Writers' Open Mic

Dying to share the first few lines of your slice-of-life novel set in the South End or your epic blank verse poem about T delays? Curious what other local creatives are working on?

Writers’ Open Mic is the home for works in progress from all literary genres. Prose, poetry, flash fiction, pages from your graphic novel, a haiku about Market Basket; whatever you’re working on, come and dazzle a live audience in a low-key, supportive atmosphere.

Connect with a literary community, have a drink or two, hear inspiring features from established and emerging writers, and be the first to know what’s new and next in Boston’s lit scene.

Doors open at 6:30 to sign up for one of the coveted slots to read. Readings start at 7pm, with features at 8pm.

Writers’ Open Mic is free to attend, 18+, and registration is requested. Alcohol will be for sale for 21+ attendees. WOM is brought to you by GrubStreet, Porter Square Books, and Mass Poetry.

Featured Readers:

Crystal Valentine

Crystal Valentine is a nationally and internationally acclaimed poet who has traveled across seas performing on platforms in Brazil, Botswana, South Africa and elsewhere. A former New York City Youth Poet Laureate and two-time winner of the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI), Crystal has been offered fellowships from Callaloo, Tin House, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences, The Boston Foundation and Cave Canem.

Crystal has received numerous accolades, including being named Glamour Magazine's College Woman of the Year, Teen Vogue's Rising Young Black Thought Leader, and was the recipient of the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders Woman’s Distinction Award. She is the winner of Palette Poetry’s 2021 Emerging Poet Prize, selected by Kelli Russell Agodon and her work has been published in the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, Muzzle Magazine, TriQuarterly Magazine, and media platforms such as MSNBC, Blavity, Button Poetry, BET, CNN, The New York Daily News and elsewhere. She earned her B.A in Psychology at New York University, where she returned to also earn her MFA in poetry.

Crystal is a generator and fierce protector of Black joy. She strongly believes that intersectionality is a key factor in liberation. As a Black, queer, woman, her work revolves around bridging the ever present gap between her identities. Her goal is to provide a sanctuary within her poems that can be accessible to ALL Black people: queer, trans, women, gender-non-conforming, disabled, poor, loud, angry, ghetto, for it is when all of these voices are present and accounted for that we can really begin the gruesome work of understanding and breaking down systematic oppression. Above all, Crystal loves her kin.

Originally hailing from the Bronx, Crystal now resides in Boston where she serves as the Director of Programming for Mass Poetry and co-host for Just Be(loved): Your Neighborhood Poetry Slam & Open Mic. When she isn’t writing or agonizing over line breaks, you can find her watching anime and dreaming.

Charlinda Adream Banks

Charlinda Adream Banks is a writer based in Boston, MA. She graduated from Brown University in 2024, and she currently works in education programming at Coolidge Corner Theatre. Charlinda writes poetry, fiction, and occasional creative essays that explore family, gender, and ghosts. Black American and Afro-Cuban culture are at the crux of the narratives and characters she creates. Her work has appeared in Ebony Tomatoes Collective, AC|DC, and elsewhere.

Host or Publisher GrubStreet