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Almost Uptown Poetry Cartel, Harrisburg

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Almost Uptown Poetry Cartel, Harrisburg

The Almost Uptown Poetry Cartel used to host a reading series every Thursday from 7-9pm at numerous venues. April 1999 to April 2020. Sum punkins. Listen, read.

It was a fun way
to share or listen to many varieties of versifying. Our PoetryThursdays reading series celebrated its twenty-year anniversary in 2019. This long-running series, a cartel mainstay since 1999, began in a small coffeehouse called Sweet Passions on 3rd Street, in Midtown, near Nick's Cafe, and continued through numerous downtown venues. Most recently, before moving to Hertrich Fine A

rts we were at the Midtown Scholar. The Harrisburg Midtown area is experiencing an exciting cultural Renaissance and we're excited and proud to help promote it. It's smack dab in the cutting edge of Harrisburg's "Cultural Corridor," as Gov. Rendell once called it. Be part of an exciting time in literary history. Most readings are free and open to the public. Read out loud, taste the words, share your favorite poets, or perform your own poetry and prose. Engage. C'mon out, when you can-- join in the excitement. Your spirit, your voice, your support makes it work. Everything's waiting for you.

------------30.--------------

10/11/2024

And now, bongo drumroll please, I (Rick Kearns) am pleased and somewhat amazed to say I won an honorable mention in the Writer's Digest 2024 Poetry competition. Amazed in that WD is a very commercial operation and after realizing I had entered the contest - I had submitted the poem after drinking more than a little wine - I was not optimistic even though I like this one. Anyway here's "I Saw You Crying" which first appeared in my chapbook called "the dead go swimming" (2019).
I Saw You Crying

I saw you crying
through the window
of the diner
where the old men gather in booths
and disappear.

I will console you
my love
when the giant cameras blink
and the flower sellers
call out your name.

Nightsticks floating
through the alleys and the streets
but the old women
will cover us with rags
take my hand then and someday

You will hear me singing
in the bloody field
of arrows, muskets and spinning wheels
and my grandfathers will appear
with guitars and violins.

You will hear me wailing
the streetlight llanto of
freedom and despair
that opens the rivers
and sends flowers through the air.

07/16/2024

Unmitigated Dreams of a Spring Tease (by Marty E., circa '04)

Tuscarora naturalists yearn, dream for all wildlife to breathe free.

Texas truck driver fatally shot in Harrisburg dreamed of owning her own company.

Tacony's Ona Magaro dreamed that dimension itself defines the changing relationship between mass and space. Sculptural expression is spatial – the three-dimensional realization of an idea, either by the creation of mass or the manipulation of space.

Tennessee's Lavar Alexander, as a gubernatorial campaigner, walked the state wearing a plaid shirt and never even stopped at Stuckey's. He dreamed of someday, kickin' out the jams.

Theron Louis Mbarick Fall, known as Battling S**i, was a French-Senegalese boxer born in Senegal, who dreamed of knocking out Georges Carpentier. He did.
Then "S**i" chose to defend his title against Irish light heavyweight Mike McTigue on Saint Patrick's Day in Dublin. Seriously.

Tyrone is connected by land to the County Donegal to the west, whose people dreamed that all men could be, should be brothers. And sisters, if need be.

Tamaqua is located in a valley basin, just on the edge of the neighboring Lehigh watershed. James Thurber dreamed passionately of owning his own basin.

A Tamaqua Industrialist, who furnished the town with the nation's second incandescent municipal lighting system, dreamed of someday banishing candlepower, both the unit and the word.

--- MarTy Esworthy

07/13/2024

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Marty Esworthy. He was the founder of the Almost Uptown Poetry Cartel and the driving force that kept poetry alive in Harrisburg for the last 30 years.

Marty had such a unique way of welcoming and encouraging every poet that walked through the door of his poetry readings.

He was our friend and our mentor. A true creative force in every aspect of his life, in the lives of his many friends, and the wider artistic community.

There will a celebration of his life, August the 11th, in Harrisburg. Further details will be posted.

07/06/2024

This year I'm celebrating a milestone birthday, and I'd love to say goodbye to my 40s by selling 50 books this month and supporting indie bookstores in the process! You can help.
Get one for your local library, a friend who needs a boost, your doctors' waiting room, your favorite teacher, or the coffeeshop magazine rack!
Check out my collection here, where your purchase benefits an indie bookstore: https://bookshop.org/lists/the-maria-james-thiaw-collection

03/08/2024

Happy International Women's Day! Tune in today as I discuss some of the amazing women I've encountered through my American Griot Project! I'll also be sharing poetry from Reclaiming My Time. 12:00 today!

02/09/2024

Tomorrow is the big day! If you want to attend one of my black history month workshops, sign up today. Bring a friend. These workshops are in person at The Crystal Cove Collective in Camp Hill, Feb 10th and Feb 17th. Go to Eventbrite for details! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/822586266667?aff=oddtdtcreator
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/822586266667?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join us for a fun and informative workshop. Hone your poetry writing skills, and learn about black history in the process!

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Harrisburg, PA
17102

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Our Story

Our PoetryThursdays’ reading series celebrated its twenty-year anniversary in 2019, this year will be our 21st. This long-running series, a cartel mainstay since 1999, began in a small coffeehouse called Sweet Passions on 3rd Street, in Midtown, near Nick's Cafe, and continued through numerous downtown venues. Most recently, prior to our move to the Midtown Scholar, we were at the Midtown Cinema. Now we’re off to Hertrich Fine Art. Versification scientists have ascertained that all the poems we've read, every week, over an eleven-year span, if laid end-to-end, could stretch to the moon and back. Really-- do the math. Poetry events, all open to the public, are happening every Thursday-- hence PoetryThursdays-- at 1421 North Third Street. More info: (717) 695-9299. It’s just a block or so North of the Midtwown Scholar Bookstore, a stone’s throw from the Susquehanna Art museum. The Harrisburg Midtown area is experiencing an exciting cultural Renaissance and we're excited and proud to be part of it. You come too.

This area of Third Street, reaching to sweep past Reily and heading Uptown, has been called “Harrisburg’s Cultural Corridor.” Be part of an exciting time in literary history. Our reading is free and open to the public. Read out loud, taste the words, share your favorite poets, or your own poetry and prose. Listen, read. Engage. Join in the excitement. We need your spirit, your passion, your voice, and your support, to make this work. Everything’s waiting for you. See you Thursday?

--mge