The Acoustic Coffee Spoken word night was started in the spring of 2004. Originally hosted by Peddlar Bridges. It was and is the only weekly reading of it's kind in Portland, ME. Within the first year of it's creation it was nominated #1 Spoken word night by the readers of the Portland Phoenix (big deal right?).

In the summer of 2004 Peddlar asked if I would like to help host the reading and I jumped at the chance. I had been the host of The Second Tuesday Slam for over a year and had been looking for a new venue for some time. Marc and Margarett the owners of The Acoustic Coffee have been great partners of the reading. They were dedicated to bringing good music, poetry, comedy and entertainment of all types to Portland and ensuring that it is affordable i.e. Free!!

A few years later Acoustic Coffee closed its doors forever. But not before we hosted a few more late night underground slams at our old home. A few months later I met Anna Maria and spoke with her about her dream "The North Star Cafe". This was by all accounts Acoustic 2.0., and so it was. In April of 2007 The North Star opened its doors. Before its first official opening we hosted our very first reading there. This was the first event of our celebration for National Poetry Month 2007. Since then we've been growing in leeps and bounds. New poets, new artists, new faces and friends. After finding a new home our group of poets, writers and performers decided it was time to make more than just a reading. We would officially form as Port Veritas and dedicate ourselves to growing the art of spoken word in Maine.

We have hosted some outstanding features in the little time we've been around, and are looking forward to bringing in many more. Most importantly are those who keep it going. The dedicated few that are there week after week. We are achieving our goal of not just creating a venue to read but a community. Thanks Everyone!!