Friday, Aug 6: Basseyworld Live @ Bowery Poetry Club

Basseyworld Live: NYC!

7:00 PM

5 x Def Poetry Jam Poet, Bassey Ikpi is embarking on her summer tour. Bassey is a Nigerian born poet/writer who has been a featured cast member of the National Touring Company of the Tony Award winning Broadway show, Russell Simmon's Def Poetry Jam. This summer Bassey will intertwine her poetry with an evening filled with a live panel, discussing everything from pop culture, politics and relationships. Not only will her show be live streamed via several social networks, but the panel will also field questions from the audience and interact with followers on Twitter.

http://basseyworldlivenyc-efbevent.eventbrite.com/

Info: Bowery Poetry Club

Every Tuesday at the Bowery Poetry Club: Urbana Poetry Slam

Urbana Poetry Slam
Tuesdays at the Bowery Poetry Club

"NYC-Urbana hosts weekly poetry slams at the Bowery Poetry Club. We're a quirky and eccentric series, and even though we've featured some of the biggest names in poetry--Billy Collins, Patricia Smith, Galway Kinnell, Saul Williams, and almost every national slam champion--we remain a warm and welcoming venue for all kinds of poetic voices: political, confessional, musical, and spiritual. The series has actually won the national poetry slam championship a record THREE TIMES (1997, 2000, 2002).

Urbana starts at 7pm. Bowery Arts and Science hosts the 'WordShop' with the featured poet from the Poetry Slam giving a talk of the craft of poetry at 6:30. $7 for the Slam, 'WordShop: is free and partially funded by New York State Council on the Arts and New York City Department of Culture."

Info: Bowery Poetry Club

April 16: Album Release Party at Bowery Poetry Club

Say Word Entertainment presents: Skillz to take Brazil Album release -featuring Zajazza +Hired Gun and Rabbi Darkside of 3rd Party

An unparalleled international Hip Hop album, STTB is a collaboration between 2 Brooklyn MCs, a French DJ/Producer and 2 Brazilian supercrews. This project was conceived and written during Say Words 2009 Skillz to Take Brazil Tour. It features beats by Frenchman ZAJAZZA, the socially conscious and lyrically dexterous rhymes of HIRED GUN (URB Next 100) & RABBI DARKSIDE (MTVs MADE), and the contributions of 2 powerhouse groups from Southern Brazil: UR$ FUNDAO (Passo Fundo) and NEGO PREGO & A LA DOS PRETOS DUCORRE (Porto Alegre).

While on a 2-week tour of Brazil, Zajazza, Hired Gun and Rabbi D rocked some serious shows and build some very significant relationships across the table of Hip Hop culture. They were invited into the barrios and homes of the members of the pre-eminent groups in Rio Grande Do Sul, sharing stages, meals, rides and studio time. This cultural exchange was documented by blog, journal, video and photo, but the most riveting product is the album itself. From the UR$ Fundao studio (built on 5 years of collective crew savings) to the middle of Bom Jesus favela (the largest favela in Rio Grande Do Sul) to a beachside makeshift studio in Florinapolis, Hired G, Rabbi D and Zajazza were furiously crafting the musical compositions that would tell the story of this trip.

Info: http://www.bowerypoetry.com/#Event/86201 and www.saywordentertainment.com

Thurday, April 15th: Martin Espada and Rich Villar @ Bowery Poetry Club

Page Meets Stage: Rich Villar and Martin Espada - $12/$6 Students

Called "the Latino poet of his generation" and "the Pablo Neruda of North American authors," Martin Espada was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1957. He has published seventeen books in all as a poet, editor, essayist and translator. Two more books are forthcoming: The Trouble Ball (Norton, 2011), a collection of poems, and The Lover of a Subversive is Also a Subversive (Michigan, 2010), a collection of essays.

He has received numerous awards and fellowships and his poems have appeared in the The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Harper's, The Nation and The Best American Poetry. His work has been translated into ten languages; collections of poems have recently been published in Spain, Puerto Rico and Chile. A former tenant lawyer, Espada is now a professor in the Department of English at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he teaches creative writing and the work of Pablo Neruda.

Rich Villar's poetry and prose have appeared in the journals MiPoesias: The American Cuban Issue, OCHO 15, Rattapallax, and the first edition of the chapbook series Achiote Seeds (Achiote Press, Spring 2007). He is a co-founder and director of the Acentos Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and publication of Latino/a poetry. He lives and writes en la madre tierra de New Jersey.

Info: Bowery Poetry Club

Tuesday, April 6 and Weekly: Urbana Poetry Slam and Wordhop @ Bowery Poetry Club

6pm: WordShop
The WordShop is a series of talks on the craft of poetry and is made possible with public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. And of course generous supporters like you!

This week featuring Barbara Fant!

7pm: Urbana Poetry Slam: Featuring Barbara Fant
Come watch a poetry slam (or sign up to compete in one!) or read a poem in the open mic that precedes it! Admission $7 to Open Slams and $10 to Semifinals.

The Urbana Poetry Slam takes place every Tuesday night at the Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, New York, NY 10012, at the foot of First Street, between Houston & Bleecker. Subways: F to Second Ave, or 6 to Bleecker, 212.614.0505).

Info: Bowery Poetry Club

Tonight! A World of Poetry @ The Bowery Poetry Club

A World of Poetry Event -$7

Gartal and the Armenian Poetry Project present the Zephyr Poets from Los Angeles -- Tina Demirjian, Armine Inknadossian, Shahe Mankerian, and Alene Terzian -- reading with New York City-based writers Nancy Agabian, Lola Koundakjian, Amir Parsa, and Alan Semerdjian. This specially-produced version of Gartal includes contemporary poets who hail from various national backgrounds, cite numerous literary influences, and deal with issues of war, loss of parents, self-definition through relationships and sexuality, and other urban global realities.

Info:
http://www.bowerypoetrylive.com/
http://armenian-poetry.blogspot.com/

Thursday, Feb 25: The Mighty Third Rail - performance @ Lincoln Center

"The Mighty Third Rail"

Feb. 25 at 8:30 pm
Target Free Thursdays

A three-man squadron led by Darian Dauchan, The Mighty Third Rail mixes elements of hip-hop poetry, beatboxing, violin, and bass. Frontman Darian is both a Broadway performer (Twentieth Century) and an acclaimed poet, having been named 2007 Grand Slam Champion of the Bowery Poetry Club’s Urbana Slam Team. Together with avant-garde jazz artists Curtis Stewart and Ian J. Baggette, this bold, urban collective creates politically challenging works that push the boundaries of hip-hop to define the next generation’s voice. Please note: this performance features mature language.

David Rubenstein Atrium
Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets
FREE

Info: Lincoln Center

Saturday, February 20: Super Sábado! @ El Museo del Barrio

Target Free Third Saturdays
Saturday, February 20, 2010

Once a month, El Museo del Barrio opens its doors to everyone interested in exploring the vibrancy and diversity of Latino Culture. Through free concerts, exhibitions, gallery tours, art making workshops, walking tours, film screenings, and Spoken Word recitals, SUPER SABADO! showcases traditions, cultural expressions, and the latest in Latino art.

February's theme is "¡LA VIDA ES UN CARNAVAL!"

11:00 am - 8:30 pm
El Museo del Barrio
Admission: Free

Info: El Museo del Barrio New York

Tonight! World of Poetry and PAF PRESENTS: Shab-e Sher Featuring Aida Shahghasemi and Shabnam Piryaei @ Bowery Poetry Club

"World of Poetry and PAF PRESENTS: Shab-e Sher Featuring Aida Shahghasemi and Shabnam Piryaei"

Please join us for our next Persian Poetry Night that will infuse poetry with music on Wednesday, February 17th at 6 pm!!

Aida Shahghasemi, currently a graduate student in Art and Public Policy at NYU, was born in Iran and moved to the States in July of 2000. She is thankful to her teacher, Amir Samadi, one of the late Mirza Agha Ghow's pupils for learning to play Daf, a traditional Kurdish instrument. Aida has also had the privilege of studying the Iranian Classical vocal repertoire with Parissa by traveling back and forth between Iran and U.S.

Shabnam Piryaei was born in Iran and raised in the U.S. Her work has been published in several journals including The Florida Review, Runes: A Review of Poetry, Flashquake, and The Furnace Review. She has been awarded the Poets & Writers Amy Award for poetry, as well as the Elizabeth George Foundation grant. Her collection of writing entitled "Ode to Fragile" is forthcoming. Currently she is developing three short films based on material from the book.

An open mic will follow the reading, inviting everyone to read either his or her own poetry or works by other poets, in Persian or English, bearing some connection to Iran or Iranian/Persian culture.

Info: Bowery Poetry Club