POETS SPEAK LOUD

The hosts of POETS SPEAK LOUD are:

Mary Panza, Albany’s poetry diva, originated and hosted the poetry open mic at Border’s and has been a driving force in the poetry community for a number of years. Mary has also been active in promoting, hosting, and participating in many arts events through out Upstate New York. Most recently hosting the Singer/Songwriter Stage at the 2004 Larkfest in Albany. Mary has published a number of poetry chapbooks and was the producer of Volume, a compilation of Albany area poets performing their work at local readings and open mics. Her work can be found on Albany Poets, the hidden city, Albany Poetry Syndicate, and other sites.

Thom Francis, an upstate New York native, has been a writer and spoken word artist since he was old enough to understand, and therefore question the nature of the world in which we all exist. His skepticism, an attribute that seems to have been instilled in Thom since birth, has only been strengthened by the struggles in which he has encountered throughout the course of his twenty-five years of survival. These various struggles have made Thom an extremely strong and empathetic person, as well as the perfect candidate to pursue a calling in which he exposes the peculiarity exhibited by the human race. His work, based upon personal experience as well as general observations, always reveals an outlook commonly overlooked by the average observer. His work can be found on Albany Poets, Albany Poetry Syndicate, ipzp.com, and We Want Our Country Back.