Your Poetry Menu and American Life in Poetry: Column 510

[Matt Mason]

Start this year off right, people! You know what to do:

• 12/29, M-- 7pm, Open Mic at the Moon, at Crescent Moon Coffee (140 N 8th St #10 Lower Level, Lincoln). For more information, contact cresce...@inebraska.com and check www.crescentmooncoffee.com/. (every Monday)

• 12/30, Tu-- 5-7pm, The ROUX at Love's Jazz and Art Center (2510 North 24th Street, Omaha). A youth run spoken word open mic that allows young people to freely express themselves in a safe place with community love and support. Presented by Verbal Gumbo, the Roux is the base to any good gumbo mix. Bring some young people out during their winter break to perform or just to come listen to other young folks share what's on their hearts, minds and souls. Youth groups from all over the city are welcome. Suggested donation $1. Organized by Ms. Felicia aka Withlove,Felicia. See the Facebook page for more information.

• 1/4, Su-- 7-9pm, TAPESTRIES at the Apollon (1801 Vinton St, Omaha). A showcase featuring 4 poets, spoken word artists, storytellers and rappers performing conscious edutaining original sets. (1st Sunday).

• 1/4, Su-- 9pm-1:30am, it's Shoot Your Mouth Off at The Shark Club (2808 S 72nd St, Omaha). Online sign ups on our FB 24/7 for priority stage time: facebook.com/Shootyourmouthoff. Check myspace.com/shootyourmouthoff for interviews with features and more information. Mandy Morgan and Jim Morrison will be your hosts as open mic poetry and comedy, featured readers from Omaha's slam scene and free drinks prizes await you. The best free show in Omaha! (every Sunday)

• 1/5, M-- 7pm, Open Mic at the Moon, at Crescent Moon Coffee (140 N 8th St #10 Lower Level, Lincoln). For more information, contact cresce...@inebraska.com and check www.crescentmooncoffee.com/. (every Monday)

• 1/7, W-- 8pm-12am, Acoustic Open Mic for musicians and poets at Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso (1624 South St, Lincoln). Hosted by Spencer. For more information call 402-477-2007. (every Wednesday)

• 1/10, Sa-- 7:30pm, the OM Center Poetry Slam and open mic (1216 Howard, Omaha). It's the longest-running slam in Omaha, tonight features 2011 Women of the World Poetry Slam champion Theresa Dvis. Open mic starts at 7:30 followed by the slam; sign up BEFORE 7:30 as signup is limited. Hosted by Zedeka Poindexter. $7 suggested donation. Call 402/345-5078 or go to OmahaSlam.com for more information. (2nd Saturday of every month)

• 1/11, Su-- 9pm-1:30am, it's Shoot Your Mouth Off at The Shark Club (2808 S 72nd St, Omaha). Online sign ups on our FB 24/7 for priority stage time: facebook.com/Shootyourmouthoff. Check myspace.com/shootyourmouthoff for interviews with features and more information. Mandy Morgan and Jim Morrison will be your hosts as open mic poetry and comedy, featured readers from Omaha's slam scene and free drinks prizes await you. The best free show in Omaha! (every Sunday)

• 1/12, M-- 7pm, Open Mic at the Moon, at Crescent Moon Coffee (140 N 8th St #10 Lower Level, Lincoln). For more information, contact cresce...@inebraska.com and check www.crescentmooncoffee.com/. (every Monday)

• 1/14, W-- 8pm-12am, Acoustic Open Mic for musicians and poets at Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso (1624 South St, Lincoln). Hosted by Spencer. For more information call 402-477-2007. (every Wednesday)

• 1/15, Th--7pm, Feedback Reading at KANEKO (1111 Jones St, Omaha). Nebraska State Poet Twyla Hansen and Omaha's SlamMaster Zedeka Poindexter read and discuss their work. The goal of feedback is to invigorate the audience by inviting them into the writer’s creative development, while also providing the audience the opportunity to generate their own work. See more information and register for the reading and the Saturday workshop at TheKANEKO.org. Free and open to the public.

• 1/15, Th-- 7-11pm, Verbal Gumbo with Felicia Webster and Michelle Troxclair at House of Loom (1012 S. 10th St., Omaha). $5, all ages until 9pm, 21+ after. Crabby about the political climate? Want some okra change? Just want to discuss your relationshrimps--or the andouille sausage in your life? Well, Verbal Gumbo is here with some hot, spicey flava with a side o' rice and rhythm. This is the Spoken Word event that promotes our rich diversity of culture and style. Soul session immediately following by DJ Real. (3rd Thursday)

• 1/17, Sa--1-3pm, Feedback Writing Workshop at KANEKO (1111 Jones St, Omaha). Nebraska State Poet Twyla Hansen and Omaha's SlamMaster Zedeka Poindexter lead a writing workshop. The goal of feedback is to invigorate the audience by inviting them into the writer’s creative development, while also providing the audience the opportunity to generate their own work. See more information and register at TheKANEKO.org.

American Life in Poetry: Column 510

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

Billy Collins, who lives in New York, is one of our country’s most admired poets, and this snapshot of a winter day is reminiscent of those great Chinese poems that on the virtue of their clarity and precision have survived for a couple of thousand years. His most recent book of poetry is Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems, (Random House, 2013).

Winter

A little heat in the iron radiator,

the dog breathing at the foot of the bed,

and the windows shut tight,

encrusted with hexagons of frost.

I can barely hear the geese

complaining in the vast sky,

flying over the living and the dead,

schools and prisons, and the whitened fields.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2014 by Billy Collins, “Winter,” (Poetry East, No. 82, 2014).  Poem reprinted by permission of Billy Collins and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

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          Executive Director, Nebraska Writers Collective: newriters.org
                            My homepage: Matt.MidVerse.com
                    Find Nebraska poetry info at: PoetryMenu.com