Hear We Are

Hear We AreThe first day of 2024 saw a welcome return of the Alternative New Years Day Spoken Word Performance Extravaganza after four years off. Since our 2020 extravaganza, there were of course the years of the COVID 19 pandemic and then, when we thought we would return a year ago, the scourge of gentrification prevented us from securing a location. With our two previous sites again not available for 2024, we had work to do to find a suitable venue, but we did

The first day of 2024 saw a welcome return of the Alternative New YearÕs Day Spoken Word / Performance Extravaganza after four years off. Since our 2020 extravaganza, there were of course the years of the COVID-19 pandemic and then, when we thought we would return a year ago, the scourge of gentrification prevented us from securing a location. With our two previous sites again not available for 2024, we had work to do to find a suitable venue, but we did do so.

Seeing all the happy faces across the eventÕs eight hours, it seems the New York City poetry world was pleased by the eventÕs return. We certainly were. This yearÕs was the 27th edition of the event, which has long-established itself as one of the yearÕs premiere literary events. Where else could you see more than 150 readers and performers in one place in one day? As I like to say when announcing the start of the event each year, weÕre an institution.

But the Alternative is an institution thanks to those who read and performed at the event, some for many years. The eventÕs founder, Bruce Weber, started it for New YearÕs Day 1995, holding it in a loft above the Pyramid Club. Bruce didnÕt know how the event would be received, but was pleasantly surprised when a packed house pronounced a success. ItÕs been a success ever since, from those first years in that packed Avenue A loft and through several venues since. I have been a part of organizing the Alternative since the 2000 event and became director upon Bruce leaving New York City for upstate; and, having been a reader in the event since its second year, I always look forward to it. So do a lot of other folks in New York and the surrounding area.

The people who put together the Alternative every year do it as a labor of love. And so it is with the book in your hands, published by C. D. Johnson and Rogue Scholars Press. For the past several years, Rogue Scholars has put together an anthology featuring the eventÕs readers. In this yearÕs edition, youÕll find a tremendous range of voices, showcasing some of the outstanding writers of New York City with a bit of their artwork. For those of you who attended, I hope this anthology will enable you to relive the event. And for those of you who couldnÕt attend, I hope this collection will entice you to be there next year.

- Pete Dolack