Poetry Atlanta Presents... An Evening with Karen Head & Collin Kelley, Jan. 31 at Decatur Library

Poetry Atlanta and Georgia Center for the Book are pleased to present a special evening with award-winning poets Karen Head and Collin Kelley on Monday, January 31, 7:15 p.m. at the Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St. This event is free!

The reading, Call & Response, will feature Head and Kelley reading their poetry round-robin style selecting poems on the fly to find common themes, moods and imagery. It’s a fun, experimental and unexpected evening of poetry because the audience -- and the poets -- aren’t sure what’s coming next.

Karen Head is the author of Sassing (WordTech), My Paris Year and Shadow Boxes (both from All Nations Press). Her poetry has appeared in journals and anthologies around the world.

Collin Kelley is the author of Better To Travel, After the Poison and Slow To Burn, which is being re-issued by Seven Kitchens Press in July 2011. His debut novel, Conquering Venus, is out now.

For more information, visit  www.georgiacenterforthebook.org

Poetry Atlanta Presents... Finishing Line Press Reading, Sept. 30

Poetry Atlanta and Georgia Center for the Book present an evening of local poets who have been published by the acclaimed Finishing Line Press. The free reading will begin at 7:15 p.m. in the lower level auditorium of the Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore Street. Books will be for sale.

Scheduled to Appear


JC Reilly - La Petite Mort
Robert Wood - Gorizia Notebook
Eve Hoffman - Red Clay
Ann Lynn - In the Butterfly House
Jenny Sadre-Orafai - Weed Over Flower
Collin Kelley (Host) - After the Poison


For more information, visit www.georgiacenterforthebook.org.

Poetry Atlanta at Decatur Book Festival

The annual Decatur Book Festival returns this weekend, Sept. 3-5, with hundreds of authors on hand for readings, signings, panel discussions and more. Poetry Atlanta will once again host the Local Poets Stage.

Saturday, September 4
From 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Poetry Atlanta will host the local poets stage at Java Monkey Coffee House, 425 Church St. A different poet will read every 15 minutes. At 8 p.m., Kodac Harrison will host the Invitational Slam. This showcase will feature many of the areas top slam poets, who will compete for cash prizes.

Sunday, September 5
From noon until 6 p.m., Poetry Atlanta will host the Local Poets Stage at Java Monkey. A different poet will read every 15 minutes. The regular Java Monkey Speaks open mic will begin as usual at 8 p.m. (sign up at 7:30, but come early to find a seat and get your name on the list!). The special guest is award-winning poet Patricia Smith, who is a slam champ, Pushcart Prize and National Poetry Series Award winner for her collection, Teahouse of the Almighty. Her latest collection, Blood Dazzler, gives voice to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and was a finalist for the National Book Award.

For a full schedule of events at the Decatur Book Festival, visit www.decaturbookfestival.com.

25 Books All Georgians Should Read

The Georgia Center for the Book will reveal the ”25 Books All Georgians Should Read” at a special event on Thursday night (April 29) at 7 p.m. at the Decatur Public Library, 215 Sycamore St.

The fourth edition of the prestigious “25 Books” list includes 11 novels and short story collections, three volumes of poetry, and 11 nonfiction books, and boasts three Pulitzer Prize winners.

Eighteen of the authors are expected to be at the event to talk with attendees and sign books. Who’s on the list? We can’t tell you that, so you’ll just have to go and find out for yourself.

For more details, visit www.georgiacenterforthebook.org.

Talking Back to the Muse, April 17

Poetry Atlanta and Composition Gallery in Candler Park team up for this special evening to celebrate National Poetry Month on Saturday, April 17, 8 p.m. Favorite Atlanta poets will be reading a classic poem followed by a response, rebuttal or rant of their own. It's sure to be a unique evening of poetry. Mark your calendar now!

Featured poets include: Alice Lovelace, Kodac Harrison, Chelsea Rathburn, Jon Goode, Bill Taft, Theresa Davis, Collin Kelly, Bruce Covey, Beth Gylys, Dan Veech, Megan Volpert, Franklin Abbott, Christine Swint, Rupert Fike, Jamie Iredell, Karen Head, Mr. Funn, Bob Wood, Tania Rochelle, Cleo Creech, Marissa McNamara, Mike Dockins, Ginger Murchison, James May, JC Reilly, Amy Pence, Robin Kemp, Marshall Gillson, Michael Diebert and Alice Teeter.

Poetry Atlanta Presents... January 12

The next Poetry Atlanta Presents... in conjunction with Georgia Center for the Book and Poets & Writers is set for Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 7:15 p.m. at the Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore St., in downtown Decatur. We're excited to feature Tara Betts, Tania Rochelle and Travis Denton -- all reading from their brand new collections. This is FREE event and you won't want to miss this exciting night of poetry!

Tara Betts is the author of Arc and Hue, her debut collection on the Willow Books imprint of Aquarius Press. Tara is a lecturer in creative writing at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. She is also a Cave Canem fellow and a poetry editor at The November 3rd Club. Her poetry has appeared in dozens of journals and anthologies. She has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and performed her work at venues around the world.

Tania Rochelle is the author of the critically acclaimed collection Karaoke Funeral and the newly released The World’s Last Bone, both from Snake Nation Press. Rochelle is the poetry editor for Chattahoochee Review and her work has appeared in numerous journals around the country.

Travis Wayne Denton is the Associate Director of Poetry at Tech as well as a McEver Chair in Poetry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the founding editor of Terminus literary magazine and his poems have appeared in journals, magazines and publications around the country. The Burden of Speech (C&R Press) is his debut collection of poetry.

Watch Karen Head on the Fourth Plinth

Atlanta poet and Poetry Atlanta community board member Karen Head made history by performing poetry from London's Fourth Plinth as part of the One and Other project. You can now watch a video documentary made by Time magazine about Head's adventure at this link.