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

In this 12th episode of the podcast, we welcome Mary Panza who was the featured poet at the Albany Poets Presents reading at Restaurant Navona on June 15, 2016.

Mary Panza originated and hosted the poetry open mic at Border’s and has been a driving force in the poetry community for almost 30 years. She has been active in promoting, hosting, and participating in many arts events throughout Upstate New York. Until last spring, Mary hosted the long-running Poets Speak Loud series at McGeary's.

Mary has published a number of poetry chapbooks with Gina Grega (Hair Buffet, Komic Kunts, and Bite Me: Love Poems) and Paul Weinman (Three Poets and One Bed, Mary Eats Paul, and Vise Versa). Mary produced and wrote the liner notes for the CD “Volume”, a compilation of Albany-area poets performing their work at local readings and open mics, and “A Little Nip” a compilation of female singer/songwriters. She has been published in countless publications such as Rant, In Your Face, OTHER:___, Revival: Spoken Word from Lollapalooza 94, and Open Mic: The Albany Anthology. Mary served as the Poetry Editor for the short-lived Capital Region edition of Chronogram. She currently writes the Housewife Tuesday column on the Albany Poets website and is an editor of the literary journal,  Up the River.

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Mary Panza.

In this episode of the podcast, we welcome Michele Battiste who gave a very special, intimate reading at The Poetry Motel in Albany, NY on May 22, 2009.

Michele Battiste was one of the many local poets who got their start at Tom Nattell’s legendary QE2 open mic back in the 90s and she has continued to share her words all across the country ever since.

Michele Battiste is the author of Waiting for the Wreck to Burn (Trio House, 2019), Uprising ( Black Lawrence, 2014), and Ink for an Odd Cartography ( Black Lawrence, 2009). She is also the author of several chapbooks, including Left: Letters to Strangers (Grey Book, 2014). Her poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, The Rumpus, Memorious, and Women's Studies Quarterly, among others.

Michele has taught poetry workshops for Wichita State University, the Prison Arts Program in Hutchinson, KS, Gotham Writers' Workshops, and Teen Ink. A finalist for the National Poetry Series, she has received grants and awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, AWP, the Center for the American West, the Jerome Foundation, and the NY State Senate. She lives in Colorado where she works for The Nature Conservancy, raising money to save the planet.

You can find out more about Michele on her website https://www.michelebattiste.net/

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Michele Battiste.

In this 10th episode of the Next Up to The Mic podcast, we welcome Christopher Johnson  who was our featured poet at Nitty Gritty Slam #93 at The Low Beat on Central Ave., in beautiful, crime-free Albany, NY on Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Christopher Johnson is the recipient of the 2018 Rhode Island State Council of the Arts Fellowship for Playwriting. He is also a finalist for the 2018 for the McColl Johnson Fellowship and an award-winning Slam Poet.

Timely, relevant, honest, unapologetic, personal, and political, Christopher Johnson’s spoken word commands in a way that is uncomfortable and arresting. Educated in performance art through experience and mentorship, it has been said that his pieces touch the heart with feathers and barbed wire alike, speaking uncomfortable truths, invoking the best and worst of human emotions. Christopher’s presence demands attention in a way that leaves people captivated and eager to hear more. Using words like a dancer uses movement or a painter uses color, his delivery is nuanced. There is an expressive intention in every gesture without it appearing choreographed. Able to evoke deep-seated dormant emotions through writings and performance, Johnson’s emotional expression through his art transcends race, gender, and other divisions. His impassioned words reach into the collective soul of all of us, touching and expressing our own pain, fear, and love, as well as his own. When Christopher is on stage you can rest knowing you are safe in his capable hands treating strangers like family guaranteeing both the content and delivery will remain a part of you forever.

You can find out more about Christopher on his website https://thencredibull.com/

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Christopher Johnson.

In this episode of Next Up to The Mic, we welcome Melody Davis who was our featured poet at the Poets Speak Loud open mic series at McGeary's in downtown Albany, NY on April 30, 2018.

Melody Davis, a writer and art historian, is the author of three poetry collections, most recently,  a special edition artists’ book, One Ground Beetle, with Harold Lohner (2017); and Holding the Curve (2013) from Broadstone Books.  Her work in the history of photography has been published widely.  In 2015, she published Women’s Views: The Narrative Stereograph in Nineteenth-Century America with the University Press of New Hampshire.

Davis has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Henry Luce Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, MetroArts (PA), and she was a finalist in the National Poetry Series.  She holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and is an Associate Professor of Art History at Russell Sage College in Troy NY.

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Melody Davis.

To find out more about the great poetry and spoken word community in upstate New York, go to albanypoets.com

Our theme music was “Imagination” by Danijel Zambo (https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/imagination) License code: 44TCGFPF1L1434BE

In this episode of Next Up to The Mic, we welcome Wil Gibson who was our featured poet at Albany Poets Presents at Restaurant Navona on April 20, 2016

Wil Gibson currently lives in Humboldt County, California where the trees are big. He has had five collections published by kind people, and has been included in a number of anthologies and lit mags both online and in print, such as Marsh Hawk Review, Button Poetry, Midwestern Gothic, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, Cascadia Rising, Collective Unrest, Yellow Chair Review and many more. He has twice been nominated for both a Pushcart and Best of the Net, and currently opening a poetry-only bookstore and art gallery.

You can find links to books and more info at wilgibson.com

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Wil Gibson.

To find out more about the great poetry and spoken word community in upstate New York, go to albanypoets.com

Our theme music was “Imagination” by Danijel Zambo (https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/imagination) License code: 44TCGFPF1L1434BE

In this episode of Next Up to The Mic, we welcome Influence who was our featured poet at Brass Tacks at The Low Beat on April 16, 2019.

Sharmont "Influence" Little is a Poet from New Haven Ct. who has been called engaging, prolific, and truly passionate.  He uses the art form of Spoken Word to deliver his message and belief, as quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Influence's goal is to educate and inspire people of all ages and mindsets, with a strong focus on the youth of the inner cities. He has performed all over the country using Colleges like Yale, Virginia State, Boston University, and a host of public schools as his platform to reach the youth of today. As well as performing at some of the most historic poetry venues such as the Nuyorican Poetry Café in New York City and the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA just to name a few. Influence made a name for himself as a slam poet winning over 100 slams nationwide and being a five-time member of the Connecticut slam team Verbal Slap including being the coach of the 2017 team and Grand Slam champion of the 2018 team. He has worked with and or shared the stage with musical entertainers Common, Mos Def, and R&B artist Rome. One of His greatest accomplishments was to have the opportunity to open for the NAACP Image Awards.

Influence's first album was released in 2007 entitled Verbal Tears.

If “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” then Sharmont "Influence" Little has made it a mission to use every ounce of his poetic talents to engage and enlighten his audience. Living by his own saying “Poetry is life, Live it”.

Please welcome, next up to the mic, Influence.

To find out more about the great poetry and spoken word community in upstate New York, go to albanypoets.com

Our theme music was “Imagination” by Danijel Zambo (https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/imagination) License code: 44TCGFPF1L1434BE