Next Up to The Mic

On this episode, we are featuring poet and educator Rebecca Schumejda who was one of the spoken word artists who took the stage Live at The Linda for the "Year in Review" event on December 17th, 2021.

Rebecca Schumejda is the author of several full-length books including Cadillac Men (NYQ Books), Waiting at the Dead End Diner (Bottom Dog Press), Our One-Way Street (NYQ Books) Something Like Forgiveness (Stubborn Mule Press), and many chapbooks. She is also the editor of the online literary zine Trailer Park Quarterly.

On this episode, we are featuring poet Austin Houston who was one of the spoken word artists who graced the stage Live at The Linda on December 17th, 2021.

Austin Houston was born and raised in Albany and has been writing poetry for over a decade. During the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown, Auston was inspired to write and publish his very first collection of poetry, Existence: Chaos In Our Own Backyard, which is available on Amazon.

On this episode, we are featuring poet and writer James H Duncan who was one of the spoken word artists who graced the stage Live at The Linda on December 17th, 2021.

James H Duncan is the editor of Hobo Camp Review and the author of We Are All Terminal But This Exit Is Mine, Vacancy, and Beyond the Wounded Horizon, among other books of poetry and fiction. He is currently working on a new collection about his two hometowns, Albany and San Antonio, and he continues to visit and review independent bookstores across the country for his blog, The Bookshop Hunter. You can find his books at www.jameshduncan.com.

On this episode, we are featuring poet and performer Siena who was one of the spoken word artists who graced the stage Live at The Linda on December 17th, 2021.

Siena is a spoken word poet and improviser from the northeast. She writes from her heart and her experience with a desire and a mission to have grown a little by the time she reaches the end of the page. Using poetry as a healing medium, Siena finds peace in putting pain to paper and taking away the shame and stigma of survivorship by speaking her story.

On the 18th episode of the podcast, we welcome Bryan Roessel who was our featured performer at the Nitty Gritty Slam at The Low Beat in Albany, NY on February 3, 2015.

Bryan Roessel is a poet and science teacher in the lower Hudson Valley. In addition to hosting poetry slams, workshops, and open mics in Nyack, NY, he has competed at the National Poetry Slam in 2012, 2013, and 2014. His poetry is mostly about girls, sadness, and rocks.

On the 17th episode of the Next Up to The Mic podcast, we welcome Carol Graser who was our guest at the Albany Poets Presents reading at Restaurant Navona on February 21, 2018.

Carol Graser hosts a poetry reading series at Saratoga Spring’s legendary Caffe Lena on the first Wednesday of every month and has performed her work at various events and venues around NYS. Her work has been published in many literary journals, recently in Devilfish Review, Punch Drunk Press, Trailer Park Quarterly, and Minute Magazine. She is the author of the poetry collection, The Wild Twist of Their Stems (Foothills Publishing 2007).

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Carol Graser.

On the 16th episode of Next Up to The Mic, we welcome Jay Renzi who was the featured poet at the long-running Poets Speak Loud series at McGeary's in downtown Albany, NY on September 29, 2014.

Jay Renzi is a poet, man of letters, idler and sportsman. Born in Quincy, Mass., educated in Newport, R.I. and an adopted son of Troy, N.Y., Renzi calls Newport, Boston, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Hudson River Valley home. The journeys and meetings between these places provide much of the inspiration for his varied interests. Jay was also was voted one of the area's best poets in the Metroland Readers Poll in both 2014 and 2015.

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Jay Renzi.

In this 15th episode of the podcast, we welcome Pierre Joris who was the featured poet at Poets Speak Loud at The Lark Tavern in Albany NY on September 25, 2006

Born in 1946 in Strasbourg, France, raised in Luxembourg, Pierre Joris has moved between the US, Europe & North Africa for over 50 years, publishing close to 50 books of poetry & essays, as well as many anthologies & translations. In 1992 he returned to the Mid-Hudson valley & where he taught poetry & poetics at the State University of New York, Albany until his retirement in 2013. He lives with his wife, the great performance artist and singer Nicole Peyrafitte, in Brooklyn.

You can read more about Pierre's publications and accolades on our website, but in the meantime, please welcome, Next Up to The Mic, Pierre Joris.

In this 14th episode of the podcast, we welcome Elizabeth Gordon who was the featured poet at Albany Poets Presents at Restaurant Navona on June 20, 2018

Elizabeth started coming around to the local poetry open mics when she attended the very first Nitty Gritty Slam in September 2011.

Elizabeth (aka Elizag) Gordon lives in Cohoes and is the author of the poetry collection Love Cohoes. She’s been teaching for 13 years at Northampton Community College, currently in the online division.

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Elizabeth Gordon.

In this lucky 13th episode of the podcast, we welcome Dan Wilcox who was the featured poet at the Arthur's Market open mic in the historic stockade section of Schenectady, NY on June 14,  2017

Dan Wilcox was the host of the Third Thursday Poetry Night at the Social Justice Center in Albany, N.Y., and is a member of the poetry performance group "3 Guys from Albany".  As a photographer, he claims to have the world's largest collection of photos of unknown poets.  He has been a featured reader at all the important poetry venues in the Capital District & throughout the Hudson Valley and is an active member of Veterans for Peace.

He also publishes poetry under the imprint, A.P.D. (albany's poetic device, another pleasant day, etc.).  His own poems have been published in Post Traumatic Press 2007, Chronogram, Poetica, and most recently in the anthology American Society: What Poets See, in other small press journals and anthologies, on the internet, as broadsides & in self-published chapbooks.  His chapbook boundless abodes of Albany published by Benevolent Bird Press of Delmar, NY is available for Kindle from Amazon.  You can read his blog at dwlcx.blogspot.com.

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Dan Wilcox