Spoken Word Sampler Track & Artist Listings | Venue Information

To celebrate the vibrancy & diversity found within our big little city, the performance poetry venues of Worcester have formed a collective, dedicated to promoting our art-form wherever & whenever words need to be experienced. Whatever you want to call it, slam, spoken word, performance poetry, post-neo-pre-avant-modernistic noise, these words burst off the page and into your every day life. We yell, sing, rhyme, rant, kick & whisper to be heard! The poetry scene in this city is as diverse as the city itself. We're making a concerted collaborative effort to help each other do this. We're friendly, smart, talented, welcoming and most of all, infinitely grateful for the opportunity to connect with listeners. No matter, what you enjoy, coffee, beer, stories, music, parties, Worcester has a place that's tying poetry into the social fabric of this great place we call home. Write a poem! Read a poem! Share a poem! Listen to a poem!

The Worcester Poetry Collective will be distributing free CDs at stART on the Street 2009.
A list of the tracks with authors can be found here.

Below you'll find quick bits of info on each of the regular performance poetry readings in Worcester. Where possible we've included a link for more info on each reading.

The Poets' Asylum

The Poets' Asylum is Worcester's longest running poetry open mic with almost 20 years at the mic. The reading is held every Sunday night at Jumpin' Juice and Java (335 Chandler Street, Worcester) and starts at 6:00 p.m. Each week they offer a poetry open mic followed by a feature or a poetry slam.

Open to all ages. No cover however they pass a bucket to pay the feature and support the reading.

Visit the Poets' Asylum website for more info on the reading and the weekly calendar of regional poetry events, The Week in Poetry.

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Little "a" Poetry Series

The Little "a" Poetry Series is a weekly poetry reading at the Q Cafe (362 Chandler Street, Worcester). The reading runs every Monday night at 7:30 p.m. The format of the Little "a" is an open mic followed by a featured poet, or in some cases odd slams.

The reading is open to all ages and is free to attend with a purchase made from the cafe. Donations are encouraged so that we can pay featured poets.

Visit their Facebook group for updates on the reading, or read their blog at http://theqma.wordpress.com/

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Dirty Gerund Poetry Show

The Dirty Gerund is Worcester's newest poetry reading and is held at a great venue, Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner (148 Grove Street, Worcester). Every Monday night at 9:00 p.m. The format is an open mic followed by a feature or sometimes a slam.

21+ No cover; donations accepted.

Visit the Dirty Gerund website at www.dirtygerund.com for more information on the reading and upcoming features.

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The After 9 Poetry Reading

The After 9 Poetry Reading meets every Thursday night in the venerable Ship Room at the Hotel Vernon (1 Millbury Street, Kelly Square, Worcester). The open mic list goes out at 8;30 p.m. and the reading starts around 9:00 p.m. There is always an open mic which happens before the featured poet of the night or the slam. They don't slam every week but when they do it is something to behold.

The Hotel Vernon is a 21+ establishment and proper I.D. is required. Please bring some money for the Captain's Hat to support the performers.

Read the After 9 Reading Blog for the latest info on upcoming features, slams & events.

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Worcester Storytellers

Worcester Storytellers meets on the second Friday of each month at the offices of the Worcester County Poetry Association (Vasa Hall, 1 Ekman Street, Worcester). The reading starts at 8:00 p.m. with an open reading. A feature typically follows the feature. All types of spoken word are welcome; poetry, folk tales, short stories, etc. Readers have 8 minutes to perform their work allowing longer pieces to be shared.

Open to all ages. No cover, however donations for the feature are requested.

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Worcester Youth Slam

Since 2003, the Worcester Youth Poetry Slam has offered teenage writers the opportunity to develop their performance skills, build community and celebrate the power of poetry. The slams have most recently taken place at Clark University.

Youth Teams that have represented Worcester at the annual Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival (recently featured in an HBO documentary series baring the same name). From LA to San Francisco to San Jose to DC to Chicago, young poets from Central Massachusetts have shared their work & connected with their peers from over 50 other communities!

Open to all ages. Donations accepted to pay features and help send a team to the Brave New Voices festival.

For more information please visit the Poet's Asylum listing at poetsasylum.org/speakout or the youth slam's home page at www.worcesteryouthslam.com

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