What is Jazzmouth?

The Jazzmouth Poetry & Jazz Festival is a one-of-a-kind, four-day festival celebrating poetry and jazz and the relationship between them. It is an exciting, all-inclusive community festival with events ranging from films to workshops, from musical performances to poetry readings and even both at once! Jazzmouth features young poets and local artists as well as legendary national acts such as David Amram, Ed Sanders, Charles Simic, Andrei Codrescu, Billy Collins, Bob Dorough, Mose Allison and Sheila Jordan.

Jazzmouth is pulling out all the stops for its sixth annual Extravaganza on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. at The Music Hall (28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 603.436.2400, www.themusichall.org), and proudly announces an earthshaking collaboration between legendary Beat poet, playwright, songwriter and novelist Michael McClure and Ray Manzarek, the founder and keyboard player of The Doors, one of the most iconic bands in the history of rock and roll.

In addition, the Jazzmouth committee proudly announces former US Poet Laureate and professor at Boston University Robert Pinsky. Early on, Pinsky was inspired by the flow and tension of jazz and the excitement that it made him feel. He said it was an incredible experience that he has tried to reproduce in his poetry. The musicality of poetry was and is extremely important to his work. He received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in 1974, and in 1997 he was named the United States Poet Laureate and Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. He now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and teaches in the graduate writing program at Boston University. As Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky founded the Favorite Poem Project, in which thousands of Americans of varying backgrounds, all ages, and from every state share their favorite poems. Pinsky believed that, contrary to stereotype, poetry has a strong presence in the American culture. The project sought to document that presence, giving voice to the American audience for poetry.The show will also feature the Larry Simon Ensemble, led by guitarist and Jazzmouth founder, Larry Simon and members of Groove Bacteria with special guests, along with some of the Seacoast area’s favorite spoken word artists.

For all the details visit Jazzmouth.org.