This Sunday’s Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam is the 16th anniversary of the event, and Jeff Robinson has found a way to turn up its power yet again: He says he’s bringing in 16 musicians and 16 poets to mark the occasion, even though the Lounge itself won’t be able to pack in any more people than the usual sold-out night.

The Cantab Lounge’s dimly lit basement gets packed for its Wednesday poetry slam, with a line extending up the stairs and down the block for several yards. One reason: A welcoming approach to even first-time readers as young as 18.

With a presidential election behind them, Cambridge residents can turn their attention to nominations for another important office: poet populist, the person expected to celebrate the creation and appreciation of poetry throughout the city for two years starting in June.

What do two award-winning poets, playwright Molly Smith Metzler and an author who wrote a book popular enough to be on Oprah’s summer reading list have in common?

Cambridge has plenty of storytelling in its standup comedy and poetry slams but telling stories to your kids is a whole different thing. The Cambridge Community Center has a special storytelling presentation for parents planned to show the way.

Harvard Square is already due to see The Sinclair, a late-night restaurant and 525-person concert hall, open in the fall. Now a smaller performance venue and restaurant called Liberal Servings is targeted for 13 Brattle St., the heart of the square.

In Cambridge, Martin Luther King Day is not just a day off. City groups have planned events that make it easy for people to not just recognize the contributions and call to action by King — but to actually take action.

The Edgar Allan Poe parties start Wednesday with a musical tribute and continues Thursday with a reading in Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Happy death day, Edgar Allen Poe. To celebrate your haunted life, the band Box Five and guest bands are performing Poe-themed works in every U.S. city you called home. The tour starts Oct. 5 at The Somerville Theatre.

At Breathe Cambridge, a multimedia exhibition in its final dozen days, teens captured the voices of the city and turned it into a mesmerizing soundscape and comfortable space for people to stop and “take a breath.”