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, June 28, 2026. Nashville-area poet Julie Sumner, who some of you may remember from a local workshop and Bloom Stage, will be our feature. Read more about Julie 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.
Our new anthology will be available for sale at our events! $20 cash or Venmo preferred; PayPal also accepted. We’ll have a link for online sales posted soon.
About the open mic – please note important change to poem and time limit
Open mic readers can share poetry or spoken word: 1 poem or three minutes, whichever comes first. Reading a favorite poem by another writer is fine, too. PLEASE TIME YOURSELF AT HOME. Sign up for the open mic on site. Sign ups begin when doors open at 5:30. No early admittance.
While we welcome all styles of poetry, we ask that readers be prepared to keep their pieces “PG-13” depending on our 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
Julie Sumner is a writer who has worked as a critical care nurse, liver transplant coordinator, and massage therapist. She now teaches creative writing, focusing on reading poetry and writing as ways to develop resilience, particularly for healthcare workers and people with chronic illnesses. Her poems appear in many literary magazines and anthologies. In 2023, her collection Meridian was selected by poet Jane Hirshfield for publication by Wildhouse Publishing. Julie has an MFA in poetry from Seattle-Pacific University, and her work appears inThe Clayjar Review, The Windhover, Trampoline Poetry, Delta Poetry Review, and elsewhere. Learn more at juliesumnerpoetry.com.
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:
Gemini | momentum | help | reciprocate | goodbye | hello | gardener | flabbergast | blossom | alarm | hop
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
- June 14 – Writers Mingle at Dapper Owl with guest host singer/songwriter, humorist, artist and author Antsy McClain
- June 14 – Our writing workshop at The Studio at Dapper Owl is FULL – we’re excited for your great response!
- June 23 – PitB team member Brian Seadorf is leading a free writing workshop at the Linebaugh Library from 2:00-4:00 PM.. For ages 18+. More info here
- July 26 – Our reading and open mic will feature poet and spoken word artist, creative healer, and artist Kenny Rae.
- Our full summer schedule is listed here
For more local lit events, check out the monthly Rutherford Arts Alliance lit-news blog by our team member Taffeta Chime!