November 5th at the Center for Inquiry Libraries in Amherst, New York

Buffalo friends, I look forward to returning to your area on 5 November 2025 to read with Susan Nusbaum for the Literary Café at CFI (Center for Inquiry) in Amherst, New York. My final in-person reading of 2025!

Many thanks to Ryki Zuckerman for the invitation!

Center for Inquiry Libraries
1310 Sweet Home Road
Amherst, New York 14228

5/20: John Burroughs and Michael Czarnecki read in Buffalo

This Saturday, May 20th at 4:30 p.m., I'll have the immense pleasure of reading with Michael Czarnecki for the Second Stage Writers series at the American Repertory Theater of Western New York. 

 

My April Events Postponed

Due to the Covid-19 crisis and Ohio's stay-at home order, all of my April events are cancelled. I am hopeful we will be able to reschedule the ones in Buffalo, in Pomeroy and at the Lakewood Public Library for later this year. Stay tuned....

[UPDATE: My May events were cancelled as well.]

John Burroughs’ 2020 Poetry Events (Scheduled So Far)

I'm starting to put together my 2020 Poetry calendar and I'd love to read for/with you if we can make it happen. Still touring behind my latest book, Rattle & Numb: Selected & New Poems, 1992-2019 [Venetian Spider Press], I’ll read at your bar, festival, living room, bookstore, gallery, university or spacecraft - especially if you’re in Ohio (since I’ll still be the Beat Poet Laureate for our fair state through 2021), though I’m always open to travel for the right gig. For booking, please email jc@crisischronicles.com.

Saturday 4 January at 1 p.m. in Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Poetry reading and discussion with John Burroughs at Riddlehaven.

Monday 6 January at 8 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Bowled Over by Holbrook/Burroughs, hosted by Terry Provost at Mahall’s 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Wednesday 8 January at 7 p.m. in Youngstown, Ohio
Lit Youngstown presents John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin at The Soap Gallery, 117 S. Champion Street, 44503.

Saturday 18 January at 7 p.m. in Wadsworth, Ohio
Poetry Night and Open Mic featuring John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin at Manic on Main, 136 Main Street, 44281. 

Sunday 19 January at 2 p.m. in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie County Poet Laureate Chuck Joy presents a staged reading of Spoon River Anthology, Selected Poems (including John Burroughs in the role of Theodore the Poet) at the Erie County Public Library 160 E Front Street, 16507.

Tuesday 21 January at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Chuck Salmons and Renay Sanders plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Thursday 13 February at 7 p.m. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Ekphrastacy: Artists Speak + Poets Respond (to the Point Line Pattern Plane exhibit) featuring Ray McNiece, John Burroughs and Carson Evans at Heights Arts, 2175 Lee Road, 44118.

Tuesday 18 February at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Bill Yarrow & Laura Grace Weldon plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Sunday 8 March at 6 p.m. in Toledo, Ohio
Uncloistered Poetry featuring John Burroughs, Sam Wright and Sandra Gill at Calvino’s Restaurant & Wine Bar, 3143 W Central Avenue, 43606.

Tuesday 17 March at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Leah Mueller and Rikki Santer plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Thursday 9 April at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio

Meet the Author featuring John Burroughs at the Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Avenue, 44107.

Friday 10 April at 7 p.m. in Buffalo, New York
Second Stage Writers at Grindhaus, 160 Allen Street, 14201. More info forthcoming.

Friday 17 April at 6:30 p.m. in Pomeroy, Ohio
Poetry at the Brickhouse: Kari Gunter-Seymour & John Burroughs at the Brickhouse Apothecary, 105 Butternut Avenue, 45769.

Tuesday 21 April at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Terry Provost and Nick Gardner plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Tuesday 19 May at 7 p.m. in Evansville, Indiana
Poetry Speaks featuring John Burroughs, hosted by Indiana Beat Poet Laureate William Sovern at the Bokeh Lounge, 1007 Parrett Street, 47713.

Saturday 13 June at 5 p.m. in Amherst, Ohio
Poetic Expressions from the Heart featuring a workshop, John Burroughs, and open mic hosted by Debra Rose at Arabica Coffee Bistro, 254 Park Avenue, 44001.

Thursday 9 July at 7 p.m. in Shaker Heights, Ohio
Broadsides & Ephemera featuring John Burroughs, plus open mic, at Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Boulevard, 44120.

Saturday 25 July at 7 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio
Annual Cleveland Inkubator festival sponsored by Literary Cleveland at the Cleveland Public Library, Superior Avenue, 44114. More info forthcoming.

4 through 6 September in New Hartford, Connecticut
2020 National Beat Poetry Festival. More info forthcoming.

25 through 26 September in Youngstown, Ohio
Lit Youngstown’s Fall Literary Festival 2020. More info forthcoming.

2 through 3 October in Frostburg, Maryland
The Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival hosted by the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts. More details forthcoming.

Stay tuned. More to be added.

[Originally published 1/1/2020. Updated 2/11/2020.]

Athens, Chicago, Buffalo, Erie and Cleveland Heights the Next Two Weeks

This weekend, I hit the road again.

8/18 from around noon to 3 p.m. - Poets Kari Gunter-Seymour, Dianne Borsenik, Ivars Balkits, Jeffrey Hanson, Becca Lachman and I will share a stage at the Athens Community Arts & Music Festival in Athens, Ohio.  Read Expanded Athens Music Fest Gets Infusion of Art in The Athens News.

8/20 at 7 p.m. - I'll be the featured poet for this month's installment of the Waiting 4 the Bus: Weirdo Open Mic series at Uncharted Books in Chicago, Illinois.  

8/24 - I'll be featured poet during the 4th Friday series at Dog Ears Bookstore & Cafe in Buffalo, New York.

8/28 - I'll be featured poet during the Poetry Night series at Calamari's Squid Row in Erie, Pennsylvania.

8/30 - I'll be back in Cleveland Heights to celebrate my friend Joe Arcangelini's new NightBallet chapbook release at Mac's Backs.

I look forward to seeing you somewhere somehow.

Unfounded in New Hartford (video) and Upcoming in Amherst (and beyond)

Thanks to Meg Harris for recording this clip of me reading my poem "Unfounded" (from Loss and Foundering) on 2 June 2018 during a National Beat Poetry Festival event at the the Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library in New Hartford, Connecticut. Thanks to George Porto for the guitar accompaniment and to Linda DiMeo Lowman for posting it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/G8fbdH1oFfQ.

This Saturday, 11 August, at the Arabica Coffee Bistro in Amherst, I will have the pleasure of being the featured poet for the Poetic Expressions from the Heart Series hosted by Debra Rose. There will be a pop-up workshop at 5:30 p.m. followed by my reading at 6:00 followed by an open mic. This month their theme is Reflection. Arabica Coffee Bistro is located at 254 Park Avenue in Amherst, Ohio 44001.

Other featured readings I will give this month include:

8/18 - with Kari Gunter-Seymour, Dianne Borsenik, Ivars Balkits, Jeffrey Hanson and Becca Lachman at the Athens Community Arts & Music Festival in Athens, Ohio 
8/20 - Waiting 4 the Bus series at Uncharted Books in Chicago, Illinois 
8/24 - at Dog Ears Bookstore & Cafe in Buffalo, New York 
8/28 - at Calamari's Squid Row in Erie, Pennsylvania

Inkubator, Amherst, Athens, Chicago, Buffalo, Erie, Lakewood, Michigan, Akron, Maryland, Kansas City, Columbus and more coming up

Dianne Borsenik and I will have the pleasure of performing at the Athens Community Arts & Music Festival the afternoon of August 18th. And that's just one of the many great events I'm looking for forward to participating in during the next few months. Just my featured readings and book fairs include:

8/4 - 2018 Cleveland Inkubator Festival at Cleveland Public Library
8/11 - Arabica Coffee Bistro in Amherst, OH
8/18 - with Dianne at the Athens Community Arts & Music Festival
8/20 - W4TB at Uncharted Books in Chicago, IL
8/24 - Dog Ears Bookstore & Cafe in Buffalo, NY
8/28 - Calamari's Squid Row in Erie, PA
9/18 - Poetry+ at Art on Madison in Lakewood, OH
9/21 - International Beat Poetry Festival in Monroe, MI
9/28 - with Raymond McNiece at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar in Akron, OH
10/5-6 - 2018 Western Maryland Indie Lit Festival in Frostburg, MD
10/12-14 - Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest in Kansas City
10/26 - with Anna Soter at Gramercy Books Bexley near Columbus, OH

...and more to be announced when either the events or my arrangements are nailed down.

My 2018 Climbing up the Neck of America Tour!

With my western poetry trip (which Dianne and I called our Stabbing into the Heart of America tour) and the Kleft Crisis festival and the Haiku Society of America's Spring Meeting behind me, I am preparing to head northeast for what I am now calling my Climbing up the Neck of America tour. But it begins this week in Cleveland.

8 May at 7 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio 

Incite: A Poetic Conversation: Dianne Borensik + John Burroughs. RA Washington discusses poetry, small presses and more with Borsenik and Burroughs at Guide to Kulchur Books, 5222 Lorain Avenue, 44102. 

10 May at 7 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio 

Broadsides & Ephemera w/ John Burroughs at Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Boulevard, 44120. Includes open mic, hosted by Paul Ryland.

17 May at 7 p.m. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire 

Beat Night featuring John Burroughs, Jeff Stern and Stephen Haven at the Portsmouth Book and Bar, 40 Pleasant Street, 03801.

19 May at 2 p.m. in Clinton, Connecticut 

Len Fried, Alan Kleiman and John Burroughs will read at the Henry Carter Hull Library, 10 Killingworth Turnpike, 06413

20 May from 2 to 10 p.m. in Northford, Connecticut 

Sol’s Path Launch featuring Leslie McGrath, Terry Blackhawk and John Burroughs, hosted by Meg Harris at the Sol’s Path Writing Center, 1785 Middletown Avenue, 06472.

22 May at 7 p.m. in Portland, Maine 

Loss and Foundering By John Burroughs at Longfellow Books, 1 Monument Way, 04101.

24 May at 7 p.m. in Woonsocket, Rhode Island  

May Poetry Reading featuring John Burroughs plus open mic at Millrace, 40 South Main Street, 02895. [My appearance had to be canceled in favor of a funeral and will hopefully be rescheduled.]

26 May at 1:30 p.m. in Somerville, Massachusetts  

Stephen Haven, Gloria Mindock, and John Burroughs at Arts at the Armory, Červená Barva Press Studio, Basement, B8, 191 Highland Avenue, 02143.

1 June at 1 p.m. in Nyack, New York 

Write! hosted by Siwsan Gimprich at La Fontana, 95 S. Broadway, 10960.

1 June at 4:30 p.m. in Nyack, New York 

Write! hosted by River River at the Carson McCullers House, 131 S. Broadway, 10960.

2 June at 3:30 p.m. at 7 p.m. in New Hartford, Connecticut 

National Beat Poetry Festival featuring John Burroughs, Tchalla Williams, special guest William DeVault and musical guest George Porto, plus open mic at The The Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library, 10 Central Avenue, 06057.

3 June at 7 p.m. in Peekskill, New York 

John Burroughs and others will perform during the Bean Runner Open Mic presented by The Artist Collective at the BeanRunner Café, 201 S. Division Street, 10566.

4 June at 8 p.m. in Buffalo, New York  

Poets Storm Nietzsche’s featuring John Burroughs, Dianne Borsenik, Julio Montalvo Valentin and Jennifer Skelton at Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen Street, 14201.

And stay tuned for more. To see my full, ever-evolving 2018 poetry event schedule, please click here.

With Rucci in Buffalo, InTENse in Cleveland Heights - 14/15 June 2017

Thanks to everyone who made Saturday's reading in Sandusky so special, especially (in alphabetical order) Bottom Dog Press/ Bird Dog Publishing, Christina, Dan, Dianne, Firelands Writing Center, Jameson, John, Larry, Lorraine, Mr. Smith's Coffee House, Ruth Ann, Steve, Susanna, Theresa, and Wesley. Among my favorite happenings in quite some time!

This week, my poetry tour continues with Words on the Rocks V : Damian Rucci & John Burroughs at the Alley Cat in Buffalo and CWP Presents InTENse Poetry! (featuring 11 poets from 4 states) at Mac's Backs Books on Coventry in Cleveland Heights.

 And to see my full 2017 tour schedule click here. 

Cringing at the Mac 9/23 - with Buffalo, Kent, Cleveland & Rust Belt Boy

I'm thrilled to be reading this Friday at historic Mac's Backs-Books On Coventry with Buffalo's Cringe-Worthy Poets Collective (Nathanael William Stolte, Julio Valentin & Misty Khan-Becerra), a couple of Kent poets (Cassandra Adams & Joseph Bocchicchio), Cleveland's own Dianne Borsenik and, all the way from New Hampshire, Paul Hertneky (author of Rust Belt Boy). To borrow a phrase from Prince, we'll have "a pocketful of plentygoodtime." The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m.

More info on the Mac's Backs website.

Even more info on the Facebook event page.
Like the Cringe-Worthy Poets Collective and be happy.

Burning Books July 13th in Buffalo

photo courtesy of Burning Books' Facebook page

Looking forward to my first trip to Buffalo!

Policies of Truth: A Poetry Reading
feat. Joey Nicoletti, Dianne Borsenik, John Burroughs & George Guida

at Burning Books
420 Connecticut St.
Buffalo New York 14213
http://burningbooksbuffalo.com

Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 5:00 pm.