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   The Poets' Co-op hosts an Open Reading the First Thursday of every month each Spring & Fall. The readings are held in the artistic splendor of the Loveland Museum from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The Loveland Museum is located at 503 N. Lincoln Avenue (corner of Fifth & Lincoln in beautiful Downtown Loveland). (If our "ticker" did not automatically pop up to give you the latest information concerning the next open reading, click here). Click to read about all of our 2010 Fall Series poets. (You can also still read about the 2005 Fall Series poets, 2006 Spring Series poets, 2006 Fall Series Poets, 2007 Spring Series poets, 2007 Fall Series Poets, 2008 Spring Series Poets, 2008 Fall Series Poets, 2009 Spring Series Poets , 2009 Fall Series Poets or 2010 Spring Series poets as well.)

   Readers & listeners embrace all styles of original poetry and range in experience from first time readers to published and polished professionals.  Participants have ranged in age from 8 to 80.  A common love for the muse creates a nurturing community for readers and listeners.

   These readings include a new poetic challenge each month, and showcase a different featured reader. (You can check our virtual coffee house for the latest Poetic Challenge Phrase and even post your own Challenge Poem there.) Readings are hosted by M. D. Friedman. Complimentary snacks will be graciously provided by HENRY'S PUB (234 E. 4th St.).

“The open mike reveals so much about people’s inner feelings,” said Tom Katsimpalis, curator of interpretation at the Loveland Museum/Gallery. “That’s what poetry is about. Things can be expressed in poetry in ways that they can’t be expressed in other mediums.” -- Shelley Widhalm, Loveland ReporterHerald, 9/30/2009

   Readings often offer poets an opportunity to record their performance for posting on our web site. (All recorded sound files are in MP3 format). Some of these are big files so if you are on a phone line, it is best to save them to your hard drive first, and then open them in your MP3 player software . (Don't forget to also visit the special studio recorded selections at www.mp3poetry.com featuring many internet poets from around the world. These include several experimental spoken word MP3's as well as several more with musical backing recorded at Mad Dog Music Studio. )

   We also host live TV poetry readings on the first Sunday of each month from 7:00 - 7:30 pm in partnership with Boulder County Comcast Cable Channel 54.  The Poet's Co-op TV Show features both Colorado and National Poets with an emphasis on performance poetry. You can download or watch I-Pod ready video excerpts from these shows or the full half hour program for free at www.videopoetry.org.

  Please contact our host and event coordinator, M. D. Friedman, if you are interested in becoming a featured poet at one of our readings.  

   Be sure to check out our Special Tribute in honor of Gene Hoffman & our Top Ten Downloads at the bottom of this page.

(Archived recordings of our past open readings are posted alphabetically both by the poem's title & by the poet's first name)

NEW excerpts from our last reading series. (Click to subscribe to this podcast and/or put into I-Tunes.):  

Recordings from our February 4, 2010, reading:

1. Different Kinds of Iowa Farms by Caroline Orman
2. Painting the Beach Scene on Lake Michigan Summer 2009 by Caroline Orman
3. The Barn by M. D. Friedman with Mariamne Engle Friedman reading the second voice
4. The Small Black Life Saver by Maria Dunn
5. Wreck by Wendell Cook
6. Solace by Gordon Holladay
7. Imagine by Gordon Holladay
8. On the Table by Gordon Holladay
9. Another Quarter Pounder with Cheese Please by Tyler Thompson
10. Cigarette Villanelle by Tyler Thompson
11. The Bird Watcher... by Paul Gessler
12. Save Me Please I'm Here by Paul the Puma
13. Save Me Please I'm Here by  Caroline Orman

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Recordings from our March 4, 2010, reading featuring Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer:

1. I Am A Mamea by MANEA
2. Muse by MANEA
3. Who Knows by Gordon Holladay
4. Who Cares by Gordon Holladay
5. Phytophthora infestans by Shirley Kobar
6. Rings Tangerine by Shirley Kobar
7. History's Misstory by Kelly O'Donnel with Katherine West reading the second voice, Jeff Finer on guitar
8. Innocent Enough by John Blair
9. Warped by Katherine West with Jeff Finer on guitar
10. The Gray Hills by Maggie Rowlett
11. Poem for Emily Carr by Maggie Rowlett
12. Lists by Shawn Barrientos
13. I Want to Be Stone Deaf by Shawn Barrientos
14. Sexier by Kailey Gee
15. What If This Were Dry by Kailey Gee
16. Air by Arielle Eckstien
17. Falling by Phyllis Hamar
18. Monkey Mind by Phyllis Hamar
19. Where Are the Lines by Diana L. Royce
20. Charlie the Tuna by Diana L. Royce
21. Those Places Where We Met... by Wendell Cook
22. Oh How Joyful is My Heart by Wendell Cook
23. Grandma'sWake by Jo Foreman
24. Double R Bar on Saturday Night by Ray Foreman
25. The Mathematics of Poetry (Revisited) by M. D. Friedman
26. Never Night by M. D. Friedman
27. Entombed by Kit Muldoon
28. The End of the World as We Know It by Kit Muldoon
29. The Belle of Amherst by Paul Gessler
30. Short Creation Story by Jeff Hoffman
31. The Slender Woman in the Wings by SETH
32. The Smile That Cannot See by SETH
33. Guest Reading of a Set of Her Own Poems by featured reader, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

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Recordings from our April 1, 2010, reading

1. Spring Training by Fred Wagela
2. After the Abortion Where Does the Soul Go by Fred Wagela
3. I Have Dreams by Fred Wagela
4. Of No Mind by Leo Goya
5. Just Now by Leo Goya
6. Death by Leo Goya
7. Magic Saves Lives by Leo Goya
8. Denise by Diana L. Royce
9. Tea Two by Diana L. Royce
10. Pain by Diana L. Royce
11. Life in The Way by Diana L. Royce
12. What Is by Mariamne Engle Friedman
13. A Flavor After Things by Kyle Pivarnik
14. A P oem for People at Airports by Kyle Pivarnik
15. I Kiss... by Kyle Pivarnik
16. He Made Strict Laws for Himself by Kyle Pivarnik
17. Smoke Stacks by April Stutters
18. Kabasi on Soft Rolls by April Stutters
19. March Triptych by M. D. Friedman
20. Memory Care by M. D. Friedman
21. This Moon by M. D. Friedman
22. Is it Tuna or Is It Chicken by Ella Doud
23. Is it Tuna or Is It Chicken by Diana L. Royce
24. Groceries and Son by Diana L. Royce

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Recordings from our May 6, 2010, reading featuring Sandy Tseng:

1. All Is Well by Mike Adams
2. Obad by Maggie Rowlett
3. Sisters by Katherine West with Jeff Finer on guitar
4. That One Clear Voice by Lynn Kincanon
5. Walk with It Sister by Paul Gessler
6. Polarities by Maria Dunn
7. What Am I Waiting For by Maria Dunn
8. The Other Time by Maria Dunn
9. Consider This by Steve C.
10. This Is the Place They Mean by Steve C.
11. The Belly Button Song by Steve C.
12. Ischemia by Gordon Holladay
13. It Was the Summer of Ripening Peaches by Shirley Kobar
14. No Life Preserver by Shirley Kobar
15. Excerpt from Then Like the Blind Man by Fred Wagela
16. Roads by Diana L. Royce
17. Dog Gone Good Times by Diana L. Royce
18. Silence by Arielle Eckstien
19. Hope by Arielle Eckstien
20. Fathers by Heather Gardner
21. Pain by Heather Gardner
22. I Forgive You by Heather Gardner
23. Drowning by Heather Gardner
24. Living Under Water by M. D. Friedman
25. It's Easy to Be Normal by M. D. Friedman
26. Guest Reading of a Set of Her Own Poems by featured reader, Sandy Tseng
27. Moon Nature by Gordon Holladay
28. Moon Nature (Times 3) by Diana L. Royce
29. The Total Eclipse by Lynn Kincanon
30. Moon Nature by Joanne Burke
31. Leaving by Heather Gardner
32. Moon Nature by  Steve C.
33. You Should Know by  Steve C.
34. Moon Nature by  Caroline Orman
35. Lady Lachrymose Dreams Him In by Autumn Guest
36. Moon Nature by  Edie Adams

   The following are the current top ten downloaded poetry mp3's from the Poets' Co-op's vast collection of over 800 free mp3's at www.mp3poetry.com. (The total number of downloads for each poem from December 1, 2009 through July 26,2010, is listed after each poem. The grand total number of downloads for this eight month period was 547,851.):

1. Human Genome Project by Jared Smith (with 4,817  downloads)
2. Seven Minutes Before the Bomb Drops by Jared Smith (with 2,700  downloads)
3. Mr. Peabody's Estate by Jared Smith (with 2,293 downloads)
4. I Fall Into the Hollow of Her Eyes by T. K. Major (with 2,228 downloads)
5. Grass Roots by Jared Smith (with 2,099  downloads)
6. The Inferno by Kim Williard Whipple (2,096  downloads)
7. In Celebration of Poets with Sher Christian's poetry and John Christian's original music (2,025  downloads)
8. I Am What I Am (with Katherine West reading the second voice) by John Blair (1,869  downloads)
9. Against My Will by M. D. Friedman (1,764 downloads)
10. Guest Reading of a Set of Their Own Poems by Three Guys from Albany (with 1,720 downloads)