Festival of Words
You can thank Facebook and MySpace for the large group of poets participating in the second-annual Unregulated Word poetry festival, which begins tonight at 7 on an outdoor stage in front of Prospero’s Books (1800 West 39th Street). Michael Chritton, founder of the Off Beat Pulp small press, didn’t specifically invite all the poets gathering this weekend from across the United States. “Most of them heard about it on social-networking sites and wanted to come,” Chritton says. Tonight’s lineup, including Jason Ryberg and Iris Applequist, comprises mostly local poets. The visiting artists, such as S.A. Griffin from Los Angeles and San Francisco’s David Smith, headline Friday and Saturday. After tonight, the festival takes place at 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre (3614 Main), and 11 a.m. Sunday at Wyandotte County Lake Park (91st Street and Leavenworth Road, Shelter No. 7, in Kansas City, Kansas). The suggested donation is $5, but no one will be turned away. For more information, see offbeatpulp.com.
Thu., Aug. 6, 7 p.m., 2009
