Silo City Reading Series celebrates 10 years of bringing silos to life

Live poetry, music & art returns June 11

The 10th season of the Silo City Reading Series, a multigenre celebration of poetry, music and art held in Marine A, a 130-foot high abandoned grain silo on the bank of the Buffalo River, kicks off June 11 with an event headlined by poet Richie Hofmann, author of “A Hundred Lovers” (Alfred A. Knopf). Tickets for the June 11 event, offered on a sliding scale, are now available at justbuffalo.org.

“This series started as a book release party for a local poet, and grew into a celebration of all the cultural communities of Western New York in the most magical venue in America,” said Noah Falck, series curator and education director of Just Buffalo Literary Center. “We are thrilled to be celebrating 10 years with such a dynamic, incredible lineup of artists.”

The three-event season begins June 11 with Hofmann, poet Albert Abonado, contemporary violinist Yuki Numata Resnick, and photographer Pat Cray. On July 30, poet Victoria Chang, editor of the New York Times Magazine’s poetry column and author, most recently, of “The Trees Witness Everything,” will be joined by poet Joe Hall, musician Lizzi Bougatsos, and artist Dara Friedman. Bougatsos and Friedman’s performances are presented in collaboration with the UB Arts Collaboratory. On Aug. 27, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown will perform with the soon-to-be-announced winner of the 2022 JBLC Poetry Fellowship, musician Florist, and installation artist Johann Diedrick, presented in collaboration with Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Arts Center.

Silo City Reading Series events take place in Marine A, behind Duende at Silo City, 85 Silo City Row. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the events begin at 7:30 p.m. Capacity is limited, and advance tickets are required. Books by featured poets in the series, as well as a limited-edition anthology of poems by past Silo City Reading Series poets over the past decade, will be available for purchase on-site by Buffalo bookseller Fitz Books.

Sliding-scale tickets for the July 30 event will be available starting at 10 a.m. June 13 10 a.m. on Just Buffalo’s website, justbuffalo.org. Tickets for the Aug. 27 event will be available starting at 10 a.m. Aug. 1 For more information about the Silo City Reading Series and this summer’s featured poets, musicians and artists, visit justbuffalo.org.

Just Buffalo Literary Center’s mission is to create and strengthen communities through the literary arts. For over 45 years, the organization has brought the world’s greatest writers to Buffalo, hosted poetry events and readings, and supported the development of young writers. For more information, visit justbuffalo.org.