Brooklyn Poets Yawp
Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM EDT
Brooklyn Poets, 11201
Description
Touted as the “best poetry event in the borough” by Brooklyn Magazine and “one of the most innovative literary events in the city” by Time Out New York, the Brooklyn Poets Yawp is a monthly poetry workshop & open mic held on the second Monday of every month from 6:30 to 9 PM. The event is hosted at 144 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights and also livestreamed via Zoom (closed captions available).
6:00 PM: doors open & open mic sign-up begins
6:30 to 7:30 PM: generative writing workshop
7:45 to 9 PM: open mic
Guests can purchase tickets to attend in person at 144 Montague Street or virtually via Zoom (note: virtual guests cannot read for the open mic). Advance online ticket sales for in-person attendance end at 5 PM on the day of the event. After that, tickets for in-person attendance can be purchased at the door until we reach capacity; tickets for virtual attendance will be available until the start of the workshop at 6:30 PM. A Zoom link will be emailed to all ticket holders. Participants are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance for in-person attendance, as the event usually sells out. Brooklyn Poets members take $5 off.
Each reader for the open mic can read one poem of 3 minutes max. Participants can purchase one of ten tickets in advance to reserve an open mic spot. Once those tickets sell out, all other participants who'd like to read for the open mic can purchase a ticket to sign up at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis. We usually have time for about 20–22 readers.
One poem at every open mic is declared Yawp Poem of the Month by audience vote. The winning writer earns a Brooklyn Poets tote bag, one of the twelve spots in our Yawp Poem of the Year contest and a ticket to our annual Awards Gala in December. We record and publish a monthly Yawpcast, so note that by reading you’re giving us permission to distribute your recording, unless you notify us otherwise. Also note that by participating in the Yawp, you agree to abide by our code of conduct and COVID-19 policy. Effective January 8, 2024, all event attendees except readers at a safe distance on stage are required to wear masks due to the current rise in cases in NYC. Our full policy can be found at the end of the event description. Brooklyn Poets reserves the right to dismiss from our programs any participant found to be in violation of these policies. Thank you for respecting our community.
Workshop Leader & Featured Reader
Rachelle Toarmino is a poet from Niagara Falls, New York. She is the author of the poetry collection That Ex and several chapbooks, most recently Comeback with Foundlings Press. Her poems and essays on poetry have appeared in American Poetry Review, Bennington Review, Electric Literature, Iterant, Literary Hub, Poets.org, the Slowdown and elsewhere. She earned her MFA in poetry at UMass–Amherst, where she received an Academy of American Poets Prize. She is also the founding editor-in-chief of Peach Mag, the poetry editor of Traffic East and the founder and lead instructor of Beauty School, a new independent poetry school. She lives in Buffalo.
COVID-19 Policy
Effective January 8, 2024, all event attendees are required to wear masks due to the current rise in cases in NYC. Masks will be available at the door.
We are implementing this change because, according to the latest data, we are in the second-largest surge in cases of the pandemic. The current metrics available, including NYC wastewater data and the CDC’s Respiratory Virus Activity Levels, both indicate very high levels of COVID and other illnesses that continue to increase.
While your personal risk tolerance may vary, the unmitigated spread of COVID disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in our community—including those who are immunocompromised or don’t have the privilege of taking paid sick days to heal and recover. We hope you’ll join us in taking the actions we can to make our space welcoming to all and to keep each other safe. Please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms, have a positive COVID test or someone close to you has recently tested positive.
While we do our best, Brooklyn Poets cannot guarantee zero risk. A risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in all public settings. By entering the building, students, teachers and other attendees accept the risk of exposure and knowingly waive and release Brooklyn Poets from any liability related to COVID-19.
Brooklyn Poets Code of Conduct
Brooklyn Poets will not tolerate any instances of discrimination, harassment or abuse in conjunction with any of our programs. Respect and consideration for others, both within and outside our programs, are core values to be upheld by all participants. Discrimination against and/or harassment of community members on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, religion, age, marital status, veteran status or any other factor is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Program participants are expected to adhere to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. Should a board or staff member, independent contractor, volunteer or program participant be found to violate any aspect of the organization’s code of conduct, Brooklyn Poets reserves the right to dismiss them from the program. Consequences may include, but not be limited to, dismissal from the current activity, suspension, ineligibility for all future activities, and/or loss of payment or fees. If you have any issues to report, please do not hesitate to contact Executive Director Jason Koo (koo@brooklynpoets.org) or Deputy Director renée kay (kay@brooklynpoets.org), and they will get back to you as soon as possible.
Location
Brooklyn Poets, 11201