Upcoming events


An Evening of Poetry with Alexa Patrick & Karisma Price
Apr
18

An Evening of Poetry with Alexa Patrick & Karisma Price

Join us Thursday, April 18th at 6:30 pm for a night of poetry featuring Alexa Patrick and Karisma Price.

This event will be held in our upstairs event space and is free to attend.

Alexa Patrick is a poet and vocalist from Connecticut. She is a Cave Canem fellow and Tin House alumna. She has also been cast in the featured role of Unsung in We Shall Not Be Moved, an opera under the direction of Bill T. Jones. You may find Alexa’s work published in The Quarry, The Rumpus, CRWN Magazine, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic.

Purchase a Signed Copy of Remedies for Disappearing!

A collection of poetry that moves from family history and the heartbreaks of navigating a predominantly white high school into adulthood, exploring the ways the speaker’s experiences echo those of an expansive and intricate history of Black girls and women.
In this beautiful debut from an exciting new poet, Alexa Patrick’s Remedies for Disappearing memorializes Blackness in its quiet and unexpected forms, bringing the peripheral into focus. These poems muddy Black life and death, observe lineage and love stories, and question what “disappearing” teaches about Blackness and bodies.

Remedies for Disappearing is gritty, sharp, and formally inventive, demonstrating Patrick’s imaginative curiosity, lyrical restraint, and confidence in her handling of language. Moments of aphoristic confession are balanced with imagistic precision as the speaker recounts the ways her aunties, sisters, and even herself have disappeared in order to survive.

Patrick’s poetry is haunting and hopeful, striving to provide readers with the tools and context to acknowledge, define, and honor the complexity of Black girl/womanhood. Remedies for Disappearing connects Black girls and women to each other and to their own histories, and insists that they be fully and wholly seen.

Karisma Price is an assistant professor of English at Tulane University. A poet, screenwriter, and media artist, she is the author of I’m Always So Serious (Sarabande Books, 2023). Her work has appeared in publications including Poetry, Indiana Review, Oxford American, Four Way Review, Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day Series, and elsewhere. She is a Cave Canem Fellow, was a finalist for the 2019 Manchester Poetry Prize, was awarded the 2020 J. Howard and Barbara M. J. Wood Prize from the Poetry Foundation, and is the 2023 winner of the Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize from the American Poetry Review. A native New Orleanian, she holds an MFA in poetry from New York University, where she was a Writers in the Public Schools Fellow.

Purchase a Signed Copy of I’m Always So Serious!

I’m Always so Serious is brilliant.” –Terrance Hayes, winner of the National Book Award for Lighthead
Karisma Price’s stunning debut collection is an extended
meditation on Blackness, on family, on loss. Anchored in New Orleans and New
York City, these poems braid personal and public histories into a cultural
reckoning of past and present. James Booker speaks to Ringo Starr, a phone “Autocorrects
‘Nigga’ to Night, ‘” If Beale Street
Could Talk
 is recast with characters from The Odyssey. In these pages there is grief, there is absence, there
is violence–“We
know that mostly everything around us / is measured in blood.”–but there is
also immense love and truth. Karisma Price has created a serious masterpiece, a
book “so dark you have no other option but to call it / precious.”

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Barrelhouse Presents: Conversations and Connections Conference (Featured Author)
Apr
13

Barrelhouse Presents: Conversations and Connections Conference (Featured Author)

Conversations and Connections is a one-day writer's conference that brings together writers, editors, and publishers in a friendly, supportive environment. The conference is organized by Barrelhouse magazine, and has been held for the past 15 years in Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. The April 2024 conference is our 25th Conversations and Connections. All proceeds go to participating small presses and literary magazines, and to Barrelhouse. Learn more here.

Featured Authors Include:

Alexa Patrick (she/her) is a vocalist and poet from Connecticut. She is the author of Remedies for Disappearing (Haymarket Books, 2023) and holds fellowships from Cave Canem, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. Previous artistic partnerships of Alexa’s include Meta, Microsoft, the National Museum of Women in the Arts. In spring 2023, Alexa made her stage production debut as Un/Sung in the opera We Shall Not Be Moved, (dire. Bill T. Jones). You may find her work in publications including Adroit, CRWN Magazine, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic. Visit alexapatrick.com for more.

Susan Muaddi Darraj is an award-winning writer of books for adults and children. She won an American Book Award, two Arab American Book Awards, and a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artists Award. In 2018, she was named a USA Artists Ford Fellow. Her books include her linked short story collection, A Curious Land, as well as the Farah Rocks children’s book series. She lives in Baltimore, where she teaches creative writing at Harford Community College and the Johns Hopkins University. Her new novel, BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA, was published in January 2024 by HarperVia. It received praise from The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Ms Magazine, and it was named a Best Book of 2024 by The New Yorker and Apple Books.

Hannah Grieco is a writer, editor, and adjunct writing professor in Washington, DC. She edits novels and prose collections at the local independent press Alan Squire Publishing, where her recent anthology “Already Gone: 40 Stories of Running Away” was released in November of 2023. Her own writing can be found in The Washington Post, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Brevity, Craft Literary, Poet Lore, Shenandoah, Fairy Tale Review, and more. Find her online at www.hgrieco.com and on most social media @writesloud.

Sheila Squillante is a writer and visual artist living in Pittsburgh. She is the author of the poetry collections, Mostly Human, winner of the 2020 Wicked Woman Book Prize from Brick House Books, and Beautiful Nerve, as well as four chapbooks of poetry: Dear Sunder, In This Dream of My Father, Women Who Pawn Their Jewelry and A Woman Traces the Shoreline. Her New and Selected is forthcoming from Braddock Avenue Books in 2025. Her debut essay collection, All Things Edible, Random and Odd: Essays on Grief, Love and Food, was published by CLASH Books in November, 2023. She is also co-author, along with Sandra L. Faulkner, of the writing craft book, Writing the Personal: Getting Your Stories Onto the Page.

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CityLit Project: Praising the Mouth that Speaks ft. Mahogany Browne
Apr
12

CityLit Project: Praising the Mouth that Speaks ft. Mahogany Browne

OPENING FESTIVAL SESSION
Praising the Mouth That Speaks: A spine for the world to listen. Turn up the volume.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
7 S Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

PARKING
Garages:
The Lombard Garage lot (204 East Lombard Street, Baltimore, 21202) or
Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel Parking (202 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD, 21202)
Street Parking:
On weekends and evenings, the meters are in effect on the main streets; read the meter and posted signs carefully. Most meters accept change ($2 an hour) or credit cards.

______________

FEATURED POET: MAHOGANY L. BROWNE
MUSICAL ARTIST: BLACK ASSETS
Reception to follow.

______________

The 21st CityLit Festival arrives this year with poetry at the center of the launch with this year’s theme, Dismantling the Culture of Literature. CityLit features performance poet, curator, MAHOGANY L. BROWNE, musical artist BLACK ASSETS, and an assembly of poets.The start of the three-day festival returns to Chesapeake Shakespeare Company for an evening of poetry, music, and connection. In the past, this standing-room-only event served as a finale but this year’s gathering begs for poets to reflect on the reality of this moment, where listening becomes a way of being. Mahogany’s recent works include Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky (optioned for Steppenwolf Theater), Black Girl Magic, and banned books: Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, and Woke Baby. She’s the Executive Director of JustMedia, an initiative designed to support the groundwork of criminal justice leaders and community members through an open-access archive. Queen of the soulful bounce, Ashley Lakayla Yates, aka Black Assets, originally from Itta Bena, Mississippi, is a Baltimore treasure. This queer international recording artist leaves you with an unforgettable musical experience.

Featured artists will be joined by the following creatives:
A’niya Taylor is a Spoken word artist, community advocate, and Baltimore’s (2022-23) Youth Poet Laureate. Through her poetry, she aims to highlight the intersection between art, individual healing, and community healing. Wordsmith is a proliferate creator in the world of performance, including songwriter, poet, actor, and playwright. He is an artistic partner with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and was selected by the Baltimore Sun as one of 25 Black Marylanders to watch in 2024. Nancy Murray is a poet, memoirist, playwright, and storyteller, who recently published her first collection of poetry, The Colors of Fear. Ryan Jafar Artes (he/she/they) is an activist, memoirist, and poet whose work calls for a re-imagination of culture via cultural renaissance from the perspective of lived experience as a transracial transnational South Asian Indian American adoptee. Poet and editor Matt Hohner has an international reach. In his new collection, At the Edge of a Thousand Years, winner of the 2023 Jacar Press Poetry Book Contest, poet Carolyn Forche, says “This is a poet unafraid of risk…” Amazon Kindle best-selling author Dr. Latorial Faison from Virginia, is the powerhouse author of over a dozen poetry books. She is well known for her poem, “What is Black History?” Vocalist and Cave Canem fellow Alexa Patrick, with a poetry collection called Remedies for Disappearing, whose stage production debut as Un/Sung in the opera We Shall Not Be Moved was directed by Bill T. Jones, will moderate. A reception will follow. Spirits will flow.

Learn more here

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Love Your Magic Annual Conference
Apr
6

Love Your Magic Annual Conference

Join the Love Your Magic Annual Conference where these five inspirational women will ignite the spirit of nurturing justice and joy for Black and Brown girls.

1. Jeneé Osterheldt @sincerely.jenee
2. Lynae Vanee  @lynaevanee
3. Alexa Patrick   @alexalaurel
4. Sophia Yeshi @yeshidesigns
5. DJ Slick Vick  @dj_slickvick

In this specially crafted space, they’ll share wisdom, foster self-love, and empower attendees to embrace their beauty and power while resisting respectability politics. It’s a community-driven gathering designed to uplift, advocate, and lead with love.

April 6  8:30 am - 2:00 pm
The Foundry

Register: join.loveyourmagic.org/conference

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A Cross-Diaspora Reading and Conversation with Alexa Patrick and Courtney Conrad
Mar
27

A Cross-Diaspora Reading and Conversation with Alexa Patrick and Courtney Conrad

In their respective debuts, Alexa Patrick and Courtney Conrad grapple with the weight and brilliance of the Black diaspora. Join them as they explore the waters that separate them and the bridges that bind them together.

In this beautiful debut from an exciting new poet, Alexa Patrick’s REMEDIES FOR DISAPPEARING memorializes Blackness in its quiet and unexpected forms, bringing the peripheral into focus. These poems muddy Black life and death, observe lineage and love stories, and question what “disappearing” teaches about Blackness and bodies.

REMEDIES FOR DISAPPEARING is gritty, sharp, and formally inventive, demonstrating Patrick’s imaginative curiosity, lyrical restraint, and confidence in her handling of language. Moments of aphoristic confession are balanced with imagistic precision as the speaker recounts the ways her aunties, sisters, and even herself have disappeared in order to survive.

Courtney Conrad’s powerful debut I AM EVIDENCE interrogates the tensions within Caribbean migration, gender-based violence and national politics. Migrating from Kingston as a teenager, she is unflinching in her attempts to capture the vibrancy and violence of her experiences in both the UK and Jamaica. Her poetry draws together subversive diasporic imagery, national political commentary and shatteringly personal narrative in its exacting response to the political corruption and violence she witnessed as a young girl in Jamaica in the wake of its colonial subjugation under the British Empire. The themes of her work stretch across state- and gender-based violence, religion, raw bodily introspection and lush cultural memorabilia that reimagines the warmth and blood of both her homes.

Alexa Patrick (she/her) is a vocalist and poet from Connecticut. She is the author of REMEDIES FOR DISAPPEARING (Haymarket Books, 2023) and holds fellowships from Cave Canem, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. In spring 2023, Alexa made her stage production debut as UN/SUNG in the opera WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED (dir. Bill T. Jones). You may find her work in publications including Adroit, CRWN Magazine, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic. Visit alexapatrick.com for more.

Courtney Conrad is an award-winning poet born and raised in Jamaica and currently based in London. Migrating from Kingston as a teenager, Courtney’s poetry interlaces subversive diasporic image, national political commentary and shatteringly personal narrative. Her poetry seeks to sensitively archive the political corruption and violence she witnessed as a young girl in Jamaica in the wake of its colonial subjugation under the British Empire. Courtney is unflinching in her attempts to uniquely capture the vibrance and violence of her experiences in the UK and Jamaica. Her poem thematics stretch across state and gender-based violence, delicate love vignettes, religion, raw bodily introspection and lush cultural memorabilia that reimagine the warmth and blood of both her homes. Courtney is the author of_ _I AM EVIDENCE (Blood Axe Books, 2023). Visit courtneyconradpoet.com for more.

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Remedies for Disappearing: An Author Talk with Alexa Patrick
Feb
26

Remedies for Disappearing: An Author Talk with Alexa Patrick

In this energizing event, writer and vocalist Alexa Patrick will perform poems from her debut collection Remedies for Disappearing (Haymarket Books 2023), and share the complicated stories around Black girlhood that inspired them. If you have wild aunties, if you have or haven't gone to a prom, if you have ever been 'the only" in a place where you so desperately wanted to be seen--this event is for you. Q+A and book signing to follow. 

ABOUT REMEDIES FOR DISAPPEARING

A collection of poetry that moves from family history and the heartbreaks of navigating a predominantly white high school into adulthood, exploring the ways the speaker’s experiences echo those of an expansive and intricate history of Black girls and women.

In this beautiful debut from an exciting new poet, Alexa Patrick’s Remedies for Disappearing memorializes Blackness in its quiet and unexpected forms, bringing the peripheral into focus. These poems muddy Black life and death, observe lineage and love stories, and question what “disappearing” teaches about Blackness and bodies.

All are also warmly invited to attend Germantown Athenaeum’s third annual virtual Open Mic on Thursday, February 29, 12:30-1:30, via Zoom

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Second Wind Poetry Pt. II at The Kennedy Center
Feb
21

Second Wind Poetry Pt. II at The Kennedy Center

  • John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Second Wind Poetry is a curated open mic with a purpose to reenergize everyone involved. Through powerful voices both new and familiar, and an exciting featured poet, Second Wind Poetry Night is sure to leave you feeling inspired, prepared, and hopeful for what’s ahead!

Online advance reservations for a given performance date will open on a rolling basis, opening every Wednesday two weeks out from the date.

RSVP HERE (Registration opens on February 7, 2024)

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Alexa features at Spit Dat x Woolly Mammoth
Feb
12

Alexa features at Spit Dat x Woolly Mammoth

On Monday, February 12th at 8pm, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Spit Dat bring you this month’s open mic featuring Queen Cain and Alexa Patrick! Add to the energy as an audience member or share your own talents on the mic. Hosted by Drew Anderson with special guest host Rebecca Dupas! (641 D St NW DC)

SPIT DAT is the longest-running open mic in the nation’s capital. A profoundly intimate artistic and spiritual experience which has fought to remain a safe space through nearly two decades of societal changes, Spit Dat combines world-class talent with a living room vibe. As much a “venue” as it is an “event”, Spit Dat has won multiple awards for its contribution to the growth of generations of acclaimed international artists. But perhaps its most valued accolade lives in being renowned among its staunch community as no less than “Church.”

February Open-Mic Sign-Up

Thanks to Mayor Bowser and the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs for their support of Spit Dat.

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Off the Chain: Cave Canem’s 2024 AWP off-site event
Feb
7
to Feb 9

Off the Chain: Cave Canem’s 2024 AWP off-site event

Experience our annual Off-Site Fellows Reading at AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) 2024 in Kansas City! This year’s event, “Off the Chain” is hosted by Glenn North (2009) and features readings by 13 Cave Canem Fellows presenting their work in rapid-fire intervals.

In-person registration.
Livestream registration.

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Alexa’s Last Time Hosting at Busboys And Poets Shirlington ft. Tony Keith Jr
Jan
22

Alexa’s Last Time Hosting at Busboys And Poets Shirlington ft. Tony Keith Jr

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices, and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear.

$8 cover. Wristbands are available for purchase online at midnight and in the restaurant starting at 10:00 AM. No refunds. Ticket purchase limit of 4 per person. Guests must have their wristbands (tickets) on upon entering the event.

Seating is available on a first come, first seated basis. No saved or reserved seats are allowed. Failure to check in within 30 minutes of advertised start time may result in forfeiture of seats. Sorry, no refunds.

ABOUT THE FEATURE:

Anthony (Tony) Keith Jr., PhD. is a Black American gay poet, spoken word artist, and Hip-Hop educational leader from Washington DC. Or, you can just call him an “Ed Emcee”. He is author of the young adult memoir in verse, How the Boogeyman Became a Poet and the young adult poetry collection Knucklehead (Forthcoming) from Katherine Tegen Books at HarpersCollins. Tony’s writings appear in the Journal of Negro Education, Equity & Excellence in Education, the Journal of Black Masculinity and many others. Some of his featured performances include John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington National Cathedral, the Historic Lincoln Theatre, and the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg South Africa. A multi-year fellow of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and HumanitiesDC, Tony is CEO of Ed Emcee Academy and lives with his husband, Harry Christian III in his DC hometown.

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Not Just Another Day Off: A Poetic Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Jan
15

Not Just Another Day Off: A Poetic Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Register and learn more about the event HERE

We look forward to celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday with this annual free and family-friendly event featuring contemporary poets and actors reading historic speeches from King, Frederick Douglass, Fannie Lou Hamer, and others.

This Folger Shakespeare Library Poetry program was created in 2006.  Previous readers include: Jericho Brown, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Julian Randall, Joseph Ross, Melanie Henderson, DeMaris Hill, and more.

Support Food Pantry Recommendations from “Not Just Another Day Off”:

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Busboys and Poets Shirlington Open Mic Hosted by Alexa Patrick
Nov
27

Busboys and Poets Shirlington Open Mic Hosted by Alexa Patrick

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices, and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear.

$8 cover. Wristbands are available for purchase online at midnight and in the restaurant starting at 10:00 AM. No refunds. Ticket purchase limit of 4 per person. Guests must have their wristbands (tickets) on upon entering the event.

Seating is available on a first come, first seated basis. No saved or reserved seats are allowed. Failure to check in within 30 minutes of advertised start time may result in forfeiture of seats. Sorry, no refunds.

ABOUT THE FEATURE:

Born in Puerto Rico, Tatiana Figueroa Ramírez has received fellowships from VONA Voices and Anaphora Arts, having worked with Willie Perdomo and Danez Smith. Tatiana currently performs, facilitates workshops, and hosts events in the DC area, having previously done so across the United States and the Dominican Republic at venues including The Kennedy Center and New York University. Her work has been featured in MSNBC’s “Leguizamo Does America” and The Acentos Review, among other publications. Tatiana is the author of Coconut Curls y Café con Leche (2019) and Despojo (2020).

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Poetry Reading ft. Courtney Leblanc & Alexa Patrick (rsvp required)
Nov
15

Poetry Reading ft. Courtney Leblanc & Alexa Patrick (rsvp required)

Courtney LeBlanc is the author of the full-length collections Her Whole Bright Life; Exquisite Bloody, Beating Heart; and Beautiful & Full of Monsters. She is the Arlington County Poet Laureate, a Virginia Center for Creative Arts fellow, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Riot in Your Throat, an independent poetry press.

Alexa Patrick is a vocalist and poet from Connecticut. She holds fellowships from Cave Canem, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. Alexa is currently the Programs Director for Shout Mouse Press. In spring 2023, Alexa made her stage production debut as Un/Sung in the opera We Shall Not Be Moved, directed by Kennedy Center honors awardee Bill T. Jones. You may find her work in publications including The Adroit Journal, CRWN Magazine, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic. Her debut collection Remedies for Disappearing will be published by Haymarket Books in June.

RSVP HERE

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Alexa Patrick and chris cardi presents: friendsgiving
Nov
14

Alexa Patrick and chris cardi presents: friendsgiving

Event description: Brought to you by poet and performer Alexa Patrick, and DC-based clothing brand CHRiS CARDi, FRIENDSGIVING is a poetry reading and clothing pop-up shop centered around gratitude. This event will also include a Q+A, book signing, and light refreshments. (Put this in purple because I'm not sure if this is allowed. Please let me know). 

Alexa Patrick (she/her) is a vocalist and poet from Connecticut. She is the author of Remedies for Disappearing (Haymarket Books 2023) and holds fellowships from Cave Canem, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. In spring 2023, Alexa made her stage production debut as Un/Sung in the opera We Shall Not Be Moved, (dire. Bill T. Jones). You may find her work in publications including Adroit, CRWN Magazine, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic. Visit alexapatrick.com for more.

Rasheed Copeland is a native of Washington, DC. He is the author of The Book of Silence: Manhood as a Pseudoscience (Sergeant Press, 2015) and is a multiple recipient of the DC Commission of the Arts and Humanities Fellowship Award. He has performed and facilitated writing workshops across the country and internationally. His work has been featured in online publications such as Poets.org, Split This Rock, and the Crab Orchard Review.

Taylor Johnson is from Washington, DC. He is the author of Inheritance (Alice James Books, 2020), winner of the 2021 Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America. His work appears in Poetry Magazine, The Paris Review, The Baffler, Scalawag, and elsewhere. Johnson is a Cave Canem graduate fellow and a recipient of the 2017 Larry Neal Writers’ Award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the 2021 Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging Writers from Lambda Literary. Taylor was the inaugural 2022 Poet-in-Residence at the Guggenheim Museum. He is the Poet Laureate of Takoma Park, Maryland. With his wife, Elizabeth Bryant, Taylor curates the Green Way Reading Series at People’s Book in Takoma Park.

Kenny Carroll is a writer from DC. He was the 2017 DC Youth Poet Laureate, and in 2019 received the Thomas Lux Scholarship from Sarah Lawrence. His work has been featured in Split This Rock’s The Quarry, EcoTheo Review, Lampblack, and Beltway Quarterly, among others. He is a Watering Hole, Brooklyn Poets, and Obsidian fellow. And a 2023 Cave Canem Starshine and Clay fellow. You can find him online @Kennyc113.

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Busboys and Poets Shirlington Open Mic Hosted by Alexa Patrick
Oct
23

Busboys and Poets Shirlington Open Mic Hosted by Alexa Patrick

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices, and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear.

$8 cover. Wristbands are available for purchase online at midnight and in the restaurant starting at 10:00 AM. No refunds. Ticket purchase limit of 4 per person. Guests must have their wristbands (tickets) on upon entering the event.

Seating is available on a first come, first seated basis. No saved or reserved seats are allowed. Failure to check in within 30 minutes of advertised start time may result in forfeiture of seats. Sorry, no refunds.

ABOUT THE FEATURE:

Derrick Weston Brown holds an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. He is the founding Poet-In-Residence of Busboys and Poets. He is a graduate of the Cave Canem and VONA summer workshops and is a participating author in the PEN-Faulkner Foundation’s Writers-In-Schools-Program. His work has been published and featured in such print journals and online publications as, Racebaitr, Colorlines and Bayou Magazine.  His debut collection of poetry, Wisdom Teeth was released in 2011 through PM Press/Busboys and Poets Press. His second collection of poetry, a chapbook entitled On All Fronts  was released  along with two other poetry chapbooks in a bound series from Upper Rubber Boot Press entitled Floodgates Vol.5 , March of 2019  He resides in PG County. He was an adjunct professor of English at Prince George’s Community College in Largo MD and is currently full-time faculty of the Cinematic Arts & Media Production (CAMP) at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts. You can follow him on social media on Facebook, Instagram @theoriginalDerrickWestonBrown or through DerrickWestonBrown.com

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Alexa & Friends at Heyground Harlem
Oct
20

Alexa & Friends at Heyground Harlem

Join us for an engaging discussion with esteemed authors and poets Alexa Patrick and Roya Marsh at our shared event space, Heyground Harlem! We'll be hosting Alexa Patrick to discuss her new poetry book, Remedies for Disappearing, alongside Bronx author of dayliGht, Roya Marsh. We've also invited special literary guests Cortney Lamar Charleston, Mike Rosen, and Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. to the conversation to talk poetry, writing, and answer some of your questions! RSVP to reserve your space at this exclusive event brought to you by The Bronx is Reading and get to witness an inspiring literary discussion.

About the speakers:

Alexa Patrick (she/her) is a vocalist and poet from Connecticut. She is the author of Remedies for Disappearing (Haymarket Books 2023) and holds fellowships from Cave Canem, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. In spring 2023, Alexa made her stage production debut as Un/Sung in the opera We Shall Not Be Moved, (dire. Bill T. Jones). You may find her work in publications including Adroit, CRWN Magazine, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic. Visit alexapatrick.com for more.

Bronx, New York native, Roya Marsh is a poet, performer, educator and activist. She is the author of dayliGht, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Poetry. She works feverishly toward Queer liberation and dismantling white supremacy. Roya is the co-founder of the Bronx Poet Laureate, a PEN America Emerging Voices Mentor, Lambda Literary faculty and the awardee of the Lotus Foundation Prize for poetry. Roya’s work has been featured in numerous places including, The Academy of American Poets, Poetry Magazine, the Village Voice, Nylon Magazine, Huffington Post, The Root, Button Poetry, BAM, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Apollo Theater, Lexus Verses and Flow, On One with Angela Rye, BET and The BreakBeat Poets Vol 2: Black Girl Magic(Haymarket 2018).

Special Guests:

Cortney Lamar Charleston is the author of Telepathologies (Saturnalia Books, 2017) and Doppelgangbanger (Haymarket Books, 2021). He was awarded a 2017 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, and he has also received fellowships from Cave Canem and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Winner of a Pushcart Prize, his poems have appeared in POETRY, The Nation, The Atlantic, The American Poetry Review, Granta and elsewhere. He serves as a poetry editor at The Rumpus and on the editorial board at Alice James Books.

With over one million views, Mike Rosen's stories and poems work to change the narrative around mental health, addiction, pornography, and masculinity. Mike has performed on three continents, and works as a mental health counselor in the Catskill Mountains.

Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. is a Sierra Leonean storyteller. He is a Peabody award-winning Journalist, a Poet, and an Actor. He is the co-creator and host of the podcast, Resistance, a groundbreaking show the The New Yorker describes as “beautiful work about acts of resistance large and small.” Saidu’s work closely follows the joy, hope, and resilience of the Black experience from Freetown, Sierra Leone to Brooklyn, New York

About the event:

Date: Friday, Oct. 20th, 2023

Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm

Location: Heyground Harlem, 461 W 126th St #5W, New York, NY 10027

Make sure to RSVP to this event to join us in celebrating these incredible artists. We hope to see you there!

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National Black Poetry Day w/ Alexa Patrick
Oct
17

National Black Poetry Day w/ Alexa Patrick

Learn the history of National Black Poetry Day and how black poetry resonates in Arlington County. Be inspired by poetry readings from local Black poets. There will be an opportunity to reflect on the spoken poetry as well as Q&A for the poets. This program is brought to you by a partnership between Arlington Parks and Recreation and Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development. 

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The Philly Pigeon ft. Alexa Patrick
Oct
6

The Philly Pigeon ft. Alexa Patrick

Come watch some of Philly's beloved poets and join the livest audience this side of the Delaware for a night of poetry, open mic, music, games and more.

  • Guaranteed seating - $20-$25 in advance

  • General Admission - $15 at the door. Cash only

  • Students (w. ID) - $10 at the door. Cash only

All ages welcome, adult content expected.

No refunds or exchanges.

--------------------------------------------

Open Mic Poets

  • 8pm sign up

  • Bring a poem 3 minutes or less, a haiku, and a sense of adventure.

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**ALL RESERVED SEATS MUST BE CLAIMED BY 8:25PM | At 8:25pm all unclaimed reserved seats will be open to other attendees***

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/philly-pigeon-the-lateish-poetry-show-tickets-711478881487?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Busboys and Poets Shirlington Open Mic Hosted by Alexa Patrick
Sep
25

Busboys and Poets Shirlington Open Mic Hosted by Alexa Patrick

For two hours, audiences can expect a diverse chorus of voices, and a vast array of professional spoken word performers, open mic rookies, musicians and a different host every week. Expect to be moved, expect a packed house, expect the unexpected, but above all come with an open mind and ear.

$8 cover. Wristbands are available for purchase online at midnight and in the restaurant starting at 10:00 AM. No refunds. Ticket purchase limit of 4 per person. Guests must have their wristbands (tickets) on upon entering the event.

Seating is available on a first come, first seated basis. No saved or reserved seats are allowed. Failure to check in within 30 minutes of advertised start time may result in forfeiture of seats. Sorry, no refunds.

ABOUT THE FEATURE:

Kenny Carroll is a writer from DC. He was the 2017 DC Youth Poet Laureate, and in 2019 received the Thomas Lux Scholarship from Sarah Lawrence. His work has been featured in Split This Rock’s The Quarry, EcoTheo Review, and Beltway Quarterly, among others. He is a Watering Hole, Brooklyn Poets, and Obsidian fellow. And a 2023 Cave Canem Starshine and Clay fellow. You can find him online @Kennyc113.

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Guilford Performing Arts Festival w/ Ilana Zaks
Sep
18

Guilford Performing Arts Festival w/ Ilana Zaks

Sunday, 9/17 Laura Thoma “Yours in Words” staged reading. Arthur Murray Dance, 7pmMonday, 9/18 Ilana Zaks and Alexa Patrick Music and spoken word in communication with visual art. Guilford Art Center, 7pmTuesday, 9/19 Mohegan Tribe Dance, drumming, storytelling. Guilford Community Center, 7pm Wednesday, 9/20Schuyler Beeman “Home Again” cabaret. Guilford First Congregational Church, 7pmThursday, 9/21 Dinner on the Green benefit Drinks, dinner, dancing. $135 pp. Guilford Green, 6:15pmFriday, 9/22 Jeff Beal Solo piano. Guilford First Congregational Church, 3pm. Danielle Munsell Howard Soprano. Guilford First Congregational Church, 4:30pm. New England Ballet Theatre Ballet & contemporary dance. Guilford Green, 7pmJonathan Barber & Vision Ahead Jazz. Arthur Murray Dance, 9pm

Saturday, 9/23 Oompa Possum Puppets Nature-themed puppet show. Guilford Green, 10:30amHands-on Artmaking Guilford Green, All day. StoryCorps DIY Tell your story! Guilford Library, 11am-5pmBlack and Silver Productions Storytelling. Guilford Green, 11:30am. Air Temple Arts Circus skills performance and workshop. Guilford Green, 12:30pmMovimiento Cultural Bomba dance performance and workshop, Guilford Green, 1:30pm. Oghlan Bakhshi Mystical Turkmens music and stories. Guilford Green, 2:30pmGoodnight Moonshine Americana/folk music. Guilford Green, 3:30pmMarika Kuzma Ukrainian choral singing. Guilford Green, 5pm Natyamandala Bharanatyam dance performance and workshop. Guilford Green, 6pmPeter Sonenstein “The End of Empire” multimedia staged reading. Guilford Green, 7pmBeecher and Joe Gerics Comedy. Arthur Murray Dance, 9pm.

Sunday, 9/24 Plein Air Painting, Guilford Green, All Day. Kerry Kincy, Dance for people of all abilities. Guilford Green, 11:30am. Hands-on Artmaking Guilford Green, All dayStoryCorps DIY Tell your story! Guilford Library, 12pm-5pm. Ilana Zaks “Sounds of New England” solo violin and electronics. Guilford Green, 12:30pm. Plein Air Painters’ Exhibition Guilford Green, 1-3pm . Middle Eastern Dance Academy Belly dance performance and workshop. Guilford Green, 2pm. Jeff Beal Trio Jazz. Featuring John Patitucci and Steve Cardenas. Guilford Green, 3pmDingonek Street Band Eclectic brass band music. Guilford Green, 5pm

Visit www.greenstageguilford.org

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