Described by Allen Ginsberg (writer of Howl, the poem that changed US obscenity laws) as “the most integrated place on the planet”, the Nuyorican Poets Café closed its doors in November 2023 for a $24 million, three-year building renovation project.

Founded in 1973, the café became one of the United States’ most iconic of arts venues, running poetry slams, open mics, hip hop concerts, theatrical performances, educational programmes, and visual art exhibits. Its weekly poetry slams draw thousands of spectators annually, and the café is recognised as a major contributor to the popularisation of performance poetry, especially as a means of social empowerment for minority and underprivileged artists.

During the rebuild, those slams will be held round the corner from the café at The Bowery Poetry Club, which has drawn many British poets to read there (your correspondent, too) when visiting New York. The Bowery is run by Bob Holman, one of the early pioneers of the Nuyorican Poets’ Café before creating his own venue, the Bowery Poetry Club. He was described in The New Yorker as “the postmodern promoter who has done more to bring poetry to cafes and bars than anyone since Ferlinghetti”.

If you are in New York and fancy entering a Nuyorican poetry slam, here are the details:

NUYORICAN BOWERY SLAM

During the Nuyorican Poets Café's reconstruction, they bring their famous poetry slam series to the Bowery Poetry Club on 308 Bowery (between E. Houston & Bleecker Streets) in Manhattan, NYC. Weekly on Monday evenings, in-person. Doors open at 6.30pm. Slam runs from 7-9 pm.

Tickets: $20 in advance/online or at the door.

Hosted by J Rose & Luna Rósa.

BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE:

Monday, March 25 , 2024 · 7 - 9pm EST. Doors open at 6:30 pm. $20

Monday, April 1 , 2024 · 7 - 9pm EST. Doors open at 6:30 pm. $20

Tickets for future dates: boweryslam.eventbrite.com