Poetry Idol: Who will be the Poet Laureate of Smith’s Tavern?

This article ran in the Albany Times Union newspaper today. I’ll be taking part in the competition. Please come out and support local poetry!

Village tavern to crown poet laureate
Voorheesville watering hole hosts gatherings of wordsmiths

By PAUL GRONDAHL, Staff writer
First published in print: Friday, April 23, 2010

VOORHEESVILLE — This low-key suburban village of 2,700 souls harbors a noisy secret: the place is crawling with poets.

Their currency is the spoken word, often loudly declaimed to carry over the din of the bar and the clink of pints of Guinness.

While it may not rival literary capitals such as New York City or Paris, the village is home to poetry workshops, poetry readings, a poetry publisher and, come Sunday afternoon, the first-ever Smith’s Tavern poet laureate.

Two dozen poets from as far away as Syracuse will vie for the $100 first prize, not to mention a laurel wreath and the laureate’s name inscribed on a statue of Shakespeare on a mantle above a fireplace in the tavern’s back room.

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