Beat Night

06/17/2026

Tomorrow's Beat Night celebrating Juneteenth has moved to downstairs at the !!🫎♥️ Drinks and food available and parking right around the corner at the Hanover Street garage

06/17/2026

NEW LOCATION!! Beat Night is this Thursday June 18 from 7 - 9pm at the Thirsty Moose Taphouse in downtown Portsmouth NH. Featuring Mckendy Fils-Aimé. Come and read a poem by your favorite black poet.

Mckendy Fils-Aimé is a New England based Haitian American poet, organizer, and teaching artist. He is the author of sipèstisyon (YesYes Books, 2026) and has received fellowships from Callaloo, Cave Canem, The Watering Hole, CantoMundo, and Periplus. Over the span of nearly two decades, Mckendy has represented New England in several regional and national poetry slams, performing on numerous semifinal and final stages. Mckendy’s work has been featured or is forthcoming in Best New Poets, Adroit, Muzzle, American Literary Review, the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, and elsewhere.

06/03/2026

Mckendy Fils-Aimé is a New England based Haitian American poet, organizer, and teaching artist. He is the author of sipèstisyon (YesYes Books, 2026) and has received fellowships from Callaloo, Cave Canem, The Watering Hole, CantoMundo, and Periplus. Over the span of nearly two decades, Mckendy has represented New England in several regional and national poetry slams, performing on numerous semifinal and final stages. Mckendy’s work has been featured or is forthcoming in Best New Poets, Adroit, Muzzle, American Literary Review, the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, and elsewhere.

05/28/2026

15th poet laureate of Portsmouth Myles Burr reading with the beat night band at the Press room. We can't wait to see what Myles does over the next two years as laureate!

05/27/2026

Come meet the new brank spanking new poet laureate of Portsmouth Myles Burr at Beat Night at the Press Room tomorrow May 28thth at 7pm

05/08/2026

04/23/2026

April 30th 7pm The Press Room

RescuePoetix | Susan Justiniano is an award-winning bilingual performing poet and teaching artist, whose work centers on matriarchal inheritance, legacy, and healing. Rooted in her Puerto Rican identity, she blends poetry, media, and performance to honor intergenerational stories. Published works appear in journals, anthologies, and community spaces across the diaspora.

Beat Poet Laureate of Maine 2024-2026, Claire Conroy self published two books (“Listen” in 2018 and “Silent” in 2022) and a chapbook (“Rumors From Dead Lips” in 2024). Her third book (“Inlets” 2026) was published by Keeping the Flame Alive Press. Born in Portsmouth, NH, she is a board member of the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program and hosts their open mics, The HOOT and Painting Poetry. Claire lives in Sanford, Maine and is a board member of the Sanford Arts Commission. She also hosts Beat Night at Flourish in Biddeford, Maine and has been published in over 40 anthologies. Claire is happy to announce her third book, Inlets: Memoir Poetry, published by Keeping the Flame Alive Press, is available on Amazon.