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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.
“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.
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.
“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).
An artistic incubator since 1986, Dixon Place is a Bessie and Obie Award-winning non-profit institution committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theatre, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature and visual art at all stages of development. Presenting over 1000 creators a year, this local haven inspires and encourages diverse artists of all stripes and callings to take risks, generate new ideas, and consummate new practices.
Established in 2001, Apache XLR is a cafe/bar, gallery, and live music and performance venue that hosts frequent art shows, music, and spoken word events throughout the year.
AvantGarden draws patrons both from surrounding Montrose and Museum District neighborhoods in Houston and from afar with its plethora of nightly events. They host Write About Now’s weekly poetry slam and open mic series every Wednesday night from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM.
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 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.
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.
