Tag: Stories and Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic Night

Music, book review, et al.

October 27 | Book Review | The Spirit of Philadelphia by Chris Gibson.  Reviewer:  Roger Green

Tuesday at 2 pm at the 161 Washington Avenue branch of the Albany (NY) Public Library
October 27 | Book Review | The Spirit of Philadelphia: A Call to Recover Founding Principles by Chris Gibson.  Reviewer:  Roger Green, MLS, business librarian retired from the NY Small Business Development Center. (I JUST finished this book…)
November 3 | Book Review | Science Be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River by Eric Kuhn and John Fleck.  Reviewer: Jonathan Skinner, PhD, retired statistician & amateur classicist.
November 10 |Book Review | The Odyssey by Homer and others, including Christopher Nolan.  Reviewer: Hans-Friedrich O. Mueller, PhD, professor of Classics, Union College.
November 17| Book Review | This Earthly Globe: A Venetian Geographer and the Quest to Map the World by Andrea di Robilant.  Reviewer: Dylan Carey, MS, avid cyclist, hiker, & a railroad history buff.
November 24 | Author Talk | Steve Trimm, peace activist, discusses & reads from his book, Walking Wounded: Men’s Lives during and since the Vietnam War.
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If you like variety, helping people, and working with awesome colleagues, one of these positions with the Albany Public Library could be a good fit!
New location this month 
Stories and Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic Night, sponsored by Upper Madison. Tuesday, October 27. The doors open at 6:30, and the show starts at 7.
Your $5 minimum donation helps cover the venue rental.
Location: Cindy B’s Coffee, a lovely new small business located in the Events and Athletic Center at the former Saint Rose Campus! 420 Western Ave in Albany.
Just $5 to attend.
Bring a 5-minute story or spoken word piece to perform. Storytellers are encouraged to share a story in the style of The Moth – personal stories with no notes. Not in the mood to tell a personal story… how about a folktale?
Poets: read or perform their work without reading.
Don’t feel like performing? Be part of the audience – support the artists & this new small business!
Not up for a late night? Neither are we – you’ll be on your way to your next destination by 8:30!
SPECIAL THIS MONTH: audience members will have the chance to win tickets to Tellabration! 2026 on November 22nd at the GE Theatre at Proctors!
Key details:

We will have prompts available at the door that might inspire an impromptu story!
Expect adult themes and language.
The October Open Mic Night is brought to our community with support from the Story Circle of the Capital District.
SPREAD THE WORD AND BRING A FRIEND, IF YOU CAN.

Why you should attend FFAPL book reviews

Tuesday, July 28th, the Stories and Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic Night

I’m going to tell you why you should attend FFAPL book reviews and author talks. For one thing, you might learn some obscure facts.

On July 21, Dan Wilcox, peace activist & noted local poet, reviewed Shadow Ticket, a detective novel by Thomas Pynchon.  He mentioned that, in the fictional tale, there may have been some factual events. Sure enough, the Bridge Table Murder case actually happened. “Myrtle Adkins Bennett…, a Kansas City housewife,” was charged with “the murder of her husband John G. Bennett over a game of contract bridge in September 1929.” She was acquitted in March 1931.

Dan also mentioned several other Pynchon novels.  When the novelist won the National Book Award for Gravity’s Rainbow, it was Professor Irwin Corey, the eccentric comedian, who accepted the award.

Upcoming

The events take place Tuesdays at 2 pm at the Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Avenue, in the large auditorium. Limited parking is available in the rear of the building.

July 28 | Book Review | The Left Hand of Darkness, a sci-fi classic by Ursula K. Le Guin.  Reviewer:  David Brickman, photographer & FFAPL treasurer.

August 4 | Book Review | Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City by Kate Brown, science historian at MIT.  Reviewer:  Richard King, retired attorney.

August 11 | Book Review | The Hours of Henry VIII: A Renaissance Masterpiece by Jean Poyet by R. S. Wieck, W. M. Voelkle & K. Michelle Hearne. Reviewer: K. Michelle Hearne Arthur, Ph.D., former museum curator and director & current high school history teacher.

August 18 | Book Review | Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman.  Reviewer:  Mary A. Rosch, former APL Trustee, current FFAPL board member, proud Albany native who is active in several local organizations and loves connection, learning, and building community.

August 25 | Book Review | The Last Extinction:  The Real Science behind the Death of the Dinosaurs by Gerta Keller.  Reviewer:  Jonathan Skinner, PhD, retired statistician & amateur classicist.

1000 Madison Avenue, the former Pine Hills library

 Moth-style  stories
On Tuesday, July 28th, the Stories and Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic Night will take place. This month, it will be at a temporary location: the Madison Pour House at 1110 Madison Ave – just one block west of the Madison Theatre. The Madison Theatre is currently closed for renovations.
Please note: the meeting will be on the second floor at the Madison Pour House, accessible only via the staircase. 
As usual, they welcome both Spoken Word Poetry and Stories (Moth-style personal stories are encouraged – and folk tales are welcome too). No notes if humanly possible!
  • $5 at the 2nd floor door; cash, Venmo, and Zelle accepted – All proceeds go to the local business for allowing us to use their space!
  • Doors open at 6:30 (sign up to take the mic) 
  • Show begins at 7:00 pm, ends at 8:15 pm
Ultimately, the event will return to the Madison Theatre once renovations are complete!