Bowery Poetry Club   

308 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
212-614-0505
www.poetrydoctor.org

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New York's new favorite poetry venue, Bowery Poetry Club has a packed schedule, showcasing well-knowns like Eric Bogosian and Taylor Mead, local poets looking for a receptive audience, and fringe performance like Tiny Ninja Theater -- Shakespeare done with little plastic ninja dolls. The palpable soul of the place comes from owner Bob Holman, former cabbie, temp worker, owner of a spoken word record label, Emmy Award-winning TV producer and former co-director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where he introduced the Chicago-born poetry slam. His warmth and humor facilitates community involvement, something he cares deeply about. It's a welcome ethos and business model for the Bowery, which is succumbing to a gentrification based to a large degree on real estate speculation. The room has a great setup for spoken word; there's a large stage in the rear with ample seating (overlooking a Lite-Brite depiction of Walt Whitman), and a cafe and bar up front which makes it good for daytime reading and work, as well as an unobtrusive place to converse during a performance, so you don't have to be a church mouse for the duration of your visit. And they have great answering machine greetings. -- Dan Glass