Nexus Poets

Nexus Poets Nexus Poets: 2014-2023. Now, folded into the North Carolina Poetry Society. Current Nexus Poets board members had each served for several years. Thank you, Sam!

We are pleased to announce that the mission of Nexus Poets will now be sustained through the North Carolina Poetry Society, as of Fall 2023. With no apparent successors, the board reached out to the North Carolina Poetry Society (NCPS). We hoped that this storied and robust nonprofit, established in 1932, would be willing to keep alive the ideals of Nexus Poets, provide opportunities for our membe

rs, and continue to honor the memory of our late friend Robert Golden, for whom our annual contest was named. We’re grateful and excited that NCPS is willing to absorb our resources in support of such initiatives. NCPS plans to endow a contest in Robert Golden’s name and to continue the tradition of Nexus readings in some capacity. NCPS also is willing to help us preserve the Nexus archives, including recordings of open mics past. While details are still to be worked out, we’re happy that the Nexus Poets legacy will live on! Moreover, anyone who has a current Nexus Poets (paid) membership will be eligible for a one-year automatic membership in NCPS, if desired. We take pride in all that Nexus Poets has accomplished in support of poetry, writers, and community in Eastern North Carolina and beyond:

- supportive monthly open mics open to all, initially in person and then transitioning to hybrid formatting, which attracted international participation.
- readings by distinguished featured poets, including Malaika King Albrecht, Sam Barbee, NIckole Brown, Jose Hernandez Diaz, Jaki Shelton Green, Jessica Jacobs, Peter Makuck, Valerie Nieman, Marty Silverthorne, and many others.
- participation in Poetry in Plain Sight that shares North Carolina poets’ work on posters in downtown businesses.
- the Robert Golden Poetry Contest, which presented cash awards in both adult and student categories.
- an online presence that informed and celebrated local poets.
- writing workshops.
- interface with other regional arts organizations, such as Pamlico Writers Group and Craven Arts Council. We salute all the supportive friends of Nexus Poets and all the creative participants who have made these programs so fulfilling over the years. We salute especially the dedication of co-founder and longtime president Sam Love, who sustained the group’s vitality since 2014. For more information, visit our web site at nexuspoets.com and the North Carolina Poetry Society web site at https://www.ncpoetrysociety.org/

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New Bern, NC

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Our Story

A big welcome from Nexus Poets! Our poetry open mic has been on the scene for six years--and counting!--in downtown New Bern, North Carolina. Talented local and visiting poets share their work on the first Tuesday of every month (with an occasional exception) from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at The Harrison Center, 311 Middle Street in New Bern. We showcase the featured poet, following with an open mic in which all are invited to share one or two original poems. Get there early to sign up to read or perform your poetry!

Established by writers Sam Love, Meg Wethington, and Alan Welch, Nexus Poets is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the cultural life of our community. In addition to sponsoring the open mic, we participate in the statewide Poetry in Plain Sight program (on hiatus until 2021), begun in Winston-Salem, whereby posters featuring poems by current North Carolina writers are displayed in downtown businesses. We also partner with the Craven Arts Council for their ekphrastic exhibits.

In 2018, we organized a membership drive to sustain our community poetry initiatives into the future. We continue to invite those with a love of language, literature, and the spoken word to join Nexus Poets. A donation of $20 will add you to our membership roster (send us a message to find out how). More importantly, your support will help us


  • provide a modest honorarium for those of our visiting poets who travel a long distance to share their work with us;