Poets Brenda Coultas & Jonathan Skinner. 7pm. Rooftop Poetry Club reading featuring Coultas & Skinner. Butler Library @ Buffalo State College (1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo)

5/9

The Starlight Storytellers & Poets. 6pm. Art Words & Art Works: Spoken Word by The Starlight Storytellers and Poets, featuring Lorna MacDonald Czarnota and Liz Mariani. Starlight Studio & Gallery (340 Delaware Ave., Buffalo)

Poets Stephen Collis & Meredith Quartermain. 9pm. Reading by Collis and Quartermain. Rust Belt Books (202 Allen St., Buffalo, 885-9535)

5/10

Author Keith Gessen. 7pm. Gessen will read from and sign copies of his new book, All the Sad Young Literary Men. Talking Leaves Books (3158 Main St., Buffalo, 837-8554)

5/11

Nikki Germany & Alex Mead. 8pm. Spoken Word Sundays featuring Germany and Mead, hosted by Liz Mariani. Allen Street Hardware Café (245 Allen St., Buffalo)

5/14

Author Ginger Strand. 2pm. Strand, author of Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies, presents “Inventing Niagara: How One Woman Examines the History, Nature, and Development of Niagara Falls.” Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society (25 Nottingham Ct., Buffalo)

Poets Penelope Prentice & Perry Nicholas. 7pm. Gray Hair Reading Series presented by Earth’s Daughters Magazine. Featured readers Prentice and Nicholas. Hallwalls (341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo)

5/15

Poets George Grace, Amy Christman, & Pamela Plummer. 7pm. The new/reN.E.W. Reading Series features poets Grace (N.E.W.), Christman (new), and Plummer (new). Impact Artists’ Gallery, 545 Tri-Main Center (2495 Main St., Buffalo)

Author Ginger Strand. 7pm. Strand reads from her new book, Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies. Talking Leaves Books (3158 Main St., Buffalo, 837-8554)

RECURRING EVENTS

EM Tea Coffee Cup Open Mic Poetry Series. Meets every Tuesday, 7-9:30pm . EM Tea Coffee Cup Café, (80 Oakgrove Ave. at Hughes St., 884-1444)

Beat Night. An open forum for poets and writers that meets every Wednesday at Madame Mocha’s (1190 Lovejoy St., 894-8544)

Elmwood Writers Group. Meets every Wednesday at 7pm. For more info, visit www.elmwoodwritersgroup.org. Starbucks (933 Elmwood Ave.)

Just Buffalo Writers Critique Group. First and third Wednesday each month, 7pm (members only). Just Buffalo Literary Center (Market Arcade, 617 Main St., Suite 202A, 832-5400) www.justbuffalo.org

new/reN.E.W. Reading Series. Third Thursday of every month at 7pm. One “seasoned voice” formerly involved with the late Niagara-Erie Writers and one “new” voice. Impact Artists’ Gallery, (2495 Main St. (Tri-Main Building), Suite 545, Buffalo)

Northside Writers Group. 7pm. Meets the first and third Thursday of each month. Ascension Lutheran Church (4640 Main Street, Amherst, 626-4204)

Philosophy School Cafe. 7pm. Every Friday in the bookstore. School of the Arts (402 Center St., Lewiston, 471-5379)

The Poetik High. 7-9pm. Poetry open mic, every other Friday. Gallery 51 (567-569 Elmwood Ave., 332-6821) www.gallery51byek.com

Spoken Word Sundays. 8pm. Monthly event on the second Sunday of each month. Next one April 13 with featured readers Mike Kelleher and Herb Kauderer. Sign-up at 7:45pm. Allen Street Hardware (245 Allen St., 882-8843)

WNY Romance Writers Group. Third Wednesday of every month. St. Joseph Hospital Community Room (2605 Harlem Rd., Cheektowaga, 891-2400)