Update: Our January 25 event is cancelled due to the winter weather, but we’re glad to report that we’ve rescheduled Carson as our feature on Sunday evening, February 22. We’ll have full details posted soon. Y’all stay warm and safe!
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Join us to listen to some poetry—or share some writing of your own—at Poetry in the Boro at Dapper Owl on Sunday evening, January 25, 2026. Poetry in the Boro regular Carson Elliot will be our feature. Read more about Carson below.
The feature will be at 6:00, with open mic to follow. Drip coffee and light nibbles will be available at no charge. However, we hope that you’ll order from Dapper Owl’s tasty menu to help make this a winning collaboration for all of us! Their menu includes coffee, tea, beer, cider, chips, and baked goods both sweet and savory.
In winter we like to remind you: if the weather or road conditions are iffy, please check our social media (@poetryintheboro on IG or FB) for any last minute updates. We will try to make any weather cancellation 24 hours prior to the event.
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. Sign ups begin when doors open at 5:30. No early admittance.
We always ask that readers be prepared to keep their pieces “PG-13” depending on our venue and audience, which sometimes includes younger people.
The Dapper Owl coffee pub is located at 2412 East Main St. just past its intersection with Rutherford Blvd., on the east side of the MTSU campus. Overflow parking is on the Arnold Lane side of the building – pull in perpendicular to the building to allow more cars to fit (careful of the AC unit!) or park on the side of road down Arnold Lane (please don’t block any driveways).
About our feature
Carson Elliot (they/them) is a Pushcart Prize nominated teaching artist living in Middle Tennessee after growing up in Ohio. They are the author of the chapbook Celestial Bodies: A Year of Transgender Love Letters (2023). Their work centers the lyrical wisdom that the land provides, and the spiritual topography of the modern day American. They are an OZ Arts ArtWire Fellow, and their work can be found in publications such as SWING magazine, South Carolina Review, Gnashing Teeth Publishing, and Fifth Wheel Press among others.
Challenge words
If you like, write a new piece to share that includes one, some, or ALL of these words, selected by our audience at our last gathering:
endorphin | slop | y’all | laugh | shackle | corrupt | carom | cattywampus | valley | fuggetaboutit (or “fuhgeddaboudit,” whichever spelling you prefer)
We rely on your donations
ADMISSION IS FREE. A DONATION of $5 is appreciated to help us offset our costs. You can donate using PayPal at paypal.me/poetryintheboro. We also accept donations on site.
Poetry in the Boro thanks MTSU Write and the Rutherford Arts Alliance for their on-going partnerships and support.
More local lit events and news
- January 11 – Writers Mingle at Dapper Owl
- Save the dates for our upcoming events:
- Sunday, February 8 Writers Mingle, 3:00 to 5:00 pm
- Sunday, February 22 Poetry in the Boro, doors open 5:30 pm
- Sunday, March 8 Writers Mingle, 3:00 to 5:00 pm
- Sunday evening, March 22 – Poetry in the Boro 10th anniversary celebration and anthology release party with Bloom Stage at the Walnut House
Also check out the monthly Rutherford Arts Alliance lit-news blog by our team member Taffeta Chime!