WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT:

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On Sunday, July 28, 2021, Poetry Street began its 8th year, with its first reading at a new location—Sunny’s Riverhead Diner and Grill, 87 East Main Street. 

Covid-19 changed the way we live, almost in every way, including how we share our art ...our poetry. Like everything else, the Corona Pandemic also changed Poetry Street and forced us to find an opportunity to continue and to thrive. 

Poetry Street's new Director Chip Williford is leading Poetry Street forward, with Assistant Director and co-host Maggie Bloomfield along with the growing number of Poets Laureate, Extraordinaire, Novice as well as those who simply admire and appreciate prose and poetry. Today Poetry Street has a National Platform and is literally " A Room Without A Roof....Where Every Voice Is Heard"

Poetry Street is an open mic with featured poets, occurring on Zoom the last Saturday of the month, an ecumenical social justice ministry of reconciliation and healing, the “room without a roof” where every voice is heard….” Now beginning its 7th year, the longest-running open mic on the East End.

Poetry Street was founded in 2014 as a collaboration of two poets, Susan G. Dingle and Robert A. “Bubbie” Brown as a public art project for East End Arts’ JumpstART program, in partnership with Nancy Kouros, owner of the Blue Duck Bakery Café. 

In 2015 Poetry Street went “on the Road” in 2015, bringing poetry into the community and the community into poetry, at events sponsored by the Family Life Community Center, the Anti-Bias Task Force of Southold Town Unity Picnic, the East End Voters Coalition Juneteenth Picnic, Riverside Revisited, East End Arts Community Mosaic, Alive on 25, and the Riverhead Library.

In  2017, Poetry Street launched a YouTube series, “Poetry Street On the Road,” a series of 9 episodes featuring 16 poets, and ultimately "Poetry Street On The Road, The Film", Chip's Favorite Poems from Season One, available on YouTube, produced by Chip Williford. 

Poetry Street was hosted by Susan Dingle, Robert A. Brown, Chip Williford, Maggie Bloomfield, James A. Smith, and Vivett Duke, with sound technician, Mike Gari. 

Poets featured at Poetry Street include Cornelius Eady, Julie Sheehan, Starr Black, Steve Kramer, Coyote Lee, Gladys Henderson (Suffolk County Poet Laureate 2018), Robert Savino (SC Poet Laureate 2017), Pramila Venkateswaran, Terri Muuss, Matt Pasca, Russ Green, Kelly Powell, Tyler Allen Perry, Robin James, Caroline DeLuca, Miranda Beeson, LB Thompson, Kenneth M. Koprowski, Vivian Eyre, Anthony DiPietro, Robin James, James Smith, Kris Janvier and many more poets from Boston to Baltimore….