Hey everyone!

Our February slam (Feb 3, 2024) is a team selection slam, which we haven't had since the year of the last National Poetry Slam, 2018. 

We've invited the poets who've done best at our slams over the past year or two. They'll be competing for spots on our new slam team, which will compete at regional slam tournaments like the annual NorthBeast Regional in Cambridge MA. We have a total of 8 people competing for 5 spots on the team: 

Brianna Forbes (Delmarie Forbes) is a poet, singer songwriter, and aspiring actor and producer. She does poetry because it’s her therapy before her therapy. 

She won our Sep 2023 slam; placed 2nd at our Nov 2022 and May 2023 slams; placed 3rd at our Feb 2023, Mar 2023, and Dec 2023 slams)

Cheli placed 2nd at our Oct 2022 slam

Chelsea Merine is 26 years old. Her love for poetry began in 2023; what started as a hobby quickly became a growing passion. She's come to fall in love with the creative process of organizing her thoughts, writing, editing, more editing and performing. Poetry has allowed her to gain confidence, process every and all emotions and stretch herself more than she thought possible. She's grateful for any opportunity to share her voice. Some fun facts about her are that she is a Radiation Therapist, she love apples (more than the average person) and she love Jesus.

She won our Feb 2023 slam and placed 2nd at our Jan 2023 slam.

CShep placed 2nd at our Dec 2023 slam and 3rd at our Nov 2023 slam.

Gloria Frankson won our Nov 2023 slam.

Greg Bassell won our May 2023 and Aug 2023 slams; placed 2nd at our Mar 2023 slam; and placed 3rd at our Sept 2022, Nov 2022, Dec 2022, Jul 2023, and Oct 2023 slams.

Kayla Volpe won our Jan 2023 slam.

Sean Hunter does poetry to inspire those who read or hear his words to become the best version of themselves. 

He won our Jul 2023 slam, placed 2nd at our Aug 2023 slam, and placed 3rd at our Jan 2023 slam.

Unlike most of our events, there will be no sign-up to read at the door for this slam and there will be no open mic portion.

In addition, this year, we're bringing back our Rockland Poets High School Poetry Prize. It's open to all students who attend high schools in Rockland County NY. This is our second year doing it; last year's winner was K. Saint-Cyr of North Rockland High School. Applicants submit two original poems and a brief personal statement. We select 1 - 3 winners, who receive $100 each. Application deadline is the end of April; winners are notified in May and are invited to attend our June slam, where they will read a couple of their poems and receive their prize money. I'll post a link to the application form soon.

-Bryan

I don't know to what extent people actually read these? But just in case -- our December 2nd slam will be at 48 Burd St in Nyack, rather than at our usual venue.

Also, we've been doing our mostly-weekly poets circle -- Circle Up @ X House -- for a couple of months now. It's going decently. Probably will keep it up for the foreseeable future.

-Bryan

Okay so our next poetry slam is on Labor Day weekend. I'm worried about turnout, so we're making the first place prize $150 to hopefully get a few more people to show. I don't know if it'll make a difference. 

The day after that, we're having a poetry hike in Upper Nyack area at noon. We'll do a short but moderate hike, spend some time writing at a cool overlook spot, have a little sharing circle, then hike back down. Email us with your name and phone number to sign up.

We also may be starting a weekly series soon. It's not for sure, but I should know this week hopefully.

Hope you're having a good summer!

-Bryan

Hey! In case you didn't already know, we're doing something unusual for our June 3rd slam. Instead of our normal event, we're having a "group piece" slam -- all poems in the slam will be co-written and co-performed by pairs of poets. If you're curious, here's are some different examples of what group pieces can look like (note that some of these are more than two people) --

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPG6nJRJeWQ

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRTJShLUTgk

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rIPU1wfAtw 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cv1S5CiFu0 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PUdvIRKzpA 

In addition, we'll be giving out the first ever Rockland Poets High School Poetry Prize -- one Rockland County high school student will be receiving $100 and will be reading a couple of their poems. 

Hope to see you there!

-Bryan

Small update  -- going forward, we will not cap sign-ups for either the open mic list or slam list at our poetry slams. At 8, we'll close the list, and randomly choose 4 poets from the open mic sign-up list and 8 poets from the slam sign-up list. We are getting rid of first-come-first-served guaranteed slots.

Also, sign-ups are full for the partner slam.

Also also, we're going to be offering a Rockland Poets High School Poetry Prize -- interested Rockland County high school students can apply; we'll pick one or two or three and give them some money (and invite them to come read at one of our events).

-Bryan

Hey!

We have a few special things coming up in the not-too-distant.

In March, we're having a performance workshop run by Anthony McPherson. The tentative date is Saturday, March 25th. It'll be happening in Nyack. Once more details are confirmed, I'll let you know.

In honor of national poetry month, our April slam is going to be a New Stuff Show -- you can only compete with poems that you haven't read in front of other people before. 

In June, we're going to have a partner slam -- all poems in the slam will be written and performed by 2 poets. You can either sign up with a partner, or sign up alone and get randomly assigned a partner. Sign-ups for that will close April 1st.

-Bryan

So we're opening doors and sign-ups at 7:30 PM insteaad of 7:45 PM, starting at our January slam. The editing workshop will be 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM.

-Bryan

Hey all! 

Some of our poetry community members who are immune compromised or chronically ill have let me know that they don't feel safe coming to our events lately. 

We don't want people to feel unsafe or excluded at our events. 

To show our friends that we care about them, masks are now required at in-person Rockland Poets events (except for when you're eating, drinking, or performing). N95 and KN95 masks will be made freely available at the door, both head strap and ear loop versions, in a few colors. 

Thanks for helping to keep Rockland Poets welcoming and inclusive!

On the topic of inclusivity -- we also have CART captioning available. If you need it, let us know at least a few days ahead of time so we can make sure the right people and equipment are at the event.

-Bryan

Hey! Bryan again.

I wanted to let you know that we're returning to the first Saturday of each month for our poetry slam, starting this Saturday (October 1st). That's all I wanted to say.

Hey all! Bryan here.

Last night was our first slam at X House in Nyack and it went really well. It's a really open and beautiful space with some cool artwork on the walls. The folks that run it are super kind and supportive. I think maybe we have a new permanent home for our slam.

We had close to 40 people in attendance and, more importantly, a really positive energy. There was a great mix of new people and regulars. One new attendee told me that it was a "[v]ery inspiring night" and that "everyone was beautiful, courageous and happy to just exist." Definitely the kind of feedback we like to get. 

The slam and open mic sign-ups were both full; a first-time attendee, Leah, very nearly won the slam with some really compelling poetry. Ultimately, organizer Nick Yuk managed to claim first place and the $50 prize. Our 2019 slam champions, Vee and Greg, took 3rd and 4th respectively. The slam also included Words by FAR, 21 Grams, Catherine, and Chloe, who sadly got eliminated in the first round. We had poems about social media, acceptance, identity -- someone even read a love sonnet.

The pre-slam workshop also went well; we had 8 people show up and managed to workshop four poems.

Hope to see y'all again soon!

-Bryan

Hey Poetry Fam!

Adam here! I hope things have been going well for you all, and that everyone is still staying safe and healthy.

I wanted to give everyone an update about events, and the future for myself and Rockland Poets.

The last couple of years have been intense, and full of progress, and a lot of challenges. I feel lucky that I was able to go through it with so many people from the community, and that I was able to make so many good friends along the way.

That being said, as of late I've been feeling pretty burnt out - more so than usual. While I always enjoy the events, and the people who I see at them, the number of spoons in my tool belt is that an all-time low, and that's manifesting in less than ideal ways for me.

With this in mind, I'm stepping down from the Rockland Poets organization team for the foreseeable future, effective immediately. I will probably still attend events from time to times, but most of my focus is going to be shifting to getting things together, and reconnecting with myself and having more regular days for Church of Adam.

What does this mean for the org? 

For one thing, Rockland Poets is still active, and will be continuing on. The other organizers - Bryan, Wendy, Nick, and Chloe, will be continuing to host events online and in person, though some things will be changing in the immediate future. The Sunday workshop and online open mic that I usually hosted, will temporarily be on hiatus, until we are able to work out who the next hosts for those events will be. The in-person slam hosted on the second Saturday of each month, along with the international poetry writing circle and Poets Process Jam will be continuing on their regular schedules, so definitely check them out!

It's been a pleasure and an honor to be able to work with everyone, and I have so much love for every person I've been blessed enough to meet during my time as an organizer. 

I love you all, and I will see you around when I can.

Until then, have a very happy church of Adam (or whatever you call your own day) and take care.

Sincerely and graciously,

-Adam

Hello everyone!

We hope you all are doing well, and staying safe! 

Just wanted to give everyone an update about the ongoing events and happenings in the Rockland Poets Community! 

As some of you are probably already aware, we've been hosting Online Poetry Writing Workshops via ZOOM, for over a year now! While originally they were every Sunday, the schedule has been updated to take place the 1st and 2nd Sundays, and the 3rd and 4th Tuesdays of every month at 4:00pm and 4:30pm EST respectively.

In addition to that, every Thursday there is an International Poetry Writing circle at 3:00 p.m EST and the Poets Process Jam takes place on Fridays at 8:00am EST.

We had an opportunity to do an experimental ZOOM slam on the 1st Saturday in July where the winner received a $25 prize! Because of its success, and it being well received, we're excited to bring the slam back into regular rotation, so very soon it will resume being the 1st Saturday of every month. Incidentally, we have been able to hold regular open mics via ZOOM on every 3rd Saturday of the month at 6:45pm EST. 

For the time being, all our events will continue to be online until further notice, but rest assured we are eager to hold in person events again when circumstances allow.

On top of holding events, we also have been helping to develop poets in our community, whether it was by helping to produce chapbooks, or hiring featured poets for events. Greg Bassell from the community, completed his chapbook "Dirty Words with Mr Greg" and Victoria (Vee) Frey's book will be coming out soon as well! We in the Rockland Poets team are overjoyed to have been able to help sponsor them in that endeavor - largely in part, because of your support!

With that in mind, for the last year, we've kept our events free out of consideration for the challenges that the covid-19 pandemic has impacted us with- but going forward we would like to resume asking for contributions. Generally, this organization is run as a labor of love, but contributions help to allow us to create more opportunities for special events, and features, and future projects. The recommended $5 contribution would go a long way towards keeping this community active, and giving back to the people who make this possible. 

Lastly, in other exciting news, December will mark the 10-year anniversary of our slam! We're so thankful to have met so many wonderful people, and you- the community, have made it a truly treasured experience. These days, so much of the future is uncertain, but we look forward to whatever it brings all the same- and hopefully we will be able to get together in person once again.

Stay safe, and with lots of love, 

-The Rockland Poets Team

Hello everyone!

We hope you all are doing well, and staying safe! 

Just wanted to give everyone an update about the ongoing events and happenings in the Rockland Poets Community! 

As some of you are probably already aware, we've been hosting Online Poetry Writing Workshops via ZOOM, for over a year now! While originally they were every Sunday, the schedule has been updated to take place the 1st and 2nd Sundays, and the 3rd and 4th Tuesdays of every month at 4:00pm and 4:30pm EST respectively.

In addition to that, every Thursday there is an International Poetry Writing circle at 3:00 p.m EST and the Poets Process Jam takes place on Fridays at 8:00am EST.

We had an opportunity to do an experimental ZOOM slam on the 1st Saturday in July where the winner received a $25 prize! Because of its success, and it being well received, we're excited to bring the slam back into regular rotation, so very soon it will resume being the 1st Saturday of every month. Incidentally, we have been able to hold regular open mics via ZOOM on every 3rd Saturday of the month at 6:45pm EST. 

For the time being, all our events will continue to be online until further notice, but rest assured we are eager to hold in person events again when circumstances allow.

On top of holding events, we also have been helping to develop poets in our community, whether it was by helping to produce chapbooks, or hiring featured poets for events. Greg Bassell from the community, completed his chapbook "Dirty Words with Mr Greg" and Victoria (Vee) Frey's book will be coming out soon as well! We in the Rockland Poets team are overjoyed to have been able to help sponsor them in that endeavor - largely in part, because of your support!

With that in mind, for the last year, we've kept our events free out of consideration for the challenges that the covid-19 pandemic has impacted us with- but going forward we would like to resume asking for contributions. Generally, this organization is run as a labor of love, but contributions help to allow us to create more opportunities for special events, and features, and future projects. The recommended $5 contribution would go a long way towards keeping this community active, and giving back to the people who make this possible. 

Lastly, in other exciting news, December will mark the 10-year anniversary of our slam! We're so thankful to have met so many wonderful people, and you- the community, have made it a truly treasured experience. These days, so much of the future is uncertain, but we look forward to whatever it brings all the same- and hopefully we will be able to get together in person once again.

Stay safe, and with lots of love, 

-The Rockland Poets Team

Hi everyone! We hope you're doing well!

Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room: 2020 has been a trying year for many of us, whether it's been in the loss of our loved ones, or the plans that have been sidelined or changed altogether. To say the least, it's been challenging to stay connected with one another, when so many of the usual channels we have for interaction has been drastically altered.

With that in mind, we're proud of all that we've accomplished and how we've managed to adapt in spite of things. Since February we haven't been hosting in-person events, primarily because of safety concerns due to Covid-19, but as a result, we've transitioned to hosting regular poetry writing workshops every Sunday from March to now, along with transitioning our open mics to an online open mic. (It's still been on the 3rd Saturday of the month.) Given that there are some logistical challenges for hosting an online poetry slam, we have yet to resume those events - although it's our aim to find a way to bring them back as soon as possible - safety permitting. More likely than not, when it does start back up, it'll keep with the original schedule, and we'll hold those events on the first Saturday of each month. (Stay tuned - We'll be sure to keep you all in the loop for when that will be.)

That being said, going forward from December of 2020, the Poetry Writing Workshops will be bi-monthly on the first and second Sunday of each month. As usual, they'll take place from 4pm to 6pm EST. In addition to those events, we will also be hosting a submission workshop on the second Sunday from 6pm - 7pm EST.

For those of you who have been able to come to our online events every week - and even those who haven't, we thank you for being part of the community and keeping it alive. Your presence and support has been a constant reminder of why we love poetry and the community, and we treasure you all for it.

When things are somewhat back to normal, we look forward to one day sharing space with you all again, and hope in the meantime you stay safe, healthy, and bring joy to each other as much as you can - in whatever ways possible.

Bearing that in mind, may this holiday season bring you joy, love, and great inspiration for future poetry.

With love and you all in our thoughts,

-The Rockland Poets Team