Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of March 18-March 24)

Wednesday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Spoken word artist Marquis Burton (aka Ten Thousand) and Blues: A 5/14 Memorial Community Project present a special collaborative community workshop provide the community with an unique experience of combing poetry with Cyanotype printing.

The Blues: 5/14 Memorial Community Project is a collaborative to memorialize the victims and impact of the May 14th racist massacre on the people of Buffalo, thousands of community members will make their own memorial flags for installation and display on the site of the massacre and in various locations radiating from the site.

What To Expect:

- Writing Session with Prompts

- Expert Guidance

- Learning a new art technique

- Performance Session (includes: feedback, tips, and more...)

Fitz Books and Waffles, 433 Ellicott St., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.: The Screening Room Reading Series hosted by poet Sandy Geary. Featured reader is poet Lynn Ciesielski. Open mic reading slots available. The Screening Room Cinema Café, 880 Alberta  Drive, Amherst. $3.

Wednesday, 9 p.m.: Poetry Night at Caffe Aroma, biweekly open mic reading series hosted by Ben Brindise and Justin Karcher. This week's special guests are Layla Foundry, Abigayle Rose, and Brittany Johnson, Buffalo’s Womxn of the World Poetry Slam representatives preparing to compete in Baltimore later this month. 957 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. $5 suggested donation.

Thursday, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Buffalo Corner Reading Series featuring poets Robert Borgatti, Livio Farallo, and Dan Sicoli, who are the editors of Slipstream, a literary/arts magazine published in Niagara Falls, NY. The reading will be live and in person at Congregation Shir Shalom, 4660 Sheridan Drive in Amherst, NY and virtual via Zoom, Boxcast, Facebook and YouTube. It is free and open to all. Visit www.shirshalombuffalo.org for additional information and links to livestream the event.

Thursday, 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Vinyl & Verses Series at Daredevil Records featuring Missouri-based visiting poets John Dorsey, the former poet laureate of Belle, Missouri, and former Western New York based poet and writer Ken Gierke. Additional open mic reading slots available. Daredevil Records, 324 Niagara St, Niagara Falls, NY. Admission is $5, proceeds to pay the featured poets.

Thursday, 8 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Series Lecture by and discussion with author John Irving. Irving has written fifteen novels over the course of his prolific career, the majority of which have been international bestsellers. He has written some of the most acclaimed books of our time—among them The World According to Garp(1978), The Cider House Rules (1985), A Prayer for Owen Meany(1989), and A Widow for One Year (1998).

Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942, his books explore themes of sexual difference and sexual intolerance, inequalities, and discrimination. Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times, winning in 1980 for The World According to Garp. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for In One Person. Internationally renowned, his books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. A Prayer for Owen Meany is his best-selling novel, in every language. His most recent novel is The Last Chairlift. Irving is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. He lives in Toronto.
 

In his talk and conversation with Just Buffalo Artistic Director Barbara Cole, Irving will discuss his 1985 novel The Cider House Rules, a narrative set in rural Maine in the first half of the twentieth century. The novel tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch—saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Cloud’s, ether addict and abortionist. This is also the story of Dr. Larch’s favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted.

Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo. $42. Visit

https://www.justbuffalo.org/ for tickets to the event, which also include an online livestreaming option.

Friday, 6 p.m. to  8 p.m.: Fourth Friday Reading Series Poetry at Dog Ears Books. This month’s featured reader is poet and playwright Tim Joyce. Additional reading slots available. $5 donation goes to Dog Ears Foundation. Dog Ears Books and Cafe, 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo.
 
Sunday, 6 p.m.: Pure Ink Poetry Slam,  a two-round spoken word and poetry slam competition hosted by Brandon Williamson. Pure Ink Poetry Slam is always an open slam without specific themes or requirements other than the general rules of slam.
This slam will determine final competitors for the Slamtastic Slam in April, as well as three members of Pure Ink's Southern Fried Slam team. $10.00 for spectators, $5.00 for slammers. Visit the website www.pureinkpoetry.com for additional information. Days Park Tavern, 253 Allen St., Buffalo.