Poetry This Week: Albany Poets Presents At Valentines, Caffe Lena Open Mic Featuring David Kaczynski, and More

National Poetry Month is starting off strong with another busy week of poetry and spoken word here in the area leading up to the Word Fest on April 16th.

Tomorrow night at Valentines (17 New Scotland Ave., Albany) Albany Poets Presents returns for another open mic night. This is one of the longest-running open mics for poetry and spoken word in the Albany area. Come out and join Thom and Keith for a couple of drinks, some conversation, and a little bit of poetry. We will also have the signup sheet for the 2011 Word Fest Open Mic with us for everyone who has not yet signed up online.

Wednesday night is the first Wednesday of the month, which means only one thing…The Caffe Lena Poetry Open Mic! This is truly one of the greatest poetry open mics in the area held in one of this countries most historic venues. This month host Carol Graser will have David Kaczynski as the featured poet. Here is the information from Carol:

the first Wednesday of every month Caffè Lena presents:

Caffè Lena Poetry Open Mic
Wednesday, April  6
7pm sign up, 7:30 readings start
Featured Poet: David Kaczynski
$3
Hosted by Carol Graser
Caffè Lena, 47 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs
www.caffelena.org     583-0022

David Kaczynski has published poetry, short fiction, opinion pieces, and a personal narrative on growing up with his brother Ted Kaczynski, the so-called "Unabomber." Since 2001, he has worked as executive director of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Prior to that, he was assistant director of Equinox Youth Shelter in Albany. In 2010, David published a 36-poem chapbook, "A Dream Named You," which he describes as an attempt to trace a spiritual journey from loss to affirmation. The 36 poems reflect various themes: the desert landscape in West Texas where David lived during the 1980's; his memories of his troubled brother, Ted; his love for Linda Patrik, whom he met in the 7th grade; and his understanding of art as a transformative process.

For the rest of the poetry events going on this week be sure to check out the Events Calendar.