April 26: Stone Soup Says Goodbye to the Assemblage Gallery and to Bil Lewis

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After this April Stone Soup Poetry will no longer be meeting in person at Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant.  Appropriately, tonight on Wednesday, April 26 from 7:00 to 9:00, we will also be saying goodbye to Bil Lewis, who is departing the Boston/Cambridge area for a farm in Idaho.

Bil Lewis is a Computer Scientist and has worked in research and taught most of his life, most recently doing Genetics Research at MIT. He has taught at Stanford and Tufts Universities and worked for FMC, Sun Microsystems, and Nokia Data. Bil is a Past District 31 Governor (Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island), an Eagle Scout, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and a Patriotic Citizen of the United States. Bil is currently performing and teaching High School over Zoom as James Madison, 4th President of the United States. He is using his skills to talk about what is important in life.

 

Bil is the very epitome of sober, serious, introspective poetry.

(Last sentence is subject to a fact check.)

April 12: Stone Soup In-Person All-Open Mic

Stone Soup Poetry returns for an-inperson show on Wednesday, April 12 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located in Boston on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. It will be an all-open mic night, and everyone is welcome.

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated.

March 29: Frances Donovan Features at Stone Soup Poetry

Photo by Michelle Schapiro

In addition to online gatherings, Stone Soup Poetry is now meeting in person every second and fourth Wednesday of the month at Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery. More gallery shows will soon be announced. On March 29, we will be joined online by feature Frances Donovan, who is celebrating the release of her new poetry collection. The next in-person gathering will be on April 12.

Frances Donovan is the author of Arboretum in a Jar (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2023). Her chapbook Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Donovan’s poems have appeared in Lily Poetry Review, Solstice, Heavy Feather Review, SWWIM, and elsewhere. Her interviews of other poets can be found at The Rumpus and on her website. Donovan holds an MFA in poetry from Lesley University and is a certified Poet Educator with Mass Poetry. In 2019, Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola selected one of her poems to be displayed at Boston City Hall. Donovan’s work deals with themes of home, family, intergenerational trauma, and sexual and gender identity. She remembers fondly the summer of 1998, when she drove a bulldozer in a Pride parade while wearing a bustier.

Join us on March 29 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM ET by clicking this link. 

The meeting ID is 885 8926 0791

Password: stonesoup

March 22: Stone Soup In-Person All-Open Mic

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, March 2 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located in Boston on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. It will be an all-open mic night, and everyone is welcome.

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated.

March 8: Stone Soup Poetry IN-PERSON with Kaleigh O’Keefe

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, March 8 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. Our special feature will be poet an Kaleigh O’Keefe .

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated.

Kaleigh O’Keefe (they/them) is a gender outlaw and proud union member living in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Their poetry has appeared in Breaking the Chains: a Socialist Perspective on Women’s Liberation, Kissing Dynamite, Button Poetry, In Between Spaces: an Anthology of Disabled Writers (Stillhouse Press), won the PRIDE Poetry Prize in Passengers Journal, and is featured on indie music legend Ceschi’s album Sans Soleil. Kaleigh is a contributor and editor for Liberation News, co-founder of Game Over Books, and co-organizer of the Liberation Open Mic at the Boston Liberation Center in Roxbury. 

Let Us Know You're Coming Through the Eventbrite page.

Rescheduled: February 22: Stone Soup Poetry IN-PERSON with Black Byrd

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, February 22 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street in Boston, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. Please come to our rescheduled feature with poet and author Black Byrd.

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated.

"My name is Isabel Alexandre also known as Black Byrd, The Poet. My first collection of poems that I've written over the years from when I was 15 years old. Poetry/Spoken Word was an escape from a hard life as a teenager living with an alcoholic mother. I have since found freedom and confidence in myself to be able to share my thoughts and words to you all who may have a copy of this book. I truly appreciate your support in taking the time to relax and listen some beautiful and some sad poems all written by me. I want to thank my husband for motivating me to continue to write and to show the world how talented I am with words. I want to thank my Heavenly Father for giving me this gift and I never want to take that for granted. Thank you again for your support. Now sit back and relax and let my words take you through a journey, rather relatable or unique. Welcome 2 My Journey."

Stay Tuned for the Eventbrite page!

January 11: Stone Soup Poetry IN-PERSON with David P. Miller

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, January 11 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. Our special feature will be poet and author David P. Miller.

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated.

David P. Miller’s collection, Bend in the Stair, was published by Lily Poetry Review Books in 2021. Sprawled Asleep was published by Nixes Mate Books in 2019. His poems have appeared in Meat for Tea, Denver Quarterly, The Poetry Porch, subTerrain, Muddy River Poetry Review, Constellations, Lily Poetry Review, Caustic Frolic, Clementine Unbound, and Nixes Mate Review, among others. He lives with his wife, the visual artist Jane Wiley, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.  

 

November 9: Stone Soup Poetry LIVE with Gloria Monaghan

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show with special feature Gloria Monaghan on Wednesday, November 9 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant.

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated.

Gloria Monaghan is a Professor at Wentworth University. She has published five books of poetry. Her poems have appeared in Alexandria Quarterly, NPR, Poem-a-Day, Lily Poetry Review, Mom Egg Review, among others. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award, and the Griffin Prize. Her sixth collection is coming out in March under Lily Review.

 

Eventbrite Page forthcoming.

 

October 12: Stone Soup Poetry LIVE with Carla Schwartz

Photo by Mark Ostow

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, October 12 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant.

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated.

Filmmaker and photographer Carla Schwartz’s poems have been widely published, including in “The Practicing Poet” (Diane Lockward, Ed) and in her collections Signs of Marriage and Intimacy with the Wind. Her CB99videos youtube channel has 2,400,000+ views. Find her on Twitter, or Instagram @cb99videos. Recent publications appear in The Ear, Channel, The MacGuffin, and Leon. She lives part time in New Hampshire on an island in Lake Winnipesaukee and the rest of the time in the Boston area.Watch the promo video for her latest book here.

\Let us know you're coming through Stone Soup's Eventbrite page.

September 14: Stone Soup Poetry LIVE with Miriam O'Neal

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, September 14 from 7:00 to 9:00 at our old home, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. 

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated. 

No online component will be available for this reading.

Join us for an evening of  poetry with Miriam O'Neal. 

 Miriam O'Neal's, The Half-Said Things was published by Nixes Mate Books in 2022. The Body Dialogues (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2020) was nominated for a Massachusetts Center for the Book Award. Her first collection, We Start With What We’re Given, was published by Kelsay Books in 2018. A 2019 Pushcart nominee, she was also a finalist for the 2019 Disquiet International Poetry Prize and the 2020 Princemere Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in Blackbird Journal, The Galway Review, North Dakota Quarterly, The Waxed Lemon, and other journals.

July 13: Stone Soup Poetry LIVE with The Garage Poets

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, July 13 from 7:00 to 9:00 at our old home, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. 

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated. 

Join us for an evening of The Garage Poets.

Taking form in a dilapidated garage in Malden, MA after starting an online open mic together during the COVID lockdown, Garage Poets are a surrealists blending of Ethan Mackler's improvised bass guitar and the spoken word of poets Anna Geoffroy and Jeff Taylor.

Join via the Eventbrite page.

We are attempting a Zoom link to watch and possibly participate in the event. Join it by clicking here.

The meeting ID is 861 1246 1064

Password: stonesoup

June 8: Stone Soup Poetry LIVE with Jim Dunn

Stone Soup Poetry returns for a live show on Wednesday, June 8 from 7:00 to 9:00 at our old home, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant. 

Free admission but donations for features are appreciated. 

Join us on June 8 as Jim Dunn celebrates the release of his new collection, This Silence is a Junkyard.

Jim Dunn is the author of Soft Launch (Bootstrap Press/Pressed Wafer, 2008), Convenient Hole (Pressed Wafer, 2004), and Insects In Sex (Fallen Angel Press, 1995). His work has appeared in Castle Grayskull, Blazing Stadium, can we have our ball back?, Bright Pink Mosquito, The Process, eoagh, Gerry Mulligan, Cafe Review, Meanie, and the anthology in tribute to John Wieners, The Blind See Only In This World. He edited the John Wieners Journal, A New Book From Rome with Derek Fenner and Ryan Gallagher of Bootstrap Press.

Join via the Eventbrite page.

We are attempting a Zoom link to watch and possibly participate in the event. Join it by clicking here.

The meeting ID is 856 3037 1397

Password: stonesoup 

July 22: Alexis Ivy Features at Stone Soup Poetry

Amidst the global pandemic, Stone Soup Poetry has been offering an online open mic via  Zoom for anyone interested. This continues to receive an amazing response, and we appreciate everyone's participation.

On Wednesday, July 22, we have the long awaited feature of Alexis Ivy.

Alexis Ivy is a 2018 recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship in Poetry. Her first poetry collection, Romance with Small-Time Crooks was published in 2013 by BlazeVOX [books]. Her second collection, Taking the Homeless Census won the Editors Prize at Saturnalia Books and was published in 2019. A Boston native, her poems have been displayed in City Hall and featured by Mass Poetry aboard the red line subway. Her work has appeared in Sugar house Review, Borderlands, Worcester Review, Lake Effect, Poet Lore, Saranac Review, among other magazines and anthologies. She works as an advocate for the homeless in Cambridge and teaches in the PoemWorks community.

Download the Zoom App for free.

Join host Chad Parenteau on July 22 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM ET by clicking this link.

The meeting ID is  841 0243 1345

Password: stonesoup

Email the host at chadpoetforhire@yahoo.com with any questions.

March 11: No Stone Soup Tonight or the Rest of March

Due to the recent State of Emergency, Stone Soup is cancelling tonight's open mic. Stay tuned for more detailed information on when Stone Soup will meet again.

May 27: James Van Looy Features at Stone Soup Poetry

Edit: This has been rescheduled to a later date when we can gather live.

Stone Soup Poetry meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 at our new location, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant (free admission but donations for features are appreciated). On May 27, we conclude our 49th anniversary month with James Van Looy, who will perform Edgar Allen Poe's "A Descent Into The Maelstrom" using his trademark combination of poetry, mime, dance and song.

James Van Looy has been a fixture in Boston’s poetry venues since the 1970s. He performed with the Mirage Mime Theater from 1980 to 1987 during which time he also taught classes offered by Mirage. From 1987 to 1988 he was a member of the Collective Mime.  In the early 2000's, he was one-third to the performance troupe Cosmic Spelunker Theater alongside Ian Thal and Bill Barnum.

His poetry has been anthologized in Stone's Throw, Spoonful, Fresh Broth and Out of the Blue Writers Unite. He has run poetry workshops for Boston area homeless people at Pine Street Inn and St. Francis House since 1992 and regularly reads at Bay State Prison as part of their poetry program. Currently, Van Looy leads the Labyrinth Creative Movement Workshop and is the author of It's All One Thing, a weekly poem column for Oddball Magazine.

April 22: Genie Santiago Features at Stone Soup Poetry

Update: Cancelled due to COVID-19-related gallery shutdown. New date to be announced.

Stone Soup Poetry now meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 at our new location, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant (free admission but donations for features are appreciated). Join us on April 22 as we welcome noted performer Genie Santiago to our venue.

Described as spiritual and sensual, Genie Santiago is a Boston based singer, poet and visual artist. Her art draws from her experience growing up in poverty as a Queer Latina. Genie is unafraid to empower others to overcome trauma, decolonize the mind, promote sexual freedom, and stray from the ideals of self-hatred that society places upon us. She can be found blessing many stages performing originals from her EP, Know Your Worth, and her newest single, "Spirit Party".

March 18: Pam Rosenblatt Returns to Stone Soup Poetry

Update: Cancelled due to COVID-19-related gallery shutdown. New date to be announced.

Stone Soup Poetry meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 at our new location, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant (free admission but donations for features are appreciated). On March 18, we welcome Pam Rosenblatt back to Stone Soup's stage on the eve of her new chapbook, Simply Poems, being published.

"As a poet, I write poems about a diverse topics that range from the philosophy of words to a doe that leaps to abstract art to a letter to the U.S.A. When I am not crafting a poem, I practice on my acoustic guitar or sketch on a sketchpad. I have worked as an arts editor for an online literary magazine, as arts reporter for local weekly newspaper and as assistant editor for an international literary editor. My poetry and articles have been published online and in poetry journals. Besides Simply Poems, I wrote two other chapbooks: On How to Read - The Manual (Ibbetson Press, Somerville, MA, 2008) and And the birds still fly (Eden Waters Press, Boston, MA, 2012)."

March 4: Skoot Mosby Returns to Stone Soup

Stone Soup Poetry meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 at our new location, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant (free admission but donations for features are appreciated). On March 4 we welcome back the talented Skoot Mosby, who has continued to support Stone Soup on stage and behind the scenes as our talent scout.

Skoot Mosby is a heavy hitting poet. As the Poetry Club president and the face of Roxbury Community College, he has created many successful events, such as No Filter, Man vs Police,” and What That Mouth Do. Skoot is taking the poetry world by storm with his freestyle abilities on the mic. Skoot has featured at Rapping With The Writers, Comic Con, Roxbury Rocks, Art is Life Itself, Hope Inc., Verbalization, Lizard Lounge, and Stone Soup. In a major addition to his features, Skoot has been a 3x Semi finalist National Slam Team. Skoot has also served as a member of the Compassionate Poets and an assistant facilitator for Writers Without Margins.

February 27: John Lane Features at Stone Soup Poetry

Updated with New Date due to Scheduling conflict!

Stone Soup Poetry Normally meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 at our new location, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant (free admission but donations for features are appreciated). This coming Thursday, on February 27, Stone Soup welcomes local poet John Lane, who will be celebrating the release of his newest collection, dry stick prayer.

A keen explorer of the juxtaposed words of life's mundane sacraments, John Lane has observed poetry to follow him at the discrete distance of a mocking cloud.

A now sober elf, there is no need to offer him drink or food; he had an apple on the train.

February 19: Black Byrd hosts All-Open Mic at Stone Soup Poetry

Stone Soup Poetry meets every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 at our new location, the Fort Point Arts Community's Assemblage Gallery, located on 70(a) Sleeper Street, just across from the Barking Crab restaurant (free admission but donations for features are appreciated). On February 19, join us for a special all-open mic as hosted by local poet on the rise, Black Byrd

More information coming.