Massachusetts Statewide Poetry Calendar

We’re back but the last Wednesday of the month now!
Join us for the open mic then our Feature Performer, the amazing Paul Szlosek.
Doors open at 530pm. A plethora of beverages and light snacks will be available.
Sign up for the open mic at jfjr6969@gmail.com, Please!
Paul Szlosek is a poet residing in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was co-founder and co-host of both The Poet’s Parlor and The Poetorium at Starlite Featured Poetry Open Mic & Reading Series in the nearby town of Southbridge. A past recipient of the Jacob Knight Award for Poetry and third place winner of the Worcester County Poetry Association’s 2020 Frank O’Hara Poetry Prize, his poems have appeared in numerous publications both online and in print including the Worcester Review, Worcester Magazine, Sahara, Radius, Concrete Wolf, Sikworm, Star*Line, Diner, and We Are BEAT: National Beat Poetry Foundation Anthology. Paul’s probably best known in the Worcester poetry community for his fanatical obsession with obscure poetry forms, and has invented his own including the ziggurat, the streetbeatina, the hodgenelle, and the singsangsong which he shares on his blog Paul’s Poetry Playground @ https://playground.poetry.blog.
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Please join us on June 30th for the grand reopening of our monthly open mic and featured poetry reading series The Poetorium at Starlite (after a two-year hiatus due to COVID) hosted by Paul Szlosek and Ron Whittle. It will be a full evening of poetry and spoken word starting with a brief interview on stage with our featured poet Meg Smith (Author of Dear Deepest Ghost, Night’s Island, This Scarlet Dancing, Pretty Green Thorns: New and Collected Poetry, and The Plague Confessor: Short Stories), followed by a poetry reading by our feature, a short intermission, and then the open mic (with 5-minute slots for each reader). Admission is free (but a hat will be passed to pay our features, and compensate The Starlite for the use of their space). Meg Smith is a writer, journalist, dancer, and events producer living in Lowell, MA. Her poetry has recently appeared in The Cafe Review, Muddy River Poetry Review, Acropolis Journal, Poetry Bay, Beliveau Review, and many more. She served for 15 years on the board of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac!, a festival honoring Lowell-born author Jack Kerouac. She produces the Edgar Allan Poe Show, honoring Poe’s presence in Lowell. She is author of five poetry books and a short fiction collection, The Plague Confessor, and welcomes visits to megsmithwriter.com. 

Please join us on January 28th for our monthly open mic and featured poetry reading series The Poetorium at Starlite hosted by Paul Szlosek and Ron Whittle. It will be a full evening of poetry and spoken word starting with a brief interview on stage with our featured poet Richard H. Fox (Author of Time Bomb, Wandering in Puzzle Boxes, You're My Favorite Horse, and The Complete Uncle Louie Poems), followed by a poetry reading by our feature, a 10-minute tribute to a dead poet by a guest reader, a short intermission, and then the open mic (with 5-minute slots for each reader). Admission is free (but a hat will be passed to pay our features)

The Fourth Saturday Open Mic meets at Barnes & Noble on Lincoln Street in Worcester. Open mic at 7 pm, featured poets to follow. This month Curt Curtin will present work from his first full-length book of poetry, titled "For Art's Sake." Due to his low vision, Curt will introduce his poems which will be read by his wife, Dee.

After the featured poets read the gathered poetry lovers adjourn to the in-store coffee shop and chat about whatever comes up until management pushes us out the door at closing -- at about 10 pm. Please join us.

Please join us on February 25th for our monthly open mic and featured poetry reading series The Poetorium at Starlite hosted by Paul Szlosek.. It will be a full evening of poetry and spoken word starting with a brief interview on stage with our featured poet Ron Whittle (Author of Goodbye Again, Postcards From a War Zone, & In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Grandson), followed by a poetry reading by our feature, a 10-minute tribute to a dead poet by a guest reader, a short intermission, and then the open mic (with 5-minute slots for each reader). Admission is free (but a hat will be passed to pay our features)

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO THE ONGOING HEALTH CONCERNS!
However our previously announced feature Jonathan Andersen has been rescheduled for October 27th.

For more information, please contact us at poetorium@protonmail.com

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO THE ONGOING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS!
However, our previously announced feature Eileen Cleary for this night has been rescheduled to read at the Poetorium at Starlite on November 24th. Hope to see you then!

Please join us on April 28th for our monthly open mic and featured poetry reading series The Poetorium at Starlite hosted by Paul Szlosek and Ron Whittle. It will be a full evening of poetry and spoken word starting with a brief interview on stage with our featured poet Eileen Cleary (Author of Child Ward of the Commonwealth), followed by a poetry reading by our feature, a 10-minute tribute to a dead poet by a guest reader, a short intermission, and then the open mic (with 5-minute slots for each reader). Admission is free (but a hat will be passed to pay our features)

For more information, please email us at poetorium@protonmail.com

Curt Curtin will present work from Curt's first full-length book of poetry, titled "For Art's Sake." Due to his low vision, Curt will introduce his poems which will be read by his wife, Dee.)

David Macpherson hosts a poetry open reading to kick off the night.