Join us for a very special Poetry in the Boro on Friday evening, April 25, when we partner with the Poetry Society of Tennessee and MTSU Write for a kickoff of PST’s 68th annual festival! Christian J. Collier will be our feature, and also the plenary session leader at the festival the following day. Come out to listen to some poetry—or share some writing of your own.
The Poetry Society of Tennessee is hosting its 68th annual festival on the MTSU campus on Saturday, April 26, in collaboration with MTSU Write and Poetry in the Boro. To learn more and register, visit poetrytennessee.org/pstpoetryfest.html
This month we’ll be at the MTSU Foundation House, which is located at 324 W Thompson Ln in Murfreesboro. Doors open for mingling and refreshments at 6:00 PM. The feature will begin at 6:30 PM, with open mic to follow a short intermission. We’ll be planning to conclude everything by about 8:30, so you can be fresh for Saturday’s events!
Drinks and snacks will be available at no charge. This event is free and open to the public. Donations are encouraged to help with our expenses.
IMPORTANT DIRECTIONS & PARKING
The Foundation House is accessible through the same drive as Tennessee Miller Coliseum, diagonally across the street from Siegel Middle School. Be sure to enter at the Tennessee Miller sign, not at another (unmarked) entrance. After you come down the drive and start to enter the large parking lot, head to the left. You’ll see the Foundation House in a grove of trees. Park in the parking lot near the trees and then walk to either the side (carport) or front door of the house to enter. Disability access is available through the carport side of the house.
ABOUT OUR FEATURE
CHRISTIAN J. COLLER is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. He is the author of Greater Ghost (Four Way Books, 2024), and the chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade, the 2021 Editors’ Selection from Bull City Press. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Poetry, December, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2022 Porch Prize in Poetry and the 2020 ProForma Contest from Grist Journal. Learn more at christianjcollier.com.
ABOUT THE OPEN MIC
Open mic readers can share poetry or spoken word: 2 poems or four minutes, whichever comes first. Reading a favorite poem by another writer is fine, too. Sign up for the open mic on site. If we have a large turnout, we may ask you to limit yourself to one poem. We appreciate you helping us hear from many voices!
We ask that readers be prepared to keep their pieces “PG-13” depending on our venue and audience, which sometimes includes younger people.
CHALLENGE WORDS
If you like, write a new piece to share that includes one, some, or ALL of these words chosen by the audience at our last event:
troubador | conquistador | disingenuous | flamboyant | apocryphal | till | obfuscate | cheese | funded | boustrophedon
YOUR DONATIONS ARE APPRECIATED
Admission is free! A donation of $5 or more is appreciated to help us offset our costs. You can donate using PayPal at paypal.me/poetryintheboro. We also accept donations by cash and Venmo on site.
Poetry in the Boro thanks MTSU Write and the Rutherford Arts Alliance for their on-going partnerships and support. Find more on our website at poetryintheboro.org
LOOKING FORWARD
For our May event, we’ll be back at the Dapper Owl in collaboration with the local non-profit Benevolent Friends for a “Peace, Love, and Poetry” open-mic on Friday evening, May 9.
