January 26: Hannah Brown Features

Update: Cancelled due to weather.  Will reschedule ASAP.

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On January 26, we welcome the first feature of poet and activist Hannah Brown.


Hannah Brown kicks ass
Her poems are powerful
Full of life and love

Her passion runs deep
Poetry and activism
All you need to know

January 19: Culture the MC Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On January 19, enjoy the end of the holiday weekend as Stone Soup welcomes January 19: Culture the MC to the podium.

Culture the MC is a Boston-based spoken word artist, his writing touches upon Universal themes of struggle, tragedy, redemption, life, and our perspective of it all. In 2015, he is working on a book of poetry that combines other art mediums with writing.

January 12: Matt Parker Features at Stone Soup

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On January 12, join Didi Delgado as she hosts a night of poetry with feature performance poet Matt Parker.

Matt Parker has been an avid fan of poetry since his childhood in the 1980's, and used it as a life saver during his tumultuous adolescence of the 1990's. Matt began to share his poetry and encourage others to use it as a coping tool in his career field as a youth development professional from the early 2000's to now. Today, Matt is still learning and teaching poetry to students in schools & communities, facilitating the audio compilation, "S.O.U.P. (society of urban poetry) Mixtape”, and supporting Peaceful causes in everywhere.

January 5: Zeke Russell Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. . On January 5, we welcome back local poet, host, and organizer and Zeke Russell.

Ezekiel "Zeke" Russell grew up in an artist's community in Central Maine, surrounded by poets and lumberjacks. Since then, he's been a line cook, historian, and teacher.  but now he lives in Boston and works in homeless advocacy. He is a host of SlamCenter and a producer of the Boston arm of the New Sh!t Show. He is a previous host of the Untitled Open Mic in Lowell Mass . Zeke has written three chapbooks and toured New England performing his poetry. He was a member of the 2011 Lowell National Poetry Slam team, as well as the venue's Grand Slam Champion that year. He lives with his partner Emily and PJ the wonder pug, and he usually needs a haircut.

December 22: Mars Jupiter Features

 

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On December 22, Stone Soup gathers one last time before the holidays to see Mars Jptr take the podium.

Mars Jptr - A sound artist born and raised in Marsachusetts, leader of the 7th House, curator of The Vibrary. Formative years spent learning Hip Hop & Theater. Mentored through New World Theater's Project 2050, a multi-year exploration of the year 2050 - lwhen minorities are projected to reach a majority - using the disciplines of Hip Hop in a theatrical setting. Through 2050 he was mentored by Hip Hop theater pioneers Universes, Baba Israel & Lemon Andersen among others. Mars has starred in Hip Hop Theater in NYC off-Broadway and has been featured as a performer at The Americans for the Arts conference. He's performed at famed spoken word venues the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Bowery Poetry Club, Critical Breakdown and Out of the Blue Gallery. He will be releasing a new solo ep called DOWN, a beat tape called Quinoa & Kale as well as The 7th House's first ep "7" quite soon. He uses words, sounds and visuals to help welcome humankind into the age of Aquarius.

December 15: Deta Galloway Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On December 15, we welcome back Deta Galloway. 

Deta Galloway was born in Kingston in the Jamaica West Indies.  She emigrated to America eighteen rs of age to live with American husband and study medicine.  She is educated in professional nursing, human services and  management, and currently specializes in behavioral nursing. 

Her art life has been a central focus of her emotional and spiritual development.  It has been a driving force in the way she has practiced Nursing and cared for families from all walks of life, It is healing, compassion, and empowerment throughout the life stages.  She has lived and traveled deeply into the Southern States and lived for the last eighteen years in Georgia.

Deta began writing poetry at thirteen and has been published in several anthologies and journals.  She has performed with poets such as Etheridge Knight, Josephine Miles, Galway Kinnell, M. S. Merwin, Hayden Carruth, Gwendolyn Brooks, Yusef K, Brother Blue, Tom Oleary, and Elizabeth Mckim.and others.  She has read her work for numerous radio station including Radio Jamaica, (Subsidiary of the BBC). Her artwork has been exhibited and collected in museums both in the United States and Africa.

December 8: Radiant Jasmin Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On December 8, we welcome back Radiant Jasmin to the podium.
 
Radiant Jasmin is a multi-media dancer, jeweler, painter, poet and singer/songwriter. Like a chef, she selects each art ingredient to complement and bring out the best in the others. She studied fine jewelry making at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the North Bennet Street School and midwifery at Maternidad Laluz in El Paso, TX. 

Exhibits and performances include: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Museum of the National Center of African American Artists, The Arsenal Center for the Arts and the Artists Foundation.

Radiant Jasmin teaches performance and visual art to children and adults using fun ways to link art with preventative healthcare, parenting skills, literacy, math and social studies for a balanced educational experience and healing from trauma.

In her Music and Poetry creation, she is a channel. Songs and poems come to her while asleep, cooking and painting. They always mirror her values of self-love, happiness and self-reflection. She mixes funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop, gospel, Indian music and more. Like a chef, she selects each art ingredient to complement and bring out the best in the others. She will release her first spoken word poetry and music CD, Breaking It Down, towards the end of 2014.

Radiant Jasmin is married to writer Haji Shearer, they live in the Boston area and are parents of a son and daughter who are now in their early 20’s. Sharing these gifts she’s been given is her contribution to uplifting the world.

December 1: Peter Storey Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On December 1, we welcome Peter Storey, who returns to his home state for his first feature at our location.

Peter Storey is a poet and performer currently living in Chicago, IL. Originally from Massachusetts, he's read his poetry in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., and the South Pole. His work has been published in Oddball Magazine, The Quotable, Squawkback, and elsewhere.

 

November 24: Tru Kwene Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On November 24, we welcome Tru Kweene to her first Stone Soup feature.

Tru Kwene: "I'm no more special than anyone. I just decided to pick up my pen and speak my truth."

November 17: Karen Locascio Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On November 17, we have Karen Locascio returning to the podium.

Karen Locascio is a recent graduate of the MFA program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she won the Academy of American Poets prize in 2014. She attended the New York State Summer Writers' Institute on a scholarship last summer, and has attended the Tin House and Bread Loaf conferences in the past. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Amethyst Arsenic, Breakwater Review, Spry Literary Journal, Cider Press Review, Ibbetson Street, Paper Nautilus, and Hanging Loose, among others. Karen is originally from New Jersey and currently lives in Dorchester.

November 10: Chris Warner Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On November 10,  we welcome back Chris Warner for her first full-length Stone Soup feature.

Chris Warner, graduate of the Harvard University School of Education (M.Ed., ’97), is (still) an emerging poet, and the author of a micro-chapbook, Strokes (Mostly) in Silence;  her poem, “Engulfed” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  She’s been much-compared to Anne Sexton, and is also often described in terms of royalty, as in: ‘The Queen of Longing,’ and ‘The Princess of Suburban Dystopia.’  Chris also teaches yoga, core strength, and mindfulness meditation in West Boxford, MA, and offers workshops (including MBSR) throughout the greater Boston area.  In January of 2014, Chris began co-leading the creative writing program for inmates at MCI Concord, medium security prison.Her writing process is, as Stephen King says, “ass in seat.”  Everyday.  And she also works, everyday, at letting go of attachment to outcome.   

November 3: ThePoet Za'Cari Features at Stone Soup

 

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On November 3, we welcome ThePoet Za'Cari to the podium.

 

October 27: Flatline Poetry Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.  On October 27, after four months of featuring individual members, Stone Soup will feature Flatline Poetry as a group in the new and improved Out of The Blue.

Flatline Poetry is a group of four poets who seek to "create a new heartbeat" with every performance and workshop. Since their formation in 2013, Flatline has taken the Boston poetry community by storm. The group won the 2013 Poetry Award for Best Poetry Group and was featured at Wheelock College’s 2014 Half Year Program. In addition, the poets of Flatline Poetry have performed, hosted open mics, or provided workshops at various venues across the East Coast, including: The Apollo Theater, AS220, Bridgewater State University, Busboys and Poets, The Bowery Poetry Club, Boys and Girls Clubs, The Cantab Lounge, Clark University, Columbia College, Emerson College, The Lizard Lounge, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, The Middle East, The Neuyorican, The New Hampshire State House, Northeastern University, The Oberon Theater, Simmons College, The Smithsonian, and Wheelock College.

The poets of Flatline Poetry write on topics of identity, family, love, loss, and social justice. With a diverse set of skills and backgrounds, the members of Flatline present challenging poetry and innovative workshops that foster dialogues where all voices are valued.

Click below for more information on.

Lewis Morris

Kaleigh O'Keefe

Lissa Piercy

 (Unfortunately, Guillermo Caballero will not be in attendance)

October 20: DiDi Delgado Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at its new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 20, welcome DiDi Delgado for her first ever Stone Soup feature (DiDi also promises free food and a raffle with surprise prizes). 

DiDi Delgado is a freelance journalist, spoken word artist and poet whose work has appeared in Oddball Magazine, Queen Grace and Fat Girls on a Mission. She is passionate about supporting her community with poetry; she recently participated in Michael Rothenberg's 100,000 Poets for Change and Ayanna Pressley's Jump Into Peace initiative. DiDi is the owner of the blog "Unfortunately, I'm Just a Girl" and "For Love and Labels." She is the founder of Cholacoquetola Magazine, resident of Watertown, and occasional provider of dope ass poetry.

October 13: Arthur Ray Collins Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at it's new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 13, we welcome Lizard Lounge staple Arthur Ray Collins to the podium.

A Boston poet who believes that there is extraordinary power in words and considers his poetry to be socially conscious as well as entertaining. He hopes that his brand of poetry will motivate action, provoke thought, and stimulate the mind of the listener. Art is Co-host of the Lizard Lounge Poetry Slam venue and was a member of the 2008 & 2010 Lizard Lounge National Poetry Slam Team. He is and educator in the Boston Public School system and continues to perform his unique style of poetry with the aspirations of reaching a global audience.

October 6: Gordon Marshall Features at Stone Soup

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, now at a new location at 541 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square Cambridge, Massachusetts with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 6, we celebrate our new location by welcoming back Gordon Marshall as the first to mark this new chapter for Stone Soup.

Gordon Marshall wanted to be a painter before he became a poet - and a jazz musician and a music critic. But he was better with grammar than we was with a paintbrush, or with piano technique. He was not a natural. It took him years of struggle to fashion his trademark approach, what he calls speed poetry, writing the short poem in a matter of minutes, with little revision, and no censorship. His new book, Mirage, is 400 pages, and it is the best example of this. Marshall also has a music blog, about the local Boston scene, The Flash (theflashboston.com). He lives in Boston.

September 29: Lissa Piercy Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On September 29, Stone Soup continues its focus on the group Flatline Poetry with the final single-member feature, Lissa Piercy, before all four members perform on the same stage at Stone Soup on October 27.

Lissa Piercy is a Boston based performance poet whose favorite thing to do is collaborate with other performers. She is a member and co founder of Flatline Poetry, winner of the 2013 Poetry Award for Best Poetry Group, and a member of the 2014 Lizard Lounge Poetry Slam Team. In addition, Lissa is a MassLEAP trained teaching artist and the creator of PWP (Performance With Purpose), a conference that brings together college students across Boston for workshops and dialogue around the idea that performance can facilitate change and action. Lissa's passion for poetry has brought her to stages across New England and beyond, including an open mic she hosts at the Opportunity Collaboration conference in Ixtapa, Mexico.

In addition to performing poetry and teaching, Lissa has joined forces with individuals across various fields to use poetry as the catalyst for conversation within schools, conferences, and even religious services.  Her friends and fans guarantee that you have never met another performer with as much energy, passion, heart, and grit both on and off the stage.

September 22: Deborah M. Priestly Features at Stone Soup

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On September 22, we start to day good bye to 106 Prospect Street as the gallery prepares to move to its new location.  Welcome Gallery co-founder Deb Priestly to the podium to begin this process.
Deborah M. Priestly is co-founder of the Out of the Blue Art Gallery located in Cambridge, Mass at 106 Prospect Street with Tom Tipton. For years, she ran the gallery's Saturday Nght reading series called Open Bark. Her publication credits include Ibbetson Street, Spare Change, Poesy, Fresh!, Boston Poet, The Boston Herald, The Boston Girl Guide and Out of the Blue Writers Unite (which she also co-edited). She is the author of The Woman Has A Voice from Ibbetson Street Press, an eclectic combination of healing poetry and images of women in transition.

September 15: Mascha Kaleko Presented by David H. Agee and Lee Varon

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at  7:30 p.m.  On Monday, September 15, Lee Varon and David Agee will introduce the German poet, Mascha Kaleko using her own poems in English translation to illustrate and illuminate the events of her turbulent life.

Mascha Kaleko is counted in Germany as their most famous female poet of the twentieth century. She is virtually unknown here as her work is totally in German language.This presentation will introduce her to an English speaking audience.

Coming from obscurity she started writing in the Berlin literary scene in 1928. Within a brief space her poetry was appearing as a weekly feature on the front pages of Berlin daily newspapers. Wildly successful, in two years her two first books sold some 10,000 copies. When the Nazis discovered she was Jewish her writing was forbidden and her books confiscated and burned. Her personal life was marred by an unpleasant divorce, and although she and her husband managed to flee into exile in America, even after the war the Nazi presence continued to damaged her career.

Throughout, her poems illuminate this life in emotional language understood by all. They speak meaningfully to experiences her listeners everywhere easily relate to, and she never pulls her punches. They range in emotion from meltingly beautiful to to pointedly revealing to wildly amusing and beyond. They are also marvelous works of art, wonderful to hear.

It's time American audiences become aware of her.

David H. Agee is a professional anthropologist who has created video investigations in prose and poetry of the varieties of human experience in strained, tragic, even life-threatening situations.  Some come from his own life, others build on the experiences of others.  Some vignettes introduced at Stone Soup or The Explorers Club include the following:

The Monkey; Minor murder in the Borneo jungle;
Birdsongs; The brief lives and poetry of children murdered in Auschwitz.
The Bone Picker; From the Choctaw Trail of Tears.   
Ronnie Briscoe;  A tale of true bravery in 1943.
The Memory of her Face;  A vehicular, Midsummer’s Night --- mare.
Who's the Terrorist now? A political satire of the 21st century.

Lee Varon lives in Cambridge and writes poetry and fiction. Recently her work has been published in Prick of the Spindle, Willow Review, Sliver of Stone and Spare Change News. She reads he work on Mondays at Stone Soup.

September 8: Ron Goba Features

 

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at  7:30 p.m. On September 8, we have the return of poet Ron Goba, who will be reading from a selection of poems specifically written for the night.

Ron Goba is the author of such collections as The Music Box, The Custom of Quoting Someone, and Collage As Silkscreen. For several years, he was known as the doorman for the weekly Boston Poetry Slam at the Cantab. In 2011, he released Swan Song, a small collection of poems, to coincide with his reading at the Cantab on the eve of his birthday.  In 2012, his work was included in Songs of Innocence and Sam Adams, a collection of poems co-authored by Prabakar T. Rajan.