Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of May 26 to June 1)
Five events this week in the Buffalo literary community.
Monday, May 26, 6:30 p.m.: LIMITED PALETTE 04: The I-90 Connection, a Night of Performancy sponsored by Blue Bag Press featuring poets Justin Cox, Zach Savich, Alyssa Perry, and Hilary Plum and hosted by Thom Eichelberger-Young with a DJ set by Chango at Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St. in Buffalo. Suggested donation is $5.
About the poets:
Zach Savich’s latest books are the poetry collection Momently (Black Ocean, 2024) and the hybrid critical-memoir-for-performance A Field of Telephones (53rd State, 2025).
Alyssa Perry (@lysperry) is the author of Oily Doily (Bench Editions, 2024). She is an editor at Rescue Press and poetry editor at Cleveland Review of Books. Perry lives in Ohio and teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Justin Cox is a poet and writer whose work often explores rural poetics. His writing has appeared in Annulet: A Journal of Poetics, The Canary, Chicago Review, Denver Quarterly, Fence, The Iowa Review, jubilat, Mercury Firs, and Tagvverk. He teaches at the University of Iowa and has been a fellow at the International Institute of Modern Letters in Wellington, New Zealand.
Cox is the author of the book length poem Stock Pond (Bench Editions, June 2025). Stock Pond catalogs ecological and social impacts of industrial agriculture in the rural and the remote. Riffing on necropastoral and visionary poetics, Stock Pond proposes a cottage corrosive portrait of country life.
Hilary Plum’s (@hmplum) latest books include the novel State Champ (Bloomsbury, 2025), the chapbook Important Groups, and the essay collection Hole Studies. She co-hosts the podcast Index for Continuance and edits and teaches in Cleveland.
Tuesday, May 27, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Tuesday Night Open Mic Series at the Em Tea Coffeecup Café. All are welcome whether new to poetry or a long-time member of the community. 80 Oakgrove Ave., Buffalo, NY. Free and open to the public.
Wednesday, May 28, 7:30 p.m.: Talking Leaves Books and Hallwalls Contemporary Center present author and critic Claire Kahane in conversation with novelist and philosopher Carolyn Korsmeyer discussing Kahane’s new memoir Nine Lives: My Risky Road from Fifties Rebel to Feminist Critic (Brandylane Publishers).
Claire Kahane is a feminist literary critic and memoirist who lives in Berkeley, California. As a young woman propelled by a lust for adventure and the will to challenge the cultural expectations for women, she spent part of the 1950s and 60s on the road, traveling through Mexico, the United States, Europe and Morocco, living a life unusual for a woman of her time. Years later, as a Professor of English at the University at Buffalo, and informed by her study of psychoanalysis, she wrote and edited books and essays which explored gender conflict in modern fiction, the dark appeal of Gothic literature, Holocaust trauma in literature, and more recently, the perverse fictions of Ian McEwan. Her memoir, Nine Lives, testifies to her dynamic re-invention of herself over nine decades. Now a Research Associate with the English Department at the University of California at Berkeley, she continues to write both memoir pieces and literary criticism.
Event address: Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY 14202 This event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing from Talking Leaves Books.
Wednesday, May 28, 9 p.m.: Poetry Night at Caffe Aroma, biweekly open mic reading series hosted by Ben Brindise and Justin Karcher. 957 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.
Thursday, May 29, 6 p.m.: The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library presents An Evening with Jullian Hanesworth.
Buffalo's first Poet Laureate, Jillian Hanesworth, will read selections of some of her poetry, observing and reflecting on the social political state of Buffalo. Hanesworth's work will explore Buffalo before and after the racist massacre on May 14, 2022, 2022 as well as pieces that reflect her personal revolution as a voice of, and from, this city.
Jillian Hanesworth has published a number of books of poetry, including For The Culture: A book of original poetry by Jillian Hanesworth featuring artwork by Tyshaun in 2017, and The Revolution will Rhyme in 2021. Both of these works have recently been added to the Library's Rare Books Collection.
Hanesworth was born and raised on the East Side of Buffalo, N.Y. She began writing at the age of 7 when she would write songs for her mother to sing in church. Over time, Jillian’s writings evolved into short stories and poetry that narrates the lived experiences of her community. Since her first professional poetry performance on February 1st, 2017, Jillian has performed over 500 times in various cities and countries. Jillian is the founder of Literary Freedom, a nationally recognized literacy access program called Buffalo Books, and the first and founding Poet Laureate of Buffalo. In 2024, Jillian was the national Emmy award recipient in the Dick Schaap Outstanding Writing category.
This event is free and open to the public, and will take place in the Central Library Auditorium. The Auditorium can be reached from the main entrance of Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, or directly from the entrance at Clinton Street at Ellicott Street.