The 2011 Albany Word Fest, This Saturday at The Linda

This is the week we have all been waiting for all year. The 2011 Albany Word Fest is taking place this coming Saturday at The Linda. The 12-Hour Open Mic has a couple of open spots left and the nighttime show is packed with the best poets and musicians Albany has to offer.

Some of the names that are already signed up for our biggest Word Fest Open Mic to date are a “who’s who” of regional poetry icons. These are the poets that have kept numerous open mic, poetry readings, and events like the Word Fest happening for all these years and without their support of the art, this very scene and community that we love so much would not exist as it does. Poets like Dan Wilcox, Therese L. Broderick, Karin Maag-Tanchak, Joe Krausman, A.C. Everson, Ronald D. Whiteurs, Bob Sharkey, Alan Catlin, Donald Lev, Ken Salzmann, Joan Pavlinsky, Don Levy, Judith Prest, Carol Graser, Jan Tramontano, Carolee Sherwood, Tess Lecuyer, Cheryl A. Rice, Mojavi, Shannon Shoemaker, Bless, Jacqueline Ahl, and Mike Jurkovic are what the local poetry community is all about and it is because of all of their continuous hard work that we say thank you.

If any poets still wish to signup, go to www.albanywordfest.com and click on “Signup”. There are only a few morning spots left.

The nighttime show, the Pycho Cluster F#*k ‘11, is again a great combination of music and spoken word with the talents of David Fey, Olivia Quillio, Avery, Daniel Nester, Poetyc Vyzyonz, Mother Judge’s Open Mic Showcase, Metroland’s Best Poets of 2011: Mary Panza, R.M. Engelhardt, and KC Orcutt. All of these performers are long-time supporters of not just poetry and spoken word, but all of the arts in the Capital Region.

Tickets for the entire day starting at 7:00AM are only $10 and are available online and at the door.

This is by far our biggest Word Fest yet, from the venue to the talent. We are celebrating 10 years of the Albany Word Fest and we could not have gotten here without the wonderful support of everyone in the poetry and arts community.

Below is the press release that we have been sending out regarding the event. We hope to see everyone out there for this celebration of the poetry, music, and spoken word of upstate New York.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Albany Poets is proud to present the 2011 Albany Word Fest featuring the poetry, spoken word, and music of upstate New York.  This year’s event will take place on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at The Linda (339 Central Ave., Albany).

This year's event is the 10th anniversary of the Albany Word Fest and with that in mind, Albany Poets is promising big things.

Thom Francis, Albany Poets President, says, "When we started this event ten years ago on a Saturday afternoon in Thatcher Park, we never thought it would become one of the biggest 'mark-your-calendar' events of each and every year. We are very proud of how we have been able to continue hosting one of the biggest poetry open mics in upstate New York for ten years."

The 2011 Albany Word Fest will kick-off with the 12-Hour Open Mic at 7:00AM at The Linda. Albany Poets Vice President Mary Panza says, “After the success of the last two 12-hour open mics, we have decided to do it again, but this time, during the day. This will give poets a better opportunity to share their work and also give the audience more time to appreciate the talent in the poetry and spoken word community.”  This open mic for poetry and spoken word will be held from 7:00AM – 7:00PM.

Poets who wish to participate in the open mic can sign up online by going to the Albany Word Fest website, www.albanywordfest.com until 5:00pm on Friday, April 15.  Performers will also have a limited opportunity to sign up at the event itself.  Each poet will have 10 -15 minutes to share their work. The open mic is open to all poets and spoken word artists with no style or content restrictions. 

After the Open Mic, starting at 7:00PM, the 2011 Albany Word Fest brings the annual Psycho Cluster F*#k to the The Linda featuring poetry, music and spoken word from upstate New York artists David Fey, Olivia Quillio, Avery, Daniel Nester, Poetyc Vyzyonz, Mother Judge’s Open Mic Showcase, Metroland’s Best Poets of 2011: Mary Panza, R.M. Engelhardt, and KC Orcutt, and much more.

Admission for this event is $10.00. Tickets will be available for purchase on The Linda's website and at the door on the day of the event. This event is open to all ages ( 21+ with a picture ID required to drink). 

The 2011 Albany Word Fest is sponsored by Albany Poets, McGeary's, The Linda, and the very generous donations of supporters of the arts in upstate New York.

Pride And Poetry, This Friday At The UAG GAllery

This Friday, June 11, as part of the Capital Pride 2010 in Albany, the UAG Gallery is hosting a very special poetry reading featuring Shannon Shoemaker and Richard Morell.  Here is the information from Don Levy:

Pride and Poetry will feature 2 local Queer poets, Richard Morell and Shannon Shoemaker read their poems.

There will also be a little reading of queer poets like Frank O' Hara and Allen Ginsburgh.

Light refreshments afterwards. $5.00 donation.

This is an official Capital Pride 2010 event co-sponsored by Albany Poets.

Caffe Lena Poetry Festival June 4 and 5

Saratoga’s Caffe Lena is hosting a fantastic weekend of poetry, workshops, and spoken word coming up next month.  Here is the info from Carol Graser:

For the second year running Caffe Lena will devote a weekend to the art of the spoken word, with more than a dozen accomplished poets offering words of freedom, beauty, challenge, and revelation. The festival will open on Friday evening with a full-length performance by renowned NYC slam poet Taylor Mali, and will continue on Saturday with workshops and readings throughout the afternoon and evening with poets Don Levy, Naton Leslie, Christine Gelineau, Lyn Lifshin, Frannie Lindsay, Susan Deer Cloud, Paul Pines, Joseph Bruchac, Diane Lockward, Lucyna Prostko, Daniel Nester and Barbara Ungar & Nancy White  performing From Eve to Barbie: women in myth and history…

Taylor Mali
Friday, Jun. 4 • 8 PM 
$15 advance / $17 at the door 
www.taylormali.com

Saturday, June 5 Workshop Schedule:
12:30 – 1:30 Diane Lockward               Weird Is Good
12:30 – 1:30 Lucyna Prostko                Writing the Deepest Self
1:45 – 2:45 Christina Gelineau               Exploring Beyond the I
1:45 – 2:45 Naton Leslie                      Writing Linked Poems
3:00 – 4:00 Frannie Lindsay                Writing the Ugly Truth
3:00 – 4:00 Daniel Nester                    Poetry Workshop with Daniel Nester

Each workshop is $10. Workshop descriptions are on the website. We’ll have phone reservations for the workshops set up at 583-0022 in the near future. In the meantime, you can contact cgraser@nycap.rr.com   to reserve your spot.

Don Levy at Poets Speak Loud, Tomorrow Night at the Lark Tavern

Brace yourselves! Monday, March 30th at Tess' Lark Tavern(453 Madison Avenue, Albany NY) the feature will be none other than DON LEVY!!!!!!! 7pm sign-up. We start around 8pm.

“Although it seems as if Don Levy has been reading his poetry since the year 1, he started reading his work back in 1988 at the legendary open mic at the QE2 hosted by Tom Nattell.  Don was a co-editor of Open Mic: The Albany Anthology and has been on the boards at different times of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild and Albany Poets.  He has been a featured reader at many open mic venues such as Valentines, The Social Justice Center, and Caffe Lena as well as reading in Washington park and at Larkfest.  He has also been a feature at readings in Woodstock, Plattsburgh, and Boston.  He currently runs the live at the Living Room series at the Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Center at 332 Hudson Avenue.  His favorite dead poet is Frank O' Hara.”

Here is some more information on WORD FEST 2009

The online sign-up for the Word Fest Open Mic is ready for you!

We will have the sign-up sheet available at the Poets Speak Loud open mic at the Lark Tavern on Monday, March 30 and Albany Poets Presents at Valentines on Tuesday April 7.

Poets who want to sign up for the Word Fest Open Mic must enter their name and preferred time slot at www.albanywordfest.com . Be sure to check to see if another poet has already signed up for that time slot. Each poet will have between 10-15 minutes to read their work.

The open mic will go all through the night, so tell your friends to come and check it out.

Go to www.albanywordfest.com for more information and a schedule of events for the 2009 Albany WordFest.