Throughout time, clusters of writers have gathered to share their thoughts, feelings and visions through the art of spoken word or musical performance. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott and Henry David Thoreau of Concord, Massachusetts gave birth to Transcendentalism in the mid-19th century. American writers F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kay Boyle and Ernest Hemingway shared their modernist visions in London during the 1920's, calling themselves the "Lost Generation." During the 1940s and '50s Beat writers Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs tested the limits of language in New York to create a fresh form of poetry mirroring the rhythms of bop music and everyday life on urban streets.

Gathering in coffee shops, art galleries and bookstores, communities of writers and musicians have continually explored the power of language by sharing stories, poems and songs. In Milwaukee, a scene is growing where musicians and writers are coming together to share their work and inspire one another. With so much talent thriving in our Cream City, it would be a shame to miss out on these conclaves of creativity. What may come from these aspiring artists, we can only guess.

Open Poetry Readings
Woodland Pattern Books
720 E. Locust St.
Milwaukee
(414) 263-5001
Urban Voice, third Friday of each month at 7 p.m.

Gasthaus Zur Krone
839 S. 2nd St.
Milwaukee
(414)-647-1910
Poetry Slam, first and third Thursdays monthly at 8 p.m.

Gallery 218
218 S. 2nd St.
Milwaukee
(414) 270-1043
Last Friday of the month at 8 p.m.

Borders
8705 N. Port Washington Rd.
Brown Deer
(414) 351-1825
Women's Writing Circle every Wed. 5:30-7 p.m.

Y-Not II
706 E. Lyon St.
Milwaukee
(414) 347-9972
Poetry Slam second and fourth Wednesdays monthly at 8:30 p.m.

Sprizzo Cafe
378 W. Main
Waukesha
(262) 513-5640
Open Mic every Friday at 8 p.m. for both writers and musicians.


Open Jams

Vic's Clique
5152 S. Packard Ave.
Cudahy
(414) 482-1960
Thursdays at 9 p.m.

Linneman's Riverwest Inn
1001 E. Locust Ave.
Milwaukee
(414) 263-9844
Acoustic open stage every Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Magoo's Bar & Grill
8911 W. National Ave.
West Allis
(414) 329-1477
Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

New Yorker Bar
645 N. James Lovell Ave.
Milwaukee
(414) 272-9444
Call for times and dates.

The Coffee House
645 N. 19th St.
Milwaukee
(414) 299-9598
Call for times and dates.