John Burroughs performs his poem "Lens" w/ music at Nia Coffeehouse 03-2...

NightBallet had the good fortune to attend the Nia Coffeehouse poetry reading on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. The theme was "BEING AT PEACE IN OUR COMMUNITY": Poems of Power, Words of Life Against Violence and Brutality, and the event was held at St. Alban Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Cavana Faithwalker emceed and John Burroughs featured, along with Steven B. Smith and Kathy Smith, and Vince Robinson and the Jazz Poets (joined by Wanda Sobieska) dazzled with cool jazz grooves. "Lens", a new poem written and published--in a very limited edition of 30 by Crisis Chronicles Press especially for the event by John Burroughs earlier in the day--debuted with a bang. 

John Burroughs was published by NBP last year in the broadside "Low Kay Shun"; Steven B. Smith has two poems in the upcoming NBP anthology Buzzkill: Apocalypse, and Kathy Smith is working on a manuscript of poems entitled Firecracker Mandelas for NBP. Now, if we could only figure out how to get that sweet jazz between NBP covers!

April is National Poetry Month, and NightBallet has plenty of surprises in store for you!  Stay tuned for more exciting videos as we continue to gather the spoken word performances of NBP poets, and watch for the release of several new chaps over the coming weeks.  We're going to WALLOW in poetry, people!