Thom Francis is the president of Albany Poets and has been organizing, promoting, and hosting open mics and poetry / spoken word events in Albany such as Nitty Gritty Slam, School of Night, Albany Poets Presents…, Brass Tacks, and the Word Fest for over 20 years. As a poet and performer, Thom has been featured at many upstate poetry and spoken word events from Saratoga to Woodstock as well as LarkFest, Art on Lark, and 1st Friday in Albany. Thom’s poetry has been published in Chronogram, Pine Hills Review, and Up The River.