Tom Bonville reading his poem "In The City” at Poets Speak Loud at McGeary's in Albany, NY on September 30, 2019

Tom Bonville At Poets Speak Loud

Guy Reed share his poem "In the Film they Called Drake’s Passage" at Poets Speak Loud at McGeary's in Albany, NY on September 30, 2019

Guy Reed At Poets Speak Loud

Sylvia Barnard reads six Haiku at Poets Speak Loud at McGeary's in Albany, NY on September 30, 2019.

Sylvia Barnard At Poets Speak Loud

Allie Doyle reads two poems at Poets Speak Loud at McGeary's in Albany, NY on September 30, 2019.

Allie Doyle At Poets Speak Loud

Algorhythm reading "Still Birth" at the Brass Tacks open mic at The Low Beat in Albany, NY on October 2, 2018.

Algorhythm At Brass Tacks

Mary Panza recently read at Half Moon Books in Kingston, NY along with Marianna Boncek, Thom Francis, Cheryl A. Rice, Mike Jurkovic, and Rebecca Schumejda.

Mary Panza at Half Moon Books - July 26, 2014

Albany poet and Team Nitty Gritty Slam Coach Algorhythm was one of the featured performers at the 2006 Albany Word Fest Psycho Cluster F#*k event at Valentine's on Saturday, April 22, 2006.

Algorhythm at the 2006 Albany Word Fest - April 22, 2006

Rachel Zitomer was the featured poet at the July 2006 edition of Poets Speak Loud at Tess' Lark Tavern.

Rachel Zitomer at Poets Speak Loud - July 31, 2006

Mike Jurkovic was the featured reader, promoting his new chapbook "Eve’s Venom", at Poets Speak Loud on Monday, October 27, 2014. Here is the audio from that featured performance.

Mike Jurkovic at Poets Speak Loud - October 27, 2014

Randall Horton at Poets In The Park (indoors at the Social Justice Center) on Saturday, July 11, 2009

Randall Horton at Poets In The Park - July 11, 2009

Paul Weinman reading "My Eyeballs" and "Flies on the Ceiling" (9/13/1994) / "White Boy Strips Naked" (3/14/1995) from the CD, "Volume: A Compilation of Poets, Live", from 1995 that was produced by Mary Panza and Steve Clark chronicling the poetry scene at the time at such venues as the QE2, Margarita’s, and Borders. 

You can purchase this CD from Albany Poets at https://squareup.com/market/AlbanyPoets/volume

Paul Weinman Reading at Margarita’s

Johnny Stone speaks!

Now you can listen to the first two chapters of the noir series, “Printed in Blood: A Johnny Stone Mystery,” by Hudson Valley writer and photographer Dean Goldberg. The story is narrated by artist and storyteller Norm Magnusson.

This first segment introduces the world of 1947 Brooklyn - the waterfront, the unions, the mobsters, and the politicians that ruled like kings during that period.

Listen at home or in the car--anywhere you choose.

We'd love your feedback! Give us your thoughts and let us know if you want to hear more of the story.

“Printed in Blood: A Johnny Stone Mystery" by Dean Goldberg

The Up The River launch reading has become an annual Albany Word Fest tradition as we kick off our week of poetry and spoken word events with the contributors of latest issue of UTR reading their work. This year we welcomed Malcolm Willison, Howard Kogan, Nancy Klepsch, Dennis Rush, R.M. Engelhardt, Tom Riley, Cecele Allen Kraus, Alan Catlin, Thom Francis, Karen Schoemer, Robert Phelps, and Frank Robinson to the mic.

Up the River, Issue Three Launch Reading - April 12, 2015

Fable The Poet was the featured performer at Nitty Gritty Slam #97 at The Low Beat on Tuesday, July 7, 2015. This is the audio from that event.

Fable at Nitty Gritty Slam #97 - July 7, 2015

William James and Eirean Bradley were two of the poets who performed along with local writers Samson Dikeman, Jacqueline Kirkpatrick, and Ian Macks at the Drunk In A Midnight Choir Volume 1: Welcome To The New Hallelujah! book release reading on Saturday, November 14, 2015. This is the audio from that event. 

William James and Eirean Bradley at Drunk In A Midnight Choir Reading - November 14, 2015

Malcolm Willison is a manuscript editor and teacher who has been writing and publishing poetry for quite a long time in and sometimes about New Orleans, Key West, New York City and upstate New York, and other places around the world.

Malcolm Willison at the Up The River, Issue Three Launch Reading - April 12, 2015

Howard J. Kogan is a psychotherapist and poet.  His poems have appeared in Still Crazy, Occupoetry, Poetry Ark, Writer’s Haven, Farming Magazine, Literary Gazette, Pathways, and Up the River.  His book of poems, Indian Summer, was published in 2011.

Howard Kogan at the Up The River, Issue Three Launch Reading - April 12, 2015

Bob Sharkey reading “Waiting for my Load to Dry” "After ODing on Peanut M&Ms during Game 6" at Poets Speak Loud on November 27, 2017 at McGeary's in Albany, NY

Bob Sharkey at Poets Speak Loud - November 27, 2017

Bunkong Tuon reading “Sunday at the Beach” at the Troy Poetry Mission on November 29, 2017 at O'Brien's Public House in Troy, NY

Bunkong Tuon at the Troy Poetry Mission

Anthony Bernini reads W.S. Merwin's "Unknown Age" and his own poem "Desert Rivers" at the Poets Speak Loud: Tom Nattell Memorial Open Mic and Beret Toss on January 29, 2018, at McGeary's in Albany, NY

Anthony Bernini at Poets Speak Loud

Melody Davis reads "Caillebotte’s Laundry", "Walter, the Lawyer", "It Only Starts", and more as the featured reader at the Poets Speak Loud open mic series on April 30, 2018, at McGeary's in Albany, NY

Melody Davis at Poets Speak Loud

Dan Wilcox reads "Peace Marchers at the Vietnam Memorial" at the Brass Tacks poetry and spoken word open mic on December 4, 2018, at The Low Beat in Albany, NY

Dan Wilcox at Brass Tacks

Christa DeMarco reads "Six Minute Egg" and "Impact" at the Brass Tacks poetry and spoken word open mic on December 4, 2018, at The Low Beat in Albany, NY

Christa DeMarco at Brass Tacks

Alyssa Michelle reads "Introvert" and "Pause" at the Brass Tacks poetry and spoken word open mic on December 4, 2018, at The Low Beat in Albany, NY

Alyssa Michelle at Brass Tacks

Poetyc Visionz reads "I Met God on Lark Street" and "Be Grateful" at the Brass Tacks poetry and spoken word open mic on December 4, 2018, at The Low Beat in Albany, NY

Poetyc Visionz at Brass Tacks

Kendall Hoeft reads "When the Body Breaks" and "Of Sea & Sky" at the Brass Tacks poetry and spoken word open mic on December 4, 2018, at The Low Beat in Albany, NY

Kendall Hoeft at Brass Tacks

Charlie Rossiter reads "On Reading My Brother’s Facebook Post" and "If You See Something" at the Poets Speak Loud poetry and spoken word open mic on January 28, 2019, at McGeary's in Albany, NY

Charlie Rossiter at Poets Speak Loud

Mary Panza reads “No One Escapes the Pain of Being a Person”, “Those Black & White Photos,” and “Why Poetry?” at the Poets Speak Loud poetry and spoken word open mic on January 28, 2019, at McGeary's in Albany, NY

Mary Panza at Poets Speak Loud

Ed Rinaldi reading at the 2012 Albany Word Fest Open Mic at the Albany Public Library on Saturday, April 21, 2012

Ed Rinaldi at the 2012 Word Fest Open Mic

Shannon Shoemaker performing at the 10x10 Festival in Pittsfield, MA on February 18, 2013, presented by WordXWord.

Shannon Shoemaker At The 10x10 Festival In Pittsfield

Cheryl Rice reading at the 2015 Albany Word Fest Open Mic at the UAG Gallery on Lark Street in Albany, New York, on Friday, April 17, 2015.

Cheryl Rice at The 2015 Albany Word Fest Open Mic

L - Majesty reading his poem "When the Boyfriend of Your Lover Calls you in the Middle of the Night” at Nitty Gritty Slam #89 at The Low Beat in Albany, NY on March 3, 2015

L - Majesty at Nitty Gritty Slam #89

The Hudson Valley Writers Guild supports writers of all genres by sponsoring readings, open mics, workshops, special events, and contests. The HVWG provides a number of valuable resources for a vibrant literary community.

Hudson Valley Writers Guild

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