did you get my invite?

poetry parties galore this week

Author

Salena J. D.
August 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

⭐️Top Shelf Pour

Celebrating 2 Years of a PVD Poetry Staple

The time has come! Afroverse is having it’s 2 year anniversary show TONIGHT & you better believe I’m popping out for the occasion—and you should too! It pains me to admit it (having lived in PVD for roughly 3 years now) but this will be my first time attending an Afroverse event. Brought to you by Vlad Jean, these premiere Hide-N-Speak events are consistent in delivering the quality, the crowd, and the chaotic fun (or so I’ve heard 😉) All jokes aside, I’ve admired from afar for far too long, so if you make it out tonight, make sure to tap me on the shoulder to say hi! I’m ready to enjoy a night out to celebrate Vlad, this amazing milestone, & the power of poetry—are you?

www.afroversepvd.com/product/hide-n-speak-vol-xxiv-2-yr-anniversary-show/62MHFSUJJG6THJXNHEB7YTBS

🏠️ Brew-It at Home

Pop-In for a Pop-Up Pub Party

As someone who struggles with social anxiety a lot, sometimes being in community can be exhausting…that’s why online spaces like this (with awesome people like TalichaJ) are so great! Talicha has created an entire online ecosystem of free and paid offerings in the literary space, providing a variety of ways to engage & commit to your writing practice. A Pub Party is a free space for you to focus on submitting poems for publication in community. Typically, these sessions only happen on the last day of each month, but you’re in luck because Talicha is hosting a pop-up pub party today at 4pm EST. So pull out that packet of poems you’ve had sitting as an attachment in your drafts & hit “send” confidently in the company of writers just like you; trust me, they’ve probably been procrastinating on submitting too! If I didn’t have work this afternoon, I would so be there so you should attend in my stead—your poems will thank you!

talichajpoetry.com/pub-party

🗳️ Spill the Tea

I’m still on the hunt for more titles to add to the TBR list for the Poetry Book Club. Monthly in-person meetups at Riffraff don’t start till October (exact date & time still TBD), but I need your help rounding out a list of 15 reading selections before I go back to Lucas with a proposed reading schedule.

I don’t want the selected reads to just be my choice — I’m starting a poetry book club to be in community so it’s only right that I ask the community to help me choose!

Some titles that were already suggested:

  • The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext

  • mother love by rita dove

  • frank: sonnets by diane seuss

  • the trees witness everything by victoria chang

📤️ Pour Your Heart Out

Submit to Lucky Jefferson’s 3rd Poetry & Prose Contest

Aiming to be the change they wish to see in the literary publication world, Lucky Jefferson is accepting FREE submissions of original and previously unpublished work (no soulless ai junk!) from anyone over the age of 10 until 8/17. So prepare and send in your 5 best poems (as long as they’re each 14 lines or less, you should be good)—hey, you can even spend some time today at the pub party to decide on which poems to choose! Up to 20 finalists will receive publication in their digital 365 collection & two finalists (one poetry, one prose) will get $100, publication, & a swag pack.

luckyjefferson.com/poetry-prose-contest

🏘️ Pour-trait of a Neighbor

Now Accepting Applications for the 2025-2026 School Year

New Urban Arts (NUA) is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary arts studio for high school students. We offer a drop-in studio space where students can opt into workshops, engage with peers, mentors and staff or just hang out. Though this is a volunteer position, it is a school-year-long commitment and if selected, you will receive a small honorarium in appreciation for your contribution. Spots are limited, with a formal interview process to follow once your application is received. The best part? The students review, interview and hire applicants—in fact, the second round interview for my current PT staff position was conducted by student leaders! What better way for the community we serve to have a say? I may be bias, but I just know you’ll love being a part of a vital community that empowers young people as artists and leaders, to develop a creative practice they can sustain throughout their lives. So what are you waiting for?

newurbanarts.org/2025/07/30/volunteer-artist-mentor-applications-are-open

📆 On Tap This Week

Instead of the usual round-up of events, I’m taking this opportunity to direct you to the Poetry Pour Calendar & asking you to help fill it with all the wonderful poetry happenings coming up this week (& the next, & the next…well you get the idea!).

You can submit events for FREE, so I encourage you to take a look there to double-check what’s going on & make sure your event or one you love is featured there!

Unfortunately, the technology isn’t able to auto-scrape details from event flyers on social media, so right now, the calendar is auto-filled with events published to a limited amount of web sources only—but together, we can make this the ultimate guide to all things poetry within 100 miles of PVD!

So submit an event now FOR FREE (or choose to pay a small fee for featured/premium spots)—either way, I’m excited to keep building this together before launching it publicly on 8/27.

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