Next Up to The Mic

Hudson Valley Writers Guild
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Next Up to The Mic is a Hudson Valley Writers Guild podcast featuring readings and performances from the poets, writers, and spoken word artists that have appeared on stages all across the region.

  1. Andy Fogle at The Fish Market

    3D AGO

    Andy Fogle at The Fish Market

    This week, Thom Francis welcomes poet Andy Fogle to the mic. He was one of the eight featured poets who read their work at The Fish Market in Troy last fall.  +++++ Andy Fogle read at the Eight Poets event on October 11, 2025, at The Fish Market in Troy, presented by Trailer Park Quarterly, Hobo Camp Review, Paper Moon bookstore, and the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. He shared poems about family and abolitionist John Brown, along with other work. Fogle is the author of Mother Countries, Across from Now, and seven chapbooks. A 2021 Saratoga Arts grant recipient, his work has appeared in Best New Poets 2018, Tahoma Literary Review, and Potomac Review. He is poetry editor at Salvation South and teaches English at Bethlehem Central High School.

    10 min
  2. Cheryl A. Rice at The Fish Market

    APR 21

    Cheryl A. Rice at The Fish Market

    This week, Thom Francis welcomes Hudson Valley poet Cheryl A. Rice to the mic. Cheryl was featured at the Eight Poets event at The Fish Market on Saturday, October 11, 2025, where she was joined by writers from the Hudson Valley Writers Guild, online zines Trailer Park Quarterly and Hobo Camp Review, and Troy-based bookstore Paper Moon. +++++ On October 11, 2025, Trailer Park Quarterly and Hobo Camp Review, in partnership with Paper Moon and the Hudson Valley Writers Guild, presented an afternoon of poetry at The Fish Market in Troy. Eight poets read that day, including Cheryl A. Rice, who shared work from an upcoming collaboration with Jason Baldinger, along with other poems from her collections. Rice is the author of Love’s Compass and My Minnesota Boyhood, and co-author of Until the Words Came with Guy Reed. A Best of the Net nominee, she also founded the Sylvia Plath Bake-Off, a unique mix of poetry and baking. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals, and she has been a fixture in the Hudson Valley literary community for over forty years.

    11 min
  3. Mojavi & Poetic Visionz at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts

    APR 14

    Mojavi & Poetic Visionz at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts

    Thom Francis welcomes poets Mojavi and Poetic Visionz who shared their work at the 2024 Word Fest Open Mic at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts on April 27, 2024. +++++ When two long-time area spoken word artists, who have since moved away, walked in the front door of the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, Word Fest Open Mic host Mary Panza made it a point to add them to the list. Today, we are going to hear from those two incredible poets. Mojavi, who was the host of the Soul Kitchen series at Clayton’s Restaurant in the late-90s and the founder of Urban Guerrilla Theatre after that, read some childhood memoirs. Poetic Visionz who was one of the original Nitty Gritty Slam poets a decade ago, representing Albany at the National Poetry Slam, took the stage with his deconstructive word-play. You can find more information, photos, and videos on all of the Word Fest events on the Hudson Valley Writers Guild website, hvwg.org.

    10 min
  4. Francesca Sidoti & Anna Boughtwood at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts

    APR 7

    Francesca Sidoti & Anna Boughtwood at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts

    This week, Thom Francis welcomes poets Francesca Sidoti and Anna Boughtwood to the mic. They shared their work at the 2024 Word Fest Open Mic at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts on April 27, 2024. +++++ The Word Fest began in 2001 in Thatcher Park as a one-day open mic, bringing together poets from all over the region to share their work. Over the years, the event grew into a week-long celebration of poetry and spoken word with workshops, poetry slams, featured performances, and, of course, the open mic. For the first time since 2019, the Word Fest Open Mic returned on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts with an afternoon of incredible featured spoken word artists and open mic readers.  Today we are highlighting two of those poets - Francesca Sidoti and Anna Boughtwood. Francesca J. Sidoti’s poetry has been published in Chiron Review, Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Viet Nam Generation, Moonstone Arts’ “Nikki Giovanni Tribute”, and other literary magazines. Upcoming publications include the Deep Overstock Fiction Podcast, which will feature her reading her work for the “Romance” edition. Sidoti has been the recipient of several awards, including the 2021 Dorn Space Poet of the Year. Her 2023 book, Civil Twilight and Other Transitions, are currently available. Anna Boughtwood lives just over the Dunn Memorial Bridge from Albany. Her writing has appeared in Sad Girls Club, Dipity, Hudson Valley Writers Guild, Dime Show Review, and East Jasmine Review.

    10 min
  5. Ian Macks at The Low Beat

    MAR 31

    Ian Macks at The Low Beat

    This week, Thom Francis introduces us to Albany-based poet and writer Ian Macks. On March 19, 2019, Ian was the featured poet at the Brass Tacks poetry and spoken word open mic series at The Low Beat in Albany, NY. +++++ Currently based in the Capitol Region of NY, Ian Macks originally hails from The Bronx. As a youth, Ian was non-verbal for most of his first decade on Earth. This early point of view manifested into Ian's emotional sensitivities on love, loss, racism, and hardship. Now, Ian's distinct voice and literary light shines whenever he takes the stage and performs his work at various open mics and events in the area.  Ian's debut chapbook A Loss and Gain of Comfort was released in 2014 and his full-length poetry collection, Identity Crisis, was published in 2024 by recto y verso editions, inc. On March 19, 2019, Ian was the featured poet at the Brass Tacks series at The Low Beat.

    10 min
  6. D. Colin at The Linda

    MAR 24

    D. Colin at The Linda

    This week, Thom Francis welcomes D. Colin. On August 12, 2021, she performed at The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio for an evening of music and poetry with local singer/songwriter Caity Gallagher.  +++++ In our area, we are very fortunate to have a multidisciplinary artist of Haitian descent whose work spans poetry, visual art, and theater with the talent of D. Colin. She is the author of the collection of poetry Dreaming in Kreyol and the playwright behind Simone: A One-Woman Show and Psalm 91: Releasing Religion. As a teaching artist and curator, she creates spaces for storytelling and healing. D’s work has been showcased all over the world in publications, performances, and exhibitions.  Her mantra is simple - Be inspired. Then inspire.

    10 min
  7. Shelby Hafener at The Fish Market

    MAR 17

    Shelby Hafener at The Fish Market

    This week, Thom Francis introduces us to poet Shelby Hafener. They were one of the featured readers at the Eight Poets event at The Fish Market on Saturday, October 11, 2025. That day, Shelby was joined by poets from the Hudson Valley Writers Guild, online zines Trailer Park Quarterly and Hobo Camp Review, and Troy-based bookstore Paper Moon. +++++ Online literary zines Trailer Park Quarterly and Hobo Camp Review presented an afternoon of poetry and spoken word at the Fish Market with Troy-based bookstore Paper Moon and the Hudson Valley Writers Guild on Saturday, October 11, 2025.    Eight poets took the stage that day and shared their work that afternoon including Shelby Hafener who read “God Bless the Forever War,” “This House,” a poem about her grandmother, “Different” in commemoration of  National Coming Out Day, and “New Moon Child.” Shelby Hafener (she/they) is a free form poet based in Troy, NY. Her works are inspired by their life as a lesbian, struggles with mental health, and a response to the world at large. She uses poetry as a form of expression, showing herself to the world in a way that makes sense. Their first collection of poems is titled “two years under my teeth” and was self published in 2023. Hudson Valley Writers Guild Vice President, Mary Panza, introduced Shelby to the audience.

    9 min
  8. Howard Kogan & Malcolm Willison at McGeary’s

    MAR 10

    Howard Kogan & Malcolm Willison at McGeary’s

    Thom Francis introduces us to Howard Kogan & Malcolm Willison who read their poems at the Up The River, Issue Three launch event on April 12, 2015 McGeary's in Albany, NY. +++++ For over 15 years, the Albany Word Fest was a sure sign of spring. Taking place every April to celebrate National Poetry Month, the Word Fest featured readings, open mics, workshops, and more to showcase the poets and writers in our area. The Up The River launch event was an annual tradition, kicking off the week of poetry and spoken word with the contributors of latest issue of the literary journal reading their work. This week we will hear from two poets who shared their poems at McGeary’s on April 12, 2015.  Howard J. Kogan is a poet and retired psychotherapist. His poems have appeared in Still Crazy, Occupoetry, Poetry Ark, Writer’s Haven, Farming Magazine, Literary Gazette, Pathways, and Up the River. His book of poems, Indian Summer, was published in 2011. Malcolm Willison is a manuscript editor and teacher who has been writing and publishing poetry for quite a long time in and sometimes about New Orleans, Key West, New York City and upstate New York, and other places around the world. You can access all eight issues of Up The River by going to uptheriverjournal.com.

    9 min
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About

Next Up to The Mic is a Hudson Valley Writers Guild podcast featuring readings and performances from the poets, writers, and spoken word artists that have appeared on stages all across the region.

Information

  • Creator
    Hudson Valley Writers Guild
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    66
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 374732
  • Show Website
    Next Up to The Mic