Out of all the venues I’ve read poetry at in the tri-state area, by far my favorite is the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City’s Lower East Side. I read there last spring with other members of the Mulberry Poets and Writers Association. I especially like the atmosphere- the dank bar in front of the venue, before you go through a curtain and enter a seated area with a large wooden stage and bright lights over the mic. It’s a comfortable performance space that attracts regular, attentive crowds.

Today, I learned that Bowery Poetry Club is undergoing a major transformation. According to an article from The Poetry Foundation, there will be a farewell party at the venue this Tuesday, before it closes down for renovations to reopen jointly with TriBeCa burlesque club Duane Park. The article goes on to state that the burlesque club will use the space
Tuesday through Saturday each week, with Bowery Poetry Club operating on Sundays
and Mondays. However, one staffer is quoted in the article as saying, “As far as we are concerned, this place is closing.”

We’ll have to wait and see what the final fate of the venue will be, but I hope it continues to have poetry readings and host writers from across the country. It is by far one of the most accommodating and well-known poetry venues in NYC.