Slightly Off Beat Poets

IMPORTANT: PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR FOR THIS OUTDOOR EVENT

WHAT: Slightly Off-beat Poets Presents: Katie Elizabeth Walsh & Tom Laughlin

WHERE: Betsy’s Backyard Stage 185 Arvidson Road Woodstock, CT

WHEN: Sunday August 11th, 2024 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

WHAT HAPPENS: Our feature poets of the month will each read for 15 minutes. Then we will take a quick break for book sales, snacks and the raffle before starting the open mic. Open mic will be round robin, one poem at a time until 4 PM.

COST: There will be a 50/50 raffle, split between the feature and the winner. 5$ to enter.

SIGN-UPS: There is room for 20 poets/ 40 total guests. To reserve a spot please email: roberteugeneperry@gmail.com

PLEASE NOTE: 185 Arvidson Road is a dirt road. GPS will send you to ways: If you come off Roseland Park Road (right near Roseland Park) onto Arvidson it will begin as paved and a sign will tell you when the pavement ends. Just stay to the right and 185 is about 1/2 mile up on the right side.

If it sends you up Child Hill Rd, you will make a left onto Arvidson dirt road and it will be less than a 1/4 mile on the left.

PLEASE DO NOT PARK ON STREET! Pull in the driveway and you can park on the grass along the edge or pull all the way around. Plenty of parking!

Katie Elizabeth Walsh works as a senior editor and accessibility consultant for an ed-tech company. She has been a guest lecturer at the University of Connecticut, a guest speaker for her town’s Out of the Darkness Walk, has taught at the True Colors Conference, and was a member of the Disability Coalition for the 2020 election. Katie lives in Warren, MA where she is controlled by three cats, one coffee maker, and infinite hair dye.

Tom Laughlin is a Professor of English and Coordinator of the Creative Writing Program at Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts where he coordinates the MCC Visiting Writers Series; open readings for students; and the publication of the online literary magazine Dead River Review.  He was a volunteer staff reader for many years for Ploughshares and has taught literature classes in two Massachusetts prisons. His poetry has appeared in Green Mountains Review, Ibbetson Street, Drunk Monkeys, Sand Hills, Blue Mountain Review,Pensive, The Main Street Rag, Superpresent Magazine, The Lowell Review, Molecule, and elsewhere.   His poetry chapbook, The Rest of the Way, was released by Finishing Line Press in 2022.  Website.