Open Mic with Special Guest Host Iain Haley Pollock @ BAC! Date & Time: Friday, April 17, 2026 7:30-9:30 PM Location: Bethany Arts Community, 40 Somerstown Road, Ossining, NY 10562 For Ages 16+ Tickets: Pay-What-You-Can $10 – $20 Check-out our Pre-Open Mic Poetry Jam & Workshop with James K. Zimmerman! Join Hudson Valley Books for Humanity and Bethany Arts Community for our monthly Poetry/Spoken Word/Music Open Mic. Come on by to BAC this month and share your latest poetry/spoken word/music projects with a supportive audience. This special open mic at BAC will be celebrating Poetry Month! While we’re celebrating poetry month at this open mic, ALL performers are welcome– whether it be music, storytelling, and/or poetry. Bring your talent, your works in progress, and your positive energy to our stage. This event is open to teens and adults near and far. Performing at Open Mic on April 17? We’re doing it a little different this month. Performer sign-up occurs between 7-7:30PM. Performers will submit their name “into the hat” and we’ll draw 13 names right before 7:30PM. Each performer will have up to 5 minutes each on the mic. OUR COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS To help nurture a space of respect, validation, and welcoming: We’re here to share space, build community, and support each other. Performers: respect the 5-minute time limit and be mindful of your timekeeper. If you like something, make some noise! Snap your fingers, stomp your feet, clap, whatever feels right to you. We encourage you to get to know your seat neighbors. Connect and build community. Open Mics take place the 2nd Friday of every month. Iain Haley Pollock Iain Haley Pollock is the author of three poetry collections, most recently All the Possible Bodies, published by Alice James Books in 2025. Individual poems have appeared in a variety of publications, including American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, The New York Times Magazine, and The Progressive. Organizations including the Cave Canem Foundation, the NAACP, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Poetry Society of America have recognized Pollock’s work with awards and grants. He directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Manhattanville University and lives with his family in Ossining, NY. Co-hosted by Hudson Valley Books for Humanity, a welcoming space to build community through books and art. Find Hudson Valley Books for Humanity on social media @hudsonvalleybooksforhumanity, on their website hvbooksforhumanity.com, or visit them at 67 Central Avenue, Ossining, NY 10562.
