The Poet's Loft

Our traditional Wednesday Night Poetry begins At 8:00pm. A featured Poet performs their original works for 20 minutes. Round 1 of Open mic (3-minute performance time limit). Round 2 of Open mic (6-minute performance time limit) .

The annual Wednesday night open mic poetry reading founded in 1989 "The Spa City Poetry reading" is the worlds oldest continuous open mic poetry reading in history. Printed articles about this local event have appeared in local newsprint, and in publications throughout the U.S. including People Magazine.

What a great venue! And what illustrious poets have read on this stage! This Venue curates a most glorious poetic tradition that has showcased some incredible poets in this far off part of Americana. Rita Dove, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Brenda Moosey, Ben Porter Lewis, Lucinda Williams, Miller Williams, Shokan Tadashi Kondo and a list of poets that just might surprise you have graced our most wonderful stage. It is truly an honor to read here following in such poetic footsteps.

For information on how to book a feature slot contact Sam Bearshears @ fredzila_lives@hotmail.com or call 501-609-0139

Wednesday, July 23, The Poet’s Loft presents an excerpt from the book Al Capone’s Bones, read by Karla Parker. Al Capone’s Bones is the first in a series of short novels by local writer J. Lee, published by Hot Air Publishing. It is the quirky story of a stranger, a ninety-nine-year-old adventurer, and a rotten teenager who discover that the gangster’s bones were secretly buried on Sugarloaf Mountain and set out to find them. The second book in the series, Deadleg, will be released August 1.

Karla Parker has appeared at the Poet’s Loft in the past as a poet, a musician, and an actress. She has portrayed Emily Dickinson in the one-woman show “The Belle of Amherst” and Dorothy Parker in “An Evening with Dorothy Parker”. She also appeared in the Poet’s Loft production of “Lovers and Other Strangers”. Parker is also a familiar face at the Pocket Theatre, both as an actress in a variety of roles such as Lizzie in “The Rainmaker” and Annie Sullivan in “The Miracle Worker” and as the director of “You Can’t Take it with You” and “The Murder Room”. She is the Director of Theatre Arts at the Poet’s Loft.

The reading will begin at 8:00 P.M. with open mic poetry to follow. The Poet’s Loft is located at 514-B Central Avenue. For more information contact Pam Rawls at 625-7704 or visit www.thepoetsloft.com. For more information about books by J. Lee, visit www.hotairpublishing.com.

Dazy More is Liz Parker's alter-ego. From the Church to the street, Dazy is the voice of “The Bad Element”. Her vision is to change the world view of drugs and the individual. Born to slam, Dazy is original as sin is not.

Dazy earned her D the hard way. On the streets of LA she learned hand-me-down hard way fashion. She is the only known survivor of the prisoners of the Drug War that bled this vein of dancing ink that may never run dry. Dazy holds back tears as she sifts the ashes.

Sam Breashears is a local, home-grown poet. Regulars at The Poets Loft have seen him grow, in the years since the Loft was founded, from a stage shy wordsmith into a confidant and creative performer. Over the years, he has held many different jobs while he pursues artistic perfection. On August 6^th , you can witness this continued pursuit.

Sam brings a touch of humor to his work. He pulls no punches, whether he's talking about the love of his life or about personal tragedy. His twenty minute performance will be a roller coaster of emotion that leaves the audience wanting more.