Bill will be one of more than 150 scheduled performers at the 25th Annual Alternative New Year's Day Spoken Word/​Performance Extravaganza, which takes place on January 1, 2019, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church in Greenwich Village. This year's theme is "Before the Dawn."

(Note: Bill's 3-minute slot on the program will take place at some point between 7 and 9 pm.)

The Alternative, which is free to the public, features poets, prose writers, monologists, musicians, dancers and other performers in an eight-hour showcase that ranges from some of New York's most seasoned talents to emerging stars. The lineup evolves each year to keep the event fresh and democratic. The audience is encouraged to donate paperback books to Books Through Bars, for people incarcerated in prison, and canned or boxed food or drink for City Harvest, which provides for the hungry in New York.

The Alternative began on New Year's Day in 1995, and quickly became one of the most popular events on the city's poetry and literary scene. Founder Bruce Weber is ably assisted by a staff of writers, designers and curators. Each year a fresh group of performers are plucked from all corners of the Tri-State area to enliven and transform the Alternative in unexpected ways. Adding to the mix for the sixth consecutive year will be an anthology comprised of featured writers, published by Rogue Scholars Press under the guidance of C. D. Johnson.

"We're very excited to hold the event at St. John's on the 25th anniversary of the Alternative, and look forward to continuing to bring some light into our dark times," said Mr. Weber of this year's event.

Among poets scheduled to read on January 1 are Joel Allegretti, Jennifer Blowdryer, Steve Cannon, Michele Carlo, Steve Dalachinsky, Cornelius Eady, Bob Holman, Jesús Papoleto Meléndez, Nancy Mercado, Tracie Morris, and Bill Zavatsky.

In keeping with its spirit, there will be intervals within the day's program for audience members (who are not on the featured list) to sign up and perform on the open mic. The Alternative draws an overflow crowd every year.

A limerick of Bill's was read on the December 28 edition of the CBC Radio public-affairs program "As It Happens." The occasion was the passing of science fiction writer and prolific limerickist Larry Eisenberg. Host Jeff Douglas read Bill's memorial limerick, which was originally posted in the comments section of Mr. Eisenberg's New York Times obituary.

Listen to the segment below:

Bill will appear as part of the 120th episode of Tuesday Funk, Chicago's long-running eclectic reading series, at Hopleaf in Chicago. This special 10th-year celebration is hosted by Andrew Huff and Eden Robins. Also appearing are Juan Martinez, JH Palmer, C. Russell Price, and Mare Swallow.

On June 6, Bill will appear with Josef Kaplan at the Poets of Queens Reading Series at Vintage in Astoria, Queens. Poets of Queens was founded to celebrate the poets of Queens and to create a community around poetry in Queens.

On July 2, Bill hosts the second edition of Line Break, a new quarterly literary reading series in Queens. The reading takes place at Q.E.D.: A Place to Show & Tell in Astoria, Queens, near the Ditmars stop on the N/Q line. Lineup TBA. Admission is $5.

With musical backing by Daniel Geoghegan on drums and Jon Pope on bass, Bill will perform a spoken-word set featuring poetry, short shorts, and excerpts from his forthcoming memoir, The Accidental Terrorist. It's all part of The Sunday Sessions at HiFi Bar in Manhattan's East Village. The evening will also feature Sunday Sessions house band #poorcolin.

Update: Watch video of the full performance below:

Bill will be reading a short poem about the tenth anniversary 9/11 on Tuesday, September 6, 2011, as part of Chicago's monthly Tuesday Funk reading series, of which he is also co-host and co-producer. The reading, which features as headliners Edison Blake, Carissa DiGiovanni, AD Jameson, Noreen Natale, and Naomi Buck Palagi, takes place at 7:30 pm in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf Bar and Restaurant, 5148 N. Clark St. (just south of Foster). The upstairs lounge opens at 7:00 pm and is cash only. You must be 21 or over to be admitted. For further details, please visit https://www.tuesdayfunk.org.