The Poet’s Cauldron
The Poet’s Cauldron is a monthly spoken word poetry open mic event in Worcester, MA, founded and hosted by multidisciplinary artist BrujaTheVillain. The event combines live music from the house band, MeloGreen, with performances by poets, musicians, and artists from diverse backgrounds.
Held at the White Room on 138 Green Street from 6 to 9 pm on the third Sunday of every month, it serves as a safe and inclusive space for all. Attendees are encouraged to donate $5–$20 at the door.
The Poet’s Cauldron fosters community, cultural preservation, and artistic sustainability, aiming to amplify voices, revitalize the city, and bridge connections among Worcester’s diverse population. With a mission to support creative expression and empower local and visiting talent, it is unlike any other program in Worcester, creating a unique platform to celebrate art, poetry, and culture.
They are supported by Worcester Cultural Council and Worcester Arts Council. Join them on the third Sunday of every month and support what has become a major part of Worcester's cultural fabric.
Slightly Off-Beat Poets - May 4, 2025
Slightly Off-Beat Poets announces an open mic:
WHEN: Sunday May 4th, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
WHAT HAPPENS: Our feature poets of the month will each read for 20 minutes. Then we will take a quick break for book sales, snacks, and the raffle before starting the open mic. Open mic will be round robin, one poem at a time until 4 PM.
COST: There will be a 50/50 raffle, split between the feature and the winner. 5$ to enter.
SIGN-UPS: There is room for 25 POETS. To reserve a spot please email: roberteugeneperry@gmail.com
Baseball Poets at Polar Park
Hey, Baseball Poet ... you're up !
Perform your poems
Polar Park May 2, 3, 4
Announcing a special opportunity for baseball poets nationwide … recite your poems on stage at the NATIONAL BASEBALL POETRY FESTIVAL.
This unique event will take place May 3, 4, and 5 at Polar Park in Worcester MA. The idea originated with members of Baseball Bard and has been established as an annual celebration. The Festival features a broad lineup of activities, including open mic performances.
Would you be interested in presenting your poetry on this prestigious national stage? Please let me know by return e-mail.
For detailed information on the Festival...including accommodations, visit the Festival website at baseballpoetryfest.org
Mark Sickman
Founder and Publisher
baseballbard.com
Teen Poetry Slam
Coming soon!
Worceste Writers Collective Meeting
Open Mic Aug 17
Open Mic Poetry
at
BOOKLOVERS' GOURMET
Saturday, August 17th, 2-4 PM
Join us for this monthly round robin style, open poetry share. The event is limited to 14 people and usually fills up quickly.
To sign up to participate, please email deb@bookloversgourmet.com or call 508-949-6232.
Open Mic Poetry Event
Open Mic Poetry at BOOKLOVERS' GOURMET
Saturday June 15th @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
72 E Main St, Webster, MA, United States, Massachusetts
Join WCPA for a monthly round robin style, open poetry reading.
Bring original pieces to share.
Sign up to reserve your spot by calling 508-949-6232 or emailing deb@bookloversgourmet.com
Space is limited to 14 participants and usually fills quickly!
Blackout Poetry - Summer 2024
Beals Prize for Poetry
2nd Annual National Baseball Poetry Festival
The 2nd annual National Baseball Poetry Festival will be held on the evening of Saturday, May 4th.
There will be 2 locations for open mics:
- Steel and Wire
- Bollands
Both are near the Canal District and Polar Park.
There may also be an afternoon reading/open mic at the Worcester Public Library.
The organizer says:
The poetry you read at the open mic doesn’t necessarily have to all be baseball themed. It can be about Worcester, or other offshoots from baseball, like memories you might have as a kid playing catch with a friend or eating hot dogs at the ballpark or whatever else you can think of! We are a super creative bunch so I have no doubt you’ll be up to the challenge and maybe even be inspired to write some new pieces just for the occasion!
Contact Cheryl Bonin for more details at tavern1775@gmail.com
National Poetry Month 2024
WCPA March Calendar - 2024
WCPA
Open Mic Poetry
Saturday March 16th @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Join us for a monthly round robin style, open poetry reading.
Bring original pieces to share.
Sign up to reserve your spot by calling 508-949-6232 or emailing deb@bookloversgourmet.com
Space is limited to 14 participants and usually fills quickly!
Thank you all for being a part of this vibrant community of poets!
The Word at Workshop 13
The Word is a monthly poetry open mic & reading series at Workshop13, a cultural arts & learning center in Ware, Massachusetts. We start with an engaging, compassionate open mic with a featured reader to follow right after. The event takes place in Workshop13’s Great Hall, a refurbished church and a beautiful space to read, listen, and be heard. Cash bar and free popcorn. This is an all ages event.
SIGN-UPS start at 6:30. Open mic starts promptly at 7, with our featured reader to follow after a short break.
***This Month's Featured Reader is Oliver de la Paz***
Oliver de la Paz is the Poet Laureate of Worcester, MA for 2023-2025. He is the author and editor of seven books: Names Above Houses, Furious Lullaby, Requiem for the Orchard, Post Subject: A Fable, and The Boy in the Labyrinth, a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award in Poetry. His newest work, The Diaspora Sonnets, published by Liveright Press in 2023, is long listed for the National Book Award and is the winner of the 2023 New England Book Award. With Stacey Lynn Brown he co-edited A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. A founding member, Oliver serves as the co-chair of the Kundiman advisory board and on the board for Poetry Daily. A recipient of grants and awards from the NEA, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Artist Trust, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, his work has appeared in journals like Virginia Quarterly Review, North American Review, Tin House, Poetry, and in anthologies and periodicals such as Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation and in the New York Times. He teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at Pacific Lutheran University.
Workshop13 Cultural Arts and Learning Center is a rural non-profit arts innovator devoted to increasing the appreciation and accessibility of the arts, strengthening the creative life of our community through instruction, collaboration, and arts-based initiatives. Parking available across the street from the venue.
13 Church Street
Ware, Massachusetts 01082
413-277-6072
Worcester County Poetry Association Annual Meeting - 2024
The WCPA's annual meeting will be on Sunday, March 3rd, 2:00 pm-4:00 pm
The annual meeting of the Worcester County Poetry Association will be held in the ballroom of The Salisbury House (61 Harvard St, Worcester, MA 01609), followed by a reading of Massachusetts poet Rhett Watts.
Central
Rhett Watts has lived in Beirut, San Francisco, New York, and Connecticut. She now lives beside a brook south of Worcester with her husband Kim and Siberian cat, Hugo. Some of her poems appear in: Sojourners Magazine, The Worcester Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, Soul-Lit, Naugatuck River Review, and in the books The Best Spiritual Writing 2000, and The Mud Chronicles: A New England Anthology. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Rhett’s chapbook, No Innocent Eye was co-winner of the Rane Arroyo Award. Her books include Willing Suspension, The Braiding, and coming in 2025 The Double Nest from Fernwood Press. Rhett facilitates Amherst Writers & Artists writing workshops and SoulCollage workshops in CT and MA.
SOP Open Mic
Slightly Off-Beat Poets presents:
DONNA LANGE & BRIAN MOSHER 2/11/24
Donna Lange’s house 59 Chase Road Thompson, CT (exit 50 off 395)
18 Open Mic/ 2 Features (20 TOTAL)
1. REP
2. DEB MITSAKOS
3. DONNA LANGE
4. BRIAN MOSHER
5. TOM SKARZYNSKI
6. KAREN SKARZYNSKI
7. TOM EWART
8. ROBIN BOUCHER
9. STEVE VEILLEUX
10. KAREN DURLACH
11. DAVID O (guest w/ Karen)
12. ERIC PETERSEN (ESP)
13. SUE SHEPARD
14. SUE SCOTT
15. FRED GERHARD
16. RACHAEL GERHARD (guest w/Fred)
17. PAUL SZLOSEK
18. ANNE MARIE LUCCI
19. TBA
20. TBA
Slightly Off-Beat Poets Schedule for 2024
Slightly Off-Beat Poets 2024 Schedule & Locations
ALL EVENTS ARE 1-4 PM ON SUNDAYS
PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR & A SNACK TO SHARE FOR OUTDOOR EVENTS!
Donna Lange/ Brian Mosher 2/11/24
(Donna Lange’s house 59 Chase Road Thompson, CT (exit 50 off 395)
Steve Veilleux/ Robert Eugene Perry 3/10/24
(Steve Veilleux’s Home 112 Fabyan Woodstock Rd, N Grosvenordale, CT)
Tommy Twilight/ Fred Gerhard 4/14/24
(Steve Veilleux’s Home 112 Fabyan Woodstock Rd, N Grosvenordale, CT)
Curt Curtin/ Paul Szlosek/ Bill Tremblay 5/5/24 (1st Sun due to Mother’s Day)
(Deb Horan’s Backyard 15 Eddy St Webster, Ma)
Janet Aalfs/ Irena Kaci 6/9/24
(Betsy’s Backyard Stage 185 Arvidson Road Woodstock, CT)
Eric Petersen (ESP)/ Robin Boucher 7/14/24
(Betsy’s Backyard Stage 185 Arvidson Road Woodstock, CT)
Katie Elizabeth Walsh/ Tom Laughlin 8/11/24
(Betsy’s Backyard Stage 185 Arvidson Road Woodstock, CT)
Joe Fusco/ Dina Stander 9/8/24
(Betsy’s Backyard Stage 185 Arvidson Road Woodstock, CT)
Sara Letourneau/ Wayne-Daniel Berard 10/13/24
(Steve Veilleux’s Home 112 Fabyan Woodstock Rd, N Grosvenordale, CT)
Paul Richmond /Candace Curran (rescheduled 1st Sunday) 11/3/24
(Steve Veilleux’s Home 112 Fabyan Woodstock Rd, N Grosvenordale, CT)
DECEMBER 2024 WINTER BREAK
JANUARY 2025 WINTER BREAK
Please contact Robert Eugene Perry at: roberteugeneperry@gmail.com for more information
See, Sound, Scribe
Cheryl Bonin at Thirsty Lab on ZOOM
Cheryl Bonin will be appearing at The Thirsty Lab on November 28, at 7:00 PM.
Sign up at the Worcester County Poetry Association website.
A bit from her Bio...
Cheryl L. Bonin is a cancerous wench (of the breast variety) who writes darkly humorous snark-filled poetry, nonfiction essays and short stories about her experiences living with a shitty disease because it’s cheaper than therapy.