The Laurel Theatre, in cooperation with Leroy’s Open Mic,

hosts a special open mic poetry reading tonight at 7:30. Called

“Writer’s Harvest: The National Reading,” the Laurel event is one of

some 170 readings happening simultaneously across the country. The reading

is a function of Share Our Strength, a national hunger relief

organization. Through the sponsorship of American Express, 100 percent of

all funds raised by the readings go directly to national and local hunger

relief groups.

Featured readers at tonight’s event include Fred Brown and Don Williams.

The features will read for ten minutes, with open mic participants allowed

five minutes. The suggested donation is $2 for students and poets and $5

for spectators.

The Share Our Strength organization works to alleviate hunger throughout

the United States and the world. With thousands of volunteers worldwide,

S.O.S. raised more than 5.3 million dollars last year for the fight against

hunger.

“Hunger is one of the country’s most urgent problems, and through Writer’s

Harvest, literary professionals have become activists in their communities,

and they add a unified voice that speaks out against hunger,” says Bill

Shore, founder and executive director of S.O.S.

Charles Baxter and Gloria Naylor, national co-chairs of the event, are

joined by some 800 writers ranging from school children to Pulitzer Prize

winners, including Diane Ackerman, Ann Beattie, T. Coraghessan Boyle,

William Kennedy, Galway Kinnell and Bobbie Ann Mason.

Along with host extraordinaire Leroy Smith, local readers include Sheryl

Hill, Leslie LaChance, Keith Norris, Danny Wade, and many UT creative

writing students.

For further information, contact Leroy Smith at the Poetry Hotline of

Knoxville, 522-6856.