On Friday, June 14, Poetry & Art Series 2019 at the San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) presents the 2018-19 San Diego Poetry Annual (SDPA) reading. The event features author, director and Tony Award-winning playwright reg e gaines, who contributed poetry to this year’s SDPA. Authors published in the 2018-‘19 collection are invited to read their work and get free admission for the evening. Authors Judy Reeves, Bill Harding and Jeff Walt will be on hand to share news about SDPA and this year’s upcoming $1,000 Steve Kowit poetry prize. Hosted by Michael Klam. DJ Gill Sotu will provide music and sound throughout the show.
This interactive arts and culture experience will include beverages, snacks and time to mingle. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Members are free, nonmembers $6 at the door. Please visit P&A at poetryandartsd.com or call 619-957-3264 for details.
AUTHOR DETAILS: reg e gaines is a playwright, poet and director. He wrote and produced a new musical, The 88, with music by Calvin Gaines, for Art House Productions in Jersey City. reg e gaines is a Tony Award-winning playwright, Grammy-nominated lyricist, language arts literacy workshop facilitator and published poet. He scored the 13-episode PBS documentary, Senior Year, directed Jerry Quickley’s Through The Looking Glass, and directed a five-week musical theater summer camp for the city of Camden, N.J. He has recently been commissioned to write and perform a play about dynamic activist and award-winning playwright Amiri Baraka, one of America’s most important poets.
SHOW/PEOPLE’S CHOICE (open mic) DETAILS: The People’s Choice Poem Performance Awards – Participants read/perform one poem under three minutes long. Audience members choose (by secret ballot) their favorite poem based on content and performance. Props, artwork, singing, music, dancing and all accompaniment is allowed and anything goes. Top poem performances (the poems that receive the most votes) win $50. Audience members will be encouraged to hoot for their favorites and try to influence the rest of the audience. Writers/artists who would like to participate in the People’s Choice Poem Performance Awards can get their names in the hat ahead of time at mkklam@gmail.com or text 619-957-3264. It is a good idea to sign up early by email or text message, as space and time are limited!
CONTACT AND LINKS: Please contact host Michael Klam with any questions: 619-957-3264 (cell) or mkklam@gmail.com. Visit us online at poetryandartsd.com.
Support and sponsorship by San Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild, The San Diego Poetry Annual, Puna Press, Poetry International, San Diego Art Institute.