Reading

Black Fire This Time Reading & Autographing. Group reading and autographing session at a small press bookfair table with the poets from Black Fire This Time (2022), the critically-acclaimed anthology featuring over 100 award-winning poets and writers on the history and legacy of the Black Arts Movement. MacArthur Fellow Ishmael Reed describes Black Fire This Time as "the genius of black folk." Praised as nearly 60 years in the making, this anthology contains work from across the United States, Caribbean and Africa.

Winners of Write Bloody's 2022 Jack McCarthy Book Prize: Courtney LeBlanc, Kimberly Nguyen, and John-Francis Quinonez, will do a group reading. Each poet's books were published by Write Bloody in late 2022 (Kimberly Nguyen and John-Francis Quinonez) or early 2023 (Courtney LeBlanc). Write Bloody is known for its dynamic performance poets who draw large crowds and tackle relevant, timely topics. 

Adverse Abstraction is an artist series based in NYC (every third Friday of the month at Otto's Shrunken Head) that works to create a safe and nurturing space for all types of creators. Our goal is to encourage the expression of experimentation, a testing ground for new pieces, and to house an all-inclusive collaborative community. At the end of the show, we urge the audience to chat with our featured creators about their creations. You can see our adventures on Instagram at @adverseabstract. 

Roof Books presents a group reading hosted by editor James Sherry. The reading will include Roof authors Evelyn Reilly (Styrofoam, an iconic poem on climate change, and Ecolocation), Uche Nduka (Scissorwork, a piercing adventure through fragmented and recombined political landscapes), Kit Robinson (Thought Balloon and 4 other Roof Books), Norman Fischer (Nature and many other titles), Lonely Christopher (The Resignation, In a January Would and others) & James Sherry (editor).

https://youtu.be/BI6yWhJZTj0

The Docks is the Black Freighter Press monthly reading event with six writers we admire.

At 11am, these poets will take the main stage at the Lafitte Greenway for ten-minute sets.

From utopian movements to doomsday cults, the American landscape is a fertile ecosystem of religious extremisms that continue to define and divide us.

For this reading, four poets whose work considers family, fragmentation, home, culture, and identity come together to share their work. The event will occupy 60 minutes of time and includes a comprehensive introduction and short biographical introductions for each poet before they read. The four poets include three Ph.D.

At 2pm, these poets will take the main stage at the Lafitte Greenway for ten-minute sets.

Our Purpose

    To build community connection through collaboration under the guise of poetry

Mission Statement: To increase the awareness, interaction and participation of poets  and poetry with the public at large. This is done to enhance the contribution of poetry in all aspects of contemporary society.

The Poetry Matters Project consists of three programs.

I. Poetry Matters Literary Prizes