Washington DC Area Recurring Open Poetry Readings

Please note: We used to carry an extensive list, but these things change, and we didn't have the time to keep it up to date. So, rather than mislead, we opted to inform only on those events that we were personally attending.

You can also see past and upcoming events which feature members of the Federal Poets at the Federal Poets Calendar page.

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SECOND SUNDAY: The IOTA reading (6 to 8 pm) at the Iota Bar and Restaurant, 2832 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, Free, featured reader(s) followed by open reading, good food. So you could leave Iota at 8, get to Georgetown and Club Myth.com in time for the slam, then (sorry) go to Hell. What a night! Hosted by Miles David Moore, who does a great job of keeping the trains running on time.

THIRD SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH:

Federal Poets meets (sometimes skips one summer month) from 2pm to 5 pm (sometimes a smaller group comes an hour earlier to go over longer poems), upstairs at the West Side Library in DC, 24th & L NW -- parking behind library. This is, I believe, the oldest continuing open workshop in the DC area -- began in 1943. Note that it is NOT just for federal employees, and many members are not federal employees. It WAS for federal employees when it began in 1943 -- hence the name. First three meetings are free and then you decide if you want to join ($20.00 dues a year, which pay for a publication, group-sponsored readings, etc. Anywhere from 12 to 25 people show up at a typical meeting. Just bring a poem (one page at most) and about 20 copies of it to pass around. It's good practice at giving and receiving critiquing, and there are usually some excellent poets on hand.

See the Book World Literary Calendar of the Washington Post for more readings.