Albany Poets Present! February 5

[Our host, Thom Francis, on another night, on the stage downstairs, where we will be next month with 3 Guys from Albany)


at Valentine's, but we got kicked upstairs, the vacant, poorly lit, sticky-floored, cavernous, drippy-ceiling, no-bartender upstairs because of some bands playing downstairs that had less of an audience (of course we paid nothing) than our modestly attended poetry open mic -- go figure.

In the absence of an sign up sheet (we went counterclockwise, around el presidente) I read first with a "Pick Up Line" for the woman at the bar doing shots, & "Put Down the Government Rag" for the former-first-lady in a pants suit with her mouth around the Corporate Dick.

R.M. Engelhardt hasn't been here since he precipitously moved "School of Night" to the Fuzz Box a few years back. You can find "Guilt" on his MySpace-wannabe project, http://thehonesttransmission.ning.com, to judge it for yourself. Also a poem in the Romantic tradition where the Poet, even an idiot poet, is the transmitter of truth & justice for all.

Chris Brabham gave us a sequel to his praise of his profession with "What Ever Happened to Nursing?", then a litany of hope for Valentines' Day, "Give Me a Love."

Reading from a her high school marbled composition book NicoleK read some of her classroom poems, "Red Bow Tie" in her AT English class (we all knew she was smart!) & the "Ode to a Barbizon Representative" (she didn't sign up).

Chris Robbins' accent betrayed his Boston origin, read a tribute, "Womanist Poetry Day," then a poem to hippies, "Flower Power," of course.

Shaun Baxter built the "Great Wall" with croutons in his salad in his kitchen -- I could see it, then I ate it.

First Tuesday (just like Election Day) of the month at Valentines, near the beginning of New Scotland Ave., Albany, 8:00PM.