Tuesday, March 18, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Tuesday Night Open Mic Series at the Em Tea Coffeecup Café. All are welcome whether new to poetry or a long-time member of the community. 80 Oakgrove Ave., Buffalo, NY. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Springville Center for the Arts presents a presentation by Kirkus Prize winner and SCA resident Ariel Aberg-Riger. Ariel will be discussing visual storytelling, her residency with the SCA, and the murals she is erecting in Springville inspired by local archival material.
Ariel Aberg-Riger is a visual storyteller who creates engaging, accessible stories about history, science, policy, and other forces that shape our lives. Her work explores issues of equity and social justice, on topics that range from environmental racism to the public library, and has appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Teen Vogue, and more. Her debut book America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History won the 2023 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature and was a 2024 Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award, in a addition to being named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Public Library, Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and more. She is a big believer in the power of melding forms and morphing mediums to tell expansive stories. She lives with her wife and two kids in Los Angeles, California.

Springville Center for the Arts, 37 North Buffalo Street, Springville, NY.

Wednesday, March 19, 7:30 p.m.: The Screening Room Reading Series hosted by poet Sandy Geary. Paula Wachowiak will be the featured reader.

Paula Wachowiak is a Buffalo-based writer, independent media-maker, and journalist. She is the author of two book-length memoirs Phonographic Memories (2024), and The Polish Cleaning Lady’s Daughter (2019), and the full-length poetry collection Painfully Close in which this poem appears.

Additional reading slots available. The Screening Room Cinema Café, 880 Alberta  Drive, Amherst. $3.

Wednesday, March 19, 9 p.m.: Poetry Night at Caffe Aroma, biweekly open mic reading series hosted by Ben Brindise and Justin Karcher. 957 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Thursday,March 20, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Buffalo Corner Reading Series featuring poets Perry Nicholas and Irene Sipos. This will be a hybrid event: in person, and simulcast via Zoom. Congregation Shir Shalom, 4660 Sheridan Drive in Amherst. Visit shirshalombuffalo.org for more information and the Zoom link to this free event.

Thursday, March 20, 8 p.m.: Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Series Lecture by and discussion with bestselling author Cheryl Strayed.

Strayed is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film. Her bestselling collection of “Dear Sugar” columns, Tiny Beautiful Things, was adapted for a Hulu television show and as a play that continues to be staged in theaters nationwide. Strayed’s other books are the critically acclaimed novel Torch and the bestselling collection Brave Enough, which brings together more than one hundred of her inspiring quotes.

Her books have sold more than 5 million copies around the world and have been translated into forty languages. Her award-winning essays and short stories have been published in The Best American Essays, The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, Vogue, and elsewhere. Strayed has also made two hit podcasts—Dear Sugars, which she co-hosted with Steve Almond, and Sugar Calling. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

In her talk and conversation with Just Buffalo Artistic Director Barbara Cole, Strayed will discuss her memoir, her personal writing, and the writer’s life in a challenging era.

Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo. $40.
Visit https://www.justbuffalo.org/ for tickets to the event, which also include an online livestreaming option.