Touted as the “best poetry event in the borough” by Brooklyn Magazine and “one of the most innovative literary events in the city” by Time Out New York, the Brooklyn Poets Yawp is a monthly poetry workshop & open mic held on the second Monday of every month from 7 to 9:30 PM. Formerly held at the beloved 61 Local in Cobble Hill, the Yawp is currently being held virtually via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To register for our next Yawp, sign up using the form on this page and wait to be transferred to Eventbrite to purchase your ticket. $10 for the workshop & open mic; $5 for just the open mic. The workshop starts at 7, open mic at 8. Never written a poem before or needing a kick in the pants to start writing again? Join us at 7 and take the workshop. Already writing and itching to test your work on a live audience? Skip the workshop and join us at 8 for the open mic.

Each reader for the open mic gets to read one poem of 3 minutes max. You can sign up in advance through the form on this page for one of twenty reserved spots. If those spots fill, we’ll put you on the wait list.

One poem at every open mic is declared Yawp Poem of the Month by audience vote. The winning writer earns a Brooklyn Poets tote bag, one of the twelve spots in our Yawp Poem of the Year contest and two tickets to at our annual Awards Gala in December. We record and publish a monthly Yawpcast, so note that by reading you’re giving us permission to distribute your recording, unless you notify us otherwise. Also note that by participating in the Yawp, you agree to the terms of our code of conduct. Brooklyn Poets reserves the right to dismiss from our programs any participant found to be in violation of this code. Thank you for respecting our community.

Next Yawp: Mon, June 13, via Zoom
Workshop leader: Cindy Tran