Inform arachne@madpoetry.org of any other cyclic or once-in-a-blue-moon events. We look forward to more slams!

Every Saturday evening, 6:30–9 pm: Open Mike at Zuzu Café, 1336 Drake St.

January 2012

January 13, Friday, 7:30 pm. Second Friday Poetry Open Mike. For additional information contact Annie Randall at the Village Booksmith, 526 Oak St, Baraboo. 608-355-1001; villagebooksmith@yahoo.com.

January 21, Saturday, 7 pm: Urban Spoken Word. Slam and open mic. Genna's Lounge, Main St. on the Capitol Square, hosts the Urban Spoken Word on the third Saturday of every month, with visiting featured poets, an exciting slam competition and a lively, diverse audience. The show starts at 7 pm. Cover is $10. 21+. Contact David at dahiii@hotmail.com for more information.

1/21: First Slam of 2012—Start the year off right! Open mic and Slam competition. The top two winners of the slam competition will compete at finals in May, for the five positions on the Madison National Team. The team will compete in August 2012, in Charlotte, NC. Poetry slam is the art—and sport—of competitive poetry reading. Five judges are picked at random from the audience, and performers are judged based on content, delivery, form and originality. Each poet has three minutes, and cannot use props, costumes or music; it’s just the voice and the mic. Part poetry, part theater, part stand-up comedy, part oratory, slam is constantly-evolving form, and always entertaining. Hosted by Milwaukee’s Dan Vaughn, a long-time poetry slam veteran who has appeared on HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam.” The featured performer for the night will be J.W. “Baz” Basilo from Chicago, IL. His work has appeared on NPR, in the Chicago Tribune, numerous literary journals and in hundreds of theaters, dive bars, prisons, schools and comedy clubs across North America. In 2010 he received a PushCart nomination for his poem, “Anointing the Hand.” His one-man dramedy, No One Can Fix You, debuted in 2009 to rave reviews in Chicago, Seattle, and New York City. As a competitor, Basilo was a finalist at the 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam, finished 2nd at the 2009 National Underground Poetry Individual Championship, and has represented Chicago at the National Poetry Slam four times. To date, he has released two full-length albums, Poet Laureate of Apt. 2E (2006) and Love Crimes, Etc. (2007), and the chapbook I Dare You to Believe This.

February

February 2, Thursday, 7 pm: First Thursday Open Mike Poetry Reading. Avol's Bookstore, 315 W. Gorham. 255-4730 for info.

February 10, Friday, 7:30 pm. Second Friday Poetry Open Mike. For additional information contact Annie Randall at the Village Booksmith, 526 Oak St, Baraboo. 608-355-1001; villagebooksmith@yahoo.com.

February 18, Saturday, 7 pm: Urban Spoken Word. Slam and open mic. Genna's Lounge, Main St. on the Capitol Square, hosts the Urban Spoken Word on the third Saturday of every month, with visiting featured poets, an exciting slam competition and a lively, diverse audience. The show starts at 7 pm. Cover is $10. 21+. Contact David at dahiii@hotmail.com for more information.

March

March 1, Thursday, 7 pm: First Thursday Open Mike Poetry Reading. Avol's Bookstore, 315 W. Gorham. 255-4730 for info.

March 9, Friday, 7:30 pm. Second Friday Poetry Open Mike. For additional information contact Annie Randall at the Village Booksmith, 526 Oak St, Baraboo. 608-355-1001; villagebooksmith@yahoo.com.

March 17, Saturday, 7 pm: Urban Spoken Word. Slam and open mic. Genna's Lounge, Main St. on the Capitol Square, hosts the Urban Spoken Word on the third Saturday of every month, with visiting featured poets, an exciting slam competition and a lively, diverse audience. The show starts at 7 pm. Cover is $10. 21+. Contact David at dahiii@hotmail.com for more information.