off? For your own inner vision? For the love of what you do? Do what you love, the adage says... but what if you can’t? What if you have to take any old job to pay the rent? Worse, what if you can’t find any old job and don’t have the rent....

So many questions for one open mike theme, Whatever the angle, labor is the topic.

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. For more info, visit the website: http://www.wedpoetry.net/.

Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313

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Wednesday, September 3 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 Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.

Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
Phone: 203-925-9064

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Thursday, September 4 2008
7:00pm

JOHN HOLLANDER in MADISON

Poet Laureate John Hollander discusses his most recent book, Draft of Light. Of this new collection it has been said, “In all of the poems, Hollander illuminates the fluid nature of physical and emotional experience, the connections between the simple things we encounter every day and the ways in which the meaning we attribute to them shapes our lives.”

Hollander is the author of eighteen previous books of poetry. His first, A Crackling of Thorns, was chosen by W. H. Auden as the 1958 volume in the Yale Series of Younger Poets. He edited The Laurel Ben Jonson; an anthology of contemporary poetry, Poems of Our Moment; and, with Harold Bloom, The Wind and the Rain, an anthology of verse for young people. He was a coeditor of The Oxford Anthology of English Literature and is the editor (with Anthony Hecht, with whom he shared the Bollingen Prize in Poetry in 1983) of Jiggery-Pokery: A Compendium of Double Dactyls. He is currently Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale.

Autographed book copies can be ordered through http://www.rjjulia.com/.

The event is free. Sponsored by RJ Julia Booksellers

RJ Julia Booksellers
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT
203-245-3959
books@rjjulia.com

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Thursday, September 4 2008
7:00pm

JOANIE DiMARTINO in NEW LONDON

Please join us for a new reading series, Poetry in the Galleries, sponsored by internationally acclaimed Curbstone Press out of Willimantic, CT. Each reading begins at 7:00pm in the galleries. The feature reader in September is Joanie DiMartino.

For more information, please call Curbstone at 860-423-5110.

Hygienic Galleries
79-83 Bank Street
New London, CT
860-443-8001

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Thursday, September 4 2008
7:00pm - 10:00pm

THURSDAY NIGHT POETRY

Open Mike Poetry Reading at Bean & Leaf. Old poets read, new voices heard.

A new venue with “a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee and pastries.” Visit the website for more information: http://www.bean-leaf.com/.

Bean & Leaf cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000

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Sunday, September 7 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 (September 7, 14, 21, 28)

The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org/
The event is free; donations are accepted.

.......................................................................................

Sunday, September 7 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 website for more information: http://www.bean-leaf.com/

Bean & Leaf Cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000

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Sunday, September 7 2008
2:00pm - 4:00pm


ELIZABETH THOMAS at HILL-STEAD MUSEUM

In honor of the publication of her new collection of poems, From the Front of the Classroom, Hill-Stead is pleased to host a reading and book signing with author, performer and educator Elizabeth Thomas. Taking the reader through her childhood, young adulthood and marriage, to her passionate involvement with teaching and poetry, this collection reveals the rich inner life that has made Elizabeth Thomas such an inspiration.

A widely published poet and advocate of the arts, Ms. Thomas has read her work throughout the United States and has been a member of three Connecticut National Poetry Slam teams. Ms. Thomas is a coach and organizer with Brave New Voices: International Youth Poetry Slam and Festival. She is also the founder of UpWords Poetry (http://www.upwordspoetry.com/), a company dedicated to promoting programs for young writers and educators, based on the belief that poetry is meant to be heard out loud and in person.

The reading will take place in the Makeshift Theater. Book signing and refreshments will follow. Free to the public.

Hill-Stead Museum
35 Mountain Road
Farmington, CT
860-677-4787

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Sunday, September 7 2008
4:30pm - 6:00pm


POETRY POTLUCK AT THE SANCTUARY

Do you love poetry? Would you like to be part of an ongoing poetry discussion group offering food for the mind and the heart? If so, come and join us on the this first Sunday of August at The Sanctuary in East Haddam to discuss poetry and build community.

This is not about sharing our own work but instead offers us a chance to share the work of poets we love, so you don’t have to be a poet to be part of this group. Just come and bring your love of poetry and a poem you would like to share.

Hosted by Greg Coleman, Suzy Lamson, and Edwina Trentham.

The Sanctuary at Shepardfields
59 Bogel Road
East Haddam, CT
(From Daniels Road, turn LEFT onto Bogel, then look for the “Labyrinth & Yurt” sign. It’s a dirt driveway.)

For more information call 860-319-1134 or visit http://www.sanctuaryatshepardfields.org/activities.html

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Monday, September 8 2008
5:15pm - 7:15pm

TIME & PLACE IN POETRY
a Poetry Writing Workshop with Pit Pinegar.

See NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS

.......................................................................................

Monday, September 8 2008
7:00pm

THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC

Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.

$5.00 cover. Hosted by Darlene Brandon Scott.

The Russell
103 Pratt Street
Hartford, CT

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Monday, September 8 2008
7:15pm

MONDAY NIGHT POETRY in STAMFORD
featuring Anne Marie Marra - aka Poe’Ho

Anne Marie is a multi-talented poet/writer/singer/artist/quilter. Her poetry about life’s experiences has an energy and wit that captures the audience and leaves the listener satisfied but curious to hear more.

Anne Marie recently competed at the National Poetry Slam competition in Madison, WI, as a member of the White Plains Poetry Slam Team.

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, September 8 2008
9:00pm

BEATNIK 2000

Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.

www.cafenine.com/schedule.html

Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281

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Tuesday, September 9 2008
7:00pm - 9:00pm

FIRST TUESDAY POETRY (Middletown)
featuring Wally Swist

Wally Swist is the house poet for the publication Many Hands. A recording of a poem from his reading in the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival is archived at npr.org. He is a recipient of two fellowships in poetry from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. Timberline Press will publish his latest collection of poetry, Mount Toby Poems, in a letterpress limited edition in late 2008. Wally has published 14 books and his poems have appeared in numerous books, periodicals, anthologies, publications and magazines worldwide including Rolling Stone and Yankee, the 60th anniversary edition.

Pulitzer-prize winning poet Richard Wilbur recently wrote: Wally Swist’s poems are full of clean perceptions and clear, proportionate feeling. They are easy to read in the sense that they are continually rewarding. They have a fine balance, doing justice to the natural, the human, and the divine, and treating none of these as refuge from another. As a grateful reader, I applaud him.

Broad Street Books hosts 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. Admission is free.

45 Broad Street
Middletown, CT
Broad Street Books
For more information, contact Brian Mitchard at 860-685-READ

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Wednesday, September 10 2008
6:30pm - 8:30pm


CALLING ALL POETS
featuring Victoria Rivas and Ernie Blue

Because of the sparked interest and great turn out at last April’s poetry celebration, the Silas Bronson Library has decided to go ahead with their own series. “Calling All Poets” will be a place in which all participants will have an opportunity to hear other poets as well as express their own voice through poetry. Participants are invited to bring original poems and/or other favorites to share in fitting with September’s open mike theme “Close to Home,” (Poems about home, where it was, is, or could be).

6:30-8:30pm (6:00 sign up). The reading will be held downstairs. Admission is free. Hosted by Victoria Muñoz.

Victoria Rivas a resident of Waterbury, teaching math, with her students as inspiration. She has featured around Connecticut for nearly 15 years with publications including the Connecticut River Review, the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, and many more. She is the author of a chapbook, Doing Laundry, and the forthcoming Yo Miss, I Need a Pencil, a book of poetry and prose. Rivas also has a press, Ye Olde Font Shoppe, specializing in CT Poets and the new generation of beat poets. She hopes to someday support herself with the profits from the press, but then she also thinks world peace is possible.

Ernie Blue is recently a retired twenty year veteran Corrections’ Officer, with the influence of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and other African-American leaders. Ernie keeps his heritage and responsibility as an African-American male at the center of his work, covering decades of history in a single poem. Ernie has featured across Connecticut, from Bethel to South Windsor; tonight he’ll be reading in his hometown.

The Silas Bronson Library
267 Grand Street
Waterbury, CT
203-574-8223

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Wednesday, September 10 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
ayarmal@earthlink.net

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Wednesday, September 10 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm


WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring Jean Jacques Poucel

Jean-Jacques Poucel is an Associate Professor of French at Yale University where he teaches courses in modern and contemporary literature. He is the author of Jacques Roubaud and the Invention of Memory and co-editor of Pereckonings: Reading Georges Perec. He is currently writing a study of French lyrical poetry from the early nineties to the present. He has translated poems from the French by Espitallier, Roubaud, Hocquard, Alferi and Forte. According to Mr. Poucel, his own poetry is “unpublished and written somewhere between.”

Mr. Poucel has made a special study of a technique called OULIPO, which seeks to create endless poetic possibility via mathematics. Click here for an explanation of the technique at the file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/All%20Users/Documents/CTPoet%20Newsletter/229%20-%20Sep%2008/www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5785.

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. For more info, visit the website: http://www.wedpoetry.net/.

Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313

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Wednesday, September 10 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 Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.

Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
Phone: 203-925-9064

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Thursday, September 11 2008
7:00pm - 10:00pm

THURSDAY NIGHT POETRY

Open Mike Poetry Reading at Bean & Leaf. Old poets read, new voices heard.

A new venue with “a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee and pastries.” Visit the website for more information: http://www.bean-leaf.com/.

Bean & Leaf cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000

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Thursday, September 11 2008
7:30pm

SEVENTH ANNUAL POETRY FOR PEACE COMMEMORATING 9/11

7:30pm - Candlelight Vigil for Peace outside the college
8:00pm to 10:00pm - Poetry For Peace in Cafe II

Asnuntuck Community College Faculty, Staff, and Students will read poems on peace, with music by Asnuntuck student Mike Ciervo. There will be an open mike focusing on poetry for peace during and after the reading.

Hosts: Edwina Trentham and the Editorial Staff of Freshwater

Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served

Sponsored by Freshwater Poetry Journal.

Cafe II
Asnuntuck Community College
170 Elm Street
Enfield, CT

For more information call 860-253-3105 or e-mail etrentham@acc.commnet.edu
For directions: http://www.acc.commnet.edu/

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Thursday, September 11 2008
7:30pm - 9:00pm

SECOND THURSDAY POETRY SERIES
Poems about War

Guilford Poets Guild presents a Roundtable reading of Poems about War. Members of the Guild will read poems on the subject of war and peace. Audience members are invited to share their own or someone else’s poem on the subject during the roundtable session. The reading is part of the Guilford Poets Guild Second Thursday Poetry Series.

Admission is free and open to the public.
Refreshments will be served

The Women and Family Life Center
96 Fair Street
Guilford, CT
Contact: 203-453-2036 or 203-453-8836

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Sunday, September 14 2008
1:00pm


FAIRFIELD AREA POETS

Fairfield Area Poets meets each month at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Westport. Please come and listen to local poets, bring a favorite poem, read your own poems too.

Barnes & Noble Booksellers Westport
Post Plaza Shopping Center
1076 Post Road East
Westport, CT
203-221-7955

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Sunday, September 14 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 (September 7, 14, 21, 28)

The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org/
The event is free; donations are accepted.

.......................................................................................

Sunday, September 14 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 website 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, September 14 2008
2:00pm


POETRY AND MUSIC
featuring Charles Simic

A reading by Charles Simic, former Poet Laureate of the United States, with a performance of “Simic Songs” by Robert Carl, sung by Penney Kimbell, Martha Smith, Toby Twining, and Mark Johnson. Neely Bruce, music director. Made possible by a grant from the Edward W. Snowdon Fund.

Admission is free. Sponsored by the Music Department.

Memorial Chapel
221 High Street
Middletown, CT

Visit the Upcoming Events section at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa

For more information: 860-685-3355 or boxoffice@wesleyan.edu

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Monday, September 15 2008
5:15pm - 7:15pm

TIME & PLACE IN POETRY
a Poetry Writing Workshop with Pit Pinegar.

See NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS

.......................................................................................

Monday, September 15 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: dmh2000@sbcglobal.net

Danbury Library
Upstairs Conference Room
170 Main Street
Danbury, CT

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Monday, September 15 2008
7:00pm

THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC

Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.

$5.00 cover. Hosted by Darlene Brandon Scott.

The Russell
103 Pratt Street
Hartford, CT

.......................................................................................

Monday, September 15 2008
9:00pm

BEATNIK 2000

Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.

www.cafenine.com/schedule.html

Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281

.......................................................................................

Tuesday, September 16 2008
7:00pm


THE ORDINARY EVENING READING SERIES
featuring Alice Mattison and Cameron Gearen

The Ordinary Evening Reading Series is proud to inaugurate its Fall 2008 program with readings by novelist (and Ordinary Evening co-curator) Alice Mattison and poet Cameron Gearen. (Bios below.) The Ordinary Evening Reading Series was created to bring emerging and established poets and writers to New Haven, and to enrich the already robust artistic, cultural, and literary scene in the Elm City.

Alice Mattison—one of the four organizers of the Ordinary Evening series—will read from her new novel, Nothing Is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn, which will be published by HarperCollins on September 16, the day of her reading. An excerpt appeared recently in The New Yorker. Alice’s book, In Case We’re Separated: Connected Stories, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 2005 and won the Connecticut Book Award for fiction. She is the author of four other novels and three other collections of stories.

Cameron Gearen has published a chapbook of poetry entitled Night, Relative to Day, was selected by Robert Pinsky in 2004. Her poetry has appeared in numerous publications, including The Antioch Review, Crazyhorse, Poetry Northwest, and The Bellingham Review. She won the Grolier Prize in 1994, the W.B. Yeats Society Poetry Contest in 2001, and the 2005 Lynda Hull Prize from Crazyhorse.

The Ordinary Evening Reading Series was created to bring emerging and established poets and writers to New Haven, and to enrich the already robust artistic, cultural, and literary scene in the Elm City. Visit http://ordinaryevening.blogspot.com

Seating is limited so get there early!

The Anchor Bar’s Mermaid Room (Downstairs)
272 College Street
New Haven, CT
203-865-1512

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Wednesday, September 17 2008
7:00pm


THIRD WEDNESDAY POETRY

Third Wednesday Poetry Series is a new series at Corleones Cafe. An open mike will follow feature readers.

Host: Edmond Chibeau

Corleones Cafe
103 Union Street
Willimantic, CT

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Wednesday, September 17 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
ayarmal@earthlink.net

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Wednesday, September 17 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm


WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring Sandra Bishop Ebner

Sandra Bishop Ebner, an RN in psychiatrics whose poetry has appeared in various journals, including the Poetry of Nursing, belongs to Monday Poets, a Litchfield County workshop group. She has studied with poets Galway Kinnell, Sharon Olds, and Honor Moore, and has won honorable mention in the Comstock Writers’ Group poetry contest and has been published in their literary journal. Since 1991, she’s give poetry workshops at Wisdom House for “Sage Days” and for youth at the elementary level. Her first book is called The Space Between.


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. For more info, visit the website: http://www.wedpoetry.net/.

Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313

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Wednesday, September 17 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 Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.

Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
Phone: 203-925-9064

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Thursday, September 18 2008
6:30pm


WORD OF MOUTH POETRY SERIES
featuring John Surowiecki

John Surowiecki is the author of two books of poetry, The Hat City after Men Stopped Wearing Hats and Watching Cartoons before Attending a Funeral, as well as five chapbooks. He has won a number of prizes, including the Nimrod Pablo Neruda Prize and the silver medal in the last Sunken Garden Poetry Festival National Competition. A new collection, Barney and Gienka, will appear next year, and his Tapeworm Comics, a poem in comic book form, will be published by Ugly Duckling Presse in the fall. His verse drama, My Nose and Me: A TragedyLite or TragiDelight in 33 Scenes, won a Poetry Foundation Pegasus Award. The play will be produced in Chicago next spring and at the University of Connecticut on November 13. He is widely published, including Alaska Quarterly Review, Nimrod, and Poetry, among others.

On the third Thursday of each month, Word of Mouth Poetry Series celebrates an eclectic mix of poetic voices. Free. Refreshments. Open mike. Outstanding featured readers. In a casual setting. Open to all members of the public and others. For more information, please contact allwordofmouth@gmail.com or mcguireschwartz@gmail.com.

Doors Open at 6:30. Open mike at 7:00. Please arrive a few minutes early to sign up for open mike.

The Institute Library
847 Chapel Street
New Haven, CT

Word of Mouth is an affiliate of Arts and Literature Laboratory. Please visit our website at allgallery.org.

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Thursday, September 18 2008
7:00pm - 9:00pm

MISHI-MAYA-GAT Spoken Word & Music Series
presents
Bessy Reyna

7:00pm - Featured Musician: Jim Mercik, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, has been performing for more than 20 years as both a soloist and as an accompanist with a multitude of artists, including Grammy Award winners Bonnie Raitt and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot.

8:00pm - Featured Poet: Bessy Reyna is an award-winning Latina poet. Her latest book, The Battlefield of Your Body, a bilingual poetry collection, was released in June of 2005 by the Hill-Stead Museum. Reyna’s poems and stories are found in U.S. and Latin American literary magazines, including the Connecticut Review and online in the Global Media Journal, as well as in several anthologies. She is also a monthly opinion columnist for The Hartford Courant. For three summers she conducted radio interviews with the poets appearing at the nationally renowned Sunken Garden Poetry Festival in Farmington. A frequent lecturer and guest artist at colleges, libraries and museums, Reyna is also a Master Teaching Artist for the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. Born in Cuba and raised in Panama, she is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and earned her Master’s and Law degrees from the University of Connecticut.

Free and Open to the Public. Sponsored by the MCC Foundation.
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.


PLEASE NOTE: The Open Mike segment of the Mishi-maya-gat events will now be a separate event sponsored by MCC’s Poets Club. The new Open Mike will take place on the first Wednesday of each month, beginning in October, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Fireside Commons. Free and open to the public. All writers who participated in the Mishi-maya-gat Open Mike are encouraged to support this new venue.

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Thursday, September 18 2008
7:00pm - 10:00pm

THURSDAY NIGHT POETRY

Open Mike Poetry Reading at Bean & Leaf. Old poets read, new voices heard.

A new venue with “a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee and pastries.” Visit the website for more information: http://www.bean-leaf.com/.

Bean & Leaf cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000

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Thursday, September 18 2008
7:30pm - 9:00pm


THIRD THURSDAY OPEN MIC

Open mike poetry reading on the third Thursday of every month at the Stamford Borders.

Borders
1041 High Ridge Road (near Merritt Parkway exit 35)
Stamford, CT
Phone: 203-968-9700

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Friday, September 19 2008
1:00pm - 2:45pm

POETRY DISCUSSION GROUP
Topic:
William Butler Yeats

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
203-438-2282 or
rdgprograms@biblio.org
http://www.ridgefieldlibrary.org/

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Friday, September 19 2008
7:00pm


ARTS CAFÉ in MYSTIC
featuring Gerald Stern

Gerald Stern, currently a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets, has won the National Book Award, the Lamont Poetry Prize, and the Wallace Stevens Award, among many other honors. He will read from his new collection, Save the Last Dance.

The show will also feature the Salt Marsh Opera in a special "sneak preview" of its upcoming production of Donizetti’s masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor.

The Arts Café is in its 15th year.

Mystic Arts Center
9 Water Street
Mystic, CT
860-536-5680

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Friday, September 19 2008
7:00pm


R J JULIA OPEN MIKE NIGHT

Come read from your newest short story, poem, or essay and feel the rush of taking your work public. All we ask in return? That you limit your time to 5-7 minutes, and that you come prepared to be impressed! Please reserve your spot at the Information counter.

Typically, Open Mike nights are on the 3rd Friday of the month. Visit our events page at http://www.rjjulia.com/events/madison.lasso for up-to-date schedule.

RJ Julia Booksellers
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT
203-245-3959
books@rjjulia.com

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Friday, September 19 2008
7:30pm - 9:30pm

BESSY REYNA in MIDDLETOWN

Bessy Reyna is an award-winning Latin poet. Born in Cuba and raised in Panama, she is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and earned her Master’s and Law degrees from the University of Connecticut. Reyna’s poems and stories are found in U.S. and Latin American literary magazines. She has also been published in numerous anthologies including El Coro: A Chorus of Latino and Latina Poetry, In Other Words: Literature by Latinas of the United States, The Arc of Love: Lesbian Poems, and The Wild Good.

Reception at 7:30pm. Admission is $8.00 ($5.00 members seniors & students). Sponsored by Green Street Arts Center. Special thanks to the Aetna Foundation, marketing and outreach sponsor for Latino Voices.

Green Street Arts Center
51 Green Street
Middletown, CT
http://www.greenstreetartscenter.org/
860-685-7871

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Saturday, September 20 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, September 20 2008
11:00am


FALL FESTIVAL 2008 at BURGANDY BOOKS
presents Bob Jacob

Bob Jacob, author of Perspective, will be reading and book-signing as part of a four-day festival. Refreshments will be served. For more information contact Linda at the bookstore.

Bob Jacob’s book is a testament to the human spirit. Readers have been enthusiastic about the verse of a man who has dedicated himself to those most in need of what Jacob calls his loving words. Jean Valentine writes, “I admire Bob Jacob’s loving, tender voice valuing people close to death.” And Stephen Dunn has commented that the poems “reveal a man you’d like to know.” In 2004 a short selection of Jacob’s hospice poems, “Upon Their Quiet Altars,” was published. Like his full-length collection, the earlier book appeared under the aegis of The Connecticut Hospice, to which all proceeds of both books are being donated.

Burgundy Books
4 Norwich Rd.
East Haddam, CT
860-873-9312
Info@burgundybooks.net

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Saturday, September 20 2008
1:30pm - 3:00pm

THE BEAT AND NOTHING BUT THE BEAT: a Catalog of American Noise
A workshop with Roger Bonair-Agard

See NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS

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Saturday, September 20 2008
3:00pm


CENTRAL GALLERY POETRY READING SERIES
presents Charlotte Currier

Admission is free. Refreshments served.

Central Gallery
270 Main Street
Old Saybrook, CT

Contact: Hillary Seltzer 860-510-0432
or visit our website: www.centralgallery.net

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Saturday, September 20 2008
3:30pm - 4:30pm

POETRY CENTRAL
featuring Roger Bonair-Agard

Roger Bonair-Agard is a native of Trinidad and Tobago, a Cave Canem fellow and author of two collections of poetry; Tarnish and Masquerade and Gully (forthcoming in 2009). He is co-founder and Artistic Director of the louderARTS Project. Writer/Performer of the critically acclaimed one man poetry concert Masquerade: poems of calypso and home, Roger teaches and performs throughout the world. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Hartford Public Library
500 Main Street
Hartford, CT
Contact: Elizabeth Davis: 860-695-6295

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Saturday, September 20 2008
5:00pm


FALL FESTIVAL 2008 at BURGANDY BOOKS
presents Eileen Albrizio

Eileen Albrizio, author of three books of poetry, most recently Perennials: New & Selected Poems, will be reading as part of a four-day festival. Refreshments will be served. For more information contact Linda at the bookstore.

Eileen Albrizio is the author of three print volumes of poetry: Messy on the Inside, Rain - Dark as Water in Winter, and Perennials: New & Selected Poems, the last of which was just nominated for the Connecticut Book Award. On the Edge, a recitation of her poetry on CD, was produced with the help of a 2003 Poetry Fellowship from the Greater Hartford Arts Council. She has also penned several plays, two novels, and is currently working on a compilation of fictional short stories. She is a 2008 recipient of the New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship.

Burgundy Books
4 Norwich Rd.
East Haddam, CT
860-873-9312
Info@burgundybooks.net

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Sunday, September 21 2008
10:00am - 5:00pm


SUNDAY WRITING RETREATS with Sharon Charde

See NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS

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Sunday, September 21 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 (September 7, 14, 21, 28)

The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org/
The event is free; donations are accepted.

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Sunday, September 21 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 website 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, September 21 2008
3:00pm


THE POET’S VOICE
presents 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Philip Schultz

Philip Schultz has received several prestigious awards and grants for his poetry. His most recent book of poetry, Failure, won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of Deep Within the Ravine, which was the recipient of The Academy of American Poets Lamont Prize, and Like Wings, winner of an American Academy & Institute of Arts and Letters Award as well as a National Book Award nomination. Schultz is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship in Poetry to Israel and a 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry. He has also received, among others, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, as well as the Levinson Prize from Poetry magazine.

“Philip Schultz is a hell of a poet, one of the very best of his generation, full of slashing language, good rhythms, surprises, and the power to leave you meditating in the cave of his poems.” - Norman Mailer

The reading is free and open to the public and will take place in the Library’s Meeting Room on the second floor. There will be a Q&A following the reading as well as a book signing.

Sponsored by Friends of Greenwich Library and the Horace E. Manacher Poetry Fund.

Greenwich Library
101 W. Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT
Info: 203-622-7919
abonvenuto@greenwichlibrary.org
http://www.greenwichlibrary.org/

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Sunday, September 21 2008
6:00pm


THE CENTRAL VALLEY POETRY SERIES
presents Dolores Lawler and Minta White

The event is free; donations are accepted.

The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org/

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Monday, September 22 2008
5:15pm - 7:15pm

TIME & PLACE IN POETRY
a Poetry Writing Workshop with Pit Pinegar.

See NEWS ITEMS / WRITING WORKSHOPS

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Monday, September 22 2008
7:00pm

THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC

Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.

$5.00 cover. Hosted by Darlene Brandon Scott.

The Russell
103 Pratt Street
Hartford, CT

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Monday, September 22 2008
9:00pm

BEATNIK 2000

Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.

www.cafenine.com/schedule.html

Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281

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Wednesday, September 24 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
ayarmal@earthlink.net

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Wednesday, September 24 2008
7:30pm - 10:00pm


WEDNESDAY NIGHT POETRY SERIES
featuring White Plains National Slam Team

Freshly returned from the 2008 National Slam in Madison, WI, those wild woolly slammers, chair standers, hallway streakers, mannequin suitors and poe(try) ho-ho’s from the White Plains National Slam Team - Dan DeRosa, Sean, (winner of WNPS’s first slam) Anne Marie Marra and James Joseph will perform as a team again! Of course their coach and slam-master Mr. PopTart and the renown Ms. Sweetie will lend a hand(s) too.

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. For info, visit: http://www.wedpoetry.net/.

Molten Java Coffee Roasters, LLC
102 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT
203-739-0313

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Wednesday, September 24 2008
8:00pm

CANCELED

M. NOURBESE PHILIP at WESLEYAN

M. NourbeSe Philip is a poet, essayist, novelist and playwright who was born in Tobago and now lives in Toronto. She practiced law in Toronto for seven years before deciding to write full time. Philip has published four books of poetry, one novel, and three collections of essays. She has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, the Casa de las Americas Prize (Cuba), the Tradewinds Collective Prize, and was made a Guggenheim Fellow in Poetry. Her most recent book of poetry is Zong!, a moving work of experimental verse drawing upon the legal decision Gregson v Gilbert—a case that dealt with the intentional drowning of 150 Africans by the captain of the slave ship Zong in order to recoup insurance monies for the ship’s owners. See http://www.nourbese.com/.

Wesleyan University
Russell House
350 High Street
Middletown, CT
Contact: 860-685-7723
selliott@wesleyan.edu

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Wednesday, September 24 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 Pollie_Vack@yahoo.com for info.

Huntington Street Café
90 Huntington Street
Shelton, CT
203-925-9064

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Thursday, September 25 2008
6:30pm


THE CENTRAL VALLEY POETRY SERIES
presents Raffle Winners: Beverly Titus, Tom Nicotera, and Danelle Fiorentino

Thanks to participants in the raffle!
Wood Memorial Library
783 Main Street
South Windsor, CT
http://www.woodmemoriallibrary.org
860-289-1783

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Thursday, September 25 2008
7:00pm - 10:00pm

THURSDAY NIGHT POETRY

Open Mike Poetry Reading at Bean & Leaf. Old poets read, new voices heard.

A new venue with “a killer sound system and lots of delicious teas and coffee and pastries.” Visit the website for more information: http://www.bean-leaf.com/.

Bean & Leaf cafe
13 Washington St.
New London, CT
860-701-0000

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Saturday, September 27 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, September 28 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 (September 7, 14, 21, 28)

The Buttonwood Tree
605 Main Street
Middletown, CT
860-347-4957
near@buttonwood.org
http://www.buttonwood.org/
The event is free; donations are accepted.

.......................................................................................

Sunday, September 28 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 website 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, September 29 2008
6:00pm

HENRI COLE & LOUISE GLÜCK at YALE

Henri Cole and Louise Glück (bios below) give a poetry reading at Yale. Sponsored by the Department of English

St. Anthony Hall
483 College Street
New Haven, CT
Contact: 203-432-2233
http://www.beineckepoetry.wordpress.com/readings-at-yale-university/

Henri Cole was born in Fukuoka, Japan, and was raised in Virginia. He is the author of six books of poetry, including Middle Earth (2003), a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and, most recently, Blackbird and Wolf (2007).

Cole's awards and honors include the Berlin Prize of the American Academy in Berlin, the Rome Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. From 1982 until 1988 Cole was executive director of The Academy of American Poets.

Louise Glück is the author of eleven books of poetry, many of which have been honored with awards. Her most recent, Averno, was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award in Poetry. Vita Nova (1999) won the Boston Book Review's Bingham Poetry Prize and The New Yorker's Book Award in Poetry. In 1992, The Wild Iris received the Pulitzer Prize and the Poetry Society of America's William Carlos Williams Award. Also, Ararat (1990), received the Library of Congress's Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, and The Triumph of Achilles (1985) received the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Boston Globe Literary Press Award, and the Poetry Society of America's Melville Kane Award.

She has also published a collection of essays, Proofs and Theories: Essays on Poetry (1994), which won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for Nonfiction. Her honors include the Bollingen Prize in Poetry, the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry, a Sara Teasdale Memorial Prize, the MIT Anniversary Medal and fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, and from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1999 Glück was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In the fall of 2003, she replaced Billy Collins as the Library of Congress's twelfth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. In 2003, she was announced as the new judge of the Yale Series of Younger Poets.

In 2008, Glück was selected to receive the Wallace Stevens Award for mastery in the art of poetry.

She is a writer-in-residence at Yale University.

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Monday, September 29 2008
7:00pm

THE LOVE JONES OPEN MIC

Spoken Word and Song event. All poets welcome.

$5.00 cover. Hosted by Darlene Brandon Scott.

The Russell
103 Pratt Street
Hartford, CT

.......................................................................................

Monday, September 29 2008
9:00pm

BEATNIK 2000

Music and poetry every Monday night, hosted by Ed Leonard. No Cover.

www.cafenine.com/schedule.html

Cafe 9
250 State Street
New Haven, CT
203-789-8281


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