For a town as literate and event-happy as Austin, it is concerning that there are not as many young poetry events where a person can relax, drink a beer, and listen to poetry. Sure, there are great literary events such as 5 Things! and the Encyclopedia Show that cater to the twenty-something crowd, but there is not much pure poetry. The Fresh Meat Poets Showcase aims to change that. more ›

On Monday night poet Naomi Shihab Nye spoke and read from her latest book of ultra-short stories, There is no Long Distance Now. The Mabee Ballroom at St. Edward's University was filled with students and fans, young and old. more ›

Note: This is the second part of our coverage of two Austin poetry slam teams - Austin Poetry Slam and Neo Soul - competing at Nationals in Boston. Jacob Dodson contributed both this piece and our first installment, and the photos and videos you see here of both teams. more ›

Months of poetic preparation are coming to a head for seventy-six teams in Boston this week during the National Poetry Slam. Slam poetry is competitive performance poetry, and the teams represent different venues across the country. Austin will have two teams representing the city: Austin Poetry Slam and Austin Neo Soul. more ›

I once teasingly referred to an alto saxophone-driven performance art piece on Facebook as something that San Antonio-based CD-R label and chapbook press Kendra Steiner Editions should release, which sparked a little ire from my friend and KSE label artist Alfred 23 Harth. His point was valid - that as the imprint was just getting off the ground, it needed all the serious encouragement that it could get. In an age where basically anybody with a little cash and a desire to make something can self-release music in a physical or online form (and one doesn't even need a bank account - there's always Kickstarter), it does get somewhat difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. But Kendra Steiner Editions is definitely on a path to make a name for itself, releasing almost two hundred poetry chapbooks since 2006 by writers like Stuart Crutchfield, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Byron Coley, Doug Drahme, and imprint founder Bill Shute (many are out of print). Though his work is the most visible in the catalog, KSE isn't a vanity project, as it seeks to uncover lesser-known artists in poetry and sound with a dedicated do-it-yourself aesthetic, simple and to the point. more ›

Basically the idea behind our first Austinist Family Reading is this - join us for happy hour at Club Deville to hang and hear some of our site's longstanding (or shortstanding) writers break out of their mold for a bit. You've heard us dish on film and art and food and music, but there's more to us, like possibly prose and poetry and funny stories and etc.! This gathering will hopefully have the intimacy and fun of any good time out with pals, without the awkwardness and T.M.I. of an open-mic night. Guess we'll see! more ›

If you’re hurting for literary culture tomorrow afternoon, say around 3:30, consider heading over to Austin’s own feminist bookstore, BookWoman, for a reading and signing with Bastrop poet Mary Branan. She’ll be reading from her much-lauded book “Weavings,” winner of the Blue Light Press 2010 award, and will graciously sign copies thereafter. more ›

Another month, another Teleportal? Yes and no. Yes, you can expect to see readings from the best writers in Austin and some really impressive out-of-town guests. Yes, there will be videos of famous poets reading their work in front of a green screen, described by Teleportal as “what might happen if LeVar Burton hijacked the holodeck and brought it to Reading Rainbow for a grownup afterparty.” Yes, it is more likely that you will tell everyone you know about what you saw at Teleportal than it is for you to be bored for even a moment. Yes, it will be at the ND again. Yes, it’s free. But no, it’s not a typical show. more ›

"World Poet" Thom Moon Bird will host a reading tonight at the Hideout, featuring the poets Michael Aaron Casares, who will read from his newly published book The Reality of Man, and Bill Shute, a writer and one of the principles behind Kendra Steiner Editions. The press, described on their website, is a "a very small D.I.Y. publisher of contemporary poetry, based in San Antonio, Texas, with two associates in Glasgow, Scotland." New works planned for release this year on the imprint include a poetry chapbook by Ronald Baatz, CD-R from local musician Nick Hennies called Objects, as well as a "3-inch CD-R" of poetry and music by Derek Rogers and Shute himself entitled Four Texas Streams. more ›

Born and raised in Mesilla, New Mexico, Carrie Fountain knows a little (read: a lot) about the idiosyncrasies of life in the American Southwest. With the region's cultural, historical, and environmental hues forming the backdrop of her first book, Burn Lake (which was a winner of the prestigious National Poetry Series in 2009, mind you), she’s certainly a strong advocate for the relevance of place and narrative in contemporary poetry. While a visceral sense of location is ultimately central to Burn Lake, the poems within are never merely local: notions of adolescence, history’s configuration within the present, and the nature of experience at-large are all explored with equal dexterity. more ›

Lunch hours usually are, in their typical glory, little more than a much-welcomed partition in the workaday tedium. We rarely expect more from them other than the promise of a.) an hour away from work and/or b.) an hour away from work wherein we get to eat sandwiches (or Amy’s frozen lunches, if you’re feeling fancy). While a good sandwich is, of course, an end unto itself, we’d suggest you reconsider venues for your PB&J at noon: the Harry Ransom Center is kicking off the 2010-2011 Poetry on the Plaza series at noon, and they’d love for you to show up, get your daily dose of verse, and eat/drink some of their free (!) refreshments. Edification AND satiation on your lunch break? Who’d have thought. more ›

As mentioned in a previous post, Texas does indeed have a poet laureate, and the man who held that title in 2008, Larry D. Thomas, will be at BookPeople today to read from a new collection of poems, The Skin of Light. Thomas is best known for poetry that starkly describes the American West, cowboy life, small-town West Texas, and our state’s natural landscape—subject matter that might be expected of a Texas poet laureate. But Larry Thomas isn’t that easy to label as just a cowboy poet; The Skin of Light—his twelfth collection out from Austin-based indie press Dalton Publishing last month—contains many of his non-Texas-centric poems and includes an entire section of ekphrastic poetry (to save you a trip to the dictionary, that would be poetry that describes a work of visual art, in this case painters like Renoir, van Gogh, and Picasso). more ›

Huh. Did you realize that our state bestows the honor of Texas Poet Laureate on one individual per year? We do. Or…we sort of do. As this list reveals, sometime around 1982 the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House have slipped in their duties of nomination, and from 1989 to 1999 we had but one poet (Mildred Baass) hold the position. However, we appear to be more or less back on track. Last year Paul Ruffin, a poet as well as both a fiction and non-fiction writer, was awarded the post. Texas Christian University has, for five years running, released collections by the current Texas Poet Laureate, and Paul Ruffin: New and Selected Poems is the latest in the series. more ›

[In the glorious, time-honored tradition of the 'Format-Breaking Episode', I now present: a poem.] I saw the best minds of my generation walk past the window without contemplation. That's what it felt like at first, anyway, as I stood there listening inside the cafe. No Ginsberg, no Kerouac, not even Mark Strand- the first few readers really quite bland. And though I was tempted to leave, I held tight- at the local open mic poetry night. more ›

Dan Bejar of Destroyer—who moonlights with the Spencer Krug and Carey Mercer supergroup Swan Lake, as well as the Neko Case and A.C. Newman supergroup The New Pornographers—is known as a writing virtuoso, one of those few and proud and usually-called-crazy in music who bring true artfulness to the words themselves, and not just the instrumentation. Inspired by his upcoming appearance at Fun Fun Fun Fest, we thought there’d be few better things than to give Dan an opportunity to jot a few things down, so we shipped off to him a handful of questions and said have at it. And he did, and delightfully so, citing Lorca and the Duino Elegies, his prejudice for Wallace Stevens over Robert Frost, how fucked most musicians would be if they had to truly worry about lyrics, and why maybe someday he’d write a book if only he weren’t “a complete stranger to real work.” Needless to say, when he takes the Yellow stage at 8:45 on Day One of Fun Fest, we’ll be in the audience, following every word. more ›

The Utter Reading Series is back tomorrow, with more pathos than Hillary, more transcendance than Barack, more grit than McCain, and more exposure (for local writers) than a bead-strewn balcony on Bourbon Street. As always, the reading is free and open to the public, and the audience is invited to join the readers afterwards for drinks and conversation at Opal Divine's on 6th. more ›

Image from Myspace Matthew Zapruder and Jeff TietzFriday, November 9Follett's Intellectual Property (2402 Guadalupe)Free, 5:30pm[info]Matthew Zapruder’s new collection of poetry is called The Pajamaist. We’re still not sure if this one of those cosmic coincidences, or if Zapruder meant to sing the lyrical praises of all things “IST.” In any case, the collection is excellent, as is his previous work, and we will be out in our most stylish PJs to watch him read at... more ›

Photo by johnkoetsier on flickr Utter Reading SeriesMonday, Nov 5BookPeople [map]7pm, Free[info]This month’s Utter Reading Series features two standouts from a couple hours south on I-35. Both teach at Trinity University in San Antonio, and both are long-overdue candidates for the Utter Series, which spotlights hot Texas-based writers. One has just won a national award for his short stories, and the other is an Austin-bred recent graduate of the Michener Center at UT. After the... more ›

O, the mighty men and women of Austin's stages! They get so busy this time of year. There's more than enough to choose from this week, but here are the theater picks that top our list. ProArts Collective wraps up the Black Arts Movement Festival with Incognito on Thursday at 8pm, and Spoken Word Caravan on Friday at 8pm. The former is a one-man drama, performed by author Michael Fosberg, about a man who grew... more ›

The UTTER Reading Series presents two young, local writers who are finding national success and recognition. Poet D. Antwan Stewart will present selections from his two books, The Terribly Beautiful (2006) and Sotto Voce (forthcoming) . Fiction writer Brian Hart, the winner of the first-ever Keene Prize for Literature, may read from his forthcoming and already-awarded novel, The Dog With the Broken Teeth, the One That Fetches Rocks. Stewart has an MFA from the Michener... more ›

Danny Taylor and Simeon Coxe III created The Silver Apples in 1967 in New York City. With Simeon supplying the vocals and synth, and Taylor providing the percussion, the duo created psychedelic soundscapes accentuated by electronic beats. Their name was coined from a William Butler Yeats poem while musically, the duo employed all the tricks of the trade that might seem fairly standard now but were truly innovative at the time. Simeon utilized multiple audio... more ›

Billy Joe Shaver is one of those Texas music legends with a life story that sounds like country and western fantasy. His father abandoned the family before he was born, he lost 2 fingers in a sawmill accident, he lost his mother and wife to cancer and his son to drug overdose within a single year, and he suffered a heart attack on stage. But, Shaver has long channeled his pain into his music. For... more ›

ACL Previews Austinist Launches Dedicated ACL Page! Preview: Manchester Orchestra and Patterson Hood Preview: Ian Ball and the Little Ones Interview: Paolo Nutini ACL Band Clash, Round 2: The Killers Vs. Björk Weekly Features Tales Of Mere Existence Hots On #9: Sound Off New Release Tuesday: Frisell's Floratone The Argyle Academy New Movie Releases: The Invasion, Superbad, Death at a Funeral, and More Truesday: Friesday The Laurie Show News, Features, and More Travis County... more ›

Only two days remain in this year's National Poetry Slam. This time on Sunday, new team and indy champs will have been crowned...until next year's slam in Madison, WI. The Parish and the 501 Studios Soundstage [map] join Antone's, Ruta Maya, and Dominican Joe as 25 teams face off in the Team Semi-Finals. All venues at 7pm. We won't know the semi-finalists at press time, but you can always check the official NPS site later... more ›

As the days go by, things get more intense at Slam Central. Each night, votes for the team bouts are tallied, and teams and individuals learn where they stand. The scores as of the wee hours of Wednesday morning have been posted, and while it's way too early to start popping the bubbly, we're excited to see Team Ego's in second place! First is Team Killeen (please tell us there's at least one slamming soldier among them...how cool is that??); third is Team Berkeley. You can see the entire list of scores from Tuesday's bouts here. more ›

Another day, another schedule of packed-to-the-gills programming for the National Poetry Slam. It's extremely tough to pick just one or two things to highlight, but here're the events that most piqued our curiosity. Daytime Programming All daytime programs are FREE, so if you live or work downtown, consider popping in for one of these events. NPS won't be in Austin again for a very long time, so this is something of a one-time chance. It... more ›

The poets have arrived! For the second year in a row, the National Poetry Slam will be held in our highly literate, most-educated city. This five-day competition showcases slam poets from around the U.S. and comes to a head in a fierce battle for team and individual top nods, held at the Paramount Theatre on August 10 and 11. Last year's finals sold out, so consider getting your tickets early! more ›

National Poetry Slam returns with a full schedule of stuff happening all over town this week, culminating in Friday and Saturday's final matches at the Paramount HBMG Foundation presents the 2007 ArtSpark Festival Visual Art Showcase at the Off Center Mayor Will Wynn and director Turk Pipkin screen "Nobelity" and "An Inconvenient Truth" at the Paramount Willie Nelson headlines the Austin Freedom Fest 2007, joined by the likes of Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling... more ›

Forklift Danceworks marks the upcoming anniversary of Elvis’ death with an homage to the King that includes singing, dancing, and guest Elvis cameos from Jim Swift, Sara Hickman, John Kelso, and Mayor Will Wynn Austinist sponsors a big bash at Beauty Bar with the Turbonego cover band Apocalypse Dudes, DJ Jester the Filipino Fist, and Ernest Gonzales 1906 hosts the opening reception for "SeeSaw," their first-ever photography show, featuring landscapes, portraiture, digitally-manipulated images, and... more ›

Some 300 competitors in 75 teams are set to converge upon Austin next week for the 2007 National Poetry Slam, a five-day competition that will feature some of the country's most talented slam artistry. NPS officially runs from August 7 through August 11th, but event organizers are hosting a series of preview events starting today to showcase some of what you can expect to see at the performances. "We're fortunate to be able to again... more ›