LITERATURE + LECTURES

The Word Around Town (WAT) Poetry Tour  is an annual weeklong poetry marathon held in Houston at a different venue each night of the week. The tour begins Sunday July 17th and continues through Saturday, July 23rd, 2011. Scheduled for seven night and seven venues, the line up consists of 19 of Houston’s top poets that promise to bring diversity and excitement to the spotlight while showcasing local venues.

Three noteworthy Houston area poets, Zelene Pineda, Joe B, and Stephen Gros, originally put the Word Around Town tour together as a way to unify, celebrate and exhibit Houston’s most recognized spoken word artists and the venues that support them. The mission of the tour is to introduce poets to venues they’ve never been to, and venues to poets they’ve never heard before while providing an entertaining, educational and emotional experience for the public.

In the past the WAT tour has performed at a myriad of venues and event spaces friendly to poetry and the arts. The list includes notable community centers like M.E.C.A. and Project Row Houses, galleries like Aerosol Warfare and The Artery, as well as open mic staples such as Taft Street Coffee and AvantGarden. All shows start at 8pm and are free and open to the public.

2011 Tour Schedule:

Sun, July 17th -  Bohemeo’s, 708 Telephone Road
Mon, July 18th - The Artery, 5401 Jackson Street
Tue, July 19th - Taft Street Coffee, 2115 Taft Street
Wed, July 20th - Talento Bilingüe de Houston (TBH), 333 South Jensen Drive
Thur, July 21st - Khon’s Wine Bar,  2808 Milam St
Fri, July 22nd - AvantGarden,  411 Westheimer Rd
Sat, July 23rd -  Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring St

Full Line up
• Blanca Alanis • R.T. Castleberry • Ken Jones • Joe B • Dee!colonize • Maria Palacios • Brother Said • Chris Wise • Marlon Lizama • Marie Brown • Kathy Fay • Kool B • Jessie Noel • The Fluent One • Teresa Juarez • Outspoken Bean • Jasminne Mendez • Stephen Gros • Lupe Mendez

Guest Performers: • Meta-Four Youth Slam Team