Tuesday, Aug. 25, 6 p.m.: The State of Things Book Club reads and discusses The Age of Loneliness (Graywolf Press, 2024) by Buffalo-based author Laura Marris, who will be on hand to participate in the discussion. Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St., Buffalo.

In this debut essay collection, Laura Marris reframes environmental degradation by setting aside the conventional, catastrophic framework of the Anthropocene in favor of that of the Eremocene, the age of loneliness, marked by the dramatic thinning of wildlife populations and by isolation between and among species. She asks: How do we add to archives of ecological memory? How can we notice and document what’s missing in the landscapes closest to us?

Filled with equal parts alienation and wonder, each essay immerses readers in a different strange landscape of the Eremocene. Among them are the Buffalo airport with its snowy owls and the purgatories of commuter flights, layovers, and long-distance relationships; a life-size model city built solely for self-driving cars; the coasts of New England and the ever-evolving relationship between humans and horseshoe crabs; and the Connecticut woods Marris revisits for the first time after her father’s death, where she participates in the annual Christmas Bird Count and encounters presence and absence in turn.

Laura Marris is a writer and translator. Her writing has appeared in The Believer, Harper’s, The Yale Review, The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review Daily, The Common, The TLS, The New York Times, Words Without Borders, and elsewhere. Her work has been supported by fellowships from MacDowell, a Katharine Bakeless Fellowship from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, and a grant from the Robert B. Silvers Foundation. Her first solo-authored book, The Age of Loneliness, was published by Graywolf in August, 2024.

Her translations include Albert Camus’s The Plague (Knopf). With Alice Kaplan, she is also the co-author of a book of criticism about the novel called States of Plague: Reading Albert Camus in a Pandemic (University of Chicago Press, with a French edition translated by Patrick Hersant for Gallimard). She has translated Louis Guilloux’s Blood Dark (New York Review Books), Paol Keineg’s Triste Tristan and Other Poems (with Rosmarie Waldrop for Burning Deck Press), Geraldine Schwarz’s Those Who Forget (Scribner), Jean-Yves Frétigné’s To Live is to Resist: The Life of Antonio Gramsci (University of Chicago Press), Christophe Boltanski’s The Safe House (University of Chicago Press), as well as a Proust comic book and experimental translation projects for Asymptote and The Brooklyn Rail. Books she has translated have been shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize, the Scott Moncrieff Prize, the Mark Lynton History Prize from the Lukas Prizes, and the French-American Foundation Translation Prize.

She is a Visiting Assistant Professor of creative writing at the University at Buffalo and a Teaching Artist at Just Buffalo Literary Center.

Thursday, Aug. 27, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Kenmore Village Improvement Society/Made for Good Open Mic Poetry Night hosted by Geoffrey Gatza and featuring poet Corey Bley. Kenmore Village Improvement Society/ Made for Good Shop. Address: 7 Warren Ave. Kenmore, NY 14217.

Corey Bley is a High School Art teacher who currently teaches Ceramics and Sculpture full time in Niagara Falls.

An evening of poetry, community, and conversation at KVIS / Made for Good Shop in Kenmore. This month’s audience-chosen optional theme is “August Heat.” Whether the theme inspires a poem, a memory, a dream, or something unexpected, we’d love to hear it. All are welcome. Bring a poem to share or simply come and listen.

Friday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: 4th Friday Poetry Series featuring Buffalo-based poet Tim Joyce. Additional reading slots available. Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Rd., Buffalo. $5.

Friday, Aug. 28, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Publication release party for We Were Seeds: Western New York Voices in Solidarity with Palestine edited by Sara Ali and Joe Hall. Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St., Buffalo.

The evening, cosponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace Buffalo, will feature readings by contributors to the zine formatted anthology, performance by a “singing resistance” group led by Jazz Milliner, and homemade Palestinian desserts. Sliding scale donations will go to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Copies of the publication, which feature Jazz Milliner’s cover art, and Jacob Reber’s layout and design, will be on sale for purchase with proceeds to benefit the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Saturday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Silo City Reading Series featuring poets Tarfia Faizullah and 2026 JBLC Poetry Fellow Siew Hii as featured performers at an event also featuring a musical performance by Olivia Block, and an installation by visual artist D. Sloan.

About the Poets and Featured Performers:

Tarfia Faizullah is the author of the poetry collections, Alien of Extraordinary Ability (forthcoming from Haymarket Books 2027), Registers of Illuminated Villages (Graywolf, 2018) and Seam (SIU, 2014). Tarfia’s writing appears widely in the U.S. and abroad in The Daily Star, Hindu Business Line, BuzzFeed, PBS News Hour, Huffington Post, Poetry Magazine, Ms. Magazine, The Academy of American Poets, Oxford American, The New Republic, The Nation, and Halal If You Hear Me (Haymarket, 2019), and has been displayed at the Smithsonian, the Rubin Museum of Art, and elsewhere. Born in Brooklyn, NY to Bangladeshi immigrants and raised in Texas, Tarfia currently lives in Dallas.

Siew Hii (she/they) is the winner of the 2026 Just Buffalo Literary Center Poetry Fellowship and will visit Buffalo this August for a writing residency and read at the August 29 Silo City Reading Series event. They are the author of Entered Some Aliens (University of Wisconsin Press, 2026). Her prose and poetry appear in AGNI, Electric Lit, Story, Georgia Review, and elsewhere. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Hii now lives in Orlando, where she teaches creative writing at the University of Central Florida. Her parents hail from Sibu, Malaysia and Kentucky, USA.

Olivia Block is a media artist and composer. Her discography, spanning nearly thirty years, is published on Another Timbre, Black Truffle, Erstwhile, Ina GRM, NNA Tapes, Room40, Sedimental, and Touch, among other labels. She performs live experimental music, where at any given concert she might be playing electronic instruments, piano, organ or amplified objects. Block also creates surround sound concerts, sound installations and scores. Block has performed, premiered and exhibited her work throughout Europe, America, and Japan in tours in festivals and performance series including Rewire, MoogFest, Festival del Bosque Germinal, Sonic Light, Redbull Academy, Kontraste, Archipel, and many others. Her installations have been shown at The Nasher Sculpture Museum, The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Arthur Ross Gallery at University of Pennsylvania, CEAM at Flagler University, MCA Chicago, Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, Museo Reina Sofia, The Smart Museum at University of Chicago, Manhattan Museum of Arts and Design, Sokolowsko Sanitorium (Poland), CONTEXT (Miami and NY) and The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park (Chicago). She has taught at The School of the Art Institute in the Sound Department and at Northwestern University in the Sound Arts and Industries program. She has completed many university teaching residencies and teaches workshops around the world. Olivia is based in Chicago, and travels widely for her work.

Visual artist D. Sloan (b. 1990) traded the Vegas heat for the Buffalo cold. She co-curates the Museum of Cold—an archive of cold as muse, co-edits the theory-fiction journal TRANSVERSALS, and is the proprietor of a flower shop. She creates alternative systems for divining the future through casting lots (keys and coins, in this case). She likes to write with photography and prefers not to use the viewfinder, instead trading composition for spiritual intervention.

Silo City Reading Series events take place in Marine A grain elevator, behind Duende at Silo City, 85 Silo City Row. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the events begin at 7:30 p.m. Books by featured poets in the series will be available for purchase by Buffalo bookseller Fitz Books. As of August 1st, the event is sold out. Contact www.justbuffalo.org for further information.

Friday, Aug. 14, 7 p.m.: Gutter Pop Comics and the Western New York Book Arts Center present the 2026 Buffalo Zine Fest Pre-Party.

Featured performers:

-New Animated shorts & an exclusive first look screening with GiA Ligammari

-An experimental Anti-A.I. Drag Performance from Mister Rigormortis

-Poetry from Yamilla Tate and Mathilda Cullen..

-Comics reading from Louie Snow and Mia Weller
Gutter Pop Comics, 1421 Hertel Ave., Buffalo, NY 14216
Free and open to the public.

Saturday, Aug. 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Western New York Book Arts in conjunction with Daemen University, Gutter Pop Comics, Burning Books, and Just Buffalo Literary Center present 2026 Buffalo Zine Fest, organized and curated by Robin Lee Jordan. Western New York Book Arts Center, 468 Washington St, Buffalo, NY 14203.

This third annual event features over 50 local zine-makers, poets, and comic artists who gather to distribute, trade, & sell their creations. Adding some hands-on artmaking to the day, Book Arts will also host letterpress and screen printing demonstrations in our lower-level studio. Participants will be able to print their own zine, or screen print a commemorative t-shirt.

This event is free and open to the public.

Zines are a powerful tool for creative expression, storytelling, and arts education. Because of their accessibility and popularity among young people, zine-making has become an important part of the educational programming offered by Book Arts and partner organizations including CEPA Gallery, Squeaky Wheel, and BICA.
During the heyday of zine culture in the 1980s and 1990s, affordable photocopiers made self-publishing accessible to anyone with an idea to share. Today, while digital platforms dominate communication, opportunities for independent print publishing have become increasingly limited.

Collaborating organizations will include the Downtown Branch of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Just Buffalo Literary Center, Gutter Pop Comics, independent bookstores, and other community partners. Together, these programs will celebrate self-publishing, literary arts, visual storytelling, and the creative communities that make Western New York’s zine culture thrive. A city with a healthy art scene provides opportunities for diverse artists who don’t necessarily have a publisher, a large budget, or a full-time art career to get their work out to the public.

As part of ZineFest 2026, Western New York Book Arts Center will present a Teen Zine Exhibition featuring work created by high school students participating in zine programs throughout Western New York. The exhibition will showcase the voices, ideas, and artistic talents of emerging young creators while highlighting the educational impact of collaborative arts programming across the region.

Teen Zine Exhibition

Sponsored by BXI Consultants, ZineFactory at WNYBAC for teens and all Zine-makers will operate from August 8 through August 14, leading up to ZineFest on August 15.

The Factory will be open: August 8 (10am-2pm), Aug 11 (4pm-6pm), Aug 12–13 (11am-8pm), Aug 14 (11am-5pm).

For one week, Book Arts will transform into a free community publishing hub where visitors can create, print, and assemble their own zines. Open to artists, writers, students, and curious first-time makers, ZineFactory will provide access to equipment, materials, and guidance, empowering participants to share their stories through the timeless medium of print.

For further information, contact: curious@wnybookarts.org

Saturday, Aug. 15, p.m.: Claire Marie Stancek will join poet Christina Vega-Westhoff at a reading sponsored by Blue Bag Press in conjunction with the release of Stancek’s book Operating Moon (Pinsapo, 2026) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 15th at Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St. in Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Thom Eichelberger-Young, the publisher of Blue Bag Press, will serve host and, with Jake Sanders, provide music at the event.

About the Poets

Claire Marie Stancek is a writer, editor, and educator. She is author of five books of poetry, including Double Life (Omnidawn Publishing, forthcoming 2027), Operating Moon (Pinsapo, 2026), wyrd] bird (Omnidawn, 2020), Oil Spell (Omnidawn, 2018), and MOUTHS (Noemi, 2017). With Daniel Benjamin, she co-edited Active Aesthetics: Contemporary Australian Poetry (Tuumba/Giramondo, 2016). With Jane Gregory and the late Lyn Hejinian, she co-founded Nion Editions, a chapbook press that she and Jane now co-edit. Claire Marie earned a B.A. from the University of Toronto and holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Philadelphia.

Christina Vega-Westhoff is a poet, translator, choreographer, and educator living in Buffalo, NY. She is the author of Suelo Tide Cement (Nightboat, 2018). She served as translator for the bilingual Stories that Cook: Art, Memories, and Recipes / Historias que Cocinan: Arte, Recuerdos, y Recetas (Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, 2024), which features recipes, stories, and art from students, teachers, and staff associated with migrant education programs in Western New York. Her poetry has recently appeared in The Capilano Review’s Speculative Feminisms issue and Black Sun Lit’s Vestiges and her work is currently being supported by a New York State Choreographers Initiative Grant and an Artpark Writer’s Residency. She teaches aerial dance at The Bird’s Nest Circus Arts and is a teaching artist with Just Buffalo Literary Center.

Thursday, Aug. 6, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Buffalo Reading Invasion—a flash mob-like gathering to celebrate the role of books, reading, public space, and community in our lives.

Bring a book, a chair, and several friends or family members for an hour of quiet reading in one of Buffalo’s best-loved public spaces. This month’s location:
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House (lawn), 125 Jewett Parkway, Buffalo, NY 14214. Visit http://buffaloreadinginvasion.com/ for additional details.

Friday, Aug. 7 p.m to 10 p.m.: Lake Rats Dispatch presents its second event in its new studio and performance space on 67 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, featuring an art exhibition from Quaid Baker entitled “Latest & Greatest,” a brand-new chapbook on the LRD imprint from Joe Hall called Sun & Earth, and music from local rock & roll wunderkind Jake King.

The Lake Rats Dispatch publishing house features a working print shop with an antique press, a small gallery that focuses on print-based art, and a retail space for posters, hard-to-find magazines, t-shirts, chapbooks, and more.

Joe will read from his work around 8pm, music to follow. Refreshments will be provided; books and artwork will be for sale, and as always, Lake Rats Dispatch Art Newspapers are free.

About The Poet

Joe Hall is the author of six books: Buffalo Free Rapid Transit (Black Ocean, 2026); People Finder, Buffalo (Cloak, 2024); Fugue and Strike (Black Ocean, 2023); Someone’s Utopia (Black Ocean, 2018); The Devotional Poems (Black Ocean, 2013); and Pigafetta Is My Wife (Black Ocean, 2010).

With Chad Hardy, he co-authored The Container Store Vols I & II (2012). With Cheryl Quimba, he co-authored the chapbook May I Softly Walk (2014). Hall has performed and delivered talks nationally at universities, living rooms, squats, and/or rivers in most of the 50 states as well as Canada and Washington, DC. He participates in Hostile Books, a publishing collective dedicated to radical materiality, with Ryan Kaveh Sheldon and Angela Veronica Wong.

Hall is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at St. Bonaventure University. He has taught community based creative writing workshops through the Worker Center in Buffalo and Just Buffalo Literary Center. His college teaching experience includes all levels of undergraduate creative writing and environmental literature. He is frequently amazed by his students.

In 2018, Hall received a PhD in Literature from the University at Buffalo, SUNY upon completion of his dissertation on liquid commons in eighteenth-century literature. The Journal of Post Colonial Studies and Eighteenth-Century Fiction have published his articles on literature, water, waste, and imperialism. His essays and reviews have appeared in Annulet, Terrain.org, The Colorado Review, and Fence Digital. His current research project involves settler colonial aesthetics in modern American ecopoetics.

Tuesday, July 21, 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center presents Teachers ARE Writers: Nurture your Writing Voice with teaching artist Kara Pranikoff. Just Buffalo Literary Center, 468 Washington Street, 2nd Floor, Buffalo, NY 14203.

Join us as we settle into the summer weeks and cultivate our writing practice. Across five weeks we will explore the interplay between reading and writing, tune into our powers of observation, and practice the craft moves that make writing come alive. This class is just right for anyone who wants to slow down, build a supportive community, and open up to the writer inside them.

This workshop is FREE and aimed at teachers, and will run on Tuesdays, 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. on July 21 / July 28 / August 4 / August 11 and Monday, August 17

BPS teachers can register on PGS. Non-BPS teachers can register by emailing Molly Eldridge at meldridge@buffaloschools.org

About the teaching artist:

Kara Pranikoff spent more than two decades in NYC schools before moving back home to Buffalo. She has worked as a classroom teacher; reading interventionist; instructional coach; curriculum designer; and an adjunct instructor at Bank Street College of Education. As a consultant and coach she nurtures educators in developing inquiry based practices in social studies and writing that develop independent student thinking, voice and a sense of belonging for all members of the community. Kara’s book, Teaching Talk: A Practical Guide to Fostering Student Thinking and Conversation (Heinemann, 2017) shares ways to foster productive and independent student discussions in elementary and middle school.

Thursday, July 23, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center presents Collage + Poetry: A Workshop Taught by Teaching Artist Margaret Saigh and visiting author Grace (Ge) Gilbert. Just Buffalo Literary Center, 468 Washington Street, 2nd Floor, Buffalo, NY 14203.

In the 20th and 21st century collaging has been an integral part of the poet’s creative process. In this class we will practice collage as a poetic form and explore the intersections between words and images, drawing on works by poets such as Diana Khoi Nguyen, Anne Carson, and John Ashbery.

Collage materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own.

About the Teaching Artists:

Margaret Saigh is the author of the chapbook I’ve created a thing that will never bring me pleasure (Pitymilk Press, 2025) as well as two other chapbooks. She is the creator of circlet, a poetry workshop and reading series. Her writing has been published widely in print and across the web. She received an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Grace (GE) Gilbert (they/them) is a poet, writer and collage artist from rural upstate New York. They are the author of Holly (YesYes Books, 2026) and three chapbooks. Work can be found in Best of the Net Anthology 2023, Iowa Review, Pleiades, Foglifter, Indiana Review, Ninth Letter, Adroit Journal, and elsewhere. They received their MFA in poetry from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022, where they now teach. They also teach hybrid collage and poetics courses at Brooklyn Poets, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and other institutions. Learn more at gracegegilbert.com.

Thursday, June 25, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Kenmore Village Improvement Society/Made for Good Open Mic Poetry Night hosted by Geoffrey Gatza and featuring poet Nava Fader. Kenmore Village Improvement Society/ Made for Good Shop. Address: 7 Warren Ave. Kenmore, NY 14217.

An evening of poetry, community, and conversation at KVIS / Made for Good Shop in Kenmore. This month’s audience-chosen optional theme is “America, the 250th Anniversary.” Whether your work explores history, place, memory, hope, protest, or simply what America means to you, we’d love to hear it. Bring a poem or simply come to listen. All are welcome. We’d love to spend the evening with you.

About the Featured Poet:

Nava Fader, one of Buffalo’s most original poetic voices. Nava creates poems from found language, conversations, Wikipedia, and the words of poets she loves, crafting work that is inventive, surprising, witty, and deeply engaging. She is the author of All the Jawing Jackdaw and Hitching Post, along with several chapbooks, and received her Master’s in Poetics from SUNY at Buffalo.

Saturday, July 25, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Join BlazeVOX [books] for an evening of innovative poetry featuring three outstanding writers. BlazeVOX will celebrate two new BlazeVOX titles: The Killing Joke by Magus Magnus and Blue Driftwood Fire by Anne-Adele Wight. Joining them will be acclaimed poet Debrah Morkun, author of Projection Machine and The Ida Pingala. Brighton Place Library, 999 Brighton Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150.

From Magus Magnus’s expansive meditation on humor, art, and political anxiety, to Anne-Adele Wight’s luminous explorations of memory and transformation, to Debrah Morkun’s visionary and linguistically adventurous poetry, this promises to be a memorable evening of contemporary writing. The reading is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing.Please come celebrate poetry with BlazeVOX [books] and help support these wonderful writers.

Saturday, July 25, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: HOLLY: An Evening of Poetry to celebrate the launch of the book tour for (GE) Gilbert’s HOLLY (YesYes Books, 2026). Joining Gilbert will be Buffalo-based poets Margaret Saigh, Jazz DeNero, and Chloe Forsell. Fitz Books & Waffles, 1462 Main St., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

About the book:

Grace (ge) Gilbert’s Holly merges poetry, memoir, and visual art in an effort to recreate the author’s grandmother, who was murdered in her home in 1976, and to make sense of their ensuing relationship with their father, who found his mother’s body when he was eleven years old. Having never been told explicitly by their parents about her murder, gilbert pieces together her grandmother’s story through fragment, ephemera, history, and the imaginary, looking past the spectacle of the murdered woman and into the things that come, like ripples, after.

About the Author:

Grace (GE) Gilbert (they/them) is a poet, writer and collage artist from rural upstate New York. They are the author of Holly (YesYes Books, 2026) and three chapbooks. Work can be found in Best of the Net Anthology 2023, Iowa Review, Pleiades, Foglifter, Indiana Review, Ninth Letter, Adroit Journal, and elsewhere. They received their MFA in poetry from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022, where they now teach. They also teach hybrid collage and poetics courses at Brooklyn Poets, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and other institutions. Learn more at gracegegilbert.com.

Tuesday, July 14, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Buffalo Reading Invasion—a flash mob-like gathering to celebrate the role of books, reading, public space, and community in our lives. Bring a book, a chair, and several friends or family members for an hour of quiet reading in one of Buffalo’s best-loved public spaces. This month’s location: South Lawn in front of the historic Hayes Hall on the University at Buffalo South Campus. Free parking is available in UB’s Townsend and Parker lots. Visit

http://buffaloreadinginvasion.com/ for additional details.

Wednesday, July 15, 5 p.m.: Second Anniversary Party for The Buffalo Hive.
Location: The Buffalo Olde Brewery, 203 Davey St., in the Lovejoy district of Buffalo, NY 14206. Admission is free and Jenuine Cello will be performing. It’s a chance to meet some of The Buffalo Hive’s contributors, collaborators, board members and editors.

Happy hour drink prices will be in place from 4 to 7 pm, and until 9 p.m. for Hive members, contributors and collaborators. Happy hour food prices will be available from 4-6pm. And because it’s a birthday celebration, there will be cake!

Thursday, July 16, 7 p.m.: BUFFALO SPEAKS on 716 Day: a multi-media spoken word performance showcase the scale of which Buffalo has rarely seen. This curated veteran line up of spoken word artists and performers is presenting new individual work and collaborations to create a united show, rather than seven separate features. Doors open at 6 p.m. Performances run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. with an intermission
Location: Buffalo Iron Works, 49 Illinois St., Buffalo, NY 14203

Featured Performers:

Brandon Williamson: Williamson is the creator of the Pure Ink Poetry Slam, and Buffalo’s Slam Master. He has performed nationally and internationally for the last two decades, representing Buffalo on the national level six times.

Robin Lee Jordan: Jordan is a teacher, poet, writer, multi interdisciplinary artist, event organizer, & zinemaker who values youth empowerment; creating accessible platforms for people to share their work & ideas; activating artists in service of their communities; artistic spontaneity; and creating encouraging spaces. Receiving an MFA in Poetry from Oregon State University, Robin has produced many zines, and published multiple chapbooks of poetry. With her partner, writer-musician Adam Drury, Robin will be making her debut in poetry/punk rock performance.

Deia Elwadi: Elwadi’s poetry is a reflection of her internal dialogue, a testament to the human experience in all it’s messy glory. She’s been featured on WBFO’s What’s Next, the Pure Ink Poetry Tapings, and at the Buffalo AKG, among many others. She regularly tours her poetry across the country, recently returning from a stint in Atlanta, GA.

Ten Thousand: Marquis “Ten Thousand” Burton is a spoken word poet, educator, and curator. Working with Shea’s Performing Arts, C.A.O, Say Yes Buffalo, he has taught young writers to discover their voice through poetry while celebrating their stories for more than a decade. He has represented Buffalo in National Poetry Slams for a decade and was the official team coach for three years. He was also the curator of poetry talent for the Music is Art festival for six years. Ten Thousand is perhaps Buffalo’s leading free-style spoken word artist.

Justin Karcher: Karcher is a Best of the Net- and Pushcart-nominated poet and playwright born and raised in Buffalo, NY. He is the author of several books, including Tailgating at the Gates of Hell (Ghost City Press, 2015). Recent playwriting credits include The Birth of Santa (American Repertory Theater of WNY) and The Trick is to Spill Your Guts Faster Than the Snow Falls (Alleyway Theater).

Megan Kemple: Kemple is a multidisciplinary writer, performer, & teaching artist. In 2025, her latest chapbook A Heretic Without a Home was released through Arcana Press, and two of her short plays, “Tough Love“ and “Where There’s a Will“ were produced as part of the Chain Theatre’s One Act Festivals Off-Broadway. As a slam poet she placed 3rd in the Rookie Slam at the National Poetry Slam 2017, and 3rd in the NUPIC Slam at NPS 2018, where her team placed in the top 10.

Ben Brindise: Brindise is a writer living and working in Buffalo, NY. His poetry has appeared in places such as The Buffalo News, Buffalo Spree, the My Next Heart: New Buffalo Poetry anthology, and Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Poem of the Week. He is the co-creator of the Caffe Aroma Poetry Night Open Mic and has represented Buffalo, NY at the national level four times. His debut chapbook, ROTTEN KID, was archived at Poets House in NYC in 2017.

Tickets:

Pre-Sale - $30

Door - $35

VIP - $75 (limited to 25, VIPs receive a meet ‘n’ greet with the artists, balcony access, and a merch package with signed books, prints, and more from the artists)

4-Pack - $100

Prices listed include all taxes & fees.

Friday, 7 p.m.: Blue Bag Press presents “Catch a Break from Buffalo’s NO FUN SUMMER” with readings by poets Amie Zimmerman, Joe Hall, and Thom Eichelberger-Young with Diego Espiritu as host of the reading.

The reading will serve as the the book launch event for Amie Zimmerman’s debut collection False Spring (Roof Books, 2026). Amie Zimmerman is the author of four chapbooks, including Compliance (Essay Press) and, with artist Samantha Yun Wall, the collaboration 31 Days/The Self (Ursus Americanus). Alongside Hajar Hussaini and Matthew Klane, she co-curates the poetry and performance series Salon Salvage. Zimmerman is from Portland, Oregon, and lives in upstate New York, where she works as a hairstylist, labor organizer, and PhD candidate.

Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St., Buffalo.

Saturday, July 18, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Silo City Reading Series featuring poets Mary Ruefle and Sasha Debevec-McKenney as featured performers at an event also featuring a musical performance by guitarist William Tyler, and an installation by visual artist Julia Dzwonkoski.

About the Poets and Featured Performers:

Mary Ruefle is the author of many books, including The Book (Wave Books, 2023), Dunce (Wave Books, 2019), which was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize, longlisted for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics’ Circle Award, as well as a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. She is also the author of My Private Property (Wave Books, 2016), Trances of the Blast (Wave Books, 2013), Madness, Rack, and Honey: Collected Lectures (Wave Books, 2012), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, and Selected Poems (Wave Books, 2010), winner of the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. She has also published a comic book, Go Home and Go to Bed! (Pilot Books/Orange Table Comics, 2007), and is an erasure artist, whose treatments of nineteenth century texts have been exhibited in museums and galleries and published in A Little White Shadow (Wave Books, 2006). Ruefle is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Robert Creeley Award, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and a Whiting Award. She lives in Bennington, Vermont, where she served as the state’s poet laureate from 2019 to 2024.

Sasha Debevec-McKenney is the author of the poetry collection Joy Is My Middle Name. She received her MFA from New York University. She was the 2020–2021 Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at the University of Wisconsin, and a 2023-2025 Creative Writing Fellow at Emory University. Her poems have appeared in places like The New Yorker, The Yale Review, The Drift, and Granta.

In 2021, Sasha edited the hard-cover anthology That’s So Me: Self-ish Mix for the Buffalo-based online literary magazine Peach Mag.

She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Writing at Grand Valley State University.

William Tyler is a guitarist who has spent the last two decades reshaping the landscape of American instrumental guitar. After establishing his voice through essential tenures in Silver Jews and Lambchop, the Nashville native launched a solo career defined by a restless curiosity. His work bridges the gap between country-rearing melodies and postmodern experimentation—blending the spirit of Chet Atkins with the avant-garde textures of Gavin Bryars and electroacoustic abstraction.

His latest album, “Time Indefinite,” marks his first solo effort in five years. Born from the isolation of the pandemic and recorded between Nashville and Los Angeles, the album is a candid, “uneasy, damaged, and honest” exploration of mental health and survival. Collaborating with figures like Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden and producer Jake Davis, Tyler embraces the “hiss and wobble” of antique tape loops and field recordings to anchor his compositions.

Artist Julia Dzwonkoski’s drawings often take the form of existential cartoons. She studied art at SUNY Buffalo and UC San Diego. Her work has been shown at Rivalry Projects (Buffalo), Gattopardo (LA), Harkawik (NY) and Blank Forms (NY) and is collected in the books Two Eyes in an Environment (2023) and 100 More Frogs (2025). Dzwonkoski is currently working on a new series of pictures inspired by the poet and collagist Helen Adam. She lives in Buffalo.

Silo City Reading Series events take place in Marine A grain elevator, behind Duende at Silo City, 85 Silo City Row. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the events begin at 7:30 p.m. Books by featured poets in the series will be available for purchase by Buffalo bookseller Fitz Books. As of July 1, the event is sold out. Contact www.justbuffalo.org for further information.

Tuesday, June 23, 7 p.m.: Gerard Malanga Film and Poetry Program at Hallwalls.

Gerard Malanga will start off with the showing of his film “In Search of the Miraculous” (29 mins, 1967). He will then read selected poems from his latest book, Odie Is Being Called Back & Other Poems (Bottle of Smoke Press, 2024). A Q&A session with the audience and a book signing will follow.

Gerard Malanga’s creative output has spanned six decades. A life-long poet, prolific photographer, filmmaker, archivist and Andy Warhol’s assistant for seven years in the 1960s. Gerard is active with writing poetry, public speaking engagements, and creating special photography projects.

Malanga has been a published poet since his high school years and has authored or has been featured in 26 books of poetry.

Malanga’s portrait photography work has produced some of pop culture’s most memorable images. Rock stars, writers, film stars, artists all were captured with Gerard’s lens. He was friends with many of his subjects, which may be the reason for the comfortable nature of his portraits.

Malanga was Andy Warhol’s assistant and collaborator at The Factory for seven years in the 1960s. In addition to working on some of Warhol’s most prolific paintings, Malanga filmed over 300 “Screen Tests” inside the fabled Factory art studio. He was a stage performer and creative partner for the legendary art-rock band, The Velvet Underground. In 1969, Warhol and Malanga together created Interview Magazine.

$30 general admission, $25 students/seniors, $20 members

Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.

Thursday, June 25, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Kenmore Village Improvement Society/Made for Good Open Mic Poetry Night hosted by Geoffrey Gatza and featuring poet Dennis Maloney.

An evening of poetry, community, and conversation at KVIS / Made for Good Shop in Kenmore. This month’s audience-chosen optional theme is “The Moon in June.” Whether the theme inspires a poem, a memory, a dream, or something unexpected, we’d love to hear it. All are welcome. Bring a poem to share or simply come and listen.

We are honored to welcome Dennis Maloney as our featured reader. Dennis is an acclaimed poet, translator, editor, and the founder of White Pine Press, one of America’s most respected independent literary publishers. His poetry has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and his work as a publisher has helped bring remarkable voices from around the world to readers for more than fifty years.

Dennis Maloney is a poet and translator. A number of volumes of his own poetry have been published including: The Map Is Not the Territory, Just Enough, Listening to Tao Yuan Ming. The Things I Notice Now, The Faces of Guan Yin and Windows. A bilingual German/English volume, Empty Cup was published in Germany in 2017. Clearing the Stream: New & Selected Poems (2026) recently appeared from Walton Well Press. His work has been translated into over a dozen languages including full length collections in German, Japanese and Bulgarian.

Kenmore Village Improvement Society/ Made for Good Shop

Address: 7 Warren Ave. Kenmore, NY 14217.

Thursday, June 25, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Pretty When I’m Empty: A Poetry Reading with Yamilla Tate.

The reading is followed by a Q&A session where audience members can inquire concerning her work.. The night ends with an hour long poetry open mic with 12 available 5 minute slots (first come, first served). The event is free and open to the public.

Yamilla Tate (she/they) is a poet/slam poet/writer based in Buffalo. Buffalo born, Puerto Rican raised, Yamilla’s work focuses on themes of cultural identity and pride, queer themes, womxn’s lives, and the confusing but beautiful experience it is to be human. She writes in English and Spanish and she heavily focuses on being proud of your roots,communities, and being unashamed of who you are. Social justice takes a significant role in her writing. Yamilla Tate’s work has been featured by the Just Buffalo Writing Center, and she has forthcoming publications. She has been a featured poet for various events in both the United States and Canada, including: Beyond Boundaries’ screening of Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, The Pure Ink Tapings, Alt Crawl, among others. Tate is also a slam poet who has competed at the national level and in Canada. She formed part of the Pure Ink 2024 and 2025 Slam Team and traveled to Pompano Beach, FL, and Knoxville, TN for the Southern Fried Poetry Slam. Tate has also competed in poetry slams in Hamilton, Ontario.

Fitz Books & Waffles, 1462 Main St. in Buffalo.

Friday, June 26, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Words of Care, a reading and celebration organized by Robin Jordan and Julio Montalvo Valentin highlighting the art/poetry and results of our year-long Communities of Care project for senior artists and community members living in the Buffalo area.

Richmond-Summer Senior Center, 337 Summer St, Buffalo, NY 14222. Free and open to the public. Robin and Julio encourage any in the community to join us to listen, make art with us, and be part of the festivities. Join them for collective artmaking, performances, and a publication (zine) celebration sharing words & art of care from senior artists. All seniors are welcome to attend to share poems, songs, stories, and art. Artist Samantha Serrano will also be at the event providing free, blind contour portraits for seniors (donation-based for non-seniors). Light refreshments served.

More about the zine and project:

A Living Zine or the beauty of life, the world, existence, and everything is the result of a series of mixed-media workshops, creative conversations, and intergenerational exchanges that we led for senior artists/community members living in WNY, funded by the University at Buffalo’s Communities of Care grant. Robin and Julio worked with two, senior centers for this project, Delavan Grider Community Center Seniors Program and Richmond-Summer Senior Center.

Friday, June 26, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: 4th Friday Poetry Series featuring Buffalo-based poet Donna Grace, author of the full-length collection of poems Bread & Bisous published by the LitGarden Writers Collective. Additional reading slots available. Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Rd., Buffalo. $5.

Friday, June 26, 8:30 p.m.: Buffalo Book Launch for Journeys of Sacred Community: A Collection Anthology of Ground and Sky Poetry Volume II hosted by Joel Lesses, founder of Ground and Sky Poetry and editor of the anthology. Open mic hosted by Ground and Sky to follow. Caffe Aroma, 957 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo.

Saturday, June 27, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center invites the public to join In Gratitude: A Community Celebration at Silo City.

The free event marks the culmination of the organization’s six-month In Gratitude initiative, a citywide project inspired by the work of acclaimed poet and essayist Ross Gay.

Bringing together community members, artists, readers, and neighbors, the afternoon will feature interactive art, local vendors, public readings, food, music, and opportunities to reflect on the people, places, and experiences that inspire gratitude in Buffalo.

Throughout the spring, Just Buffalo’s In Gratitude project has invited participants across Western New York to explore gratitude through workshops, creative activities, public programs, and community. The June 27 celebration brings these experiences together in one gathering on the Buffalo waterfront.

The afternoon’s activities include:

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Stitch Buffalo’s Positive Graffiti, an interactive community art installation

Konbini Buffalo

Fat Daddy’s food vendor

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Ross Gay Gratitude Walk, a guided exploration of the Silo City grounds led by Ross Gay

Bubbles, Breath & Delight with Jessie Mancuso of Uniquely Yourself

The Gratitude Walk offers participants a rare opportunity to experience Silo City alongside Gay, whose celebrated books The Book of Delights and The Book of More Delights have inspired readers nationwide to cultivate attention, joy, and appreciation for everyday life. Participation is limited to 40 people and requires advance registration.

4:40 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Community Reading featuring selections from Buffalo’s collective archive of gratitude

5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Ross Gay Book Signing

The event takes place at Silo City, one of Buffalo’s most iconic cultural landmarks and home to the Silo City Reading Series.

The event is free and open to the public. Advance registration for the Ross Gay Gratitude Walk is encouraged due to limited capacity.

For more information and registration details, visit JustBuffalo.org.

Saturday, June 27, 4 p.m.: Pure Ink “Anything Goes!”Poetry Slam in Bidwell Park, a monthly, two-round spoken word and poetry slam competition series 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. Sign up is from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Open mic and slam starts at 6:30. $5 for slammers, free for spectators. Cash prize for the winner. Visit the website www.pureinkpoetry.com for more information. Bidwell Park at Elmwood Ave. (near Caffe Aroma).

Saturday, June 27, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Silo City Reading Series featuring poets Ross Gay and City of Buffalo poet laureate Aitina Fareed-Cooke (performing as A.I. the Anomaly) in the first Silo City Reading Series event of the summer of 2026.

About the Poets

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which (Cavankerry Press, 2006); Bringing the Shovel Down (Pitt Poetry Series, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011); Be Holding (Pitt Poetry Series, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020), winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015), winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. In addition to his poetry, Ross has released three collections of essays—The Book of Delights was released in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller; Inciting Joy was released in 2022, and his newest collection, The Book of (More) Delights was released in September of 2023.

Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015) is the book of poems that is the inspiration for Just Buffalo Literary Center’s ongoing In Gratitude Project.

Aitina Fareed-Cooke is an accomplished creative arts strategist who has developed a strong reputation for her work with a diverse range of creatives, entrepreneurs, educators, and emerging artists. With a wide range of artistic skills encompassing poetry, creative writing, photography, film, music, and graphic design, Aitina has provided creative services to tens of thousands of individuals, including youth, educators, and nonprofit organizations. Known for her exceptional creative problem-solving abilities, Aitina’s expertise has proven invaluable in delivering innovative solutions tailored to the specific needs of each project, making her a highly sought-after professional in the industry.

Aitina earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Masters in Science & Education from Buffalo State University. With an extensive career spanning nearly 20 years, Aitina has worked with numerous non-profit organizations, companies, artists and entrepreneurs throughout the country. During this time, she has successfully developed, managed, and implemented arts and education programs, effectively mobilizing youth, emerging artists, entrepreneurs, and educators to foster growth in creative problem-solving, social awareness, and entrepreneurship.

Aitina is the Founder and Creative Director at Get Fokus’d Productions, an award-winning Creative Media Arts company. As a nationally recognized recording artist, Aitina has executively produced and written 3 albums that have accumulated over 1 million streams collectively. Her work within music has earned her multiple prestigious awards and has garnered acclaim from esteemed figures in the industry, including Grammy award winners like Lecrae and Derek Minor. Additionally, she serves as a foundation board member at Buffalo State University and as a board member at CEPA Gallery. Aitina’s expertise and exceptional contributions have garnered her multiple awards, accolades, and substantial funding for a variety of creative arts projects.

Aitina has received awards, recognition, and features through NYSCA, CRNY, Citizen’s Bank, Arts Services Inc., 43North’s Ignite Buffalo, Just Buffalo, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo State University, Canisius College, the National Society of Leadership & Success, Kingdom Choice, Buffalo Urban League, NPR’s Buffalo What’s Next, WBFO, Upstart New York, Challenger News, Buffalo News, Buffalo State Alumni Magazine, National Young Audiences Emerging Leaders, DJ Booth, Rapzilla, and Trackstarz.

Aitina’s original and curatorial work has been exhibited at Buffalo State University, CEPA Gallery, Jamestown Community College, Thiel College, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo Arts Studio, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House, and the Erie County Public Library.

Silo City Reading Series events take place in Marine A grain elevator, behind Duende at Silo City, 85 Silo City Row. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the events begin at 7:30 p.m. Books by featured poets in the series will be available for purchase by Buffalo bookseller Fitz Books. As of June 1, the event is sold out. Contact www.justbuffalo.org for further information.

Saturday, June 13, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center presents Eco-Gratitude at Silo City: A Walking Workshop with Christina Vega-Westhoff.

How does our gratitude shift when we ground it in the earth? Join poet, translator, and aerialist Christina Vega-Westhoff for a morning of “Eco-Gratitude” amidst the post-industrial, natural landscape of Silo City.

As part of the city-wide In Gratitude initiative, this generative workshop invites participants to walk the Silo City grounds, practice the art of noticing among the silos, and compose reflections that celebrate our interconnectedness with the natural world.

About the Teaching Artist

Christina Vega-Westhoff is a poet, translator, choreographer, and educator living in Buffalo, NY. She is the author of Suelo Tide Cement (Nightboat, 2018). She served as translator for the bilingual Stories that Cook: Art, Memories, and Recipes / Historias que Cocinan: Arte, Recuerdos, y Recetas (Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, 2024), which features recipes, stories, and art from students, teachers, and staff associated with migrant education programs in Western New York. Her poetry has recently appeared in The Capilano Review’s Speculative Feminisms issue and Black Sun Lit’s Vestiges. Her work is currently being supported by a New York State Choreographers Initiative Grant and an Artpark Writer’s Residency. She teaches aerial dance at The Bird’s Nest Circus Arts and is a teaching artist with Just Buffalo Literary Center.

Location: Silo City (The Meadow)

Silo City, 85 Silo City, Buffalo, New York 14203
(Note: Meet outside of Duende at 11 a.m.)

Saturday, June 13, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Grand opening celebration for Lake Rats Dispatch Headquarters, Buffalo’s newest (and only) anonymous art newspaper, publisher, and print arts studio on 67 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.

The publishing house features a working print shop with an antique press, a small gallery that focuses on print-based art, and a retail space for posters, hard-to-find magazines, chapbooks, and more. The Lake Rats Dispatch is also going to be an imprint for local chapbooks and other printed materials; first up, new work from from long-time friend and print advocate, Kevin Thurston.

The grand opening will showcase woodblock prints from Sudi Wang, the first chapbook launch on the Lake Rats imprint by Kevin Thurston, and music from local folk singer Tyler Bagwell. Kevin will read from his work around 8pm, music to follow.

Refreshments will be provided; books and artwork will be for sale. For more info or questions, email lakeratsdispatch@gmail.com.

Location: 67 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14201.

Tuesday, June 2, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center presents Teachers ARE Writers with Luke Daly (An In Gratitude Session).

This creative writing workshop will provide a dedicated space for teachers and educators to reconnect with their own creative practices. This session is inspired by the Just Buffalo Literary Center’s In Gratitude project—a city-wide initiative rooted in the “serious noticing” of everyday joy.

Through guided prompts and collaborative discussion, attendees will explore how the craft of gratitude can serve as a restorative tool for educators. This is a time take creative risks and contribute your own reflections to our growing gratitude archive. Come explore your own writing in a supportive environment designed to celebrate the small wonders of being alive.

Free & open to all educators. This workshop is FREE and aimed at teachers. BPS teachers can register on PGS; non-BPS teachers register by emailing Molly Eldridge at MEldridge@buffaloschools.org

About the Teaching Artist

Luke Daly writes and lives in Buffalo, NY, where Lake Erie ends and the Niagara River begins. His work can be found in Subtropics, Basalt, Poetry City USA, and Ghost City Review. He teaches full time as a senior lecturer in Rochester Institute of Technology’s University Writing Program.

Just Buffalo Literary Center, 468 Washington Street, 2nd Floor, Buffalo, NY 14203

Wednesday, June 3, 6:30 p.m.: Spoken word poetry open mic and community fund-raiser for J.B. Stone as he prepares for towards his travel, and accommodation expenses as heads to Orlando, FL to represent Buffalo at the 34th Annual Southern Fried Poetry Slam Festival, one of the largest and longest slam poetry festivals in the world, with nearly 200 poets from across the U.S. competing.

Joining Stone with be spoken word performers Bianca L. McGraw, Vonetta Rhodes and

Ashley M. Hardy. Donations will be encouraged and copies of Stone’s chapbook Fireflies And Hand Grenades (Bottlecap Press 2022) will be available for sale.

Em Tea Coffee Cup Café, 80 Oakgrove Ave, Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, June 3, 7:30 p.m.: CFI Literary Café Series reading hosted by poet Ryki Zuckerman and featuring poet Geoffrey Gatza. Ten additional reading slots available. Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Rd., Amherst. Free and open to the public. Free and open to the public.

About the Poet

Geoffrey Gatza is the author of the poetry collections The House of Forgetting (2012), Apollo: A Conceptual Poem (2014), A Dog Lost in the Brick City of Outlawed Trees (2018) and Self Geofferential (2025). This poem appears in his new collection The Night is a Bridge (2026), a chapbook published by Silver Locust Press.

Gatza’s poems have been published in anthologies, as well as magazines and journals including Fence, Tarpaulin Sky, The Pickled Body, Peach Mag, Tupelo Quarterly and various others. His play on Marcel Duchamp was staged in an art installation in Philadelphia and performed in New York City.

He is also an award-winning editor, publisher and poet, the driving force behind BlazeVOX, an independent press located in Buffalo, NY, specializing in innovative fictions and contemporary poetry.

Friday, June 5, 7 p.m.: Book launch, talk and signing for novelist Terez Peipins, author of Budapest Clues, her fifth novel, and third in her Dan Kiraly mystery series.

Artspace Buffalo Gallery, 1219 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14209-2150.

The University at Buffalo Poetics Program and Just Buffalo Literary Center will celebrate the legacy of Buffalo’s beloved poet Robert Creeley (1926-2005) on the centenary of his birth on May 21st and May 22nd in Buffalo with FOR LOVE: A Centenary Symposium for Robert Creeley(1926-2005), a celebration of the life and work of Buffalo’s revered poet Robert Creeley sponsored by the UB Poetics Program.

The events in the celebration will include:

Symposium Evening 1: Studies in Creeley — Performances, Editions, Artist Books, Films at the Auditorium of the Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222.

6 p.m.: Talks on Creeley in the arts by Jason Camlot, Alexandra Gold, & Benjamin Friedlander moderated by Stephen Fredman.

7:30 p.m.: Public Reception in the Burchfield-Penney

8:15 p.m.: Creeley on film, including works by Grayson Goga & Grace Halley, Bruce Jackson & Diane Christian, Robert Haller, & others in collaboration with Black Rock Arts.

Symposium Evening 2: “Creeley as Colleague, Collaborator, Teacher, Mentor, Poet” for a roundtable discussion with Charles Bernstein, Elizabeth Willis, Kyle Schlesinger, Aaron Lowinger, Benjamin Friedlander, Isaac Jarnot, and Joseph Conte at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 22nd at UB Anderson Gallery, 1 Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo, NY 14214.

At 7 p.m., a reception will follow.

At 8 p.m. the evening will continue with a series of community readings and reminiscences about Creeley in Buffalo sponsored by the Poetics Program in collaboration with Just Buffalo Literary Center. All the events are free and open to the public.

About the Robert Creeley

Robert White Creeley (1926-2005) is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential American poets of the twentieth century. Most often associated with the Black Mountain School, Creeley’s work formed a bridge between the modernist poets of the early 20th century and the several generations of innovative poets and poetics that followed him.

Creeley joined the faculty at the University at Buffalo at the invitation of Charles Olson in 1967 at a time when SUNY-Buffalo’s English Department had already defined itself as a bastion for poets, writers, and critics rather than traditional academic literary scholars. Creeley furthered the UB English Department’s international reputation in co-founding the Poetics Program in 1991 with Charles Bernstein, Susan Howe, Raymond Federman, and Dennis Tedlock.

Creeley published more than sixty books of poetry, fiction, and criticism in the United States and abroad, including If I Were Writing This (New Directions, 2003); Just in Time: Poems 1984–1994 (New Directions, 2001); Life & Death (New Directions, 1998); Echoes (New Directions, 1994); Selected Poems 1945–1990 (University of California Press, 1991); Memory Gardens (Marion Boyars Publishing, 1986); Mirrors (New Directions, 1983); The Collected Poems of Robert Creeley, 1945–1975 (University of California Press, 1982); Later (New Directions, 1979); The Finger (Black Sparrow Press, 1968); and For Love: Poems 1950–1960 (Scribner, 1962).

Creeley’s honors include the Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award, the Frost Medal, the Shelley Memorial Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Rockefeller Foundation grant, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation. In 1999, Yale University awarded Creeley its biennial Bollingen Prize in recognition of his lifetime achievement in American Poetry.

Creeley served as New York state poet laureate from 1989 to 1991 and as the Samuel P. Capen Professor of Poetry and Humanities at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 1999.

His contributions to the wider Western New York community are incalculable. Though never officially named Buffalo’s Poet Laureate, Creeley was a defining voice in the Buffalo writing community for nearly forty years. In fact, one could easily say that Just Buffalo Literary Center and the entire robust Buffalo area poetry scene we have today would not exist were it not for Robert Creeley’s poetry and his influence on this community.

Wednesday, May 13, 6 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center and the Western New York Book Arts Center present an In Gratitude Journal Making Workshop, part of the city-wide In Gratitude project.

Learn about the art of bookbinding and work with a Book Arts teaching artist to up-cycle make-ready prints and other hand-printed ephemera into a dedicated Gratitude Journal, crafted by hand. No prior bookmaking experience necessary.

468 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY 14203

Wednesday, May 13, 6 p.m to 8 p.m.: POETRY & PERFORMANCE CLASS with poet and teaching artist J.B. Stone.

The evening will start out with poetics as a lecture, featuring some of J.B. Stone’s finest poems both for the stage and page, followed by a series of writing prompts that will give audience members a chance to generate their own work.

About the Teaching Artist:

J.B. Stone is a neurodivergent/autistic spoken word poet, writer, editor, playwright, and critic from Brooklyn, NY now living in Buffalo, NY. They are the author of three chapbooks, including their most recent work, Fireflies And Hand Grenades (Bottlecap Press 2022).

Stone is the Editor-In-Chief/Reviews Editor at Variety Pack and also reads for Uncharted Magazine & Split Lip Magazine. Nominated for Best Small Fictions and Best of the Net, their work has appeared or is forthcoming in over 60 print and online publications.

Stone has showcased and performed his poetry all over U.S. & Canada. In November of 2023, Stone performed this poem inspired by Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” as part of the Whitman on Walls! exhibition at the Burchfield Penney Art Center sponsored by the Calamus Project and the Ujima Theatre Company.

Art’s Café, Springville Center for the Arts, 5 East Main Street, Springville, New York 14141.

Thursday, May 14, 7 p.m.: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: The Buffalo Corner Reading Series presents its annual Mystery Night reading and discussion guest hosted by novelist Gary Earl Ross (Nickle City/Gideon Rimes Series) and featuring fiction writers Terez Peipens (The Dan Kiraly Series), Lissa Marie Redmond (The Cold Case Series), historical fiction writer Stephen Eoannou ( author of After Pearl, Yesteryear, and Rook), and Catherine D’Agostino (author of Tangled Vines, and Braided Lies: A Thousand Islands Castle Mystery).

A cheese and wine reception will follow.

Congregation Shir Shalom, 4660 Sheridan Drive, Amherst.

Friday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Black Rock Arts presents the opening of There’s Things (an exhibition for / about / around Robert Creeley), opening with a reception beginning at 5 p.m. in the gallery at 43 Hamilton Street, Buffalo 14207

Through works of homage, interpretation and remembrance, There’s Things pays tribute to one of our most important and influential poets on the occasion of his 100th birthday. The exhibition includes contributions from over a dozen artists, several of whom worked in direct response to Creeley’s writing and biography to create new works especially for There’s Things.

Participating artists include Gardner Astalos, Anthony Bannon, Zi Daniel, Chris Fritton, Bobbie Louise Hawkins, Alexa Kanarowski, Liv Long, T. Mitchell, Denny Moers, Richard Seehausen, Trudy Stern & Michael Morgulis, Tyrone Williams & Mirabo Press and Buffalo Correspondance School.

Additionally, a free screening of Creeley-related films will be presented in the gallery on Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m. The program will feature Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian’s documentary CREELEY and select experimental films from artists of Creeley’s “company.”

There’s Things is part of a Buffalo-wide celebration of Creeley’s life and work already underway. Featured programs include:

Echo[es]: traces in a grid, an exhibition of visual poetry and typewriter art generated through a series of talks and workshops organized by UB Art Galleries and led by poet and artist Diego Espíritu.

Onward! A Centennial Celebration of Robert Creeley, an exhibition of rare books, broadsides and ephemera at UB Poetry Collection.

Robert Creeley: Active Complement, an exhibition at UB CFA Galleries exploring Creeley’s varied approaches to collaborative art making.

Community Creeley Reading Group, hosted by UB Poetics Program & Just Buffalo Literary Center at Fitz Books.

Creeley Listening Station, a program of Creeley audio recordings curated by Dr. Chris Mustazza, Co-Director of the PennSound Archive.

All I ever wanted was a place: A Centennial Celebration of Robert Creeley, opening May 21 at Buffalo AKG Art Museum.

A Buffalo Remembrance of Robert Creeley, Just Buffalo’s community remembrance project inviting members of the public to share memories and tributes about Creeley.

For Love: A Centenary Symposium for Robert Creeley, organized by UB Poetics Department, kicking off on May 21 (Creeley’s birthday) at the Burchfield Penney and continuing the following day at UB Anderson Gallery. Among the activities planned are a panel on contemporary Creeley studies, a roundtable with Creeley’s former colleagues and students, exhibition talks and walk-throughs, a film program curated by Black Rock Arts, and a community reading co-organized with Just Buffalo to share favorite Creeley poems and personal reminiscences.

Photo: David Landrey reads from Consciousness Suite Wednesday at The Center for Inquiry

Wednesday, May 6, 7 p.m.: Buffalo, Books & Beer presents “FOUR BITES: WHERE TO EAT IN BUFFALO” by Andrew Galarneau.

Andrew Galarneau, author of FOUR BITES: WHERE TO EAT IN BUFFALO, 2026 EDITION, is a former Buffalo News food editor and restaurant critic. He currently operates as a food guru under his own multiplatform banner, Four Bites, on Substack, TikTok, Instagram, and X.

With his book, Galarneau has compiled a guide that spotlights 165 locally-owned restaurants, bakeries, and food stores that make “Buffalo one of the best eating cities, dollar for dollar, in America.”

Location: The Place, 229 Lexington Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222-1717

Wednesday, May 6, 7:30 p.m.: CFI Literary Café Series reading hosted by poet Ryki Zuckerman and featuring poet David Landrey. Ten additional reading slots available. Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Rd., Amherst. Free and open to the public.

About the Poet

David Landrey is the author of Consciousness Suite, (Spuyten Duyvil, 2008), Psyche & Ares, (Fairfield Press, 2016), Intermezzi To Divorce Poems and Dinner Table Scenes, (Jensen Daniels 2002), and other books.

A former student of Charles Olson at the University of Buffalo in the early 1960’s and Fulbright teaching scholar in Turkey, he taught literature and American postmodern poetry at SUNY Buffalo State University for over 35 years. His immersive style of teaching, focused primarily on Nineteenth Century and Post-Modern American Literature and letters, inspired his students to live in and through the works he introduced them to and taught; not just as works of art to be analyzed, but dimensions of consciousness required to be explored, opening minds and hearts to alternative and deeply humanist modes of understanding and navigating the myriad passages and experiences of life.

Friday, May 8, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “The Intersect Gala,” a fundraiser at Duende in Silo City organized by Intersect’s Performer Selection Committee of Intersect: A Pride Arts Festival.

This event will support and broaden the arts and entertainment budget for Intersect’s Pride Arts Festival in June.

The program: An evening of burlesque. A snapping dash of poets. An exclusive raffle from a variety of local businesses & arts institutions. And displays by vendors, live drawings by Fat Chance, and DJ DirtyWifi.

Performances by:

Dollie Duhh

Sunya Steel

Lookie Lou

SugaTush

Eevee Es’tetaz

Gendr01d

Blue Darlin’

Poets:

Nati

Juniper Thunders The Dharma Dyke

Fawn Iris Astrid Thunders

Jazz De Nero

Doors @ 7 p.m. Show @ 8 p.m.
18+

Presale tickets are $15.

$20 on the day of the event.

Saturday, May 9, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center presents Eco-Gratitude at Silo City: A Walking Workshop with Christina Vega-Westhoff.

How does our gratitude shift when we ground it in the earth? Join poet, translator, and aerialist Christina Vega-Westhoff for a morning of “Eco-Gratitude” amidst the post-industrial, natural landscape of Silo City.

As part of the city-wide In Gratitude initiative, this generative workshop invites participants to walk the Silo City grounds, practice the art of noticing among the silos, and compose reflections that celebrate our interconnectedness with the natural world.

About the Teaching Artist

Christina Vega-Westhoff is a poet, translator, choreographer, and educator living in Buffalo, NY. She is the author of Suelo Tide Cement (Nightboat, 2018). She served as translator for the bilingual Stories that Cook: Art, Memories, and Recipes / Historias que Cocinan: Arte, Recuerdos, y Recetas (Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, 2024), which features recipes, stories, and art from students, teachers, and staff associated with migrant education programs in Western New York. Her poetry has recently appeared in The Capilano Review’s Speculative Feminisms issue and Black Sun Lit’s Vestiges and her work is currently being supported by a New York State Choreographers Initiative Grant and an Artpark Writer’s Residency. She teaches aerial dance at The Bird’s Nest Circus Arts and is a teaching artist with Just Buffalo Literary Center.

Location: Silo City (The Meadow)

Silo City, 85 Silo City, Buffalo, New York 14203
(Note: Meet outside of Duende at 11 a.m.)

Tuesday, April 28, 7 p.m. to 8:45 pm: Burning Books presents its monthly heARTBurn Civic Arts meet-up, curated and hosted by poet, teaching artist, and activist Robin Jordan.

Location: Burning Books, 420 Connecticut St., Buffalo, NY. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, April 29, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: Reading & Discussion: Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude With poet and photographer Joshua Thermidor.

Just Buffalo Literary Center presents an evening dedicated to “serious noticing.” As part of their city-wide In Gratitude project, poet and teaching artist Joshua Thermidor will lead a discussion into Ross Gay’s National Book Critics Circle Award-winning collection, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. Whether you are a lifelong reader of Gay’s work or picking up the book for the first time, we will explore Gay’s open-hearted, lyrical lines and discuss how the simple act of naming our delights can become a radical tool for connection.

About the Teaching Artist

Joshua Thermidor is a writer and visual artist of the Haitian diaspora who believes in the dissolution of empire and the total liberation of all oppressed people.

His photographs have appeared in TIME, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and NBC News. His poems and prose have appeared in River Styx, The Seventh Wave, Spotlights: Habibi Funk Print and elsewhere.He currently serves as Editor of Creative Nonfiction at Brink Literary and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Location: Duende at Silo City

85 Silo City Row Buffalo, NY 14203

Website:

https://duendesilo.city/

First 5 people to register receive a free copy of Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. Copies of Ross Gay’s books can be found at independent bookstores across Buffalo.

Friday, May 1, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.: In Gratitude Pop-up with poet Jillian Hanesworth. Join Buffalo’s first poet laureate Jillian Hanesworth at the Buffalo AKG art Museum’s Town Square for some reflection and writing.

As part of Just Buffalo Literary Center’s city-wide In Gratitude initiative, this session invites you to slow down and compose your own reflections in a shared creative space. Participants are encouraged to contribute their writing to our community “In Gratitude” boxes—including the one that will be on-site at the Buffalo AKG Aty Museum.

About the poet

Jillian Hanesworth is inaugural Poet Laureate of Buffalo, NY, a community organizer, author and award winning spoken word artist. She was born and raised on the East side of Buffalo, NY where she discovered and honed in on her passion for art and literature. Jillian began writing at the age of 7, when she would write songs for her mother to sing in church. Currently, Jillian is a teaching artist as well as the founder of Literary Freedom, LLC where she uses spoken word and literacy access to empower communities to create and demand sustainable change.

Buffalo AKG Art Museum

1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222

Website:

https://buffaloakg.org

Friday, May 1, 7:30 p.m.: Fitz Books & Waffles will host the Book Release Party for Joe Hall’s new full-length collection of poems, Buffalo Free Rapid Transit (Black Ocean Books, 2026) with friends and artists Patrick Cray, Amy De’Ath, Jake Reber, and Cheryl Quimba reading and/or performing in celebration of the book launch.

About The Poet

Joe Hall is the author of six books: Buffalo Free Rapid Transit (Black Ocean, 2026); People Finder, Buffalo (Cloak, 2024); Fugue and Strike (Black Ocean, 2023); Someone’s Utopia (Black Ocean, 2018); The Devotional Poems (Black Ocean, 2013); and Pigafetta Is My Wife (Black Ocean, 2010).

With Chad Hardy, he co-authored The Container Store Vols I & II (2012). With Cheryl Quimba, he co-authored the chapbook May I Softly Walk (2014). Hall has performed and delivered talks nationally at universities, living rooms, squats, and/or rivers in most of the 50 states as well as Canada and Washington, DC. He participates in Hostile Books, a publishing collective dedicated to radical materiality, with Ryan Kaveh Sheldon and Angela Veronica Wong.

Hall is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at St. Bonaventure University. He has taught community based creative writing workshops through the Worker Center in Buffalo and Just Buffalo Literary Center. His college teaching experience includes all levels of undergraduate creative writing and environmental literature. He is frequently amazed by his students.

In 2018, Hall received a PhD in Literature from the University at Buffalo, SUNY upon completion of his dissertation on liquid commons in eighteenth-century literature. The Journal of Post Colonial Studies and Eighteenth-Century Fiction have published his articles on literature, water, waste, and imperialism. His essays and reviews have appeared in Annulet, Terrain.org, The Colorado Review, and Fence Digital. His current research project involves settler colonial aesthetics in modern American ecopoetics.

Tuesday, April 21, 7 p.m.: The Canisius College Contemporary Writers Series will present a reading by and question-and-answer session with Marcus Jackson in the Grupp Fireside Lounge of the Richard E. Winter Student Center, 80 Hughes Avenue Buffalo, NY 14208. The event is free and open to the public.

ABOUT THE POET

Marcus Jackson was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. After earning his BA at the University of Toledo, he continued his poetry studies in NYU’s graduate creative writing program and as a Cave Canem fellow.​

His poems have appeared in The American Poetry Review, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine, among other publications. His chapbook, Rundown, was published by Aureole Press in 2009. His debut full-length collection of poems, entitled Neighborhood Register, was released in 2011, and his second book-length collection, Pardon My Heart, was published by TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press in 2018.

Marcus lives with his wife and child in Columbus, Ohio and teaches in the MFA programs at Ohio State and Queens University of Charlotte. He read in Just Buffalo Center’s Silo City Reading Series in 2018.

Thursday, April 23, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Ansie Baird will be the featured reader at the next Kenmore Village Improvement Society Open Mic Night curated and hosted by BlazeVOX Books publisher Geoffrey Gatza at the KVIS/Made for Good Shop, 7 Warren Avenue (near Delaware Ave.) in Kenmore, NY. Additional reading slots are available. The event is free and open to the public.

Ansie Baird is the author of three full-length collections of poetry, In Advance Of All Parting, winner of the White Pine Press Poetry Prize in 2009, The Solace of Islands (BlazeVOX Books, 2016), and Porch Watch (Foundlings Press, 2019). She taught and served as poet-in-residence at Buffalo Seminary for 40 years, and is also a former co-editor of both Audit and Earth’s Daughters magazines. Her work has been published in The Paris Review, The Southern Review, Poetry Northwest, and numerous other journals.

Thursday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Series talk by and discussion with Imani Perry.

MacArthur genius and National Book Award winner Imani Perry talks about her new book, Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People. Blending history, art, and personal reflection, Perry illuminates the forces that have shaped American life and the Black imagination through the color blue—from indigo cloth to blues music.

Born just nine years after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow Imani Perry was instilled from an early age with a strong instinct for justice and progressive change. The rich interplay between history, race, law, and culture continues to inform her work as a critically-acclaimed author and professor of studies of women, gender and sexuality and of African and African American studies at Harvard University.

Perry’s work reflects the deeply complex history of Black thought, art, and imagination. Her latest book, Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People, is a surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue and its fascinating role in Black history and culture from indigo to Louis Armstrong and beyond.

Her National Book Award-winning book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, is a narrative journey through the American South, in which Perry asserts that if we do indeed want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Her book Breathe: A Letter to My Sons explores the terror, grace, and beauty of coming of age as a Black person in contemporary America and what it means to parent our children in a persistently unjust world.

In each of her previous works, Perry endeavors to apply the lessons of modern history to our present struggle, whether to challenge or to celebrate. Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry is a revealing biography of one of the most gifted and charismatic—yet least understood—Black artists and intellectuals of the twentieth century; May We Forever Stand traces the history of the Black National Anthem; More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of Racial Inequality in the United States is an examination of contemporary practices of racial inequality that persist despite formal declarations of racial equality; Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation is a work of critical theory that traces the thread of modern patriarchy from the transatlantic slave trade and the age of conquest through the present day; Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop engages with the artistry, politics, and culture of hip hop.

Perry’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, and Harper’s, among other publications. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from Harvard University, a JD from Harvard Law School, an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from Yale College in Literature and American Studies.

In her talk and conversation with Just Buffalo Artistic Director Barbara Cole, Perry will discuss how in America the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue.

Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo. $48.
Visit

https://www.justbuffalo.org/

for tickets to the event, which also include an online livestreaming option.

Friday, April 24, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: 4th Friday Poetry Series featuring Buffalo-based poet Lynne Ciesielski, author of the recent poetry collection My Spanglish Es Impeccable. Additional reading slots available. Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Rd., Buffalo. $5.

Saturday, April 25, 5 p.m.: Pure Ink Poetry presents Lyric +Verse, the poetry of Pure Ink’s season at the Ruben Santiago-Hudson Fine Arts Center of Global Concepts Charter High School, 168 Roland Street in Lackawanna, NY. Admission is $10. For additional information, visit pureinkpoetry.com.

Wednesday, April 15, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm: Reading & Discussion: Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude with poet Joshua Thermidor.

Join Just Buffalo Literary Center for an evening dedicated to “serious noticing.” As part of our city-wide In Gratitude project, poet and teaching artist Joshua Thermidor will lead a discussion into Ross Gay’s National Book Critics Circle Award-winning collection, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. Whether you are a lifelong reader of Gay’s work or picking up the book for the first time, we will explore Gay’s open-hearted, lyrical lines and discuss how the simple act of naming our delights can become a radical tool for connection. First 5 people to register receive a free copy of Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. Copies of Ross Gay’s books can be found at independent bookstores across Buffalo.

Joshua Thermidor is a writer and visual artist of the Haitian diaspora who believes in the dissolution of empire and the total liberation of all oppressed people.

His photographs have appeared in TIME, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and NBC News. His poems and prose have appeared in River Styx, The Seventh Wave, Spotlights: Habibi Funk Print and elsewhere. He currently serves as Editor of Creative Nonfiction at Brink Literary and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Location: Duende at Silo City

85 Silo City Row Buffalo, NY 14203

https://duendesilo.city/

Wednesday, April 15. 7 p.m.: The Screening Room Poetry Series featuring poet Veronica Jaycox. Additional reading slots available. New temporary location: The Hon. Shirley Chisholm/Audubon Library Meeting Room, 350 John James Audubon Parkway, Amherst, NY 14228. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, April 15, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Wednesday Night Live at Caffe Aroma featuring Portland, Maine based poet and publisher Kevin Bertolero.

Visiting from Portland, Maine, Bertolo will be hosting a free-to-attend writing workshop at the Caffe at Amy’s, 3234 Main St. in Buffalo from 6 pm to 7:30pm and then be the featured poet at Wednesday Night Live at Caffe Aroma at 9 p.m. in the Elmwood Village.

Kevin Bertolero is the founding publisher of both Ghost City Press and & Change Poetry. He was also a founding member of the Kettle Pond Writers’ Conference. He holds degrees in literature from Potsdam College and the University of New Hampshire, as well as an MFA from New England College. He lives in Portland, Maine.

Open mic hosted by Ben Brindise and Justin Karcher, their last as curators of the Wednesday Night Live Series, to follow. 957 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Thursday, April 16, 7 p.m.: Gunilla Theander Kester will read from her forthcoming collection Hold Me Still (Main Street Rag Publishing Company) at Congregation Shir Shalom, 2660 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY. The event is free and open to the public.

About the Author:

Swedish-born Gunilla Theander Kester is the and award-winning author and co-author of seven books, including her most recent collection of poems Hold Me Still to be published in July by Main Street Rag Publishing Company. Her earlier publications include If I Were More Like Myself (The Writer’s Den, 2015), two poetry chapbooks, Mysteries I-XXIII (2011) and Time of Sand and Teeth (2009) published by Finishing Line Press.

A Fulbright Scholar, she authored a study entitled Writing the Subject: Bildung and the African American Text (New York: Peter Lang, 1995, 2nd ed. 1997), and has published many articles in academic journals and anthologies. She was co-editor of The Empty Chair: Love and Loss in the Wake of Flight 3407 (2010), and The Still Empty Chair: More Writings Inspired by Flight 3407 (2011). Kester has also published numerous poems in Swedish anthologies and magazines, including Bonniers Litterära Magasin, Sweden’s most prestigious literary magazine.

Her current projects include contributions to Consequence Forum, work on another collection of poetry, and a memoir entitled Streetness Speaks. An accomplished classical guitarist, Gunilla often performs and has taught classical guitar at The Amherst School of Music.

Friday, April 17, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: The Buffalo AKG Art Museum hosts a special poetry reading by former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, who wrote two poems featured in the exhibition Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way on Friday, April 17, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Kicking off the day, local poets from Los Artistas del Barrio Buffalo will set the stage with select poetry readings from their own collections. Following the readings, Herrera will be signing copies of his books.

The event will take place in the Lipsey Auditorium of Seymour H. Knox Building and Wilson Town Square at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, 1280 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. It is free and open to the public.

Prior to the reading on Thursday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera will lead an Exhibition Walkthrough & Poetry Workshop in conjunction with the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s ongoing exhibit in which two poems of his are featured and provide the exhibit’s title. The workshop is also free and open to the public, but registration is required. Visit https://buffaloakg.org/events/ to register.

About the Author

Juan Felipe Herrera was the 21st U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015-2017, the first Latino to receive this honor. The son of migrant farm workers, he was educated at UCLA and Stanford University, and received his MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His numerous poetry collections include Everyday We Get More Illegal (City Lights Publishing, 2020) , Notes on the Assemblage (2015), 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross the Border: Undocuments 1971-2007 (2007), Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems (2008), and Border-Crosser with a Lamborghini Dream (1999), and . Notes on the Assemblage was named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Library Journal, NPR, and BuzzFeed. In addition to publishing more than a dozen collections of poetry, Herrera has written short stories, young adult novels, and children’s literature.

In 2012, Herrera was named California’s poet laureate. He has won the Hungry Mind Award of Distinction, the Focal Award, two Latino Hall of Fame Poetry Awards, and a PEN West Poetry Award. In April 2016, Herrera received the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement from the Los Angeles Times. His other honors include the UC Berkeley Regent’s Fellowship as well as fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Stanford Chicano Fellows. More recently, in 2021 he received Los Angeles Review of Books/UC Riverside Creative Writing Lifetime Achievement Award, The Poetry Society of America’s Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement in American Poetry in 2023, and in 2024 was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

He has also received several grants from the California Arts Council.

Herrera is also a performance artist and activist on behalf of migrant and indigenous communities and at-risk youth. His creative work often crosses genres, including poetry, opera, and dance theater. His children’s book, The Upside Down Boy (2000), was adapted into a musical. His books for young people have won several awards, including Calling the Doves (2001), winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award, and CrashBoomLove (1999), a novel-in-verse for young adults, which won the Americas Award. His poetry collection Half of the World in Light was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize in 2009. Herrera lives in Fresno, CA.

Friday, April 17, 5 p.m.: The University at Buffalo Poetics Plus Series and Fitz Books will present a book talk and book launch event for Mark Nowak’s … AGAIN (Coffee House Press, 2026), his new serial abecedarian documentary poem about January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol and its aftermath in America. Copies of Nowak’s new book will be available for signing. The event is free and open to the public at Fitz Books, 1462 Main Street in Buffalo.

ABOUT THE POET

Mark Nowak is a poet, writer, social critic, and labor activist whose books include Revenants (Coffee House Press, 2000), Shut Up Shut Down: Poems (Coffee House Press, 2004), Coal Mountain Elementary (Coffee House Press, 2009), and Social Poetics (Coffee House Press, 2020).

… AGAIN from Coffee House Press is Nowak’s new serial abecedarian documentary poem about January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol and its aftermath in America. Poet and critic Anne Boyer has called “...Again” a “work of structural fury.”

A native of Buffalo, NY, Nowak is a professor of English at Manhattanville College and the founding director, in collaboration with PEN America, of the Worker Writers School (https://www.workerwriters.org) an international organization which links the global working class to literary practice. He edited Coronavirus Haiku (Kenning Editions, 2021), guest-edited the “Why We Write” issue of Michigan Quarterly Review (Fall 2021), and wrote an introduction to Celes Tisdale’s When the Smoke Cleared: Attica Prison Poems and Journal (Duke University Press, 2022).

Nowak has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim and Lannan Foundations as well as the Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism from Split This Rock. He has taught at St. Catherine University and Washington College, where he also worked as the director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House. He has led poetry workshops for workers and trade unions in Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa.

Saturday, April 18, 6 p.m.: Typography of Women presents the first of five performances that are reenactments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail.

The program will consist of a dramatization and enactment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail, which he wrote while spending 11 days in a Birmingham, Alabama jail for leading a protest march seeking justice.

The creation of the letter is told through music and the voices of Dr. King (1963) and Dr. King (2021), if he were part of the BLM movement, and how t the fight for justice continues today. The program features actors John Vines and Dallas Taylor as Dr. King (1963) and Dr. King (2021). Featured musicians are actor/vocalist Mary Craig as the Historian, Michael Solo Farrow as the Troubadour/Bard, and Abdul Rahman Qadir as the percussionist. This program is made possible with support from Rigidized Metals.

Performances are Free and Open to the public. Free and accessible parking at all venues. All venues are wheelchair accessible except at the Buffalo City Ballet studios.

Dates and times are:

Saturday, April 18th, 6pm at the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor building at 119 Broadway at Elm Street, 14203 in downtown Buffalo.

Sunday, April 19th, 2:30pm, Frank E. Merriweather Library, 1324 Jefferson Avenue at E. Utica Street, 14208

Thursday, April 23rd, 7pm, St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church,

555 Northampton Street, 14208 - near Science Museum

Saturday, April 25th, 6:30pm and Sunday, April 26th, 5:30pm, Buffalo City Ballet Black Box Theater Loft, 307 Leroy Avenue, 14214, parking and entrance in the rear of the building, Main/Fillmore area.

Performers in the cast are:

John Vines, Dr. King, 1963

Dallas Taylor, Dr. King, 2021

Mary Craig, Historian & vocalist

Michael Solo Farrow, Bard & musician

Abdul-Rahman Qadir, Percussionist

This production was originally made possible by a Civil Writes grant from Just Buffalo Literary Center and is now sponsored by Rigidized Metals.

Wednesday, April 8, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Self-Publishing Panel at Art’s Café.

A discussion on self-publishing vs vanity publishing, how to market without a publishing team, and options on printing and distribution, among other topics unique to the self-publishing journey. This panel will feature local, successful authors who have all self-published: Christina Abt, PA Kane, Jeffrey J Miller, Tim Bohen, Rosanne Higgins.

5 East Main Street, Springville, New York 14141. Free and open to the public.

Thursday April 9, 7 p.m.: Book talk and discussion with Dr. Wendy Johnson, author of the new book Kinship Medicine (Penguin Books).

Dr. Wendy Johnson is a family physician, writer and activist. Her new book, Kinship Medicine is aimed at raising awareness of the deep connection between our well being and the health of the natural world. She will be joined in conversation by Elizabeth Mazzolini, Associate Professor of English at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. She is the author and editor of books and essays in the Environmental Humanities. She is currently at work on a book, American Toxic, about how the idea of toxicity has become embedded in American popular discourse.

Meet the author, get your copy signed, and enjoy an evening filled with stories, inspiration, and connection. Free and open to the public. Burning Books, 420 Connecticut St., Buffalo.

Thursday, April 9, 7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.: University at Buffalo Poetics Plus Series reading featuring Rainer Diana Hamilton and Bianca Rae Messinger.

Rainer Diana Hamilton is the author of four books: Lilacs (2025) , God Was Right (2018), The Awful Truth (2017), and Okay, Okay (2012). They were born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and they live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, with a large cat named both Monster and Emile.

Author of pleasureis amiracle (2025), Bianca Rae Messinger is a poet living in Buffalo, NY, where she also works as an interpreter and instructor. She has published many translation, is co-editor of What Happens, a journal of poets theater, and was a guest editor of the Poetry Project Newsletter, 2022-2024.

Location: Just Buffalo Literary Center, 468 Washington Street, 2nd Floor, Buffalo, NY 14203. Free and open to the public.

Friday, April 10, 5:30 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.: The Burchfield-Penny Art Center presents Poetically Speaking, a mini poetic visual series produced and directed by Buffalo Poet Laureate Aitina Fareed-Cooke (founder of Get Fokus’d Productions), will host a special screening event on Friday, April 10, 2026, as a part of M&T’s Second Friday.

The collaborative series features cinematography by Alex Rojé Felix (Earthbound Films) and Luqman Muhammad (22Reform), with photography by Kalvin Booker (Through His Lens Photography). This exclusive event brings Buffalo’s vibrant literary scene to the big screen, featuring a collection of visual poetry pieces and interviews with local writers who are shaping the city’s creative landscape. Audiences will experience the artistry of Buffalo’s poets through moving visuals, intimate storytelling, and reflections on heritage, identity, and community.

Following the screening, Aitina Fareed-Cooke will moderate a panel discussion with a selection of featured poets, offering deeper insight into their creative journeys and the inspiration behind Poetically Speaking. The conversation will explore how poetry, visual media, and community engagement intersect to amplify Buffalo’s past and present voices. Poetically Speaking shines a spotlight on Buffalo’s evolving literary legacy with the aim to honor tradition while inspiring new generations to express, connect, and create.

About the Artist:

Aitina Fareed-Cooke is the founder of Get Fokus’d Productions (GFP), an award-winning international recording artist (A.I. The Anomaly), speaker, and creative educator who serves as the Mayor-appointed Poet Laureate of Buffalo, NY. As a Creative Arts Strategist, she blends artistry and strategy to help communities and organizations use storytelling to shift narratives, challenge stereotypes, and build resilience.

Under her leadership, GFP has grown into a Buffalo-rooted digital storytelling and literary arts firm supporting early-career creatives through mentorship, real-world training, and collaboration, while partnering with mission-driven organizations to create authentic, human-first work across writing, filmmaking, photography, and digital media.

With 20+ years of experience, Aitina has impacted 20,000+ emerging creatives, raised over half a million dollars for community arts programs, and contributed as a songwriter to a Grammy-winning album. Having grown up in foster care, she found freedom through creative arts engagement and now helps others do the same.

Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Sunday, April 12, 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Robert Creeley Reading Group in conjunction with Onward! Robert Creeley Centennial Celebration.

Join us at Fitz Books on Sunday, April 12 and Sunday, May 3 for a special reading group dedicated to the poetry of Robert Creeley.As we mark 100 years since Creeley’s birth, we gather to engage directly with Creeley poems. This session will focus on a curated packet of poetry, providing space for collective reading and discussion.

Participation is free, but space is limited. Please register to receive your poetry packet in advance. This event is a featured part of Onward!, a centennial celebration honoring one of the most vital voices in American poetry and a cornerstone of Buffalo’s literary history. These Reading Group events are organized by the UB Poetics Program, as part of the official Onward! Robert Creeley Centennial Celebration.

Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14209.

Tuesday, March 31, 7 p.m. to 8:45 pm: Burning Books presents its monthly heARTBurn Civic Arts meet-up, curated and hosted by poet, teaching artist, and activist Robin Jordan.

Location: Burning Books, 420 Connecticut St., Buffalo, NY. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, April 1, 7 p.m.: Fitz Books and Just Buffalo Literary Center present listening party and discussion session for “Dilate your Heart,” the 2021 Jagjaguwar vinyl release by poet and essayist Ross Gay.

Part listening party and part critical inquiry, the evening invites participants to engage with Gay’s collaborative project—an album that “uncovers soaring joys hiding amid the shadows of sorrow.” (Indiana Public Media) Following a listening of the record, we will transition into an audience panel discussion.

This SALON is inspired by Just Buffalo Literary Center’s city-wide In Gratitude project.

SALON is a series of Performances / Presentations / Screenings at Fitz Books dedicated to elevating the cultural discourse in Buffalo, New York. Free and open to the public.

Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St., Buffalo, NY.

Wednesday, April 1, 7:30 p.m.: CFI Literary Café Series reading hosted by poet Ryki Zuckerman and featuring poet Jennifer Campbell. Ten additional reading slots available. Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Rd., Amherst. Free and open to the public.

About the poet:

Jennifer Campbell is a writing professor at ECC North, where she received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities. She was a long-time curator of the Center for Inquiry Literary Café series and volunteered as a co-editor of Earth’s Daughters for 19 years.

Jennifer has two full-length poetry collections, Supposed to Love (Saddle Road Press, 2013) and Driving Straight Through (FootHills, 2008), along with a chapbook of reconstituted fairytale poems called What Came First (Dancing Girl Press, 2021). Jennifer’s work has recently appeared in Freshwater, Clockhouse, Literary Heist, and Blood Tree Literature, and is forthcoming in Slipstream, The Healing Muse, and The TONIC.

Thursday, April 2, 5 p.m.: SUNY Fredonia will welcome 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo as its Williams Distinguished Visiting Professor.
State University of New York at Fredonia, 280 Central Ave., Fredonia, NY 14063.

Ms. Harjo will give a talk in the Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall at 5 p.m. and then attend a reception at the Cathy and Jesse Marion Art Gallery in Rockefeller Arts Center, where her portrait and poem are included in B.A. Van Sise’s exhibit, “Children of Grass: A Portrait of American Poetry,” that features many of the most renowned poets working today.

Both events are free and open to the public. Tickets are required for the talk, and a 2-ticket limit per person has been set. They are available at the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center, online, and by phone at (716) 673-3501. Please note there is a $6 service fee per order for online and phone sales only, and a 2-ticket limit per order.

About Joy Harjo:

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1951, Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is the author of eleven collections of poetry, the most recent of which are Weav­ing Sun­down in a Scar­let Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years (W.W. Norton, 2022) and An Amer­i­can Sun­rise (W.W. Norton, 2019), as well as several plays and children’s books, and two memoirs, Crazy Brave: A Memoir (W.W. Norton, 2012) and Poet Warrior (W.W. Norton, 2021). Harjo is also the editor of Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples Poetry ( W.W. Norton), a volume assembled from poems she collected as poet laureate.

Harjo was appointed the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States in 2019 and served through 2022, becoming just the second poet to serve three consecutive terms. Among Harjo’s many honors and awards are Yale University’s 2023 Bollin­gen Prize for Amer­i­can Poet­ry, a Life­time Achieve­ment Award from Amer­i­cans for the Arts, the Ruth Lily Prize for Life­time Achieve­ment from the Poet­ry Foun­da­tion, the Acad­e­my of Amer­i­can Poets Wal­lace Stevens Award, a PEN USA Lit­er­ary Award, the Poets & Writ­ers Jack­son Poet­ry Prize, two NEA fel­low­ships, a Guggen­heim Fel­low­ship, the Nation­al Book Crit­ics Cir­cle Ivan San­drof Life­time Achieve­ment Award, the Poetry Society of America’s 2024 Frost Medal and the National Humanities Medal.

She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she is the first artist-in-residence at the Bob Dylan Center.

Saturday, April 4, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Intermediate Stab Bookbinding Class led by Kate Stapleton Parzych at the Western New York Book Arts Center.

Learn to make your own journals and hand-bound soft cover books – Part 2 of an ongoing series. Stab Binding is a simple and beautiful bookbinding technique, with a variety of stitches ranging from simple to more advanced. Intermediate stitching techniques will include Kikko Toji (Tortoise Shell) and Asa-No-Ha Toji (Hemp Leaf), participants will cover stitches of Japanese origin. They will leave class with up to 3 hand-bound books of varying stitches. This class is intended to build upon our “Stab Bookbinding Basics Class” as a prerequisite for this class, though interested participants with former bookbinding experience are also welcome in this workshop.

Things to note:

• Makers of all skill levels are welcome. This class is suitable for ages teen+.

• All necessary tools and materials to participate are provided.

• Please read our ‘Plan Your Visit’ page to review our health & safety procedures.

Any questions about the class please email curious@wnybookarts.org
$50 to $60 to attend. Pre-registration required.
Western New York Book Arts Center, 468 Washington St., Buffalo, NY 14203.

Wednesday, March 25, 7 p.m.: The Screening Room Series co-hosted by Kevin Koch and Ida Goeckel and featuring poet Jessica Lowell Mason.

About the Author

Jessica Lowell Mason is an instructor with the Bard Prison Initiative, an adjunct instructor at Niagara University and the University at Buffalo, and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies, a teaching artist at Just Buffalo Literary Center, and research assistant with the Center for Disability Studies at the University at Buffalo. Her first book of poetry, Straight Jacket, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2019. Her latest book is A New Flora: Sapphic Poems from the Garden of Lesbos published in December of 2025 by Finishing Line Press.

Additional reading slots available. Clearfield Branch Library Meeting Room on 770 Hopkins Road, Williamsville, NY 14221.

Thursday, March 26, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Joe Todaro will be the featured reader at the next Kenmore Village Improvement Society Open Mic Night curated and hosted by BlazeVOX Books publisher Geoffrey Gatza at the KVIS/Made for Good Shop, 7 Warren Avenue (near Delaware Ave.) in Kenmore, NY. Additional reading slots are available. The event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Series talk by and discussion with Tara Westover. Westover’s memoir Educated—a #1 New York Times bestseller for over two years—has transfixed readers with its unforgettable story of self-invention. Born to survivalists in rural Idaho, Westover didn’t set foot in a classroom until she was 17 but went on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University and become an internationally celebrated author.

About the book, from Penguin Random House:

Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

About the author:

TARA WESTOVER is an American author. Born in Idaho to a father opposed to public education, she never attended school. An older brother taught her to read, and after that her education was erratic and haphazard, with most of her days spent working in her father’s junkyard or stewing herbs for her mother. She was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. After that first encounter with education she pursued learning for a decade, graduating magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in 2008 and subsequently winning a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

In 2018, she published her memoir, Educated, which explores her struggle to reconcile her desire for education and autonomy with her desire to be loyal to her family. Educated was an instant commercial and critical success, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and remaining on the list for more than two years. It was also a finalist for several national awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The New York Times named Educated one of the 10 Best Books of 2018, and the American Booksellers Association voted it the Nonfiction Book of the Year. President Barack Obama included Educated on his annual reading list, calling it “remarkable,” and Bill Gates listed it as one of his favorite books of the year, saying, “It’s even better than you’ve heard.”

For her staggering impact, TIME Magazine named Westover one of the 100 most influential people of 2018. She was also awarded the 2021 National Humanities Medal by President Biden in a ceremony at the White House. Westover holds a PhD in intellectual history from Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 2019 she was the Rosenthal Writer in Residence at Harvard University.

In her talk and conversation with Just Buffalo Artistic Director Barbara Cole, Westover will discuss her story of resilience and the power of learning to rewrite your own script.

Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo. $48.
Visit https://www.justbuffalo.org/ for tickets to the event, which also include an online livestreaming option.

Friday, March 27, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: 4th Friday Poetry Series featuring Buffalo-based poet John McKeone. Additional reading slots available. Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Rd., Buffalo. $5.

Friday, March 27, 7:30 p.m.: University at Buffalo Poetics Plus Series reading by Aditi Machado.

Aditi Machado is a poet, translator, and essayist. Her publications include three poetry collections from Nightboat, Material Witness (2024), Emporium (2020), and Some Beheadings (2017); two book-length translations from the French, Baptiste Gaillard’s In the Realm of Motes (Roof, 2025) and Parid Tali’s Prosopopoeia Action, 2016); and several chapbooks. She is also a contributor to Katrine Øgaard Jensen’s collaborative mistranslation book project Ancient Algorithms (Sarabande, 2025). Her work appears or is forthcoming in journals like BOMB, Chicago Review, Fence, jubilat, Lana Turner, Volt, and Western Humanities Review. A recipient of the James Laughlin and The Believer Poetry Awards, she serves as an advisory poetry editor for The Paris Review and teaches at the University of Cincinnati.

Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Saturday, March 28, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Western New York Book Arts Center’s 18th Annual Edible Book Festival.

A moment of whimsy; a celebration of books, art & food; and fundraiser for free book art experiences for local youth in trying times. Western New York Book Arts Center is proud to announce our 18th Annual Edible Book Festival, to be held at 468 Washington Street in downtown Buffalo on Saturday, March 28th, 2026 from 11am-2pm. We want to know: What does your favorite book taste like?

The Edible Book Festival is a family-friendly, international festival held annually on or around April 1, inviting participants to create EDIBLE creations inspired by a book. Edible Book creations are ranked by local ‘celebrity judges’ and the winning artist chefs are awarded with surprise prizes. Then we eat our words! All are welcome to partake in eating the books after winners are announced.

This years judges are:

Geoffrey Gatza - BlazeVOX Books (author & chef)

Keith Raimondi - owner of Dapper Goose

Jessica Aherns - chef at AKG

General admission is $5 ($3 for Book Arts Members).

For additional information visit: https://wnybookarts.org/edible-book-festival-2026/

Western New York Book Arts Center, 468 Washington Street, Buffalo.

Wednesday, March 18, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Wednesday Night Live at Caffe Aroma featuring spoken word artist Irving “Team” Finks. Returning to Buffalo from Atlanta, GA, former Buffalo National Poetry Slam representative “Team”Finks will open month’s session of Wednesday Night Live . Co-founder and co-host of Living Poet Society, Buffalo’s last premiere spoken word showcase, Finks brought wordplay and an undeniable energy to stages across Buffalo. Open mic hosted by Ben Brindise and Justin Karcher to follow. 957 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Saturday, March 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Poetic Matter: Intro to Visual Poetry with poet/visual artists Robin Jordan and Diego Espíritu, a hands-on visual poetry and typewriter art class in the Western New York Book Arts Center studio. Western New York Book Center, 468 Washingto0n St, Buffalo, NY 14203.

This introductory workshop is for adults and teens who are curious about the many forms visual poetry can take: collage, blackout poetry, asemic writing, cut-ups, found poetry, and typewriter art.

Taking a detour from more traditional approaches, we’ll treat language as a material you can cut, layer, rearrange, and “build” with. Participants will create asemic poems, work with found text to make blackout pieces, assemble collages through cut-ups, experiment with letterpress impressions for concrete poetry, explore montage using real-life objects, and play with typographic layouts using typewriters.

As we make, we’ll also ask bigger questions about authorship, originality, and what it means for literature and poetry to have weight, texture, and presence on and beyond the page. The visual poems produced in the workshop will contribute to a collective zine and a digital chapbook to be shared at this year’s Zine Fest.

No formal experience is required, though some familiarity with poetry, experimental literature, or visual art may be helpful. Participants should feel comfortable trying new approaches, working both independently and with others, and engaging in open-ended creative exercises.

Things to note:

• Makers of all skill levels ages 14+ are welcome. There is no prerequisite knowledge required.

• All necessary tools to participate are provided.

• Please read our ‘Plan Your Visit’ page to review our health & safety procedures.

Any questions about the class please email curious@wnybookarts.org

Hands-on visual poetry and typewriter art class in the Book Arts studio! Po
Cost: $20 – $35, visit wnybookarts.org/event/poetic-matter-intro-to-visual-poetry/ to register or for further information..

About the teaching artists

ROBIN JORDAN

Robin Lee Jordan (she/her) is a poet/writer + multi/interdisciplinary artist + teacher + event organizer. With a spirit of community-mindedness, she enjoys inciting artistic spontaneity, multimodal collaboration, and horizontal learning exchanges. She also really likes zines and is an organizer for ZineFest. Robin wrote the chapbooks Morning Blessing Poems (Foundlings Press) and THEY ATE EACH OTHER UP (Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs). For 10 years, she ran a creative writing program for teens in Buffalo, NY and continues to celebrate and support young artists in her community.

DIEGO ESPIRITU, Volunteer Teaching Artist

Diego Espíritu (Mexico, 1990) holds a Philosophy degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and is a member of UNAM’s research and creation collective Arte+Ciencia. His work appears in Líneas en tierra. A Collection of Mexican Poems (Australian Poetry, 2019) and multiple editions of San Diego Annual Poetry. In 2022, he presented the lecture “Máquinas post-concretas: hacia una cartografía afectiva desde el arte con máquina de escribir” at the online conference Expanded Poetry: The Poetics and Politics of Repetition hosted by the Instituto de Literatura Comparada Margarida Losa at the University of Porto. He teaches the expanded literature course Máquinas Post-Concretas on typewriter art, visual, and concrete poetry. In 2021, he joined the interdisciplinary arts program LIMINAL at CEIIDA, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. He is the author of Poemas Panks para community managers (Argentina: Santos Locos, 2016; México: Mantarraya, 2017) and the strange blue incandescence of mites (Paris: .able, 2024; Mexico: Imaginaria, 2023). Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Spanish Language and Literature at the University at Buffalo, focusing on poetics and visual writing.

Sunday, March 22, 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Pure Ink Poetry Slam, a monthly, two-round spoken word and poetry slam competition series 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. Sign up is from 3 p.m. Open mic and slam starts at 3:30. $5 for slammers, $10 for spectators. Cash prize for the winner. Visit the website www.pureinkpoetry.com for more information. Location: Em Tea Coffeecup Café, 80 Oakgrove Ave., Buffalo, NY.

Thursday, March 12, 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: University at Buffalo Poetics Plus Series Lecture “beyond felt facts: documentary assemblages, nomadic translations, and global crises” by Joanna Mąkowska. UB Poetry Collection, 420 Capen Hall, Univversity at Buffalo North Campus. Free and open to the public.

Moving between the interrelated practices of poetry translation and poetics research, Mąkowska’s talk will first take up her translations into Polish of Natalie Diaz’s Postcolonial Love Poem and Claudia Rankine’s Citizen and then discuss her current book project on documentary assemblages as a form of protest and resistance.

Tracing the documentary impulse from the 1930s (Boyle, Rukeyser, Loy) to contemporary anti-war archival poetics in global context (Ammiel Alcalay and Ida Borjel), Mąkowska will also discuss how theories of montage, assemblage, and new materialism illuminate documentary literature’s polyvocal and processual nature.

Joanna Mąkowska is an assistant professor at the University of Warsaw, a literary critic, and a translator. She has translated into Polish Claudia Rankine’s Citizen and Natalie Diaz’s Postcolonial Love Poem (Ossolineum Award nominated). Her essays have appeared in Modernism/modernity, Arizona Quarterly, Women’s Studies, The Routledge Companion to Ecopoetics, and elsewhere. Having been a Fulbright Scholar at the University at Buffalo and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Duquesne University, she is currently a visiting professor at Canisius University.

Thursday, 6 p.m.: Poetry readings by Mara Beneway, Jazz De Nero, and Margaret Saigh in celebration of the Buffalo chapbook launch event for Saigh’s I’ve created a thing that will never bring me pleasure (Pitymilk Press, 2025). Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St. in Buffalo. The event is free and open to the public.

About the Poets

Mara Beneway is a writer, visual artist, and teacher from Western New York. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Bennington Review, Conduit, The Minnesota Review, Foglifter, and elsewhere. Her collection of linked flash fiction, Grandma June, won the Flume Press 2021 Chapbook competition. She holds an MFA from the University of South Florida and is currently working on her first full-length collection of poetry, DAUGHTERS OF LILITH.

Jazz De Nero is a Buffalo-based poet, visual artist, media-maker, collagist, and zinester. Her work can be found in Voicemail Poems, Perhappened Mag, Queen Mob’s Tea House, Peach Mag and numerous other publications. She was a finalist for the 2019 Write Bloody Book Publishing Contest. Her debut chapbook, You Should Have Seen The Water, was published in 2021 by Bottlecap Press. This poem appears in the chapbook, along with another poem “In the Museum” that was recorded at the Silo City Reading Series in 2021 and appears on Just Buffalo Literary Center’s YouTube Channel.

Margaret Saigh is the author of the chapbooks I’ve created a thing that will never bring me pleasure (Pitymilk Press, 2025) and CROSSED IN THE DARKER LIGHT OF TERROR (dancing girl press 2022) as well as other chapbooks. She is the creator of circlet, a poetry workshop and reading series. Her writing has been published widely in print and across the web. She received an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. Saigh is also a teaching artist for Just Buffalo Literary Center.

Sunday, March 15, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Book launch event for My Spanglish Es Impecable (Kelsay Books) by poet Lynn Ciesielski. Pucho Olivencia Community Center, 261 Swan St, Buffalo, NY 14204-2051

The evening will feature a reading with Lynn Ciesielski accompanied by Michael Mendoza on Spanish guitar, book sale, book signing, and sales of her new book, My Spanglish Es Impecable. Free and open to the public. Food and beverage available for purchase through the center.

Wednesday, March 4, 7:30 p.m.: CFI Literary Café Series reading hosted by poet Ryki Zuckerman and featuring poets Carol Mikoda and Ruth Robson. Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Rd., Amherst. Free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 5, 6:30 p.m.: Bilingual Poetry Reading featuring Santiago Acosta and Diego Espiritu. Burning Books, 420 Connecticut St., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

About the poets:

Santiago Acosta is Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Yale University. He works on modern and contemporary Latin American literature and visual arts, with a focus on cultural responses to extractivism, petroleum economies, and environmental crisis. His research combines approaches from cultural studies, political economy, and environmental theory.

His book manuscript, We Are Like Oil: An Ecology of the Venezuelan Culture Boom, explores how literature and the visual arts interacted with the environmental transformations of the 1970s oil boom in Venezuela. He is also co-editor of the volume Ecopoéticas y políticas ecológicas desde Abya Yala (forthcoming from Brill). From 2021 to 2023, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at SUNY Old Westbury, where he helped launch the college’s Environmental Studies program. At Yale, Acosta is a member of the Environmental Humanities Steering Committee and serves on the faculty board at The Creative Forum.

Acosta is also an award-winning poet. His collection El próximo desierto (The Coming Desert) won the José Emilio Pacheco Literature Prize “City and Nature,” awarded by the Guadalajara International Book Fair and Guadalajara’s Museum of Environmental Sciences. His selected poems appeared in 2024 with Visor Libros under the title La desesperanza (Hopelessness). He has received support from the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program and was an invited poet at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26. While in Caracas, he co-founded the poetry journal El Salmón, which won a National Book Award.

Diego Espíritu Chávez holds a Philosophy degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and is a member of UNAM’s research and creation collective Arte+Ciencia. His work appears in Líneas en tierra. A Collection of Mexican Poems (Australian Poetry, 2019) and multiple editions of San Diego Annual Poetry. In 2022, he presented the lecture “Máquinas post_concretas: hacia una cartografía afectiva desde el arte con máquina de escribir” at the online conference Expanded Poetry: The Poetics and Politics of Repetition hosted by the Instituto de Literatura Comparada Margarida Losa at the University of Porto. He teaches the expanded literature course Máquinas Post-Concretas on typewriter art, visual, and concrete poetry. In 2021, he joined the interdisciplinary arts program LIMINAL at CEIIDA, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. He is the author of Poemas Panks para community managers (Argentina: Santos Locos, 2016; México: Mantarraya, 2017) and the strange blue incandescence of mites (Paris: .able, 2024; Mexico: Imaginaria, 2023). Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Spanish Language and Literature at the University at Buffalo, focusing on poetics and visual writing.

Friday, March 6, 4 p.m.: Book talk by Ellen Carol DuBois in conjunction with the publication of her new book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life (Basic Books). Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center Cinema, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY 14202.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneering force in the fight for women’s rights, shaping the movement from the 1840s through her death in 1902. Her intellect, vision, and enduring influence on modern feminism are now brought to life in this definitive biography, published in time for Women’s History Month.

This event is free to attend and will consist of a talk and signing, with books available for purchase. Your book purchase from Talking Leaves and/or donation to Hallwalls are the best way to support this and future events.

About the author:

Ellen Carol DuBois is distinguished professor of history at UCLA. Her pioneering works on the US woman suffrage movement include Feminism and Suffrage: The Emergence of an Independent Women’s Movement in America, 1848–1869, Harriot Stanton Blatch and the Winning of Woman Suffrage, and Suffrage: Women’s Long Battle for the Vote. She spent the first two decades of her career on the Women’s Studies faculty at SUNY Buffalo. She lives in Los Angeles.

Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m.: Book and publishing discussion with Megan Walrod about her journey as a debut novelist. She’ll share behind-the-scenes stories from the making of It’s Always Been Me (published by She Writes Press in June 2025)—the surprises, challenges, and lessons learned . Then the discussion opens to your questions, potentially covering anything from writing practices to publishing paths, pre-orders to book tours, creative marketing, author websites, and more. Drawing on her experience as a copywriter and marketing coach for 16+ years, Megan will offer practical and customized insights to help guide your own author journey.

Books will be available for purchase. Springville Center for the Arts, 37 N. Buffalo St., Springville, NY 14141.