The Best Damn Poetry Show in Western Massachusetts

Event Details

Time: July 25, 2009 from 6:30pm to 9pm
Location: Thornes Marketplace, basement level
Street: 150 Main St
City/Town: Northampton
Phone: (978) 460-2222
Event Type: performance, slam, poetry, spoken, word
Organized By: Portal Arts Group & Commonwealth Center for Change
Latest Activity: Jul 20, 2009

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Event Description

The Best Damn Poetry Show in Western Massachusetts
co-sponsored by Portal Arts Group and Commonwealth Center for Change

The third in the “best damn poetry” series features April Ranger (2009 winner of the New England NorthBEAST Individual Poetry Slam) and Simone Beaubien (Host and Slammaster of the world famous Cantab Lounge Slam Team). The series will be held Saturday July 25th from 6:30pm-9pm, in the bottom floor of Thornes Marketplace in downtown Northampton. The Best Damn Poetry series is organized by The Commonwealth Center for Change in conjunction with Portal Arts Group to expose spoken word poets to Western Massachusetts.

The spoken word revolution has received both acclaim and disdain from the torn literary world. Now, the revolution is coming to Northampton and you can judge for yourself. The poetry slam was invented in 1986 by Chicago construction worker Marc Smith. After migrating to New York City in 1991, it caught the attention of the mainstream media when Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam aired on HBO in 2002. Since then every major city in America began sprouting slam teams and spoken word venues. This proliferation of poetic venues has given rise to what some are calling the “third wave” of the spoken word movement. Poets Simone Beubien and April Ranger are forerunners of that movement.

Portal Arts Group is an unincorporated organizational arts team centered around bringing the best of emerging visual and performance based arts into an engaging personal setting and social atmosphere.

Commonwealth Center for Change is a nonprofit organization working to sustain a network of mutual support and collaboration that strengthens a dynamic creative community.