Attn: Baltimore-area poets!

Alright, Baltimore poets - listen up, because Christophe Casamassima (Furniture Press Books) is about to throw down...

From: Christophe Casamassima, Furniture Press Books

To: The People of Baltimore

400 Events in 340 Cities Representing 70 Countries Make “100 Thousand Poets for Change” Truly Historic

Poets around the world are currently organizing and planning nearly 400 individual events to take place simultaneously on September 24, 2011, in a demonstration/celebration of poetry and the spoken word to promote environmental, social and political change.

In Baltimore City, I am organizing a massive recording session of area poets, writers and readers, and then creating a free online anthology to which anyone in the world can listen. The purpose is to support the notion that “The City that Reads” reflects the manifest interests and poetics of its citizenry, and that creative literacy can be sustained in Charm City.

From now until September 24, I’ll be reaching out to individuals to read their favorite poems in front of a microphone. It can be one poem or a series of poems. The object is to show the world that poetry is thriving in our fair city and that it’s not just practicing or well-known poets and writers who are engaged in the craft.

Immediately following September 24, all documentation on the 100TPC.org weblog will be preserved by Stanford University in California, which has recognized 100 Thousand Poets for Change as an historical event, the largest poetry reading in history. They will archive the complete contents of the weblog, 100TPC.org, as part of their digital archiving program LOCKSS.

So, want your 15 minutes of fame? Let’s meet! You can find my contact info below. Please write or call me to set up a time where we can meet. All you have to do is pick your favorite poems and tell us a little about yourself.

Thank you,

Christophe Casamassima

furniture.press.books@gmail.com

(410) 718-6574

Earlier this year, Christophe did me the honor of recording some of my own work; listen here, if you're so inclined.

Regular SMILE, HON contributor Doyle-Gillespie publishes book

BALTIMORE, Md. - Regular Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! contributor E. Doyle-Gillespie announces the publication of his book Masala Tea and Oranges, a collection of his poetry that explores the human condition through the lenses of such universals as sex, war, death, love, power and faith.

A Baltimore cop, Doyle-Gillespie is also a former teacher of History and English who holds an MLA from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History from George Washington University - all of which informs his dark, vivid, often sexually-charged work. Check out his pieces "On History" and "Shopping" in Smile, Hon, You're in Flagrante!, the latest theme issue in the award-winning Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! series published by Eight-Stone Press. Pick up your copy of Masala Tea and Oranges here.