Phoenix is a city with many unsung virtues, one of which happens to be its active poetry scene.
With open mics scattered across the Valley happening almost every night, there are plenty of opportunities to hear and speak the written word.
And over the next two weeks, a few additional events are adding to the busy buzz of poetic activity in town.
Check out details on the annual Poetry Industrial Complex, the new weekly Pink Slip Poetry Slam, and the one-off Benefit For Jeremiah Blue after the jump ...
The Poetry Industrial Complex:
Once a year in October, the Deux Ex Machina art gallery hosts a night of poetry & spoken word with a handful of featured poets. This year's show, "Life's Rich Pageant", will feature the works of Bill Campana (who runs the Sound Effects poetry event at Mama Java's), Patrick Hare, The Klute, Shawnte Orion, and two of Deus Ex's regularly featured artists, Richard Bledsoe and Jeff Falk.
And in addition to the Poetry Industrial Complex, Deus Ex will be hosting more poetry next month when it becomes the new venue for Caffeine Corridor, the monthly poetry event hosted by Orion and Jack Evans. The Poetry Industrial Complex starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is $5.
Deus Ex Machina is at 1023 Grand Ave. in Phoenix. For more info, call 602-487-0669.
The Pink Slip Poetry Slam:
Now that the coffee-brewing portion of Conspire has split off and formed its own base of operations at Jobot, there's a new space in town to host events and for people to come together and share their town. And in what we hope will be the first of many such happenings is the Pink Slip Poetry Slam that will be held there every Monday night at 8 p.m.
The Slam is the brainchild of poet Aaron Johnson, who will be the featured poet at next Wednesday's Conspire Open Mic. The Slam has a suggested donation of $1.
Jobot is at 918 N. 5th Street in Phoenix.
Benefit For Jeremiah Blue:
On Friday the 29th the poetry community is showing support for one of its own by putting together a benefit show at the Fair Trade Cafe.
Starting at 7 p.m., the Benefit (to help the ailing Blue cover his medical bills) features a who's-who of Phoenix poets. Featuring Crystal Kill Love, The Klute, Neal Gearns, Harrison Gearns, Aaron Johnson, Ni Miou Nance, Ed Mabrey, Bill Campana, Maya Asher, Leah Marche, Steven Hernandez, Mystic Blu, Laura Lacanette, Jason Lalli, Tristan Marshall, and Brent Heffron. For those who can't make the event but would still like to help, you can Paypal donations to [email protected].
Fair Trade Cafe is at 1020 N. 1st Ave. in Phoenix. For more info, call 602-354-8150.
