Join us as we plumb the depths of Walt Whitman’s darker side. Bring a flashlight, lantern, or candle and walking shoes to be part of our roving, after-dark group reading of Whitman’s long night poem “The Sleepers” from the 1891/1892 deathbed edition of Leaves of Grass).

The event starts outside High Street subway stop on Cadman Plaza West at 8:20 pm.  Rain location: St. Francis College at 180 Remsen St. *Event involves traipsing around in the dark to multiple sites: uneven terrain.     

Emceed by the incomparable Isaac Fitzgerald, two teams of award-winning poets­-Jan-Henry Gray, Tyehimba Jess, Dorothea Lasky, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, Tommy Pico, and Evie Shockley–take turns batting at topics pitched to them by the audience. Fastballs, curveballs, knuckleballs: these poets won’t know what’s coming next! Eminently qualified judges Terrance Hayes and Kimiko Hahn will score each batter’s reading, and the winning team takes the series title. Hilarity guaranteed.

House of SpeakEasy’s literary cabaret series “Seriously Entertaining” returns this fall with a special Brooklyn Book Festival–themed program, “No Sleep Till.” Featuring the storytelling talents of William Dalrymple, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Torrey Maldonado, and Helen Phillips. Each writer will present a 15-minute monologue, offering their unique riff on the evening’s theme. The program will include a literary quiz in which the audience can compete to win a collection of books signed by the performing authors. Books will be for sale courtesy WORD Bookstore.

Join authors Keisha Molby-Baez, Anne Born, Edward D. Currelley, Lorraine Currelley, Alyssa D’Amico, Carmen D. Lucca, James Dean Rivera, Damien Tillman, Bonafide Rojas & Mercy Tullis Bukhari for an evening of passionate truth telling poetry & spoken word.
Bring a poem to share during our open mic.

This is a Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event.

The 2nd Annual Cleveland Drafts Literary Festival is here! This unique literary crawl features local writers working in fiction, poetry, nonfiction and playwriting at every stage of their careers. Join us as we invade the Larchmere neighborhood for an afternoon celebration of words, writers, and community!

The Dissident Arts Festival, founded 2006, is the annual gathering of revolutionary creativity, showcasing free jazz, protest poetry, renegade rock, topical song, and visual art from beneath the underground. This year’s Festival is dedicated to women’s empowerment; our theme is #SilentNoMore.   All proceeds will benefit the Dwelling Place of NY, a transitional residence for homeless women. Among the spoken word artists will be Puma Perl, Zigi Lowenberg, Larry Roland, Rose Tang and John Pietaro. 

​It's December 1867, Charles Dickens arrives in New York City for a month of sold-out performances of his beloved holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Join Mr. Dickens, portrayed by John Kevin Jones, in the elegant and intimate parlor of the Landmark 1832 Merchant's House Museum and be transported back 150 years in this captivating and critically acclaimed one hour performance created from Dickens' own script.