Saturday Night Special presents: Fever

Saturday Night Special is back with another virtual open mic on Saturday, August 29, and this one is titled Fever. It's hosted by Hollie Hardy, and the featured guests are Texas Poet Laureate Amanda Johnston and Bay Area poet Justin Demeter. The whole thing runs from 8 PM to 10 PM on Zoom, so you can tune in from wherever you are.

If you haven't caught one before, here's how it works: Hardy started the series back in 2011 to give a platform to a wide range of literary voices, both new and established. It's a monthly thing, always on the last Saturday, and the format is pretty consistent. Poets and writers get three minutes or less to perform, and there's an open mic for anyone who wants to read their own work. Each month also brings an optional theme and a writing challenge, so there's a bit more to it than just a reading list.

The guests this time around bring two different coasts to the call. Amanda Johnston is the 61st Poet Laureate of Texas and the author of Another Way to Say Enter. Justin Demeter is a queer/trans poet and painter based in Oakland, California. Between them, you'll get a Texas voice and a West Coast one on the same bill, with the open mic filling in the gaps.

Hardy herself is an Austin poet, educator, and Pushcart Prize nominee, and she's also the founder of Praxis Poetry. The event is free, and it runs from 8 PM to 10 PM on Zoom.