Express yourself at one of Atlanta's venues for poetry.
Poets can find their muse in Atlanta, Georgia. A number of caf s welcome poets to open mics and poetry slams. There are also conventional readings by established poets at bookstores and other venues such as Georgia Tech University, which also hosts free workshops. If you're seeking a critique group, a local writers' club has a group devoted to poetry.
Urban Grind
The Urban Grind serves up coffee drinks, Panini sandwiches and on Thursday nights, fresh, hot poetry. Every Thursday night, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., poets and musicians are welcome to step up to the open mic and perform. The venue is casual and homey, with the audience seated on comfortable couches and chairs. The Urban Grind encourages a bohemian atmosphere, showing movies by local film makers and hanging the walls with paintings and photographs by local artists.
Apache Caf
At the Apache Caf , you can come for dinner and stay for a live music or spoken word performance while sipping a martini or glass of wine. The caf features entertainment almost every night of the week, including hands-on painting demonstrations on Monday nights. On Sunday nights, you can participate in Word is Born, the caf 's open mic experience for spoken word performances. Poetry, rap, political speech and social commentary are welcome. Please note, erotic material is allowed, making this a 21-and-over event.
Poetry at Tech
Those interesting in honing their craft may want to participate in the free workshops offered through Georgia Tech University's Ivan Allen College. The Poetry at Tech program offers workshops as well as readings by established poets. The readings are free and open to the public, often taking place in Kress Auditorium at the Robert C. Williams Paper Museum. Workshop participation requires an application which must be submitted in advance of the class. If you want to use a poem in the workshop, you must include that poem in your application.
Atlanta Writers Club
If you're looking for a club with membership and meetings, consider joining the Atlanta Writers Club. This organization is open to different genres of writers, including poets. An annual fee of $40, as of December 2010, will give you membership and discount access to events such as workshops and conferences. As a member, you can attend meetings and participate in critique groups. Some of these groups are for all genres while other groups focus on a particular genre, such as poetry.
