Massachusetts Statewide Poetry Calendar 2

Whether you choose to share your own poetry or story, or would simply like to appreciate the work of others, join us for an exciting night of spoken word. Poetry nights are ideal for ages 16+ but younger poets and listeners are welcome if they're accompanied by parents or guardians. Events are hosted at Hale (80 Carby Street, Westwood); specific parking and venue information is confirmed by email prior to each event.
Registration for each event opens one month prior to the event date.

Local poet (and Booksmith staff member!) Bradley Trumpfheller shares their beautiful collection.
“Bradley Trumpfheller has made for us (the ‘unbecame beloved across’) a simply stunning book that begs to be read aloud. I’m reminded here how tender and intelligent, how generous and fierce one must be to play with language, to let it make and be made from one’s body, to construct and to be re-constructed, to say anything one means and know ‘it will never mean again, not even now.”
-TC Tolbert, author of Gephyromania
Bradley Trumpfheller is from Alabama & Virginia. Their work has appeared in Poetry, The Nation, jubilat, Indiana Review, and elsewhere. They co-edit Divedapper & currently live in Massachusetts.

Doors open at 7:00, and dinner is served shortly after (vegetarian and vegan options provided!) Open mic begins at 7:30. Bring your friends! Bring your art! You are welcome! $5-$10 suggested donation for all (no one turned away for lack of funds). All ages and talents are welcome on the mic! Open mic slots 3 minutes each. Sign up upon arrival. Hosted and organized by the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain and Kaleigh O'Keefe

FEATURED ARTIST: Ariana Brown

Ariana Brown is a queer Black Mexican American poet from San Antonio, Texas, with a B.A. in African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies. She is the recipient of two Academy of American Poets Prizes and a 2014 collegiate national poetry slam champion. Ariana, who has been dubbed a “part-time curandera,” is primarily interested in using poetry to validate Black girl rage, in all its miraculous forms. Follow her work online at arianabrown.com or on Twitter & Instagram @arianathepoet.

*this venue is wheelchair accessible and has gender neutral restrooms*

Open Mic with poet Tomika Beyer, and Chris and George of Kingsley Flood, and of course, you! Doors and sign up at 7, show starts at 7:30, $5 cover. 

Tamiko Beyer is the author of Last Days (Alice James Books, forthcoming 2021), We Come Elemental (Alice James Books, 2013), and two chapbooks of poems. She publishes a monthly newsletter for living life wide awake and shaping change, Starlight & Strategy. A social justice communications writer and strategist, she spends her days writing truth to power.  Find her at tamikobeyer.com.

Chris Barrett and George Hall are veterans of the Boston music world.

The Boston Poetry Slam holds a weekly show every Wednesday downstairs at the Cantab Lounge. This is the flagship show of the Boston Poetry Slam and the entire night is devoted to the craft, performance, and enjoyment of poetry.
The cover charge is $4, cash or credit. No tickets are sold in advance. The poetry show is 21+, with a photo ID and Vaccination Card required to enter the venue. No outside drink is allowed— please patronize the bar— but you may bring food and eat it in the venue. Regrettably, the basement of the Cantab is not wheelchair-accessible; please email us to learn more about the space and to discuss accessibility options.
Doors open at approximately 7:15 for an 8:00 poetry-only open mic. The venue has a capacity of 75 persons with seating for approximately 60; if you want to sit down for the first part of the show, you will need to arrive before 8:00 PM. Large parties are strongly advised to arrive in a timely manner, as the show frequently sells out.
There is a short break after the open mic at approximately 9:45, during which some seats usually free up for incoming crowd. (If the feature is popular, do not expect seats to become available.) After the break, the featured poet or event begins. Standard features last for 30 minutes and featured slams last about 60 minutes, after which our featured poets vend their product and chat with fans. As of 2023, the full show is usually over by 11:00.