MahoganyBooks is excited to bring world renowned poet and author, Tara Betts, to Washington, D.C. The event will take place at U-topia on Monday, September 20, 6:30 p.m.– 8:30 p.m. This event celebrates the one year anniversary of Tara Betts’ debut poetry collection, Arc & Hue.

The evening’s highlights will feature Tara Betts and special guest poets, Derrick Weston Brown, Sonya Renee, & Truth Thomas, reading from her acclaimed book in the relaxing, eclectic atmosphere of U-topia.

Guest poets Derrick Weston Brown is a Cave Canem fellow and the poet-in-residence at Busboys & Poets and author of the upcoming collection Wisdom Teeth; Sonya Renee is a National Poetry Slam Champion and author of A Little Truth on Your Shirt (GirlChild Press, 2010); and Truth Thomas, author of A Day of Presence and Bottle of Life (both on flipped eye press), has appeared in: African Voices, Art Times, the anthology Fingernails Across the Chalkboard: Poetry and Prose on HIV/AIDS From the Black Diaspora and many more.

A reading for the landmark anthology Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry edited by Camille T. Dungy. Contributors Tara Betts, Myronn Hardy and Kamilah Aisha Moon read overlooking the Hudson Valley. $5 admission. Co-sponsored with The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center. This venue is accessible by the Metro North train, directly above the Philipse Manor train stop. The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center is located at 300 Riverside Drive,
Sleepy Hollow, NY.

I’ll be presenting at AWP in 2011 in D.C.

“African American Writers on Obama”
Lita Hooper, Renee Simms, Tara Betts, Antoinette Brim, Demetrice Worley
44 on 44: Forty-Four African American Writers on the 44th President of the United States is an anthology of poetry, essay, and creative non-fiction based on the election of the first African American president of the U.S. The anthology includes contributors’ reflections of the historic election of Barack Obama. Several contributors will read from the anthology and engage in a discussion with one another and the audience.

“Teaching At-Risk Teen Writers”
Susanna Horng, Maya Nussbaum, Maria Theresa Romano, Nancy Larson Shapiro, Mary Roma, Tara Betts
This panel, composed of veteran mentors & leaders of Girls Write Now, an organization of professional women writers mentoring NYC high school girls since 1998, examines the challenges & joys of nurturing at-risk teen writers. Through their unique, intergenerational community model–mutually exciting for students and teachers–panelists share GWN’s pedagogical approach, multi-genre curriculum, developmental portfolios & writing exercises applicable to a range of populations and skill levels.

Since I’ve gotten some requests to do some more appearances in Chicago, so I wanted to make sure that everyone had the information.

SATURDAY, July 24, 3-5 p.m.
Ricochets, 4644 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL
Tara Betts is one of the featured writers at Paper Machete hosted and created by Christopher Piatt. The Paper Machete is a “live magazine” addressing politics and culture.

SUNDAY, July 25, 6-10 p.m.
Music Lounge, 3017 W. Armitage, Chicago, IL
Laudanum Feminist Open Mic is a product of LGBTQ activist, photographer and booking agent Chelcie S Porter. Laudanum is held every Sunday at Music Lounge in Logan Square. Accompanied by DJ Mr. Mitchell. Tara Betts hosts on July 25. Sign up starts at 6:00pm.

TUESDAY, July 27, 6:30-10 p.m.
Jeffrey Pub, 7041 S. Jeffrey Blvd., Chicago, IL
Chicago’s Pow-Wow Inc. provides a weekly performance space for women artists to present, create, develop and implement artistic performances and writing. Tara Betts is this week’s feature, and she’s leading a writing workshop prior to the show. The workshop is from 6:30-8 p.m. Open-mic sign-up starts at 7:30 p.m. She will be signing copies of her book “Arc & Hue”.

WEDNESDAY, July 28, 9 p.m.
Red Kiva, 1108 W. Randolph, Chicago, IL
“The Revolving Door” organized by Jamie Kazay and Jennifer Steele hosts readersTara Betts, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Toni Asante Lightfoot, Bayi Ogikutu, Keli Stewart, and Timothy Yu as part of a celebration for Another Chicago Magazine.

My friend artist John Sims has asked a host of poets to join him for ongoing installations at Bowery Poetry Club. The next exhibit John will be doing is based on quilts based on mathematics, systemic structures, and John’s experiences with African American and Amish quilters. If you’d like to read more about this work, read his Bomb magazine blog interview about the work. Otherwise, please feel free to swing by the Bowery to check out the current exhibit “Mathematical Graffiti: Poetic Reflection” and chat with John at the next opening on July 30th!

FRIDAY, July 30, 5-7 p.m.
Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, New York, NY
“Rhythm of Structure: The Hyper Quilt Show”
Tara Betts, Sarah Elisabeth Lewis, Kate Rushin, and Adam Falkner read the opening reception for John Sims’ final installation for “Rhythm of Structure: Mathematics, Art, and Poetic Reflection”. The finale is August 21, 2010, 2 p.m.
facebook.com/RhythmofStructure

Mike Geffner presents The Inspired Word, featuring Tara Betts, Dasha Kelly, Rich Villar, and a 10-slot open mic!
Where: One and One Bar & Restaurant (Nexus Lounge)
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, NYC

http://www.oneandoneny.com/

Phone: (212) 598-9126

http://inspiredwordnyc.blogspot.com/

Time: 7 p.m. (open mic signup starts at 6:30pm; ask for Adrian or Marvin)
Cover Charge: $10
Must be 21 years of age or older. Please make sure to bring ID.

Recently named one of Essence magazine’s 40 favorite poets, Tara Betts is the author of Arc and Hue. She teaches at Rutgers University. She represented Chicago twice at the National Poetry Slam, coached youth who went on to Brave New Voices, and appeared on HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam”. Her writing has also been dramatized for the stage in several productions, including Steppenwolf Theater’s “Words On Fire” and “Fingernails Across the Chalkboard”. Her work has been published in Essence, Bum Rush the Page, Gathering Ground and both Spoken Word Revolution anthologies.

Dasha Kelly believes in words. All of them. In her outreach work, Dasha uses words to bolster the confidences of youth, artists, college students, inmates, executives, community leaders and, of course, writers. An accomplished writer herself, Dasha has scripted successes in a number of areas: a published novel, several poetry recordings, a collection of works released with Penmanship Books, feature articles for national magazines such as Upscale and Black Enterprise, online commentaries and blogs, and even collateral copy for regional advertising firms. Dasha performed on the season six premiere of HBO presents Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam; and her one-woman show, Anthems for Grown Folks, is being developed into a traveling production.

Rich Villar’s poetry and prose have appeared in the journals MiPoesias: The American Cuban Issue, OCHO 15, Rattapallax, and the first edition of the chapbook series Achiote Seeds (Achiote Press, Spring 2007). He is a co-founder and director of the Acentos Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and publication of Latino/a poetry. He lives and writes en la madre tierra de New Jersey.

Mike Geffner, Founder/Producer
Marvin Mendlinger, Assistant Director
Erik “Advocate of Wordz” Maldonado, MC
Eliel Lucero, DJ
Adrian Wyatt, Open Mic Mistress
Marron Cox,Hostess Extraordinaire

E.j. Antonio, Tara Betts, Randall Horton and David Mills at Golda Solomon’s PoJazz series.
at PoJazz at Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street, New York, New York 10014. Cover: $15 (includes one house drink).

Tara Betts will be the feature at Boston’s popular poetry slam venue, The Cantab, 738 Massachusetts Ave., near Harvard Yard.

Pete’s Candy Shop, 709 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211
Tara Betts, Crystal Williams, Tyrone Williams, and Jackie Clark feature.

Crystal Williams, author of Kin, Lunatic, and Tangled Tongues

Tara Betts, author of Arc & Hue (Willow Books/Aquarius Press) and John Murillo, author of the upcoming Up Jump the Boogie (Cypher Books) will reading at and leading workshops for teens on Thursday, March 25, 2010, 12:30 p.m. at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. For more information, check out the National Black Writers Conference online.

The conference founded by novelist John O. Killens and his wife activist Grace Killens. Mrs. Killens made her transition on November 10, 2009, at age 90.