{holy poetry, good people}

* MARTÍN ESPADA to read at Acentos Bronx poetry showcase on Thursday, October 13 *

* AMIRI BARAKA to read at louderMONDAYS at Bar 13 on Monday, October 17 *

{note: see the end of this email for details about the Katrina relief donation drive also taking place these nights}

The louderARTS Project is extremely proud to present two of the country's foremost poets, writers who refuse designation or categorization or to keep the politics of this world out of their poems, in October. For more information, please email curator@louderARTS.com or Acentos@louderARTS.com . Admission is first-come, first-served for both shows. www.louderARTS.com

*** Acentos presents MARTÍN ESPADA ***

Acentos / Thursday, October 13 at 7 p.m. / The Bruckner Bar & Grill / 1 Bruckner Boulevard / Uptown's Best Open Mic and featured poet MARTÍN ESPADA / FREE ($5 suggested donation)

Martín Espada is the author of seven books of poetry, including "Alabanza: New and Selected Poems" (1982-2002), which received the Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement and was named an American Library Association Notable Book of the year. An earlier collection, "Imagine the Angels of Bread" (Norton, 1996), won an American Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Espada also published a collection of essays, "Zapata's Disciple" (South End, 1998); edited two anthologies, "Poetry Like Bread: Poets of the Political Imagination" (Curbstone Press, 1994) and "El Coro: A Chorus of Latino and Latina Poetry" (University of Massachusetts, 1997); and released a CD of poetry called "Now the Dead will Dance the Mambo" (Leapfrog, 2004). He is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he teaches creative writing, Latino poetry, and the work of Pablo Neruda.

This reading is sponsored by Poets & Writers and the Bronx Council on the Arts. Special thanks to Jackie Sheeler ( www.poetz.com) and Ram Devineni of Rattapallax Press.

*** louderMONDAYS presents AMIRI BARAKA ***

louderMONDAYS ~ every Monday at 13 Bar/Lounge ~ 35 E. 13th St., Union Square NYC ~
7 p.m. (doors open at 6:45) ~ open mic + featured poet AMIRI BARAKA ~ $5 ~ note: open mic readers please bring a poem by a writer of the African diaspora to read along with your own

Amiri Baraka, born Leroi Jones, is the author of more than 40 books of essays, poems, drama, and music history and criticism. A seminal member of the Black Arts movement, he is a poet icon and revolutionary political activist who recites poetry and lectures on cultural and political issues extensively in the U.S., the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. In addition to being the former poet laureate of New Jersey, his numerous literary prizes and honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Rockefeller Foundation Award for Drama, the Langston Hughes Award from The City College of New York, and a lifetime achievement award from the Before Columbus Foundation. Since 1985 he has been a professor of Africana Studies at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. He is co-director, with his wife, of Kimako's Blues People, a community arts space. Amiri and Amina Baraka live in Newark, New Jersey.

{Other fall highlights: Jan Beatty December 5, Mark Doty December 12}

KATRINA DONATION DRIVE

WHO: Students of Sarah Lawrence College, the louderARTS Project & Friends.

WHAT: "Who's Going to Save the Babies?" donation drive for Katrina victims in Baton Rouge shelters and in New York City hotels.

WHEN/WHERE: Monday, October 10 & Monday, October 17, 2005 from 7 pm-10 pm, right outside Bar 13 @ 35 E. 13th St. in Union Square.

Thursday, October 13, 2005 between 7-10 pm, right outside of Acentos Bronx Poetry Showcase featuring Martín Espada at the Bruckner Bar & Grill-- 1 Bruckner Boulevard (Corner of 3rd Ave)

HOW: We are asking that you please bring baby supplies: diapers, bottles, formula, baby food, pacifiers, baby backpacks, etc. Also you can bring canned foods, new underwear and socks for the adults. Do NOT bring clothes. We are also accepting monetary donations to use as gas money for the vans that will be driving down to Baton Rouge and to and from the NYC hotels that are housing people. Just drop off the stuff outside, where the vans will be parked, then walk upstairs to Bar 13 Lounge or into the Acentos reading and enjoy the poetry!

WHY: It simply has to be done.

For more information, please contact Samantha Thornhill at me@samanthaspeaks.com.