Kate Kearns, Mike Bove and David Stankiewicz are shaking up the usual poetry reading format.

Why? Because at a normal reading, there’s surprise and discovery for the audience, but there’s none for the poet. In a poet swap, the poet gets to see their own work in a new and likely uncomfortable way, and the audience gets the added bonus of watching them squirm.

What’s a poet swap? It’s like a body swap for a body of work. A trust fall. A torture wheel. Instead of presenting their own writing, each reader will present one of the other poets’ work, which they’ve had time to read and prepare.

At this event, Kate Kearns will present Mike Bove’s poetry, Mike will present David’s, and David will present Kate’s. The poet whose work is being read has no idea what poems the reader has chosen, what order they’re in, or what context will come with them. The only rule is all poems must be read word for word, true to the original.