Worcester County Poetry Association
Established 1971
Worcester County Poetry Association /1 Ekman Street, Worcester, MA 01607 / 508-797-4770 / wcpaboard@yahoo.com
POETRY VENUES
The After Nine Poetry Series
D'Alzon Poetry Series
The Dirty Gerund Poetry Show
One Poem And....
Street Beat
Worcester Storytellers
Every Thursday night
4th Saturday, monthly
Monthly, October through May
Some Sundays, Spring & Fall
Every Monday night
Every Monday night
3rd Thursday, October through May
Every Sunday night
2nd Thursday, monthly
3rd Saturday Morning, monthly
2nd Friday, monthly
Saturdays (schedule TBA)
There's no shortage of great poetry venues in Central Massachusetts!
Most formats include a featured poet and an open mic. Although admission is free, many 'pass the hat' - so don't be shy about putting a few dollars in to pay the poet and keep the venue going. Also, it's good form to buy food or drinks at the restaurant-based venues.
We've asked the hosts to describe their venues. Just click the names at the right or scroll down the page. Listings for features are updated regularly in the calendar.
Barnes & Noble Poetry Series
541 Lincoln Street, Worcester
Host: Carle Johnson
What to expect at B&N Poetry Series:
Open followed by featured poet. A group usually gathers for refreshments at the Starbuck's in the B&N after the readings... and gets tossed out with the 10 o'clock closing..
Some B&N Poetry Series history:
First Open Mic April 24, 2004, with Francine D"Alessandro as first feature poet.
Averaging 10 poets a year - repeat features are very rare Every 4th Saturday of the month except December - As of summer, 2009, we have presented over 50 different feature poets.
Del Rossi's Autumn Oracles and Writes of Spring
Sundays, 2:30 p.m. (scheduled for some Sundays, fall and spring)
Rt. 137 North, Dublin, NH
Contact: rodgerwriter@myfairpoint.net or call Del Rossi's at 603-563-7195
What to expect at Del Rossi's:
Social at 2:30, 3 p.m. open reading (1 poem per reader), followed by feature
Some Del Rossi's history:
Reading series since 1989.
The Little "a" Poetry Series at the Q Cafe
Every Monday night at 7:30pm
362 Chandler Street, Worcester
(Corner of Chandler and Lovell, in the same strip as White Cleaners)
Contact: Matthew M. K. Hopewell at themadcowboy@gmail.com
Also, for those on facebook, there's a Little "a" Poetry Series group you can join for updates.
What to expect at The Little “a”:
The format of the Little "a" is an open mic followed by a featured poet, or in some cases odd slams.
Some Little “a” history:
The Little "a" Poetry Series is coming up on one year of running at the Q. We have no particular focus when it comes to the poetry that is read. Surrealism is popular, but some slam poets have read, classics, academics, or any other kind of spoken word. On occasion, we have seen some performance art and music as well. One should be aware that there is no censorship of any kind, poets are allowed to read up to three poems during the open mic, and that the reading is free to attend (provided that a purchase is made from the cafe, and donations are encouraged so that we can pay featured poets).
The Poets' Asylum
Every Sunday night - 6 to 9 p.m.
Jumpin' Juice & Java - 335 Chandler Street, Worcester
website: http://poetsasylum.org
Contact: Bob Gill - webmaster@poetsasylum.org
What to expect at Poets’ Asylum:
The average Sunday night at the Asylum consists of an open reading, followed by a 30-40 minute reading by a featured poet. Once a month or so, there’s an open slam – a friendly competition judged by randomly chosen audience members. These monthly slams may be part of the process for selecting a team to represent Worcester at the National Poetry Slam Championships, held annually in August somewhere in the USA. Or they may be just for fun. Either way they are a great place to see and hear some of the area’s best performance poets.
Some Poets’ Asylum history:
The Poets’ Asylum was founded in late 1990 as an offshoot of the Works in Progress/Open Stage at the Worcester Artists Group. It came into its own as a weekly reading series in February of 1991, shortly after the first poetry slam in the city was held, and has continued over nineteen-years and various venues to become known as one of the premiere performance poetry venues in the New England area. The Poets' Asylum has always maintained a mix of open mic readings, featured poets, and poetry slams. The series is open to all poets and writers, all ability levels, all styles, all ages, with no constraints on content or language. The reading has never asked for a cover charge, paying its featured poets through the generosity of its audience and open mic readers.
Wake Up and Smell the Poetry
Third Saturday morning of the month 10:30 am-12:45
HCAM TV Studios, 77 Main Street, Hopkinton, Ma
website: http://www.hcam.tv
contact: Cheryl Perreault at cbperreault@gmail.com
What to expect at Wake Up:
This is a monthly program for poets, singer songwriters and spoken word artists as well as general audience who come just to listen. The program includes guest features of poetry and song and an open mic takes place after the features. The event takes place in a cable TV studio and the participants are filmed for later televised version of the program. Some of the open mic participants are included in the televised program along with the monthly guest features, others are included in the All Open Mic Highlights programs. These shows are featured on local and distant cable television and also can be viewed online at the website www.HCAM.TV (go to "current series/Wake up and Smell the Poetry" icon.)
Some Wake Up History:
This program was originally created to "awaken" and excite people (fellow-writers/nonwriters) about poetry and the diverse and connecting power of contemporary poems orally shared by local and long distance poets. Not long after singer-songwriters were invited to join and perform as features and open mic participants... as the host believes in the important fusion of both artforms. In addition,spoken word artistists and storytellers as well as poetic magicians and comedians have also graced the HCAM stage! Guest features for this program are selected based on their talent as poet/songwriter and thematic content, diversity of style, audience appeal and genuine interest and ability to
connect with the audience (both in studio and on air). HCAM Studios offers a supportive and professional setting for open mic where contributing writers and artists can share their words of poetry, song or story while being filmed before a live audience. The open mic is an important part of each month's program. Participants are encouraged to sign up in advance at poetry@hcam.tv as open mic spots can be limited with attending audience ranging from 20-50 each month. For this televised program we ask that open mic performances are 3- 4 minutes maximum in duration and that material is "public television friendly". People come from near and far sharing poetry, spoken word and songs, some for the first time and some who are very seasoned/professional writers/performers. Regardless of experience, those who have performed at the open mic in the last three seasons have traditionally offered their best for this friendly and professional setting. This has resulted in a showcasing of a very special blend of impressive talents within each month's program so that most performances are included in either the monthly "Wake up..." TV series or the All Open Mic TV program. You are invited to watch some of last year's programs at our website www.hcam.tv (features and open mic participants are listed on the "Online page" and please do come and join us for an exciting new season beginning October 17th with features stand-up poet Jack McCarthy, Carpenter poets Bill Thibodeau and Joe Bergin and singer-songwriter Chris Pahud!
Since 2003, The Worcester Youth Poetry Slam has offered teenage writers the opportunity to develop theirperformance skills, build community and celebrate the power of poetry.
Local poet Alex Charalambides began the reading / slam competition series in the fall of 2003 at the old Worcester Artists Group Space at the Sprinkler Factory. The series later moved to the Java Hut Coffee Shop and most recently to Clark University.
The establishment of the "just for teen" slams led to the formation of Youth Teams that have represented Worcester at the annual Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival (recently featured in an HBO documentary series baring the same name). From Los Angeles to San Francisco to San Jose to Washington DC to Chicago, young poets from Central Massachusetts have shared their work & connected with their peers from over 50 other commnities, including teams who've crossed the pond from England!
Apart from hosting a reading series, the Worcester Youth Slam have taken part in special events around the area. In an attempt to increase awareness for the program and inspire others to pick up the pen, members of the Youth Slam have performed at First Night Worcester, Spencer, Shrewsbury, Worcester & Rutland Public Libraries, Assabet Valley Regional High School, St. Johns's High School, Clark University All School & are continuing to reach out to the poetry communities of Worcester County.
The Worcester Youth Poetry Slam has worked closely with both the Poet's Asylum & Worcester County Poetry Association, but remains an independent entity, reliant on private donations & various grass roots fund-raising efforts.
Contact: Alex Charalambides at worcesteryouthslam2004@yahoo.com
or visit www.poetsasylum.org
for more information about Brave New Voices visit www.bravenewvoices.org
Worcester Youth Poetry Slam
fournder Alex Charalambides.
Poet Truong Vo
2008 Worcester Youth Poetry Slam Team....and friends!
