Five events this week in the Buffalo literary community, including the Barrio Poetry Slam at Shea’s 710 Theatre, and the Book Launch Party and Community Science Fair in celebration of Rachelle Toarmino’s second full-length collection of poems HELL YEAH (Third Man Books).

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 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.

Thursday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Shea’s 710 Theatre and Los Artistas del Barrio Buffalo present the BARRIO POETRY SLAM. The event invites voices from across the community to share original work rooted in heritage, identity, and the Latino experience. Participate in the open mic, feel the rhythm of the words, and compete for prizes in a high-energy slam that celebrates creativity and culture. Theme of the night: Arroz con habichuelas/ More than a meal, poems about food, memory, family and identity.

Special guest performer: Boricua poet/slam poet/writer Yamilla Tate.

Other highlights of the Noche de Spoken Word, Cultura & Community:

-Live DJ with DJ C-Perfect

-MC: Dr. Michele Agosto

-Cash Prizes and medals – 1st 2nd 3rd place

-Cash Bar

-Light bites

-Open mic session

About the featured artist:

Yamilla Tate (she/they) is a poet/slam poet/writer based in Buffalo. Buffalo born, Puerto Rican raised, Yamilla’s work focuses on themes of cultural identity and pride, queer themes, women’s lives, and the confusing but beautiful experience it is to be human. She writes in English and Spanish and she heavily focuses on being proud of your roots, communities, and being unashamed of who you are. Social justice takes a significant role in her writing. Yamilla writes with the intention of imbuing her words with the messages of justice her childhood needed and that others may be needing to hear. While her writing comes from the lens of her experience, she believes the desire for representation, of finally hearing something you couldn’t have articulated before, and to feel the freedom of pride in who you are and where you come from is a universal human want and need. Yamilla Tate’s work has been featured by the Just Buffalo Writing Center, and she has forthcoming publications. She has been a featured poet for various events in both the United States and Canada, including: Beyond Boundaries’ screening of Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, The Pure Ink Tapings, Alt Crawl, among many others. Tate is also a slam poet who has competed at the national level and in Canada. She formed part of the Pure Ink 2024 and 2025 Slam Team and traveled to Pompano Beach, FL, and Knoxville, TN for the Southern Fried Poetry Slam. Tate has also competed in poetry slams in Hamilton, ON. You can find her taking part in performances/events and vending around Buffalo and she is currently writing for various projects.

Shea’s 710 Theatre, 710 Main St., Buffalo. The event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is encouraged at Eventbrite and www.ladbbuffalo.com/events.

Thursday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.: Evening House Books presents an evening with NYC haunted places guide and historian Leanna Renee Hieber, author of AMERICA’S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION (Citadel Books).

Leanna Renee Hieber is an award-winning author and paranormal history expert. A regular speaker at Sci-Fi / Fantasy conventions, she’s appeared on film and television on shows including “Mysteries at the Museum” and “Beyond the Unknown.” She’s a three-time Prism Award-winner for her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, and a Daphne Du Maurier Award-finalist for Darker Still. After earning a BFA in Theatre Performance and a focus study in the Victorian Era, she spent many years in the professional regional theatre circuit, skills that serve her well as a speaker and a ghost tour guide for Boroughs of the Dead in New York. Leanna lives in New York, NY and can be found online at: LeannaReneeHieber.com.

Location: Evening House Books, 523 Main St. , Buffalo, NY 14213. Free and open to the public.

Friday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.: Reading, Book Launch Party, and Community Science Fair in celebration of Rachelle Toarmino’s second full-length collection of poems HELL YEAH (Third Man Books).

A book release party that is also a science fair, featuring poetry, live music, interactive art stations, zine projects, art lab experiments, friendship, community and cake.

Among the featured performers are:

POEMS

Rachelle Toarmino

MUSIC

Little Cake

SCIENCE

Aidan Ryan

Avye Alexandres

Dana Murray Tyrrell

Diego Espíritu

Gardner Astalos

Joel Brenden

Joshua Thermidor

Laura Marris

Noah Falck

Sarah Jane Barry

Talia Ryan See

Location:

The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art, 30D Essex St., Buffalo. Free and open to the public.

Sunday, Oct. 12, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Poetry Festival: A celebration of the poem!

Poets of all kinds are invited to read their original work, and the work of the poets who they love or have learned from. Poetry lovers of all types are invited to read the poems that move them, and tell us why. Poems from the American canon will be read, plus group readings of our culture’s longer poems (e.g., “Song of Myself,” “The Wasteland,” “Let America Be America Again,” “Howl,” “The Country of Marriage”).

Music in recorded will be curated into the poetry celebration.

Location: Foxglove Pub in the Village of Hamburg

20 S. Buffalo St., Hamburg, NY 14075
Contact John McKeone at 716.949.6914 for additional information.