I'M SORRY ABOUT POETRY / APRIL 1-30, 2025

APRIL 1-30

MAGNETIC POETRY CONTEST @ DEFUNCT BOOKS 

(1108 Woodland St.) 

Enter in-person

Tag your poem

#IMSORRYABOUTPOETRY

WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT THE END OF THE MONTH!

PRIZES 

TBA

 SATURDAY, APRIL 5 (3PM-SUNSET)

SHOW & SELL: MAKER'S BAZAAR @ THE PACKING PLANT(507 Hagan St.)

Join us for a very special *ALL POETRY EDITION* of SHOW & SELL: MAKER'S BAZAAR for the Wedgewood-Houston Art Crawl at The Packing Plant. 

TUNES by @wxnafm

PIZZA by @diceyspizzatavern

DRINKS by @jackalopebrew 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9 (7PM)

WRITER'S GYM @ COOP GALLERY

(507 Hagan St.)

DREAMING TOWARD TRANSFORMATION

SESSION LEADER: STEPHANIE NIU

Dreaming Toward Transformation: A generative workshop on the transformative power of dreams, images, and the subconscious What can a dream do? In a space unbounded by the logic of the waking world, how might dreams push us to imagine reality differently, and possibly even transform it? In this 90-minute generative workshop, we will dive into the imagery and language of our own dreams, prompted by selected work from Dana Levin and Brendan Constantine. Participants will emerge with a poem or reflection of their own and a deeper consideration of the dream’s sister question: what can a poem do?

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*7PM
*Hosted by @coopgallery

*In partnership w/ @vanderbiltuniversitypress
*Journals + materials provided by @turnipgreencreativereuse
*Complimentary masks from @nashmask4mask + HEPA Air Purifier
*FREE with encouraged donations going to SESSION LEADER
*1st floor, wheelchair accessible 

FRIDAY, APRIL 11 (7PM-9PM)

THE BODY SPEAKS NO/EVERY LANGAUGE @ YOGASOUL BHAKTI CENTER

(1224 Martin St.)

Join us for The Body Speaks No/Every Language: an evening of performances and presentations exploring ways in which the body and language coalesce and/or diverge in poetry, dance, mantra, yoga, voice, and breath.

SATURDAY, APRIL 12 (12PM-2PM)

FORT NEGLEY GUIDED POETRY TOUR

(1100 Fort Negley Blvd.)

*A guided walking tour of Nashville's only UNESCO-designated 'Site of Memory' with poetry in mind. Led by Angela Sutton, Vanderbilt University Research Assistant Professor and director of the Fort Negley Descendants Project.

Dr. Angela Sutton is the author of Pirates of the Slave Trade: The Battle of Cape Lopez and the Birth of an American Institution, and her next book project is about Fort Negley.

Group and breakout/individual writing sessions following the walking tour.

PLEASE RSVP + CONTACT: nashvillepoetrylibrary@gmail.com

*In partnership with Friends of Fort Negley, and Metro Parks Nashville.

SATURDAY, APRIL 12 (2PM-4PM)

SILENT POETRY @ THE PACKING PLANT

(507 Hagan St.)

Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. -Plutarch

"Silent Poetry" is a drop-in workshop for responding to art through ekphrastic poetry. Participants can wander through the Packing Plant’s galleries, peruse books, and find inspiration in visual media.

Ekphrasis is the verbal description of a visual work of art. Through looking closely, participants are invited to tell the story of the works that speak to them and explore personal feelings, observations, and individual responses to visual art. 

Led by Shahnaz Lighari

SUNDAY, APRIL 13 (1PM-2:30PM)

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH OPEN MIC: NATURE

Join Zoom Meeting
https://mtsu.zoom.us/j/84554299599

Meeting ID: 845 5429 9599

Please join us for a virtual reading and open mic with feature poet Amie Whittemore. Fellow poets and poetry lovers are invited to listen to some poetry, or share their favorite poems by other authors. Since it's a week before Earth Day, please consider sharing writings about nature. Poems should be about 3 minutes or less. Sign up using this Google form:

https://forms.gle/NNxQLSJfFCk1qTHaA

We will add additional readers via Zoom chat if time permits.

The event will begin at 1:00 PM Central time on Sunday, April 13, and go until approximately 2:30 PM.

 Hosting will be courtesy MTSU Write, with co-hosts Kory Wells and Taffeta Chime. A community-facing program at Middle Tennessee State University, MTSU Write provides one-on-one mentorships, workshops, critique groups, an annual conference, and other resources to writers of all experience levels and genres across the nation. Learn more at https://www.mtsu.edu/write/ 

Amie Whittemore (she/her) is the author of three poetry collections, most recently Nest of Matches (Autumn House Press). Her chapbook, Hesitation Waltz, is forthcoming from the Midwest Writing Center. She was the 2020-2021 Poet Laureate of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Her poems have won multiple awards, including a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Prize, and her writing has appeared in Blackbird, Colorado Review, Terrain.org, Pleiades, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing at Eastern Illinois University.

MONDAY, APRIL 14 (7PM-8PM)

A PROP 6 DEMONSTRATION @ COOP GALLERY

(507 Hagan St.)

Peter Redgrave will present a selection of his PROP Series. These are books that are performances that performers hold. He will share number one, two, and six. These pieces grow out of explorations of the embodied knowledge of text and how it is transmitted. Reading is a socialization technology. Let’s play!

Peter will share the story of these pieces along with PROP One. PROP Six, a duet, will be performed in collaboration with JayVe Montgomery. 

Then, PROP Two will be offered to any participants who would like to join in.

TUESDAY, APRIL 15 (7PM)

SMALL PRESS SHINDIG @ COOP GALLERY

(507 Hagan St.)

A celebration-exploration of *Middle Tennessee indie + small presses (!)  

The Contributor

Paul Collins

Public Zoo Press

Risology Club

Twin Bee Press

Vanderbilt University Press

*SPECIAL GUEST PRESS: Pitymilk Press (WI)

THURSDAY, APRIL 17 (8PM)

POEM EAT SONG @ COOP GALLERY 

(507 Hagan St.)

Belly Full of Stars

Jared Joseph + Stranded in Canton

John The Shaman

Sophie Appel (CA) + Zook

FRIDAY, APRIL 18 (7PM)

THUS SPOKE @ COOP GALLERY

(507 Hagan St.)

Sadgurl

Simp Goddess

Aisha Abu-Asaba

Dante Reyna

ZIE Sincerely

Kawi

Nia Smith

Vibes by

Renee Douglass

Yamah

SATURDAY, APRIL 19 (1PM-2PM)

WORD SALAD @ EDGEHILL BRANCH PUBLIC LIBRARY (1409 12th Ave. S.)

Typewriter Poems, Magnetic Poetry, 

Haikubes, Word Collages, Blackout Poetry, Exquisite Corpse Group Poem, Spoken Word Poetry, Word Games: Scrabble, Apples to Apples, Taboo, Scattergories, Incohearent...

PLUS: SALADS FROM VUI'S KITCHEN!

SATURDAY, APRIL 19 (3PM-5PM)

BREATHING MUSEUM @ THE PORCH HQ

(2811 Dogwood Pl.)

Breathing Museum is a poetry reading that honors Tennessee poets who have made a personal impact on local writers. At this gathering, contemporary poets will share the works of poets who have passed, celebrating voices that continue to resonate. These readings pay tribute not only to the poetry itself but also to the lives and stories of the poets—those whose creative contributions shaped their communities and whose words still move within those who knew them, worked with them, and saw them perform. Through this communal act of remembrance, we bring renewed breath to their writing. Breathing Museum reminds us that poetry, like breath, connects us across generations, through time and place.

TUESDAY, APRIL 22 (12NOON)

EARTH DAY AT CHEEKWOOOD BOTANICAL GARDENS (1200 Forrest Park Dr.)

RSVP

nashvillepoetrylibrary@gmail.com

THURSDAY, APRIL 24 (8PM)

THE POET WRITES YOUR DREAM @ BURNING ACRE DISPENSARY

(2111 Elliston Pl.)

DREAM

SHARE

WRITE

RELEASE

Burning Acre Dispensary

2111 Elliston Pl.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25 (6:30PM)

GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS @ COOP GALLERY

(507 Hagan St.)

Garden of Earthly Delights: Celebrating 15 Years of Coop is our annual fundraiser held on Friday, April 25 at 6:30 PM at the Packing Plant in Wedgewood-Houston. Our goal is to fund exhibitions featuring under-represented and emerging artists during our 2026 season and to celebrate COOP’s 15th Anniversary as an artist-run gallery.

As Nashville's oldest artist-run project space and curatorial collective, COOP is dedicated to advocating on behalf of under-represented contemporary artists. We offer a non-commercial space for experimentation, where artists can dream, inspire, provoke and foster new growth. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 26 (7PM)

UNIVERSAL: POETRY IN MANY LANGUAGES @ THE PORCH HQ

(2811 Dogwood Pl.)

 Hosted by The Porch's Immigrants Write workshop in partnership with the Free Nashville Poetry Library, this gathering brings together people from all walks of life performing poems in many languages. Free; refreshments will be provided. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 29 (7PM-11PM)

POETRY @ COBRA BAR

(2511 Gallatin Ave.)

Stay for the misery. Leave for the happiness. A poetry night. Live. Raw. Real.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30 (8PM)

FEEDBACK LOOPS

(RSVP for address)

New Media Collective + FNPL collaborative event