Cigarette Women by Keyma Flight
Caption:
“Everything that we think is shining is actually burning.” In this Button Poetry video, Keyma Flight reads her poem “Cigarette Women” at the 2022 Womxn of the World Poetry Slam in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Genre: Spoken Word
Blip Roasters
Blip Roasters is a café in a sunny, brick urban building in Kansas City, Missouri, which hosts weekly open mic nights, writing workshops, and bike nights for motorcyclists. Their Poetry Underground series features seasonal showcases and an annual poetry slam, typically requiring a cover fee for entry. There is also a conference room available for booking offering a quiet environment with a conference table, Wi-Fi access, and tinted windows for privacy.
Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers: Broadway
Shakespeare & Co. is an independent bookstore located in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan. The store hosts a plethora of events including book signings, readings, talks, monthly book club meetings, and open mic nights for comics, poets, and musicians. Their flagship shop is located in the Upper East Side on Lexington Avenue.
America Will Be
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“I am now at the age where my father calls me brother / when we say goodbye.” In this Voices Underground video, Joshua Bennett reads his poem “America Will Be,” which appears in his collection Owed (Penguin, 2020), for the 2021 Chester County Juneteenth Festival at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. For more from Bennett, read his essay “A Shed Full of Golden Shovels” from our Craft Capsules series.
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Last Exit Books and Coffeehouse
Last Exit Books and Coffeehouse is a distinctive independent bookstore located in downtown Kent, Ohio. Their inventory encompasses a diverse range of items: secondhand books, DVDs, CDs, and an extensive collection of vinyl records. Situated at the front of the store is a charming coffee house serving locally roasted coffee and baked goods. The shop frequently hosts open mic nights for writers and musicians, as well as an ongoing poetry reading series.
The Role of the Artist by Darius Simpson
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“Tell the law nothin of substance / tell the people everything you can.” In this Button Poetry video, Darius Simpson reads his poem “The Role of the Artist,” which appears in his collection Never Catch Me (Button Poetry, 2022).
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Mercury Café
Since 1975, the Mercury Cafe has been a home to poets, punks, rebels, and artists from all walks of life. They serve organic-oriented eats and host many different types of events, including music, poetry, dance lessons, and tarot readings.
The Green Mill
The Green Mill is sophisticated and informal with a warm glowing atmosphere steeped in the heady sounds of the early 1930s and 1940s. The bar is patterned after Clark Monroe’s Uptown House in Harlem. Today, the Green Mill, in keeping with owner Dave Jemilo’s philosophy for a proper mix of down-to-earth friendliness and class, maintains an authenticity of the Forties in service, price, and music, perfected upon with the steady Sunday night performance of the internationally acclaimed Uptown Poetry Slam, which Marc Smith began at the Mill in 1986.
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Founded in the early 1970s, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe began as a living room salon in the East Village apartment of writer and poet Miguel Algarin. Today, the cafe is a nonprofit organization that provides a forum for innovative poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy, and theatre from underrepresented artists. Programming includes poetry and prose readings, theatrical and musical performances, and visual art exhibits. The cafe is well-known for a popular weekly Poetry Slam judged by randomly selected audience members.
The Parma Chai Out of the Blue Community Arts Gallery
The Parma Chai Out of the Blue Community Arts Gallery is a beloved art gallery, music venue, and literary salon known for its lively local art exhibits and music shows. With thirty years of experience in the arts and hosting events both public and private, formal and casual, the team behind the gallery has always worked to ensure art flourishes in the Cambridge neighborhood. At the gallery, there is space available for artists and makers to work in, as well as room for art shows, music, rehearsals, and other creative activities such as classes, dance, and yoga.
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