120 hours of non-stop poetry!

The Pit at Prospero's [photo credit Prospero's]

The poetry filibuster, 120 hours of non-stop poetry is coming to Kansas City starting Friday April 2nd at 10:00 a.m. The longest poetry reading ever is planned for the Pit at Prospero's Books. The event is sponsored by Prospero’s, Write the Future and Spartan Press.

In celebration of National Poetry month, over 200 regional and national poets will gather in Kansas City to establish a world’s record for the longest poetry reading. The previously established record in 1978 as reported by the Associated Press and NPR’s All Things Considered, was in Cincinnati, Ohio where 50 poets performed 56 hours and 25 minutes of poetry.

The Kansas City event will be vidio taped and a live internet feed of the event is planned.

Some highlighted participants

Friday-

• Ron Jaffe: world renowned jazz-poet 
• Connie Dover: winner of the Loft’s Speakeasy prize for poetry
• Denise Low: imediate past Poet Laureate of Kansas
• Jo McDougall: Pulitzer nominated poet and memoirist
• William Trowbridge: former editor of The Laurel Review, author of 5 books of poetry including the The Book of Kong and the Complete Book of Kong. 
•  Maryfrances Wagner: past President of Kansas City’s The Writers Place and author of 5 books of poetry.  
•  Wayne Miller: award-winning poet of 2 collections of poetry and editor of Pleiades: A   Journal of New Writing.  
•  Jason Ryberg 
•  Jeanette Powers 
•  Marion S. Taylor 
• David Morrissey
• Patrick Lamb
• Annie Rasmussen
• James Kneece Joseph Davis
•  Valorie Engholm
•  Eve Brackenbury
• Oshome
• Trudie Homan
• Trish Reeves  
• Steven Proski
• Tony Plocido
• Greg Field

Saturday-

•  Marc Smith: host of the Green Mill poetry series in Chicago, Ill.. PBS identified Marc as the founder of slam poetry in America. Smith will come off sabbatical to perform for the longest poetry reading record attempt.
• Mark Tom Hennessy: former front man for the Lawrence, KS grunge and PAW.
• Marc Zorn
• Mike Bannen + 7year old
• Carl Bettis
• Noon Jan Kroll
• Stan Banks
• Janet Banks
• Alarie Tennille
• John Peterson
• Stacey Donovan
• Lindsey Martin Bowen
• Carl Rowden
• Robert Stewart
• Michelle Boisseau
• Jeanie Wilson
• Pat Danneman
• Phyllis Becker
• Pat Lawson
• William Peck
• TJ Jude
• Marc Smith
• Ed Tato
• Mark Hennessy
• Jason Ryberg
• Margueritte Rappold
• Iris Appelquist
• Aaron Fuhr
• Thad Havercamp
• Ron Worley
• Jason Harding
• Vic Swan
• Joshua Upsha
• Creed Shepherd
• Michelle Nimmo
• Tommy Mason
• Jacob Johansen
• Steve Goldberg
• John Dorsey
• Brent Kinder
• Holly Stewart

Sunday-

• The Recipe: founding members of the Black Poets Collective, Pries and 337 define the word “LIVE” in poetry performance.
• David Smith: author of White Time joins us from Las Angeles, CA.
• Dennis Weiser
• Kale Baldock
• Kathy Hughes
• Gary Lechtliter
• Sean Erixon
• Dean Fessenden
• Thomas Fessenden
• Kevin Rabas
• Josh Barker
• Jeff Tigchelaar
• Aaron Froelich
• Alyson Fuller
• Saira Jehangir Khan
• Faith Bemiss
• Britt Whitehead
• Blair Johnson
• Mickey Cesar
• Laura Kitzmiller
• Katie Longofono
• Jas Abromowitz
• Jeremy O'eal
• Lance & Rachel Asbury
• David Smith
• John Dorsey
• Abigail Beaudell
• Jacob Johansen
• Katie Kaboom
• Steve Goldberg (Jacob)
• Gretta Wilkinson
• Becky Barrera
• Lola Nation
• Duke Smith
• Diane Mora
• TJ Jude
• Janie Harris
• Evanne Miller
• James Canty
• Chris Beard
• Steve Bridgens

Monday-

• Connie Dover: winner of the Loft’s coveted Speakeasy Prize for Poetry.
• Nairba Sirrah: Book II of Paradise Lost: Satan Breaks Out Of Hell – 9 characters; 1005 lines; 59 minutes word for word memorized recital.
• Eric Gandara
• Megan Louise
• Larry Welling
• Mel Neet
• Paul Goldman
• Eve Brackenburry
• Lee Eliot
• Ken Buch
• Maggie Ammerman
• Dennis Weiser
• Dez
• Marion Dean McIrvin
• Kevin Hiatt
• Patrick Sumner
• Norma Marshall
• Jeremey Colson
• Patrick Dobson
• Stephen Karuska
• Connie dover
• Brian Harris
• Silvia Kofler
• Jose Faus
• Maria Vasquez Boyd
• Brandon Whitehead
• Steve Wolfe
• Megan Louise
• Mikal Shapiro
• Tracy Rockwell
• Jon Bidwell
• Arrika Brazil
• Duke Smith
• Rhiannon Ross
• Abigail Henderson
• Kara Werner
• Robert Moore
• Janie Harris
• Jon Bidwell
• Bob Chrisman
• Brent Kinder
• Lon Swearingen

Tuesday-

• Philip Miller: the godfather of Kansas City poetry, founder of the Riverfront Readings series and author of 6 books of verse, joins us from Mount Union, PA.
•  Dr. Patricia Cleary Miller: Rockhurst University Humanities Chair, four-term poet laureate of the Harvard Alumni Association.
• John Mark Eberhart
• Paul Goldman 
• Susan Peters
• Jim Fox
• Maril Crabtree
• Jan Duncan-O'Neal
• Karin Frank
• Anne Baber
• Bob Chrisman
• Joseph Davis
• Missi Rassmussen
• Michael Wells
• David Morrissey
• Shawn Pavey
• Timothy Pettet
• Tom Wayne
• Philip Miller
• Patricia Miller
• David Arnold Hughes
• Jason Vaughn
• Steve Brisindine
• Sara glass
• Duke Smith
• Rhiannon Ross
• Tom Wayne
• Will Leathem
• Jason Ryberg

Wednesday-

•  Victor Smith Memorial Reading: One of KC’s great ‘street’ voices, a poet’s poet, Smith published 5 chapbooks of poetry. A selection of poets  will read Victor’s poems in honor of his untimely passing.
•  7-9pm VICTORY PARTY at The Conspiracy (at the Uptown Theatre). Live Music and much back slapping. $3 cover for the Kansas City literary arts nonprofit: Write the Future