RHYME WITHOUT REASON

Where have all the poets gone? They’re all in New York today. Close to 300 spoken-word artists are performing at one of two classic New Year’s Day readings. The Poetry Project’s 38th Annual New Year’s Day Marathon Benefit Reading has 140 of them, some with pretty big names (Thurston Moore, Jonas Mekas, Penny Arcade, and Patti Smith, among them). And for an alternative, Bowery Poetry Club welcomes another 150 poets to Kaleidoscope, now in its 18th year, with Emanuel Xavier, Jane LeCroy, Adam Falkner, and Ngoma, to name just a few. Poetry Project, at 3, St. Mark’s Church, 131 East 10th Street, 212-674-0910, poetryproject.org, $10–$20; Kaleidoscope, at 2, Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, 212-614-0505, bowerypoetry.com, free

Sun., Jan. 1, 3 p.m., 2012