Tim Mason and Lisa LoBasso at Caffe Lena, July 1

This month the Caffe Lena Open Mic has two featured poets plus an open mic.  Here is the info from Carol Graser:

Timothy Mason has been actively performing poetry and promoting folk music since the 1980's. He honed is performance style in the early poetry slams and at the fabled Kerrville Folk Festival giving the songwriters a run for their money. His first book Gently, Like Water, Cracking Stone was released in April 1997. His most recent work, Feral Voices, published in February 2009, is a collection of poetry giving a non-human voice and sensibility to the 21st century experience on our shared planet. From Anchorage, Toronto and Ottawa to Boston, Austin and Oakland, festival and club appearances have solidified his place among contemporary New England artists and international audiences. "...beautiful imagery and solid structure mixed with an intense performance style...."  www.timothydmason.com

Refusing to characterize her poetic style as either academic or performance, LisaAnn LoBasso considers herself most at home among artists. With over 20 years experience, she has produced countless readings and collaborative arts events, such as the Up Close, Let Loose Traveling Poets’ Reading Series, and Operation Soapbox, while still racking  up her own credentials, including Poet Ambassador of Kern County in California, as well as appearances at venues and universities from West Coast to East. LisaAnn’s work has been lauded as both dynamic and boundary-breaking; dubbed a poetry minstrel by Las Vegas City Life Weekly, she has featured with diverse and noteworthy poets, such as Nicholas Roerich Prize winner Lee McCarthy, California Poet Laureate Al Young, and Paterson Award Winner Indran Amirthanayagam. Twice nominated for California Poet Laureate 2008, she has two poetry books in print: In the Swollen a poetry collection (2003), and Oleander Milkshake, (2008). In her spare time, LisaAnn develops creative writing programs, theatre scripts, arts-education programs, and public arts installations with artists as far as England. She travels worldwide and recently just returned from living in India for three months. LisaAnn has worked closely with Gluck Award winner Frances Mconnel, National Book Award finalist and critically acclaimed author Susan Straight, and Pulitzer Prize nominee Maurya Simon.

Poetry Open Mic
Wednesday July 1
doors open 7PM, readings start 7:30
Featured Poets: Tim Mason and Lisa LoBasso
$3
hosted by Carol Graser
Caffè Lena, 47 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs
www.caffelena.org     583-0022