Here in lies the (abbreviated) history of the Poets' Asylum. We started
gathering this information in 2001. If you performed at the Poets' Asylum
before 2001 and remember the dates then we'd love to hear from you. Just
click the Stay In Touch link to the left and you'll find contact e-mail
addresses.
Wondering what happened further back in the past? Click a link below and
find out.
Looking for info on our past events? We have lists of info going back to
2001.
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| 01/02 |
Asylum co-founder Bill MacMillan was our feature for the first
reading of 2011. Bill read from his new book Searching for DB
Cooper, performed a one-time only poem "433 in 6 parts" and
generally showed off his poetic chops. Thanks for the words Bill.
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| 01/09 |
The Duende Project, personified by Tony Brown and Steve
Lanning-Cafaro, was the feature this week. Kicking things off with an
improv piece on the zombie apocalypse their energy never let up during
their 40 minute set. Moving between electric & acoustic, Steve's
guitar work provided an amazing backdrop for Tony's words. From
reworked versions of "americanized" to the hidden bonus track
on their newly released CD, "Rest", they showed off their unique
collaborative work. Thanks for the good words & notes gents.
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| 01/16 |
A small yet eager crew gathered for our weekly reading this week.
Luckily a bunch of them were slammers and we held an open qualifying
slam with seven (7) competitors. There was a time penalty, though
not for who you think, and a lot of excellent words shared. At the end
of the night Dave Mac and Kim Casey earned the top two
spots and a place in the Spring Semi-Finals slam. |
| 01/23 |
Brittany Shostak was our feature this week and she performed a
fantastic set for those who braved the cold to come to the Poets'
Asylum. Moving with practiced ease between offpage work and work from
her latest chapbook she warmed us a tribute to Arizona, shared her
thoughts on the death of Tyler Clementi and offered some tips on
getting busy with your best friend. She closed out with a tight piece
about modern romance. It was a fun set and vigorous applause was her
reward. Thanks Brit, we hope to hear you again. |
| 01/30 |
This week we celebrated our 21st Anniversary year with an open mic and
a New Work Slam. Thanks those who read in the open mic,
especially the new readers. Five poets competed in the New Work Slam:
Alex, Bobby, Brandi, Egan and Liz S. After two rounds and close judging
Brandi took first place and the prize, a piece of original art by Bill
MacMillan. This week was also a fundraiser for our venue, the WCUW
Front Room. Thanks to the generosity of the audience we raised $94 for
WCUW. Thanks to all those who made this a fun night. |
| 02/06 |
It's weeks like this were you learn who are the diehard poetry fans.
With a one person open mic and four slammers for the Open Qualifying
Slam it was a quick night at the Poets' Asylum. We still had a
grand time with words. Congratulations to Bill and
Melinda on winning the top two spots in the slam. They move on
to the Spring Semi-Finals on April 3rd. |
| 02/13 |
Alex Charalambides was our feature this week and he was, without
a doubt, on fire in all the best possible ways. With acoustic backing
by Greg McKillop, Alex performed a set of (almost) all new work. He
hit upon the organizers blues, the nature of henchmen, good roommates
and thoughts on his first tour. It was a very powerful performance of
well crafted poetry. Thank you Alex for sharing your words, and
yourself, with us. |
| 02/20 |
Lori Desrosiers was the feature this week. She read a few
pieces from a new book being published by Salmon Poetry and then shared
work from her chapbook, Three Vanities, as well as other poems. From
the music qualities of cicadas to playing the violin to the power of
community her work presented short nuggets of insight into her life.
She closed with a cover from the poetry journal she edit (Naugatuck
River Review) by Patricia Smith named "Jumper". Thanks for sharing
your words Lori. |
| 02/27 |
This week we welcomed Jennifer Gigantino to the stage at the
Poets' Asylum. She shared a fine set of poetry, moving from strongly
performed off-page work to pieces from her chapbook, Speaking in
Tongues. It being Oscar ceremony night she shared some movie inspired
poetry as well as several poems based on Talking Heads songs. With
great presence and strong word choice she rocked the mic. It was great
to have you on our stage Jen. |
| 03/06 |
It was a quick moving night at the Poets' Asylum with a six person open
mic, a 20 minute spotlight feature by Kim Johnson and a two
person open qualifying slam. A big shout out to the group of
8th graders who joined us for the night - we hope to see you again and
hear a few of you in the open mic. Congratulations to Christopher
Clauss and McKendy Fils-Aime on earning spots in the Spring
Semi-Final Slam on April 3rd. |
| 03/13 |
Megan Thoma was our feature this week. Fresh from the 2011
edition of WOWps she shared stories from the national event
and some excellent poetry. Moving from heavier work to the lighter
stuff Megan shared a mix of new work and pieces previously heard at
Kitchen Sessions. She closed out with a audience participation piece
about how we love throughout the cities and regions of the U.S. It was
a fine cap to a really nice set. Thanks for joining us Megan. Now get
some sleep. |
| 03/20 |
Six competitors took part in the final Open Qualifying Slam of
our 2010/2011 slam season. Congratulations to Alex Charalmabides
and Bobby Gibbs on earning a spot in the Spring Semi-Final Slam,
which will be held on April 3rd. Thanks to all those who slammed,
judged, hosted, kept score and most importantly, listened. |
| 03/27 |
Dane Kuttler was the feature this week and she gave us a great
one. With honed performance style and spot on word craft she tackled
touring, winter, National Coming Out Day, cancer and more. She even
shared a poem she wrote at iWPS and then riped it up so that it was only
heard this one time. That was pretty awesome. Thanks Dane for the good
words. Don't be a stranger. |
| 04/03 |
Congratulations to Robert Gibbs, Mckendy Fils-Aime,
Kimberly Casey and Bill Macmillan on taking the top four
spots in the Spring Semi-final Slam at the Poets' Asylum this
week. They move on to the team finals in two weeks, on April 17th.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the reading tonight, shared their
words in the open, took on the thankless job of judging and most
importantly, listened to the poets. It was a great show. |
| 04/10 |
The Asylum was pleased as punch to welcome Billy Tuggle as our
feature this week. Following a happening open mic Billy took the stage
for a tight feature of polished work. His set included tales of
graffiti artists, dinosaurs, Texas history lessons and a testament for
Shannon Leigh. Thanks for the words good sir. We hope too hear you
again soon. |
| 04/17 |
Congratulations to the members of the 2011 Worcester Slam Team -
Brandi MacDonald, Bill MacMillan, Bobby Gibbs and
Alex Charalambides with alternate Liz Heath. They will
represent Worcester at the 2011 National Poetry Slam this August in exotic
Boston. Thanks to the other competitors, Sarah Sapienza, Mckendy
Fils-Aime and Kim Casey, and to everyone who packed the WCUW Front Room
Sunday night to cheer on all the competitors. Special thanks to guest
MC Tony Brown, our judges (Gary, Jenith, Kristina, Kirk and Rackle) and
runner Dave Mac for making the show run extra smooth. It was a great
night for performance poetry in Worcester. We hope you enjoyed the
show. |
| 04/24 |
Fun night at the Poets' Asylum this week with a decent sized open mic
and a feature by Simone Beaubien. Special welcome to the
newcomers who joins us this week. Simone offered up a set on a variety
of topics, most of it on page. She kicked off with a quick hit for
those doing the 30-30 poetry challenge, moved on to a couple of work
poems, shared her thoughts on Michael Collins and figs and then closed
out the night with a longer piece which she dedicated to Brian Ellis.
Simone showed the skills that have made her one of the top performance
poets in New England. It was great to have her on our stage once again.
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| 05/01 |
David Perez was our feature this week following a rather
excellent open mic. He showed a practice ease as he took to the stage,
moving energetically through poems about family, living with brown
bears, the Winchester Rifle mansion and a penchant for physical
exertion. He drew awed gasps, appreciative applause and brisk book
sales. Thanks for returning to Worcester David. Don't be a stranger.
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| 05/08 |
Fantastic reading this week with a great open mic and a great feature
by Mike McGee. Special welcome to the first time reader at the
mic, Michelle Barry. We hope to hear you again soon Michelle.
Mike McGee was simply awesome, sitting in a pool of awesome
pudding, covered in awesome sauce. First up we made a mother's day
call to his mom. Then he followed it up with 40 minutes of work,
mostly new stuff with a cover and couple of requests thrown in for good
measure. Mike's love of life shines through whether he's making a joke
about a numbered list poem or raising a glass to a lost friend. It was
a fine night of poetry for Worcester. It was delightful to have your
on the Poets' Asylum stage again Mike. Come again soon! |
| 05/15 |
Ryk McIntyre was the feature this week at the Poets' Asylum.
Alas the webmaster was not able to attend this week so that's all we
know. If you were there and would like to share a brief write-up about
the evening we'd be grateful. You can e-mail it webmaster @ poetsasylum .
org. |
| 05/22 |
It was a quietish night at the Poets' Asylum with only a dozen and a
half folks in attendance. Still we had a nice open mic with a first
time reader (come again Adam) and a most excellent feature by Greg
Brisendine. Greg shared practiced and passionate work. Ranging in
subject matter from his father's cancer to appliance suicide pacts he
brought a crisp style born out of a commitment to his words. It was a
pleasure to hear him. Thanks for sharing with us Greg. |
| 05/29 |
A packed house on a holiday weekend for poetry. The stars must have
aligned over the Poets' Asylum this week with a short open mic and a
fantastic multi-poet reading by some of the folks featured in the Knocking at
the Door: Poems for Approaching the Other anthology. Ably directed
by Lisa Sisler and Lea Deschenes we heard a dozen poems from the book
as well as other work from many of the readers. It was a fun night for
all. Thanks to all who came to share their words or, even better,
listen. |
| 06/05 |
Thanks to everyone who came out this week for the regular Poets' Asylum
open mic and Cover Slam. Five competitors shared the words of
Ryk McIntyre, Taylor Mali, Philip Schultz, Geoffrey Chaucer, Flobot and
Bob Newhart. At the end of the night Bill MacMillan won the $10 cash
prize for his covers of poems by Richard Loranger & Sarah Sapienza. |
| 06/11 |
The 24 Hour Poetry Reading by Bill MacMillan that started on
Saturday, June 11th came to a successful close Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.
Our thanks to everyone who found some time on this rainy weekend to
spend an hour or three listening to poetry and counting cups of coffee.
Special thanks to Liz Heath for keeping Bill company through the wee
hours of the morning. |
| 06/12 |
Four out of five members of the 2011 Worcester Slam Team were our
feature tonight. Brandi MacDonald, Alex Charalambides,
Liz Heath and Bobby Gibbs took to the stage to show off
the work they've done in the two months since they earned at spot on
team during the Poets' Asylum slam finals. We were treated to some new
work, some reworked & improved pieces we've heard before and a group
piece treatment for Dear Food Network. The team carried the
show while Bill MacMillan crawled into bed and dreamt of a land without
words, at least for one night. |
| 06/19 |
Those who came out to the Poets' Asylum this week enjoyed a nice open
mic with a couple of new voices and the "Where is Jack?" Slam.
Thanks to Alex, Bill, Bobby, Brandi and Dave for sharing their takes on
where Jack McCarthy had gone off to and for covering a poem of Jack's
during the second round. At the end of the night Alex was deemed the
winner and he took home a fabulous prize. |
| 06/26 |
Nick Davis was our feature this week and a nice sized group
came out to hear him. He kicked off his set with a piece dedicated to
his Uncle Pete, who brought him to his first poetry reading at 13.
After that he performed a mix of on-page and memorized work. It was a
fun night and the audience ate it up. Thanks Nick, we hope your
schedule allows you to join us more often. |
| 07/03 |
Congratulations to Nick Davis and Sarah Sapienza in
taking the top two spots in our first iWPS Qualifying Slam of
the year. They'll move on to the iWPS Finals sometime in August.
Thanks to the other slammer, Liz Swenson, our judges, host and most
importantly, the audience, for coming out on a holiday weekend. |
| 07/10 |
Thanks to everyone who packed the room at the Poets' Asylum this week
for the Regional Slam. Teams from the Cantab, Providence &
Manchester competed against the 2011 Poets' Asylum Slam team in a 4
round bout. The night held 4 group pieces, 1 time penalty, a couple
of tens and a lot of audience participation. At the end of the night
the team from the Cantab took the top spot followed by the Poets'
Asylum, Manchester and Providence. |
| 07/17 |
It was an exciting night at the Poets' Asylum with a new voice in the
open mic and the members of the 2011 Worcester Youth Slam Team
as our features! The slammers performed a mix of well choreographed
multi-voice pieces as well as solo work. The result was a fierce
exhibition of why these poets are heading to the Brave New Voices
International Youth Festival this week in San Francisco. Thank you
to veterans Eric Devenney, Taylor Liljegren and Anna Meehan, and
newcomers Jacie Cloutier and Amiana Banks for sharing your words.
Don't be strangers; we want to hear more. |
| 07/24 |
It was a quiet night on the home front this week at our weekly reading
with just two stout competitors choosing to take part in the second
(and final) iWPS Qualifying Slam. We made them perform a
couple of poems each and they were good ones. You should have been
there. Thanks to those who did come out and read in the open mic. |
| 07/31 |
We had a quiet night at the Poets' Asylum this week with only
a handful in the open mic and a quick feature by Lesley Wheeler.
She read a mixture of work from her latest chapbook and pieces written
recently. Her work is concise and well formed, showing the time taken
by the poet in crafting her art. Lesley told us about bees, mudslides
and teaching in NY. She closed her set with the piece "Second Sight",
accompanied on flute by her friend Molly McLaughlin. Thank you for
joining us Lesley. |
| 08/07 |
We had one heck of a night at the Poets' Asylum this week. The open
mic was packed with great stuff including several first time readers
and readings from members of the Art Amok Slam Team out of Atlanta, GA.
They were on their way to the National Poetry Slam in Cambridge, which is a nice
lead-in to our feature for the night, the 2011 Worcester Slam
Team. Brandi MacDonald, Bill MacMillan, Bobby
Gibbs, Alex Charalambides and Liz Heath showed that
they are ready to take on all challengers next week. With refined
individual pieces and some really tight group work they will leave
their mark on the hearts and minds of the audiences and poets at
Nationals. We know they'll do us proud. |
| 08/14 |
Oh what a night. This week the Poets' Asylum held an Anti-Slam
and it was all kinds of mad, crazy fun. A short open mic was followed
by a box of doom style "slam" with a dozen competitors
performing some of the worst poems, song lyrics and more. We were
graced with the presence of a handful of poets still in the area after
the National Poetry Slam as well as members of the Asylum community.
Thanks to everyone who came out for this fun night words. |
| 08/21 |
Paulie Lipman was the feature this week at the Poets' Asylum and
he gave us a great show. His set hit on folk heros and the It Gets Better
project, gave us the viewpoints of several historical women and
shared a goodbye letter to Denver. He capped his set with a love poem
to his future uber-geek spouse. We look forward to the next time we
hear from you Paulie. Thanks for the words. |
| 08/28 |
The Poets' Asylum was canceled this week. August 28th. The organizers
took into consideration the number of downed trees, the forecast for
continued blusteriness and a desire to save our feature and audience
from having to travel during a declared state of emergency. We hope
everyone weathered the storm safely. |
| 09/04 |
Congratulations to the Worcester's representative to the 2011
Individual World Poetry Slam Championship, Bobby Gibbs. At the
end of four rounds Bobby came out ahead of seven other poets, securing
the right to rep Worcester at iWPS. Thanks to all the poets who
competed, the folks who bravely took up the score boards, Liz Heath for
hosting and all those who came out to witness this first class event.
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| 09/11 |
This week the Poets' Asylum welcomed Jared Paul, New England's
own activist, poet and performer. Jared made himself an impromptu
lectern and wowed the audience with many previously unheard pieces - we
were thrilled to have him, and over the moon to hear the great voices
on our Open Mic, which boasted old and new friends. Thanks to everyone
who came out for a fantastic night. |
| 09/18 |
Tonight at the Poets' Asylum, we welcomed poets from all over the place
- Massachusetts, New Hampshire -- that's like, 1/3 of New England! And
while some of them hit the awesome Open Mic, hosted by the lovely and
talented Liz Heath, some of them competed in the Asylums' first Big
Money Slam! At the end of two epic rounds, Sam Teitel took first
place, walking out the door with $100 and, more importantly, some
serious accolades. Thanks to everyone who came out - we loved loved
loved seeing you. |
| 09/25 |
What a great time we had this week at the Poets' Asylum. There was a
packed open mic, the Back-to-School Slam and a spotlight by
Tara Hardy. Plus the packed room enjoyed tasty treats from our
first bake sale competition.
The Back-to-School Slam pitted members of the 2011 Worcester Youth
Slam team plus one (Jacie Cloutier, Eric Devenney, Taylor Liljegren and
Kate Richardson) against a rag tag team of educators (Rodger Martin,
Ayanna & Matt Gallant and Tara Hardy). After four rounds the educators
came out on top, winning bragging rights and glory.
Tara Hardy was simply awesome. Claiming she would deliver quieter
pieces she then blew the audience away with poem after poem of high
power high energy work. Even with a cold she brings the good stuff and
draws in the audience. A stead stream sought out her book after the
reading.
Jenith Charpentier won the bake sale for her Oreo truffles. It was
all rather tempting. Thanks for everyone who brought something tasty
to share. |
| 10/02 |
We had a good reading this week with a tight open mic and a fine
feature by John "Survivor" Blake. He performed mostly new work,
referring to laptop and chapbook for poetic topics ranging from a
recovering alcoholic counting drinks at a bar to Glen Beck; Casey
Anthony to a haunted home. It was a really nice set, a bit heavy but
full of great stuff. Thanks for the words John. |
| 10/09 |
Our Homecoming Reading was great and we want to thank everyone
who joined us. We had a packed open mic, delicous treats from the PTA
and a feature from our iWPS rep, Bobby Gibbs. Bobby set was
crafted from work we haven't heard before; stuff that was quite
different from the poems he performs at slams. Reading from notebooks
and chapbooks he shared some fine work. Thanks for the words Bobby and
good luck at iWPS. |
| 10/16 |
Thanks to everyone who joined us this week for our regular open mic and
the feature by Seren Divine. Seren brought us a mix of new,
shorter work and pieces that many of our long-time regulars remember
from her days in Worcester. Even her older poems had a new feel to
them, no longer held captive by a 3 minute time limit. They were in
some way more elegrant, more grace and still so very powerful. We are
so happy that the stars aligned and we were able to have you at our
newest venue Seren. Thanks for the words. |
| 10/23 |
It was a quiet week at the Poets' Asylum. This week we held a new
themed slam, the Lady Grab Bag Slam. A handful of folks
competed with poems from their favorite female poets. At the end of
the night Sam Tietel won the night with his cover of Simone Beaubien.
Thanks to all those who joined us to celebrate lady poetry. |
| 10/30 |
Due to the wintery prelude to Halloween which caused there to be no
power at our venue we had to cancel the reading. We'll work on
rescheduling the Slam Master Showcase for another date. Hope you are
safe & warm. |
| 11/06 |
It was a quiet reading this week with only a handful of folks coming
out for the reading. After a short open mic we called it a night. |
| 11/13 |
![[NorthBeast logo]](images/NorthBeast2011.png "The NorthBeast Regional is over and what a pair of shows it was!")
Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows this past weekend.
There is nothing like a packed house for an event. A bit shout out to
all of the poets & teams that journeyed to Worcester and shared their
words.
Saturday night saw teams from Worcester, Manchester (NH), Lowell,
Cambridge, Providence, Portland (ME) and Jersey City (NJ) converge on
the WCUW Front Room for a pair of 4-round bouts. When the dust had
settled the teams from the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge and
Port Veritas in Portland earned the top spots in their bouts.
Both teams are guarenteed a spot at the 2012 National Poetry Slam,
which will take place in August 2012.
Sunday night saw the top poets from each competing team take to the
stage for the Individual Championship Slam. Kudos to Janae Johnson
(Lizard Lounge), Cassandra Ashley (Mill City), Liz Heath (Worcester),
Matt Gallant (Manchester), Christopher "Jelly" Stanly (Jersey City),
Mckendy Fils-Aime (Cantab), Ryan McLellan (Port Veritas), and Franny
Choi (Providence) on their excellent work. At the end of three rounds
Matt Gallant rose to the challenge of NorthBEAST and was crowned
the 2011 NorthBEAST Indy Champ.
A big shout out to Sara Sapienza & Liz Heath, the organizers for the
Poets' Asylum and the 2011 edition of the NorthBEAST Regional. Thanks
also to all our volunteers. We couldn't have such a great show without
you.
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| 11/20 |
Nice night at the Poets' Asylum this week with a good open mic and
feature by touring poet Lucifury. The Denver poet produced a
40-minute set of well practiced poetry and some interesting piano work.
In addition to poems on his grandfather, transformations and the roots
of a breakup he shared a strikingly good impression of President Obama.
Thanks for the words sir and safe travels. Also a big shout out to the
new voices in our open mic; please come again. |
| 11/27 |
We had fun this week at the Poets' Asylum with our Home for the
Holiday night. We enjoyed a shortish open mic (thanks to the new
voices that joined us) and then the turkey hiaku death match.
Six poets took part in the slam and at the end of the sharp tongued and
slightly raunchy competition Brandi MacDonald earned first place honors. There was plenty of laugher to go around and cake. Thanks y'all. |
| 12/04 |
This week the Poets' Asylum hosted a Local Organizer's Showcase.
|
| 12/11 |
Mighty Mike McGee was our last minute feature following an
extended open mic. |
| 12/18 |
Former Asylum organzier Dave Keali'i provided a spotlight
feature before the bad poem extravaganza known as the Yankee
Swap Slam. |
| 12/25 |
No reading this week due to the holiday. |