When I was a little boy, my grandmother took me to Jai-Alai. She gambled and I would help her pick the winners (or losers). The sport confused me. Think racquetball. However, instead of a racquet, the players scoop the ball up with a cornucopia-like hand basket and then slam the ball against the wall. Scoop it up again. Repeat. What I loved most about Jai-Alai: going with my grandmother and the Caesar salad. The worst: everyone smoked inside.

Jai-Alai Magazine.

This Monday, August 12th at 7:30 p.m., come to Panther Coffee for the release of the summer issue of Jai-Alai Magazine—the literary journal from the University of Wynwood. Guaranteed to be smoke-free—at least inside Panther—and raucous, this issue represents a wealth of local contributors, including Kirenia Legón López, Yosie Crespo, Jesús Alberto Díaz, Virgilio Colón, Arlo Haskell and Alexander Sorondo, who will all read from their work.

Following the reading, Panther Coffee’s inaugural (un)filtered open-mic series organized by Isis Miller will commence. (un)filtered is the first and much-needed open-mic series in Wynwood and South Florida. The series will run year-round and provide a space for Miami’s literary community.

Bring your poems. Bring your rants. Bring your short stories. Whatever you’ve got, bring it and share it with Miami’s burgeoning literary community.

Issues of Jai-Alai Magazine will be on sale at the reading for $15. The last few copies of Issues #8 and #9 will also be on sale. If you’d like to submit to Jai-Alai, bring a copy of your work for consideration for the next issue. At Panther Coffee, 2390 NW 2nd Ave., Miami.