Spoken Word Venues and Poetry Workshops

California

Beyond Baroque
681 Venice Blvd
Venice, CA
310-822-3006

http://www.beyondbaroque.org/

A Venice institution. They run great poetry workshops, and have a small performance space, that has been host to some great performances, including the amazing benefit performance with Saul Williams, Reggie Gibson, Patricia Smith, Luis Rodriguez, Georgeanne Dean, Viggo Mortensen... I was there - Incredible. for the Midnight Special Bookstore (RIP) (See my elegy here). You can purchase a double CD of this performance at Perceval Press. Perceval Press is pretty amazing in and of itself for its promotion of edgy poetry and art.

Utah

Cup of Joe
200 S. 353 W.
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
801-363-8322

Pretty much anything goes at this venue. Everything from high school student slam teams with edgy, sexually explicit material to "old lady poetry." It's a coffee shop in an old industrial space, and the acoustics reflect this. The Salt Lake City Slam Team has a MySpace page, with links to the poets, and a schedule of events for Cup of Joe. They also have a website. This page has great information on Salt Lake area venues and performances. *** This beloved venue closed on August 1, 2008, in legal battles that are still ongoing. The owner, Kristy Gonzales, set up business temporarily at Baxter's Cafe (see below), and is just about to open Wildhorse Coffee in Trolley Square, and eclectic mall in downtown Salt Lake City in an old trolley hub. More info below.

Baxter's Cafe
1615 S. State St..
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Pretty much anything goes at this venue. It's a coffee shop by a community college. The Salt Lake City Slam Team has a MySpace page, with links to the poets, and a schedule of events for Baxter's.

Wildhorse Coffee
600 E. 600 S.
(Trolley Square)
Salt Lake City, UT 84104
(call Eileen at 801-201-0219 for info on the open-mic)

This is a PG venue, designed to be freindly to children, teens and other emerging voices. The proprietor is the former owner of A Cup of Joe. We have just started the open-mic. It is a small intimate space. Eventually, we will be moving downstairs into a large public atrium, which will greatly expand the scope of events we will host. We have pans to stage monthly Gallery Stroll events throughout the mall. Wildhorse Coffee has a MySpace page.

Barnes & Noble Bookstore
1104 E. 2100 S.
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
801-463-2610

Hosts a "family friendly" open mic night every Friday. Watch those four-letter words. Time varies seasonally.

I love visiting out of town venues as well. Drop me a line to tell me about your local venues, and I'll post them here.

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