FREE: Poets in the Park @ Albany’s Washington Park

The Poets in the Park reading series is celebrating over 20 years of bringing poetry each July to the Robert Burns statue in Albany’s Washington Park, Albany. The series was created in 1989 by the late Tom Nattell and is now hosted by Albany poet/photographer Dan Wilcox.

The readings are held at 7pm on Saturdays, and admission is free; donations are accepted. Please bring your own chairs or blankets to sit on. The rain site for the readings is Albany’s Social Justice Center.

Here’s the complete schedule for the 2015 Poets in the Park reading series:

Saturday (July 11): THE NITTY GRITTY SLAM TEAM with guest host THOM FRANCIS
The 2015 Nitty Gritty Slam Team consists of Poetyc Visionz, Amani, Elizag and Daniel Summerhill. The poets competed at the Nitty Gritty Slams held at the Low Beat twice a month and garnered the most points to represent Albany at the Slam Nationals in Oakland, California in August.

July 18: PAUL PINES and KAREN SCHOEMER
Paul Pines is the author of two novels, “The Tin Angel” and “Redemption,” and a memoir “My Brother’s Madness.” He has published twelve collections of poetry, including “Reflections in a Smoking Mirror,” “New Orleans Variations & Paris Ouroboros” and “Fishing On the Pole Star,” named the Adirondack Center for Writers’ best book of poetry 2014. His recent collection is “Message From the Memoirist.” Pines is a psychotherapist and hosts the annual Lake George Jazz Weekend.
Karen Schoemer is a poet, author, performer and bookseller in Columbia County. Her poems have been published in Chronogram, Up the River, Zephyrs and Red Barn; her book “Great Pretenders: My Strange Love Affair With ’50s Pop Music” was published by Free Press in 2006. As the vocalist for the Schoemer Formation, a “spoken-psych” rock trio, she has been described as “Patti Smith without the piety.”

July 25: ALISON KOFFLER and DAYL WISE
Alison Koffler’s poems often branch from those spaces where the human and natural world connect. She was the recipient of the Poetry Teacher of the Year award in 2003, the Bronx Council on the Arts’ BRIO Award for poetry in 1993, 2000 and 2006, and the Green Heron Poetry Contest in 2011. Her poems have appeared in such publications as Iris: a Journal for Women, Heliotrope and Home Planet News. She works as a teacher consultant for the NYC Writing Project at Lehman College.
Dayl Wise was raised in the Hudson River Valley. He was drafted into the US Army in 1969 with service in Viet Nam and Cambodia, and returned to Viet Nam in 1993 in the form of reconciliation delivering medical supplies. His poems have appeared in numerous publications, and is the author of “Poems and other stuff” (PTP, 2004) and “Basic Load” (PTP, 2009).

MORE REAL GOOD FOR FREE EVENTS FOR 2015
VARIOUS DAYS
Schenectady County SummerNight @ State Street, Schenectady (Friday, July 10 at 5pm)
Summer at the Plaza @ the Empire State Plaza, Albany (various days, various times)
Freedom Park Concert Series @ Freedom Park, Scotia (various days @ 7pm)
Inside/Out Performances @ Jacob’s Pillow, Becket (various days at 6:15pm)
Summer NYS Writers Institute Reading Series @ Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs (various days at 8pm)
MONDAYS
Rotterdam Summer Concert Series @ Rotterdam Senior Citizens Center Lawn, Rotterdam (Mondays at 7pm)
TUESDAYS
Schodack Town Park Concert Series @ Town Park, Schodack (Tuesdays at 6pm)
Summer Concert Series @ Clark Art Institute, Williamstown (Tuesdays at 6pm)
Cook Park Concert Series @ Cook Park, Colonie, (Tuesdays at 6:30pm)
Brunswick Summer Concert Series @ Brunswick Family Center, Troy (Tuesdays at 6:30pm)
Music On Main Street @ NBT Bank Lawn, Canajoharie (Tuesdays at 7pm)
Music in the Park @ Town Park, Stony Creek (Tuesdays at 7pm)
WEDNESDAYS
Made in the Shade of The Egg @ Empire State Plaza, Albany (Wednesdays at 12noon)
Rockin’ On the River @ Green Island Bridge Parking Lot/Riverside Park, Troy (Wednesdays at 5pm)
Capital Concert Series @ the Empire State Plaza, Albany (Wednesdays at 5pm)
Music in the Park @ North End Firehouse Lawn, Rensselaer (Wednesdays at 6pm)
Sharon Springs Summer Concert Series @ the Chalybeate Park Pavilion, Sharon Springs (Wednesdays at 7pm)
Evenings On the Green @ Bethlehem Public Library Lawn, Delmar (Wednesdays at 7pm)
Summer Music Series @ East Greenbush Community Library, East Greenbush (Wednesdays at 7pm)
Lake George Arts Project’s Wednesday Night Summer Concert Series @ Shepard Park, Lake George (Wednesdays at 7:30pm)
THURSDAYS
Kids’ Summer Series @ Barker Park, Troy (Thursdays at 11am)
Jazz On Jay @ Jay Street, Schenectady (Thursday at 12noon)
Alive at Five @ Jennings Landing in the Corning Preserve, Albany (Thursdays at 5pm)
Evenings On the Green @ Coeymans Landing Park Gazebo, Coeymans (Thursdays at 6pm)
Concerts in the Park @ Wiswall Park, Ballston Spa (Thursdays at 6pm)
The Crossings Summer Concert Series @ the Crossings of Colonie, Colonie (Thursdays at 6:30pm)
Guilderland Performing Arts Center Concert Series @ Tawasentha Park, Guilderland (Thursdays at 7:30pm)
FRIDAYS
UpBeat On the Roof @ Skidmore College’s Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs (Fridays at 7pm)
Music at Sunset Concert Series @ Greenport Town Park, Hudson (Fridays at 7pm)
Athens Summer Concert Series @ River Front Park, Athens (Fridays at 7pm)
SATURDAYS
Riverlink Summer Concert Series @ Riverlink Park, Amsterdam (Saturdays at 7pm)
SUNDAYS
The Music Haven Concert Series @ the Music Haven in Central Park, Schenectady (Sundays at 7pm)