Massachusetts Statewide Poetry Calendar 2

Bring original or favorite poetry to share in a round robin style. Free and open to the public. Space is limited. To sign up to read call 508-949-6232 or email deb@bookloversgourmet.com

Franny Choi (Northampton Poet Laureate) and Brew & Forge present an event celebrating the convergence of poetry and activism in the Valley
Please join us for the first event organized by Franny Choi, the new Poet Laureate of Northampton, and Brew & Forge, an organization that builds connections between writers, artists, and social justice movements!
Along with a reading by Franny, this event will showcase poets of color from across the Pioneer Valley and introduce attendees to powerful grassroots organizing happening locally. Readers include Jai Dulani, Abigail Chabitnoy, Lyrical Faith, Shailja Patel, Omkari Williams, and Cameron Awkward-Rich. Celebrate the richness of BIPOC poetry in our region, learn about local initiatives, and support writers and activists working for racial justice!

Doors open at 5:45, show starts at 6pm.

Admission is free, with suggested donations. You can reserve your ticket here; a limited number of tickets will be available at the door. Donations will go toward Brew & Forge’s work supporting poets and community organizers of color in Western Mass and across the Northeast.

The reading will be followed by a book signing and tabling by the Western Mass Bailout Project and the Trans Asylum Seekers Support Network.

Porter Square Books and GrubStreet are delighted to present the latest installment of the Grubbie Debut series with author and GrubStreet instructor Neema Avashia in celebration of the release of Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place. Neema will be joined in conversation by fellow author and GrubStreet instructor E. B. Bartels. This event will take place at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition- please RSVP for updates on venue and more.

Neema Avashia was born and raised in southern West Virginia to parents who immigrated to the United States. She has been a middle school teacher in the Boston Public Schools since 2003. Her essays have appeared in the Bitter Southerner, Catapult, Kenyon Review Online, and elsewhere. E.B. Bartels is a nonfiction writer, a former Newtonville Books bookseller, and a GrubStreet instructor, with an MFA from Columbia. Her writing has been published in Catapult, The Rumpus, The Millions, and The Toast. She lives in Massachusetts.