POETRY NEWS: September 2010 Listings of readings and performances in the Poetry News only include events in the greater DC area (covering roughly the same area that the METRO public transit system covers), although we include a larger geographic region for listings of Competitions, Grants, Calls for Entries, Workshops, and Special Events (covering all of DC, MD, VA, WV, and DE). To get listed in the Beltway Poetry News, please send an email with full information (including a phone number) any time during the month prior for readings and new releases, and up to two months prior for Calls for Entries and Special Events. We try to be as complete and accurate as possible. Listing here does not constitute an endorsement, nor can we be responsible for changes and additions made after the first of the month. Please check with sponsors to confirm the accuracy of listings. Send your news to beltway.poetry@juno.com.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY to some of our favorite DC authors (past and present) in September: ...Larry Neal, Clarissa Scott Delaney, Elinor Wylie, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Reed Whittemore, Andrew Holleran, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Alain Locke, and Rod Smith.     NEW RELEASES Rick Cannon, Questions for My Father's Killer (chapbook, Pudding House) Thomas Sayers Ellis, Skin, Inc.: Identity Repair Poems (Graywolf) JoAnne Growney, Red Has No Reason (Plain View Press) Jon Pineda, Sleep in Me (University of Nebraska Press) Kim Roberts, Lip Smack: A History of Spoken Word Poetry in DC (nonfiction chapbook, Beltway Editions) Broadkill Review, Vol 4, No 4, July 2010. Edited by Jamie Brown. Contributors include: Carolyn Cecil, Nina Bennett, Lyn Lifshin, Steven Leech. http://thebroadillreview.blogspot.com/ Innisfree Poetry Journal, Issue 11, Fall 2010. Edited by Greg McBride. Contributors include: Martin Galvin, Rod Jellema, Ann Knox, Merrill Leffler, Lyn Lifshin, David McAleavey, Patric Pepper, David Salner, Andrea Wyatt. http://www.innisfreepoetry.org. Tidal Basin Review, Summer 2010. Contributors include: Ernesto Mercer, Joseph Ross, Andy Fogle, Tony Medina, Truth Thomas, Brian Gilmore, Sarah Browning. Featured poet: Rachel Eliza Griffiths. http://www.tidalbasinpress.org. COMPETITIONS, GRANTS and CALLS FOR ENTRY 8th Annual Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, for a chapbook-length manuscript of poems by a resident of the Delmarva Penninsula. Mss. should be no more than 40 pages, including title page, table of contents, acknowledgements page, and author bio. Winner gets publication by Broadkill Press, $200, two cases of Dogfish Head Caft Brewed Ale, and a featured reading at the 12th Annual John Milton Poetry Festival in Milton, DE. No reading fee. Deadline: Labor Day. Submit online as a Word attachment to dogfishheadpoetryprize@earthlink.net or send ten copies by snail mail with SASpostcard for acknowledgment to: Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, c/o John Milton & Company Books, 104 Federal St., Milton, DE 19968. DC Commission on the Arts grants for the Young Artist Grant Program. Grants up to $3,000 for artists between age 18 and 30. Deadline: Sept. 15. http://dcarts.dc.gov. Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA. Residencies of two weeks to two months from February through May to writers on a 450-acre estate at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns. 25 artists at a time, separate working and living quarters, all meals. Daily contribution ($45 to $90). $25 application fee, deadline: Sept. 15. http://www.vcca.com. The Writers Center, Emerging Writers Fellowship. Reading and stipend. Open to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with one or two books. No entry fee. Deadline: Sept. 30. http://www.writer.org. The Chesapeake Reader seeks poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for the Spring issue. Special interest in literature that reflects the region. Deadline: Sept. 30. http://www.chesapeakereader.com/. 2nd Annual Clarinda Harriss Poetry Prize, CityLit Project, Baltimore. Winner gets chapbook publication, $250, and 25 copies. Judge: Dick Allen. Mss. of up to 30 pages, $20 reading fee, postmarked October 1. http://www.citylitproject.org.   WORKSHOPS, EXHIBITIONS, AND SPECIAL EVENTS "High Wattage: Elements of Performing the Slam Poem," led by Regie Cabico. Two-part workshop: Sept. 5 and Sept. 19 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. Class explores vocal and physical techniques "to kick your verses in the squint of the spotlight"; no prior experience required. Bring a poem, no longer than a page long, comfortable shoes and clothes. $60 fee in advance; $70 at door. BloomBars, 32222 11th St. NW, DC. (202) 567-7713. http://www.bloombars.com. The Writer's Center Fall Workshops in poetry, memoir, fiction, stage and screen, songwriting, children's lit, and professional development. Also offering classes for teens, military veterans, and independent studies. Workshop leaders include: Deborah Ager, Sandra Beasley, Kenneth Carroll, Sean Enright, Laura Fargas, Nan Fry, Bernadette Geyer, Patricia Gray, Reuben Jackson, David Keplinger, Yvette Neisser Moreno, John Morris, Mary Quattlebaum, Elizabeth Rees, David Salner, Anne Sheldon, Adele Steiner, Michele Wolf, Anne Harding Woodworth. Open House event on Saturday Sept. 11 from noon to 3:00 pm. http://www.writer.org. Corcoran Gallery of Art, "Spencer Finch: My Business, with the Cloud," sculptural installation commemorating Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln. Opens Sept. 11 (through Jan. 23, 2011). http://www.corcoran.org. Kennedy Center 15th Annual Multicultural Children's Book Festival, Sept. 11, Noon to 6:00 pm. Free. Roof level, Kennedy Center, Foggy Bottom neighborhood, DC. Readings, signings, performances. http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/bookfestival/. "Poetic Art" Juried Exhibition at the Workhouse Arts Center, Sept. 15 to Oct. 10, 2010, Lorton, VA. Featuring collaborations between writers abd visual artists. Opening reception Sunday, September 19. http://www.workhousearts.org. Split This Rock hosts a Craft Workshop with Brenda Hillman, Sunday, Sept. 19 from Noon to 2:30 pm. Participants should bring 17 copies of "a very fresh draft of a poem and one process-oriented question about the poem." $25 fee; some scholarships available. Institute for Policy Studies, 1112 16th St. NW, Suite 600, Farragut Square neighborhood, DC. Info and registration: browning@splitthisrock.org. Fall for the Book Festival, City of Fairfax, VA and George Mason University, September 19-24. All events free. Readings, panels, family events, vendors. Featured authors include: W. Perry Epes, Mark Fitzgerald, Elisabeth Murawski, Sonya Renee, Ramola D, Roger Lathbury. http://www.fallforthebook.org. Furious Flower Poetry Center presents a Tribute to Lucille Clifton, Sept. 21 at 7:00 pm, James Madison University, Wilson Hall Auditorium, Harrisonburg, VA. Free. 73 of her poems will be read, one for each year of her life. Readers include: Elizabeth Alexander, Kwame Alexander, Amiri Baraka, Remica Bingham, Jericho Brown, Rita Dove, Nikky Finney, Joanne V. Gabbin, Nikki Giovanni, Michael Glaser, Randall Horton, Dolores Kendrick, Haki Madhubuti, Tony Medina, Sonia Sanchez. http://www.jmu.edu/furiousflower/index.shtml. Baltimore Book Festival, September 24 - 26. Free admission to all events. Readings, performances, vendors. Includes "Baltimore Celebrates Beltway Poetry" on the Festival Stage on Friday evening. Mount Vernon Place, 600 block of Charles Street, Baltimore. http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com. National Book Festival, Sept. 25. On the National Mall, DC. Featured authors include Elizabeth Alexander, Marilyn Nelson, Isabel Allende, Chang-rae Lee, Jane Smiley, Scott Turow. Free admission. http://www.loc.gov/bookfest Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts hosts a Writer's Evening, Monday September 27 at 6:00 pm. Discussion on agents, publishing law, followed by a networking reception. Panelists: Gail Ross, Elaine English, Jeff Kleinman, and John Mason. $15 fee. International Arts & Artists, Hillyer Gallery, 9 Hillyer Court NW, Dupont Circle neighborhood, DC. http://www.artsand artists.org. Sotto Voce Poetry Festival, Shepherdstown, WV, October 1-3. Featuring Edward Hirsch, Natasha Tretheway, and Michael Collier. Readings, workshops, panels. Some events free. http://somodocopress.com/sottovoce. Capital BookFest, Saturday, October 2. Free admission to all events. Readings, workshops, vendors. Includes "Portraits of the City: Writing About the Urban Experience," a panel hosted by Beltway Poetry Quarterly, featuring Fred Joiner, Kenneth Carroll, stevenallenmay, and Kim Roberts. Other authors include Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Tony Medina, E. Ethelbert Miller. The Boulevard at the Capital Center, Arena Drive, Largo, MD. (703) 371-4325. http://capita2.bizland.com/Largo.html. 8th Annual James River Writers Conference, October 8-9, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA. Readings, lectures, panels. Fees charged. http://www.jamesriverwriters.org. 10th Annual West Virginia Book Fstival, Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV, October 16-17. Readings, marketplace, children's area, used book sale. Free. http://wvbookfestival.org/.     AREA READINGS and PERFORMANCES Wednesday, September 1 at 9:00 pm HAIKU Open Mic, with featured reading by Delrica Andrews. Hosted by Holly Bass. $3 Admission. Busboys & Poets, 1025 5th Street NW, DC. (202) 789-2227. Friday, September 3 at 8:00 pm Plan B Press presents "The Poetry Lab": Bernadette Geyer and stevenallenmay Free. The Soundry, 316 Dominion Rd. NE, Vienna, VA (703) 698-0088. Friday, September 3 at 8:00 pm Story/Stereo: Aryn Kyle and Allison Benis White, with musical guest John Davis of Title Tracks Free. The Writers Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, MD. (301) 654-8664. Sunday, September 5 at 6:00 pm Book Release reading by Thomas Sayers Ellis for Skin, Inc.: Identity Repair Poems Free. CAS/51, 510 Randolph St. NW, Petworth neighborhood, DC. No phone listed. Sunday, September 5 at 8:00 pm Poetry on the Patio, featuring Joseph LMS, Love the Poet, and Droopy the Broke Baller. Hosted by 2Deep the Poetess. Admission unclear. Busboys & Poets, 1025 5th Street NW, DC. (202) 789-2227. Thursday, September 9 at 9:00 pm Nine on the Ninth Series: Patrick Washington plus open mic, hosted by Derrick Weston Brown. $3 Admission. Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Streets NW, DC. (202) 387-POET. Friday, Sept. 10 at 7:00 pm Steven B. Herrmann, author of Walt Whitman: Shamanism, Spiritual Democracy and the World Soul. Sponsored by Washington Friends of Walt Whitman Free. Home of Neil Richardson and Karen Loeschner, 1873 Ingleside Terrace NW, Mount Pleasant neighborhood, DC. Info and RSVP: neilrichardsondc@gmail.com. Friday, September 10 at 11:00 pm (doors open at 10:00) 11th Hour Poetry Slam $5 Admission. Busboys and Poets, 14th and V Streets NW, historic U Street neighborhood, DC. (202) 387-POET. Saturday, September 11 at 1:00 pm 9/11 Commemoration: "Poems to Heal and Honor a Nation," featuring Collective Voices: Sistah Joy, Brenardo Taylor,and Ladi Di, with music by Doc Powell, Sydney March, Curly Robinson, and Jason Okera Keene. Program includes the Posting of the Colors by the Dunbar HS JROTC. Terri Allen hosts. Free. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, Black Studies Center, 901 G St. NW, Gallery Place neighborhood, DC. (202) 727-1111. Sunday, September 12 at 6:00 pm Iota Series 16th Anniversary Celebration, hosted by Miles David Moore. Free. Iota Club and Cafe, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Clarendon neighborhood, Arlington, VA. (703) 256-9275. Sunday, September 12 at 8:15 pm Articles Press Hour, featuring Jennifer Atkinson and Tex Vathing reading translations of poems from Farsi. Hosted by Ethan Edwards. Free. Iota Club and Cafe, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Clarendon neighborhood, Arlington, VA. (703) 256-9275. Tuesday, September 14 at 8:00 pm Speakeasy DC presents "The Underdog: Stories About Beating the Odds" with featured performers and open mic $10 Admission. Town Danceboutique, 9009 8th St. NW, DC. (240) 888-9751. Thursday, September 16 at 7:00 pm Intersections Series. Cave Canem and Letras Latinas reading, featuring: Brenda Cárdenas, Paul Martinez Pompa, R. Dwayne Betts, and Ines P. Rivera Prosdocimi. Hosted by Fred Joiner and sponsored by the American Poetry Museum. $5 suggested donation. Charles Sumner School, 1201 17th St. NW, DC. (202) 249-0253. Thursday, September 16 at 8:00 pm Cheryl's Gone Series. Hosted by Wade Fletcher. Free. Big Bear Cafe, 1st and R Streets NW, DC. (202) 470-5543. Friday, September 17 at 7:00 pm HOME Series. Hosted by Fred Joiner. $5 Admission. International Arts & Artists, Hillyer Art Space, 9 Hillyer Court NW, DC. (202) 338-0680. Friday, September 17 at 7:30 pm Cave Canem and Letras Latinas present: Gregory Pardlo, Teri Ellen Cross, Brenda Cárdenas and Paul Martinez Pompa. Free. The Writers Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, MD. (301) 654-8664. Saturday, September 18 at 7:00 pm Sulu Series: Hawah the Everlutionary, Bao Phi, and Saymoukda Vongsay, plus the Phil Good Band and dancer Shae Lim. With DJ Beta-G and host Michelle Meyers of Yellow Rage. $10 Admission. Almaz Restaurant, 1212 U Street NW, DC. (202) 462-1212. Sunday, September 19 at 4:00 pm Sunday Kind of Love Series: Brenda Hillman Free, but donations collected. Busboys and Poets, Langston Room, 14th & V Streets NW, DC. (202) 387-POET. Monday, September 20 at 7:00 pm Cafe Muse: Dave and Janet Northrop. Hosted by Adele Steiner and Laura Golberg, with classical guitar by Michael Davis. Free. Friendship Heights Village Center, 4433 S. Park Ave., Chevy Chase, MD. (301) 656-2797. Tuesday, September 21 at 5:30 pm Book Release party for Lip Smack: A History of Spoken Word Poetry in DC by Kim Roberts, with guest performance by Regie Cabico. Part of the Humanities Council of Washington's 30th Anniversary Showcase. Event also features exhibits, readings, performances, film and an awards ceremony. Followed by cake and champagne reception. Free, but reservations required. Historical Society of Washington, Old Carnegie Library, Mount Vernon Square, DC. (202) 387-8391. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00 pm A Space Inside: Tribute to Sterling A. Brown. Hosted by Dan Vera and Michael Gushue. Free. Riverby Books, 417 E. Capitol St. SE, DC. (202) 543-4342. Wednesday, September 22 at 9:00 pm Sparkle Series, featuring Liz Prescott and Stine Bats. Hosted by Regie Cabico and Danielle Evennou. $4 Admission. Busboys & Poets, 5th & K Streets NW, DC. (202) 789-2227. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00 pm Poet-a-Tete, hosted by Cheryl Crockett Free. Ebenezer's Coffeehouse, 201 F St. NE, DC. (202) 558-6900. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00 pm "Out of Denmark: An Evening of Danish Literature," featuring Pia Tafdrup, Naja Marie Aidt, and Simon Frueland. Presented in conjunction with the Fall for the Book Festival. Free. The Writers Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, MD. (301) 654-8664. Friday, September 24, 5:30 to 8:30 pm "Baltimore Celebrates Beltway Poetry" at the Baltimore Book Festival. Two back-to-back readings! A spoken word showcase at 5:30 celebrating the release of Lip Smack: A History of Spoken Word Poetry in DC by Kim Roberts, featuring Chris August, Patrick Washington, Gowri Konewaran, and Twain Dooley. Followed by a Beltway Poetry Tenth Anniversary Reading at 6:45 featuring Reginald Harris, Clarinda Harriss, Linda Joy Burke, Kathleen Hellen, Deanna Nikaido, and Lalita Noronha. Free. Festival Stage, Mount Vernon Place, 600 block of Charles Street, Baltimore, MD. http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com. Saturday, September 25 at 8:30 pm "Poe in Person": see actor David Kelso perform an authentic recreation of Edgar Allan Poe's public appearances and readings. Part of the Montgomery County Big Read program Free. Pyramid Atlantic, 8230 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. (301) 608-9101. Sunday, September 26 at 2:00 pm Delmarva Review publication reading: Sue Ellen Thompson, Anne Colwell, Amanda Newell, J. Wesley Clark, Margaret Adams, and Sunil Freeman Free. The Writers Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, MD. (301) 654-8664. Monday, September 17 at 7:30 pm Speakeasy DC presents "Top Shelf: The Best Stories of 2008-2010" $25 Admission. Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW, Gallery Place neighborhood, DC. (240) 888-9751. Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00 pm Warren St. John. Presented in conjunction with One Maryland One Book and the Paul Peck Institute for the Humanities. Free. Montgomery College, Silver Spring/Takoma Park Campus, Performing Arts Center, 7995 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. Tuesday, September 28 at 7:30 pm Edward Hirsch $15 Admission. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE, DC. (202) 544-7077. Tuesday, September 28 at 7:30 pm Beltway Slam: featured performer and competition $5 Admission. The Fridge, 516 8th St. SE, rear, DC. (202) 664-4151. Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 pm Kensington Row Series: Yvette Neisser Moreno and Luis Alberto Ambroggio Free. Kensington Row Bookshop, 3786 Howard Avenue, Kensington MD. (301) 949-9416.     PLEASE NOTE: Open mic events are not listed on this page. Please see our full listing of Reading Series for more information.