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Birthday Poem 2012

2012-01-26T20:54:00.000-05:00

(at Delray Beach, FL)

These morning Palm trees painting clouds against blue sky
this sitting half-dressed with coffee, outside
these breeze & sunshine drenched streets
is the furthest I’ve been on my birthday
from my birthplace. Past birthdays
I’ve shoveled snow, layered up for the cold
not walked on the beach, lathered in sunscreen.

This birthday where my tan is the birthday cards

that don’t reach me down here, & my present

is the smell of the ocean that will carry me

through to wherever I will be next year.

Urban Guerilla Theater, January 20

2012-01-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

After the Yes! Reading I raced (not quite) up Central Ave. to WAMC’s Linda Auditorium for the monthly gathering of UGT. I thought I’d be late, but Mojavi had just taken the stage & was talking about getting smacked as a kid by his mother in the supermarket. He must’ve been soooo cute! Mojavi was very spiffy in a tan suit & a bowtie -- this was the night to roast him, so the host was DJ 250.

Blue Storm was back in town from Brooklyn & performed the just written poem about how she “…loves to screw…” oh yeah.

Then Kat the Poet with a sexy piece called “Technology.” Next up with a song was Alicia, who can be heard as back-up on Poetyc Visionz' new CD. I followed in a role I often make fun of when others do it, as a stand-up comedian (or a close facsimile thereof), with some personal observations about Mojavi & his role in the community, the point being, “he keeps it real.”

I only had a little time left before I had to leave, but had to stay to hear Poetyc Visionz perform with Alicia “Dreams are Unrealistic” from his brand new CD “Life” The Meaning Vol. 1., & of course grabbed a copy before I left. The last performer I caught as my exit music was the singer C.J., but there were more later.

Check out Urban Guerilla Theater on the third Friday of the month, music, poetry, performances, even some food & drinks, at the Linda Auditorium, 9PM.

Yes! Reading Series, January 20

2012-01-24T14:24:00.000-05:00

Somehow there has (almost) always been conflicts in the world of Albany arts with this series that brings in a variety of young writers/artists tied to the academic world. But tonight the conflict was what the newspapers, in referring to a non-plane crash, a “near-miss” -- I was scheduled to be at Urban Guerilla Theater up at the Linda later in the evening (more on that in another Blog). But I wanted very much to catch this particular night of Yes!

One of the unique features of this series is the inclusion of music or visual (or any other) arts along with the reading of prose & poetry. The program is not really integrated, just whatever is available, sort of like a Ed Sullivan program for the “avant-garde.” Tonight’s artist was Maureen Jolie Anderson displaying a table of photos for the taking, the show called “The Lost Photographs of M.” Each time she does this particular installation/performance the title changes. Unfortunately, when it came time for me to scoot out the door & race up Central Ave., I had no time to grab a photo.

Matthew Klane, the series’ co-coordinator, went on to introduce Jessy Poole, a fiction writer, with a cut-up/jump-cut word salad that seemed to parody the stuffy, sententious intros one hears at readings at area (to be unnamed) universities. He began with a short (it was “flash fiction” after all) piece about an encounter at a bus stop, then on to a couple scenes from his novel-in-progress, "The Von Darling Family Circus," set in Wisconsin in the 1960s with characters named after ancient Persian kings.

Co-coordinator James Bellflower took over the intro duties, but his sounded just like Matthew’s, so I wonder… Peter Fernbach interspersed his poems with those by women writers, such as Amy Gerstler & Sylvia Plath in a self-conscious reference to gender rather than poetic talent. His comments tended to sound like he was teaching one of his classes & made me wonder if he’s ever been to a poetry open mic or read his poetry in public much, other than before students. He introduced the Amy Gerstler poem saying, “it goes like this,” & his own poem “Everyday” by describing it as “social justice-y.” When he gave the background to his poem “The Model” he identified the Buddhist practice of sand mandalas as being located in India, whereas sand mandalas are more closely associated with Tibet & China.

But my main reason for doubling up my schedule, & waiting to the very end, was to hear Anna Elena Eyre, who has served her time helping to run this series in the past. She has 2 books of poetry out recently & began with poems from Are Me (Dancing Girl Press, 2011). She read “He,” “She” & “I,” the last read so effectively with the word “I” always uttered as a cross between a gasp & a sigh that she garnered the rare (for academic readings) applause for a single poem (it is the practice at such readings, as opposed to most community readings, not to applaud each poem but to pile it all at the end). Anna’s most recent book is Faceless Names: Two Books of Letters (BlazeVOX books, 2012), namely, poems responding to William Carlos Williams’ early work, Kora in Hell (or, as she refers to him “W Carlos W”), & “Nameless Mail,” (or “Letters to Evelyn”, her mother’s mother). As one says, it was worth the price of admission.

Then I had to dash off to the second event of the night (stay tuned). Meanwhile you can catch the Yes! Reading Series every little once in a while at the Social Justice Center, in Albany, NY.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, January 19

2012-01-23T10:25:00.000-05:00

Tonight’s featured poet, Anthony Bernini, brought his cheering section & his new book, Immediate Worlds, to the Social Justice Center. But first some of the open mic & a good crew it was tonight.

Bob Sharkey was first up with his poem “Marshals,” a look back to political demonstration in the 1960’s. W.D. Clarke’s “Gideon’s Eye” is another ballad about a prosthetic device in what may be a continuing series.

D. Alexander Holiday by-passed his own poems to read one by Roger McGough. Elizabeth Haight squeezed in 2 poems, “Love Arrived,” & the second on reading Anthony’s first book of poems, Distant Kinship. Slam champ Elizag performed her slam-winning poem “I Am Troy Davis,” & showed it could work in this smaller, quieter setting.

Anthony Bernini read mostly from Immediate Worlds (The Troy Book Makers, 2011) & dedicated his reading to Mohammed Ali, describing him as “one of the great men of the Earth.” He began with the poem “Meterological Spring,” then, staying with the theme, of death “Visiting the Dead” (in Malone, NY) & “The Disposition.” Then on to “love,” beginning with “Because Her Any Place Can Touch,” then to a interlude with some love poems by Rumi, & back to his own with “Love Light.” “At Honorable Bryant’s House” was about the meeting of 2 old friends, down in South Carolina. “The Rain that Farmers Love” was a musical examination of what we need, while “The Warmth” acknowledged farmers & dancers. He closed with a poem about San Francisco from Distant Kinships, “Top of the Wheel.” Anthony's poems can be challenging hearing them in a reading, but that's the reason to buy his books.

After the break I re-started the open mic with an old piece (for my birthday month) “This Birthday is Not Divisible by 10.” Avery read from a Kerouacian pocket-notebook about the view from the 22nd floor of the hotel he was in recently in Hawaii. Sylvia Barnard read her poem “Rapp Rd. Community” about an early black community on the outskirts of Albany. Then Moses Kash III, who had taken a cab to get here, finished off the night with a recent piece “Egyptian Turmoil” focused on political events here & abroad.

Each Third Thursday we gather here at the Social Justice Center on Central Ave. in Albany (NY), about 7:30 for an open mic & a featured reader. Your generous contributions support the work of the Poetry Motel Foundation by paying the featured poets, & the wide-ranging work of the Social Justice Center.

Occupy Albany: Words, January 18

2012-01-20T09:55:00.000-05:00

I stopped in a the UAG Gallery on Lark St. in Albany, NY on the First Friday Gallery Walk to take in their exhibit "Occupy the UAG," art from/inspired by the Occupy Albany movement. The art was compelling, varied & affordable. I bought a handmade book of ephemera by Carol Bruening, then talked to the staff about a poetry reading in the space to help promote the exhibit & support the Gallery through donations.

On a blustery January in the great Northeast about 10 people gathered to hear 4 performers. Later a few others wandered in late to look at the art. For most in the audience it was an introduction to the vibrant poetry scene here. One of the messages of the Occupy movement is to spread the idea that we are all artists creating our own lives, that we don't need corporate media to dictate to us our thoughts, images, ideas, we will tell them what we think, what we envision. We are not receptors, we are visionaries.

I began with my poem inspired by the Occupy DC movement in October, "One Day Longer," then "What Really Happened."

Ed Fagen, who recently moved to the area with his wife, read a humorous, rhymed piece "Christmas Owed" (say it out loud).

John DelSignore brought his guitar to perform what could become an anthem, "Occupy, Don't You Know," then to cover Bobby Bare's "Drop Kick Me Jesus."

Albany poet Carolee Sherwood read her poems "Apiary" & "Boy Leaps from Burning Building."

Support your local artists/performers/poets/musicians -- download your own life, find the art in your community & go there.

Nitty Gritty Slam #10, January 17

2012-01-19T22:44:00.000-05:00

At some of the previous Slams here at Valentines, notably #9, the scores were so uniformly high, no matter what was performed, that it was like the judges were all clones, or smoking on the same crack pipe. But tonight the scores were all over the place, including being off the scale & down in the judges curmudgeon dungeon. & so were the poems/pieces. In fact Joe Krausman aptly summed it up during the open mic. He said that his reading of a short poem (a real poem) at a Slam was like bringing Emily Dickinson to a circle jerk.

Speaking of circle jerks, Daniel Balzac Nester's youthful memoir of trading porn, & of the notorious Jungle Juices tape, was right up that alley (or down that gutter), as was Bless' declaration of not doing poetry for pussy (well, some do...). Others in the open mic were ILLiptical with a tribute to Macho Man/Randy Savage, & open mic host Mojavi doing "Incarcerated" (encouraged by Bless from the bar to "read the poem & stop telling jokes"). But the open mic "10" was definitely D. Alexander Holiday leading the audience in a raucous recitation of his incantatory "This Poem is the Bomb" -- it was nothing short of Kurt Schwitters, worthy of the best Dadaists, turning Valentines into the Cafe Voltaire, & worth the price of admission.

Miriam Axel-Lute

But they don't really give scores at the open mic, as they do in the Slam. Bless volunteered to be the night's sacrificial lamb to prime the judges with a piece in hip-hop rhyme on writing, then on to the first round, with 8 performers. There were a couple of virgins: Tasha with a slam-patterned cutter poem, & Jay with the short "Urine Paranoia," Champ Elizag had an angry piece recited too fast, Ben Golden talked about losing his virginity, while Poetyc Vyzonz was the night's motivational speaker. Rain Dan reminded us to notice & cherish what we have, Miriam Axel-Lute gave an argument against exercise & I read "To My Penis (on our 45th Birthday)."

Getting the Scores

Well, as used to say in the 3 Guys from Albany, "when in doubt, pull out the dick (poem)" -- it worked. For the 1st time in Slam History Dan Wilcox got into the second round! I could've gone home right then, but that, of course, would've been most rude. There were now 4 of us, only 3 would be "in the money." I was first with the long-awaited "Slam Poem," then Poetyc Vyzonz did another of his signature God pieces, this with Adam & Eve, while Ben Golden did another bit of autobiography. Elizag's "Looking Up" was actually a real poem, on inspiration & writers' block.

Ben Golden performing

When the judging flurry settled, like lint shaken from an old pillow, low & behold, Elizag's real poem was good enough for third, & left me & Ben Golden to duke it out. Ben won with "Archetype," more bio from his smart-phone, & I scored 2nd with my ancestral "Going Postal." What crazy planet alignment brought this about? Will the world of Slam ever be the same? Dare I ever go back & Slam again? Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? What am I going to do with all that money?

This insanity takes place on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month at Valentines on New Scotland Ave., in Albany. Check out the scores here on the AlbanyPoets website.

St. Poem Reading Series: Occupy the Word, January 16

2012-01-19T15:11:00.000-05:00

Unbeknownst to me, the December version of this regular monthly open mic held at the UAG Gallery that had been titled "Occupy the Word" had been postponed. So this month's version of the St. Poem series was on the theme of political pieces inspired by the Occupy Albany (or fill-in the blank). Meanwhile I had planned another, albeit one-shot, open mic for the following Wednesday, to highlight the "Occupy the UAG" exhibit currently at the Gallery. 2 open mics, 2 nights, 1 theme. This town can handle it.

Our host, RM Engelhardt, began the reading from Songs of Wall Street: An Anthology of Verse for Literary Investors, edited & written by Michael Silverstein (Running Press, 2001). The book consists of pastiches on investment themes of famous poems & includes the original versions of the poems as a reference. Rob began with "The Ten Market Commandments," a version of Arthur Hugh Clough's "The Latest Decalogue," & "Globalizaton's Coming; Too Damn Fast," based on William Wordsworth's "The World is Too Much with Us, Late and Soon."

Hard act to follow, so I started off with a poem on the theme, "One Day Longer," then "What Really Happened" & a poem inspired by an earlier exhibit here, "The Clever Cleaver." Rob followed with more from this book, this time 2 based on Emily Dickinson poems "I Tanked on Options," based on "I Died for Beauty" & "I Never Met Al Gore" based on "I Never Met a Moor."

Cara Benson began with an Occupy movement inspired poem beginning "And when we woke we heard the sound of a drum…" then a notebook draft, "What Do I Say When I Say Environment;" both pieces build on running, stuttering flow-clusters of words bouncing off each other. Bless performed a couple of his signature pieces (that I always enjoy hearing), the poem about returning to his old neighborhood, beginning "Up the Street from history…", & finished with "Guilty Pleasures."

Our patient host ended the night talking about a dream he had that included fences & work permits & police, then his poem "Occupy, or Under the Harvest Moon."

This series continues every 3rd Monday of the month at the UAG Gallery, 247 Lark St., Albany, NY, 8PM. But the current "Occupy the UAG" exhibit will only be up until the end of this month. Better run if you want to see it.

Poetry + Prose Open Mic, January 8

2012-01-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

Nancy Klepsch & I were back together again as co-hosts after a couple of months of playing tag-team. It has always surprised me how many folks show up on a Sunday afternoon for poetry, but, hey, I like surprises.

I began with a cluster of poems circling around the suburbs, "What the Deer Sees" & "Coyote 3" & "… 4." Tim Verhaegen read 3 pieces, playing with telling his stories in short-line repetitive rhymes, "Third Grade Rhyme," "Washington Park at 2AM" (being chased), & the contentious portrait "Cynthia." Howard Kogan began with a poem about reading John Hersey's Hiroshima in Townsend Park in Albany, then with a poem, "First Responders," to be found on the Occupy Poetry website & ended with the rural portrait, "His Father's Mitten." David Wolcott brought us more of his drug memoir, this time about taking LSD, "Doors of Perception."

I don't recall having heard Elizabeth Haight read before, but was totally beguiled by her poems, the dreamy "While I was Sleeping," "Love in Fashion" (in which she lists past lovers together with what she was wearing at the time), & the fantasy/spy story/memoir "Apricots." Aviva Rossman has not been to any open mics in recent months (years?) & spent a lot of time hunting for her poems, but they were worth it; "Dancing on George Washington Bridge" was based on a painting in a Art textbook, then "Jasmine Queen," & a poem for a friend, "Last Days in a Nursing Home." My co-host Nancy Klepsch responded to the media swirl around the Iowa Republican caucus with a rhythmic piece repeating "Iowa."

Brett Axel pondered what it means to be a pastoral poet in the 21st century, where fields are turned into shopping malls, then explained "The Difference Between the Dodge Poetry Festival and the National Poetry Slams," & read a brief poem on conversation as a metaphor. Ron Drummond read the opening section of a story (that he wouldn't tell us the title of) from which he had previously read to us a later paragraph; in today's section there is a confrontation with an old man that may or may not be an actualization of a dream. Barry Goldman read a piece off his netbook about a bee (& a pretty girl) in a coffee shop. Bless Wize Words performed 2 pieces, one pondering the "Perfect Life," the other, one of my favorites, "Man Oh Man," about a conversation (& a lesson) with a homeless man.

This open mic is for prose & poetry writers & is held on the 2nd Sunday at 2PM in the Arts Center of the Capital Region, 265 River St., Troy, NY -- Free!

Inquiring Mind Bookstore Reading & Open Mic, January 7

2012-01-12T19:38:00.000-05:00

I knew that this reading has been going on for a while in Saugerties, hosted by Laura Ludwig, but it also conflicts with the Chronogram Open Word reading in Kingston, so hadn't made it here until tonight. I wanted to see one of my favorite featured poets, Donald Lev, & I wanted to hear Chris Wood, whose work I was not familiar with. While there seemed to be some confusion about how many open mic poets our host could squeeze in, & when the features would read, etc., by the end of the night everyone had their chance.

Eric Fishbein was up first with an excerpt from a one-person theater piece he is working on, "C Minus," about someone thinking he could go to school to become a rock star. Victoria Sullivan also did a theater-like monologue about a homeless woman in New York City finding the Occupy Wall St. encampment. Adriana Delgado is a fine, young poet I've enjoyed hearing at open mics in the mid-Hudson area; tonight she did a small cluster of poems, "Upon Waiting for Spring," "The Great Anxiety," & the dreamy "Soliloquy & Synopsis in Sweet Sleep."

Pamela Twinning started off with a couple of poems, "Juggernaut" & "Danse Macabre," filled with intense, poetic images, then to a prose piece (memoir?), "Sunset Strip," about a teen-age runaway in Los Angeles in the 1960's. Mary Girodano's short notebook entry went by so fast I blinked & it was gone. I did 3 poems, "One Day Longer," "My Last Bardo" (just published in Donald Lev's Home Planet News (#65), & from Poeming the Prompt, "Looking for Cougars."

Donald Lev is one of the poetic resources that makes living in the Hudson Valley so exciting & rich. He has been publishing Home Planet News since paper was invented, first with poet Enid Dame, then, since her death, on his own. He read a stack of mostly short poems written in the last month. Many of the poems came from dreams (or seemed to), such as "An Elevator Filled with Wheelchairs," "Sundae," & "My Country's Battles." Others were more political & weighty ("Thick & Thin," "Death Before Dishonor"), while others were whimsical musings (in the poem "Respect" he has the trees thanking him for breathing). In a sort of Hanukah poem he skillfully combined the music of Duke Ellington & Jewish history. His tender poem "New Year's Eve" evoked past eve's with Enid, then he read Enid Dame's fine poem of Brooklyn in the snow, "Waiting." He ended chronologically with "Poem for January 7."

I was not familiar with the work of Chris Wood, so that became half of the reason to make this trip. He is the publisher of Heyday Magazine. He began with poems, "The Cost of Poetry" (on being a publisher), the title poem of his chapbook America the Pitiful (Your Name Productions, 2011), "I Like that One," "Spleen" & "After Sipping Tea" which has been accepted for Home Planet News). Then on to some songs, his own ("Victory" & "Threshing Floor") & a cover of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic." He ended with a brief scene from a children's story he wants to produce as an animated film, with Adriana Delgado & Marina Mati acting with him.

Andy Clausen was gracious while being subjected to uncertainty about reading, but fortunately stuck around to read his phantasmagoric tale, "The Bear," in his rich, sonorous voice. Marina Mati ended the night, first with a reading of "Good Night World" by the Yiddish language poet Jacob Glatstein (1896 - 1971), then her own poems, an untitled piece on being an exile rather than a tourist, "Chewing on Words" & "Long Moon Night."

A pleasant night of poetry & theater at Inquiring Minds Bookstore, Saugerties, NY.

Nitty Gritty Slam #9, January 3

2012-01-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

Like a punch-drunk fighter I keep going back for more, & signed up once again for the Slam. There were just 8 of us, so I was in. But first the open mic, which was worth the price of admission.

El Presidente (Thom Francis) filled in the hosting responsibilities until Mojavi arrived, resplendent in a pink sweater, so cute.

The first poet up was a virgin, Tasha, with a long litany for a friend, "Kat is Short for Soul-Mate." Jessica Layton got us hot & bothered with the sexy "Staring at the Front Door Waiting for that Good Date." Dominick Rizzo hasn't been on the scene in many, many months & jumped right in tonight with a poem from his book, The Spiral Staircase of My Life (AuthorHouse, 2008). One of this event's co-organizers, Prof. Daniel Nester, regaled us with a section from his memoir from high school involving basketball, ping pong in a basement murder scene, & of course a cute girl's ass. Normally one either reads in the open mic or in the slam, not both. But tonight Elizag had packed the house with visiting friends & relatives from out of town so was granted dispensation to read in both & picked up Jessica's theme with the anaphoristic "First Date." Ed Rinaldi did 2 short poems on longing, the first called (I think) "Potatoes," then "Antigone Has Gone On Ahead." Mojavi ended the open mic with more longing, more tears from his iPhone.

Slam Master Dain Brammage came on stage to the theme from Battlestar Galactica, to stumble into his poem set in the old Tess' Lark Tavern "Notes." Mary Panza was the "sacrificial lamb" getting a huge 28.8, which presaged the night's early high scoring, with "The Tattooed Crowd at Day Care." The field of competitors included Shannon "In the Money" Shoemaker, Ben Golden (back in town on school break), Poetyc Vyzonz as God (again), Ka in hip-hop rhyme, Elizag in the voice of Troy Davis, Kevin Peterson railing against Parking Enforcement,

Ann with a love poem to Albany, & me. I didn't do so well last time with a political poem so switched themes to "The Pussy Pantoum." Well, that didn't work either, & Elizag's political rant scored highest. But I managed to score a 27.1, with 4 others scoring below me, including past champ Kevin.

You can see the scores for each round at the AlbanyPoets site, but when the dust settled, Elizag, even with a time penalty, squeaked by Shannon to win the big bucks in front of her family.

If you've just been reading my Blogs & haven't gotten out to the Nitty Gritty Slam, what kind of a wimp are you? It's spirited, it's fun, there's heckling, there's beer, & even a real poem once in a while. Check it out on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month, Valentines's, 7:00 sign-up, $5.00 (less with a student ID).

My Year of the Awards

2011-12-31T20:52:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what astrological conjunction brought this about. Perhaps it's just living long enough, but 2011 was the Year of the Award, for me. Actually it started with the December 27, 2010 roast at the Poets Speak Loud at McGeary's, sponsored by AlbanyPoets.com. A.C. Everson/Breaking My Art's papier maché head from that night is still in a place of honor in my dining room. I was about 40 when I had my first featured reading, which eventually inspired me to host an open mic (on the third Thursday, now at the Social Justice Center) at which I feature young poets (among others), often for their first featured reading, so I guess I've grown used to "late" honors -- Whatever.

As for readings this year, I was pleased to be asked to be one of the readers at the Scissortail Creative Writing Festival in Ada, Oklahoma in April. In May, I was privileged to read with other veterans at the Kingston Universalist Congregation, then later in the month, again with fellow veterans, at the Harmony Cafe in Woodstock. Later in the year I was part of the Puffin Poetry Jam for Peace in Teaneck, NJ with other members of Veterans For Peace. In between I was featured with Eileen Abrizio, Jean-Yves Solinga & Elizabeth Thomas at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford at Poets Speaking Out for Social Justice. I also read as part of the Paterson Literary Review launch of issue #39 in November in Paterson, NJ. In September I had an exhibit of my photos of unknown (& famous) poets at the Arts Center of the Capital Region & a photo in the Photography Center's Member Show.

All that in itself was enough accolades for an aging poet/photographer, but there was also the awards. You know, when they come like this it makes one start to look over one's shoulder for that runaway garbage truck careening down the hill, right at your back.

Early in the year I had submitted poems to the Rip Van Winkle Poetry Award run by All Arts Matter out of Greenville, NY, & won 1st prize. The award was presented in August at the Greenville Public Library. I've been a supporter of the Solidarity Committee of the Capital District & a subscriber to their newsletter since soon after I arrived back in the area many years ago & I was thrilled to be honored at their annual Labor Day picnic with the "2011 Peace & Poetry Award … in recognition of your work for peace and for bringing poets, poetry and the people together." Another organization that I've been proud to be a part of, have done readings & reviews for their Tuesday noon events, has been The Friends of the Albany Public Library. On December 3 I was honored by a lunch sponsored by the Friends at the University Club for the Fall Book and Author Event, then a Question & Answer session in the APL's main auditorium. Later in the month at the Sunday Four Poetry event I received the first Arthur Dare Willis Award for my "... contribution to poets and poetry" presented by the hosts of Sunday Four, Dennis Sullivan, Michael Burke & Edie Abrams.

The point about these last 3 awards were that they were from the community, from people whom I respect greatly for the work they do & so their recognition for my work means all the more, that it is about what we do together, how we keep the community growing. I am humbled & honored to receive these awards & hope that this recognition will keep me working, & growing. We don't work for awards, we do what we do because we feel we have to, but the awards help buoy us up during those times we question if what we do is "worth it" -- it's always "worth it" just because we do it. Thank you to all those involved in these community organizations.

I guess with all this behind me I can now continue on undistracted with the work that needs to be done: ending the war(s), working for economic justice & freedom, & helping to create the kind of artistic/poetic community that fosters those goals -- as well as having fun, living & loving -- & writing more poems.

Take my hand, we're all in this together! -- Happy New Year.

Poets Speak Loud!, December 26

2011-12-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

Attentive Wait Staff at McGeary's

Back in the backroom of McGeary's, Clinton Square, Albany, NY, on the last Monday of December or, as our host, Mary Panza, characterized it, "the post-holiday hangover edition." She herself was treating the disorder with pumpkin spice martinis & it seemed to work. There was no featured poet, but plenty of this town's fine open mic poets -- & a bad gift exchange at the end.

But first the poets, with Cheryl A. Rice playing off a water theme in a poem titled "Hot Tub," then a water bed poem, "Lake of Dreams." Joe Krausman read a piece written today for the season, "Lists" & then a poem about looking for a companion, "My Pension Won't be Enough…" Sylvia Barnard read the poem she read at the third Thursday reading, "My Grandmother's Store" & another family piece "My Grandmother's Bones." My only poem tonight was about a visit to the UC Berkeley campus, "My Sather Gate Illumination" (for my daughter Madeleine).

Tess Lecuyer read a couple of poems written for the Winter Solstice, one from 1993 about a troop of girls in tap shoes at the mall, & another about the cold solstice of 2000. Carolee Sherwood described her 2 poems as "indulgent" & "sentimental" (which sounds like descriptions for most poems), indulgent being "What to Do with the Dead in 2011" then the sentimental, for her son, "Ben Baking Bread." Thom Francis did one of the poems he performed with Murrow at the third Thursday event, "Shackle" ("…your cold embrace…").

Dain Brammage said he felt good this Xmas for the first time in many years, but attempted to read an old poem about depression, "Sometimes," but then just let it go; he is also the Slam Bastard, I mean, "Master" on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays over across town at Valentines so performed his signature "Slam" (in essence, "it's not in the writin' it's in the recitin'").

Mojavi, after a long introduction, read an intense love/sex poem "Transforming Fear into Unconditional Love" with images of swimming & a new mind. Elizag slipped in late to read a couple of "black-out" poems, "Adult Low-Dosage Aspirin Bottle" & "Cleaning Products are More Optimistic," then read a list poem, "Magical Thinking." The last poet up was Poetyc Vyzonz reading "The Love" in the voice of god (or God).

All I will say about the bad gift exchange is that we were all hoping that Joe Krausman would try on the 3-inch brightly colored open-toed shoes (that came with a pink clutch bag long enough for a .357 Magnum), but instead he traded with Elizag for an out-of-date commemorative beer mug. Perhaps she will show up at the next Slam in those shoes ("it's not a costume, it's what I wear -- don't talk to me about it!").

Happy Holidays!!

Nitty Gritty Slam, December 20

2011-12-27T11:57:00.000-05:00

Once again I went down to Valentine's, hoping for a slot in the Slam (&, of course, hoping to make it at least to the second round). But first an interesting open mic, where folks seem to do real poems, rather than just perform. Mojavi was the host, telling us "Twitter is where it's at."

Poetyc Vyzonz began with a preview of his in-progress CD. Tom M. did a really fine hip-hop piece, "fuck school," that probably would have done well in the Slam. (Prof.) Daniel Nester read from his memoir, "Moby Cock," how he got a C+ in America lit. (his students beware!).

A new voice/face on the stage was Kat SoPoetic, with a piece using terms from anatomy & physiology, "Anatomy & Poetry."

Another new poet was Sibie with a Xmas song & Xmas poetry. For all his snarky shenanigans as open mic host, Mojavi read a tender, gentle love poem, then capped it off with a piece on police violence.

Well, there were only 6 of us in the first round of the slam, & I was the last performer with "One Day Longer" & I still ended up on the bottom (tied with Tom M.). You can see all the scores & a summary of the event (& my purple beret) at the AlbanyPoets website. Kevin Peterson won, for the second time in a row, & once again the indomitable Shannon Shoemaker was in the money, placing 3rd.

All you Slam Champions beware -- I'll be back & if I get into the second round I will kick your ass(es), at least somewhat, whatever.

Check it out on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month at Valentine's rock'n'roll emporium on New Scotland Ave. in Albany.

Sunday Four Poetry, December 18

2011-12-23T21:50:00.000-05:00

Actually on the third Sunday this month (otherwise it would have been on Christmas Day), with its usual gathering of fine regional poets & a featured poet (Cheryl A. Rice), & a special surprise for me. Co-hosts were Edie Abrams & Dennis Sullivan.

Philomena Moriarty with a bouquet of recently written poems, starting with memories of a feral childhood, then what it's like at a "Women's Retreat," & ending with imagining the possibilities on "Starships." I followed with the recent "What the Deer Sees" & the recently published (in Home Planet News #65) "My Last Bardo."

At that point Dennis Sullivan (our avuncular host) paused the open mic to present me with the (first) Arthur Dare Willis Award, named in honor of the venerable Voorheesville teacher, poet, "Old Testament prophet, a healer, a visionary…" As the proclamation states, "Through this award we wish to call to mind periodically poets, publishers, and presenters of poetry who have inspired us and continue to inspire us through their contributions to the art of poetry and those who practice this art in earnest… we present this award to … Dan Wilcox. We are tempted to say Albany's Dan Wilcox but we won't because he is everybody's Dan Wilcox." Needless to say I was quite honored to receive this award & humbled by the praise & kind words from folks I admire as poets & cherish as friends. Thanks! The award itself is an engraved glass disk reminiscent of a halo -- hmm?

Appropriately enough, Joe Krausman follwed this with his poem about smart people doing dumb things, then the holiday "Season's Greetings." Dennis Sullivan dedicated his poem on words & death & Eros, "All's Well that Never Was" to me, then read "Remembering Mother in Barcelona" & "One Cell Cowboy Joe," both from his new collection, In the Fields of Kingdom Come (Pajarito Cantando Press, 2011). Obeeduid, recovering from recent surgery, found a copy of the 1996 publication Many Waters, containing his poem "Unconcerned Oddly" & read it for us, followed by a tender poem about his ex, "Limbs that We Left in the House of Circe," & a recent poem "The Hole in the Stone Wall Across the Road." Howard Kogan read one of my favorite poems from his book, Indian Summer (Square Circle Press, 2011), "Uncle Jess," then a poet's poem, "Imagination."

Two of Don Levy's poems were about the history of poets & poetry in Albany, "One Night Stand in Plattsburgh" & "Local Poet on Tape", & in between the recent "The Insomniac Muse." Tom Corrado's poem "Liner Notes: Expected Gain" can be found on his Blog & he followed it with the occasional piece in humorous rhyme written for a friend's 60th birthday "I Continue to Get Older" (which I must admit beats the alternative). "Bird" (Alan Casline) began with a prayer then on to the long poem in 2 voices (with Howard Kogan as House), "House I Have to Talk to You, Bernadette Mayer Has Given Me the Assignment," followed by the very short "Impressions of People I Have Never Met."

Michael McCabe shows up at lots of poetry readings but this is (perhaps) the first time I've heard him read, an untitled piece written 9 years ago, on believing in the unseen & living in the here & now. Paula was also new to reading & read a series of haiku about her mother dying -- healing & grieving.

Stephen Leslie was the day's 2nd awardee, a medal presented by Howard Kogan, for earning 2nd place in the International Haiku contest, & reads the award-winning haiku & its extended haibun, "The Tire Swing" -- congrats Stephen! Ed Rinaldi read a poem of love & passion based on looking at a painting by Salvator Dali.

I've been a fan of Cheryl A. Rice & her poetry since first hearing her read back at the QE2 in Albany in the 1990s, & have continued to follow her work through ephemeral chapbooks & at readings throughout the Hudson Valley. She debuted a new chapbook, Coast to Coast (Flying Monkey Press, 2011) reading the title poem. Another title poem from a forth-coming collection was the whimsical/nostalgic "My Minnesota Boyhood." I think part of the appeal of Cheryl's poetry is that even the poems without a strong narrative line have a clear beginning, middle & end that often sounds like a narrative, such as "Lake of Dreams" (musing about waterbeds, to her partner Michael), "Ashtray," or "Gold Horse Charm." "Earthquake" & (one of my persona favorites) "Taking Off Billy Collins' Clothes" have the more narrative element, but "Poets Nigh Out," combining now & then in a bar, has that feel too. She ended with a brief Xmas poem, "Blessed." I like having her chapbooks around so I can revisit these non-story stories without having to go out in the cold.

This series continues on (most) 4th Sunday's at 3PM in the Old Songs Community Center in Voorheesville, NY -- bring poems & be prepared for fine featured poets (& wonderful open mic poets as well).

Third Thursday Poetry Night, December 15

2011-12-19T21:43:00.000-05:00

"Where is the tour bus?" (photo by Thom Francis)

I don't usually "allow" guitar players at my poetry open mic, having in the past been too often the ugly-stepchild-of-poetry at music open mics, but tonight I had to make an exception because the unique poetry-performance duo Murrow was the featured performer. It was also the night of the annual visit from Sanity Clause. But unfortunately for Sanity Clause the tour bus full of suburban housewives couldn't find a parking spot, so most of the bad poets to sit on his lap were guys; some seemed to enjoy it more than others, hmm. There was a gift of poetry for all, of course. The muse for the night was one of my favorite poets, Enid Dame; I read her wonderful gift from 1996, "Holiday Poem."

First up for the open mic was a third Thursday regular, Alan Catlin with a look at "Moe, Larry & Iggy Pop," bar stories of fake veterans. Beatriz Loyola graciously responded to my request to read a poem in Spanish, her native tongue, with "Recuerdo infantil" by Antonio Machado (1875 - 1939), then followed it with a translation in English. Josh McIntyre was next with his brief poem "Precipitant" thinking about life, with images of protestors in the street. D. Alexander Holiday's "This Involuntary Leave of Absence as Punishment Routine" continues the saga of his last book Emails from Satan's Daughter.

Gene Damm read a short poem, "Motivation," from his book Guanyin and other poems (The Troy Book Makers, 2009). Joe Krausman's full poem was titled "Half." Bob Sharkey returned with "Surveillance," another poem in his self-imposed 64-word form.

Thom Francis (word) & Keith Spencer (guitars) have been performing as Murrow long enough for many of us have our own favorites that we are glad to hear over again in performances. But Murrow is fluid enough to bring in some new pieces too. Starting with a favorite, "Trucker," they caught our attention, then on to the sad "Shower." Other pieces included "Smile," "New Day," "Shackle" & "Gone." But in between a cover of a piece by Henry Rollins, "I Know You." They ended with the crowd pleaser "Female Pedestrian." A good set & I'm glad I let in the guitars.

After the break I continued another annual tradition by reading "Christmas Eve, 1945." W.D. Clarke read a spoof about a visit from the Queen to a special royal outhouse, "The First Seat."

(Photo by Thom Francis)

Screamer's poem was a love poem portrait of her & her boyfriend's opposite tendencies. Sylvia Barnard supplemented her poem "My Grandmother's Store" by passing around a century-old photo of her grandmother behind the counter of the store.

Daniel Nester read axioms, aphorisms, commandments, etc. from "The Book of Dan" (his, not mine). Anthony Bernini gave a taste of his featured reading right here next month with "The Sirens" from Immediate Worlds (The Troy Book Makers, 2011). ILLiptical (last month's feature) did a poetic tribute to the singer Sam Cooke, using titles & lines from his songs. Kevin Peterson (SBT) read his piece "Coin Flips" from 2 columns of slim lines on a yellow legal pad. Avery was the night's last poet with "Reichenbach's Mistake," written, as he said, as an angry young philosopher.

Dan Nester is enjoying this too much.
(Photo by Thom Francis)

Each poet who read went home with a gift of a book or magazine of poetry & the pleasure of having sat, albeit for a brief moment, on the lap of Sanity Clause -- &, as everyone knows, there is no Sanity Clause.

But there is a Third Thursday Poetry Night every third Thursday of the month at 7:30PM at the Social Justice Center in Albany, NY. A modest donation supports poetry events & the work of the Social Justice Center. Bring a poem to read.

Live from the Living Room, December 14

2011-12-16T20:42:00.001-05:00

Our cozy host, Don Levy, welcomed a tidy audience for the monthly open mic on the 2nd Wednesday -- & it really was, even if the third Thursday was the next day, ah the shifting calendar.

But first the featured poet, Barbara Ungar, read, not from her books, but all new work, still in typescript, beginning with the title poem, "Bashō Was a Ninja" on the secret lives of poets. But the title of the new collection isn't firmly set yet, so she read the other potential title poem, "I Feel Bad for Anne Boleyn" (Perhaps other titles she might consider could be "I Feel Bad for Bashō", or "Anne Boleyn Was a Ninja"). Then on to a poem about watching Brigadoon, & the ole professorial stand-by, "On a Student Paper Comparing Emily Dickinson to Lady Gaga." The poem "Rosh Hashanah 5771" celebrates the birthday of the universe. Dylan Thomas' villanelle "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" is one of those poems (over)taught in schools, a bit over-blown & sententious, but Barbara's re-write for her father, "Against Dylan Thomas," softened the edges into something more human. Her final poem, "Things do not Look as Dismal as They Did" took its title from numbered messages for telegraph delivery & was an abcd poem based on a list of endangered species. I, for one, look forward to seeing these poems gathered into a book, whatever it's ultimate title.

Then, as is the custom here in the Living Room, we proceeded on to the open mic. I was first up with 2 recent poems inspired by the poetry of other local poets, "What the Deer Sees," & "That Apparition (for Dennis Sullivan)." Bob Sharkey read a piece from a visit to Portland, OR "Taming the Rogue" then one of his 64 word experiments, this a prose piece, "Beside the Rental" included a character from his long serial piece "Sustenance."

Jalani Willis showed up unprepared to read, but found a short piece on starting a new day -- & it was her first time reading! Robert Eden also wasn't prepared to read but called up one of his Blog entries on his laptop, an impressionistic piece on walls & mirrors based on his research he his doing about a psychiatric hospital.

Our host, Don Levy, read 2 very recent poems (you can find them both on his Facebook page), "Gossip 101" & "The Insomniac Muse."

Check out this casual, intimate reading & open mic at the Pride Center of the Capital Region, 332 Hudson Ave., Albany, 2nd Wednesday of each month.

Caffè Lena Open Mic, December 7

2011-12-08T19:02:00.000-05:00

After a miserable drive up on the Northway (heavy rain & traffic), at least there was a nice dinner with "the ladies" at Ravenous, then on to the open mic, for a respectable crowd in spite of the weather. Our host, Carol Graser, set the tone by reading Joy Harjo's poem, "Anniversary."

The first open mic poet was Gigi Devons with 2 poems in rhyme & 4-beat lines, "Fields of Flame" & the second sounding like she's read a lot of Poe. Carole Kenyon brought the rhyming into the 21st Century with a hip-hop tale, "Lounge Lizard Smack Down." Kate McNairy began with a poem about a suicide, "This World Was Not Enough," then "a hot one," as she described it, "Wet Bodies." Josh McIntyre's first poem was a short piece, "When Even a Song Won't Inspire," then he read "Gleanings" in which he considered the patterns of life.

This was a night of (poetry) virgins, as you will soon see, & the night's first was Laura Grillo, whose poems in rhyme were both about surviving, "Run" (on surviving by being yourself), & "Someday That Man Will Lose" (on not being beaten down). W.D. Clarke's studied rhymes are in the ballad forms of Robert Service & Rudyard Kipling & tonight's poem was a true family tale of where a woman's ashes were buried, "The Old Bean Pot." Andrew Riddles was the night's 2nd virgin, with another tale in rhyme about an airplane crash & a man losing his teeth, "Overbite (or "Thit?)" [say it out-loud].

There were 2 featured poets tonight, the 1st being Judith Prest who read mostly from her new collection of poems, Late Day Light (Spirit Wind Books, Duanesburg, NY). Her poems are characteristically accessible, direct statements, often about herself, such as "Summer 1966, Vietnam Conflict Escalates," or "Questions." There were frequent dramatic monologues as in "Immigration Clinic…" or "Cinderella Rants to Her Granddaughters," even some in the voice of animals, "Skunk," & "Crow." She looked back to all the girls & women in her family who came before in "You Are Here." She ended with a small group of new poems, "November Garden," "Wardrobe Alchemy" (for her mother), & from a poetry therapy workshop, "Naming the Scar."

Jan Tramontano read some of her poems from the forthcoming Paternal Nocturne (Finishing Line Press), a series based on her grand-father's letters home to his family when he was working in upstate New York in the early part of the 20th century. Some are in the grandfather's voice ("Travails") or based on notes he made on reading Spinoza. Others are in her voice, as in "A Child's Memory," or her letter to him, "Letter 2011." Finishing Line Press likes to get a bunch of pre-orders before issuing their books, so if you want to order a copy got to the website. She capped her reading off with a short segment from her recently self-published novel Standing on the Corner of Lost and Found.

After the break Carol Graser read her poem "The Calculator" in which the calculator becomes a poet after booze is spilled on it -- pretty funny. Cecele Krause read from her Finishing Line Press book Tuscaloosa Bypass, "To a Would Be Writer of Short Stories," & a poem about the Klan, "Melissa & Jimmy."

Reichi, another virgin poet, explained that he didn't like being called "Ritchie": too "itchy;" he had 2 poems in short line meters & rhyme, one for his granddaughter, "Ella Blakely," & written after reading a biography of Joan Baez. Bob Preuss' poem "While in Peru" was written here in Caffe Lena while listening to all the poets that came before him. Andrew Sullivan's untitled piece started out on the premise that Paul Simon would be dead someday & spun out from there, including comparing the Holy Ghost to Zeppo Marx. I followed with 2 uncharacteristic suburban animal poems, inspired by the work of my poetry peeps, "Coyote III" & "What the Deer Sees."

Jodi Frank was back after a too-long absence with a 20-year old poem, "Love's Criterion," then the in-many-ways tender "Death After Editing a Business Report." Kathe Kokolias read an essay, ahem, I mean a "prose poem," the hilarious "In Praise of My Bum" from her collection of essays, Spandex & Black Boots (The Troy Book Makers, 2009). I think this was Terry Royne's first time at Caffe Lena; she began with an introspective pantoum, "Deep Inside," then to a poem about her daughter & granddaughter working in the garden, "Fertility."

The night's final virgin, Amanda Fleming, had arrived with friends who read & had no intention to read, then wrote a poem while sitting here (2nd poet tonight to do this, to see above), descriptive & imagistic. Barbara Garro had 2 December poems, both prosaic narratives, "Reunion" & "Blind Date." Ellen Finn finished off the night with 2 angry poems, one about the failure of her pens, paper & computer to make a poem, "A Writer's Nightmare," then "Bad" in which she excoriated her Karma, perhaps an appropriate way to end.

More wonderful variety -- new voices/faces, regulars, & the occasional drop-in. The number of rhymers tonight, particularly among some of the younger poets, made evident the perhaps unfortunate influence of the kind of poetry taught in schools, song-like rhymes & short 4-beat lines, stuck in the 19th Century or the early 20th century (in the homey style of Edgar A. Guest, for example), that gets reinforced by rhyming children's books & greeting card verse. Many young poets begin this way, but today's young poets need to raid the Library for the 20th century poets (or Whitman) who got us out of that rut for examples of modern idioms & then find their own, authentic voice in the 21st century.

Every 1st Wednesday at Caffé Lena on Phila St. in Saratoga Springs, NY, $3.00, at 7:30PM.

Nitty Gritty Slam, December 6

2011-12-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

Judge & Score Keepers Adding it Up

As the most documented reading in Albany (or elsewhere) my comments are a bit superfluous, but then no one else has my opinions (or cares about them for that matter). Plus I got there late.

Poetyc Vyzonz was just coming off the stage before a smallish audience & even smaller field of slammers (4-4-2) tonight. The other contestants were Shannon Shoemaker, Elizag & Kevin Peterson performing as Succulent Baby Toes. In spite of Kevin/SBT's 30 in the first round, the better poems of the night were Elizag's "Meatball," a continuing commentary, & Shannon's second round poem beginning "My name is Shannon Shoemaker, I don't do slams…". Although I also rather liked SBT's final round piece on religions & living in the moment, albeit somewhat formulaic.

It should be noted that Shannon has finished in the money in 6 of the 7 Slam's she has participated in & seems like a "shoe-in" for the Slam team if the organization decides to go on the road.

Check out the detail here.

It happens on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month, at Valentines rock 'n' roll emporium on New Scotland Ave., in Albany, NY with open mic at 8:00pm, slam about 8:30pm, $5 which supports the prize money.

Poets Speak Loud!, November 28

2011-12-02T14:52:00.000-05:00

as we often do. & as usual on the Last Monday at McGeary's Mary Panza was the whip-cracking host. Before the featured poet, we dove into the open mic, a sea of poets tonight.

I started it off with an old poem, "Belle du Jour," that mentions Ted Adams, then on to the brand-new "Coyote III." Introduced by Mary Panza as "very black [in his attire] & very smelling good" Ed Rinaldi started off with a short day/night piece then into a poem about his ex, "Breakfast at Stravinksky's Bed of Nails." Dain Brammage read from his smart-phone his poems "Damage Control" & "One Good Day" (which he is saving, hour-by-hour, in a blue box). Don Levy read his 2 new memoir poems, "Newsprint" about his father, & "Homewreck" (home ec v. shop). Mojavi ("Lord of UGT" per Mary Panza) also read his poems from his phone, beginning with a bit of surrealism & revolution, "Unconcious Explosion Inspired by Fate," then with background music from a 2nd phone, a tender, love-lost poem about an ex.

Kevin Peterson was the night's featured poet, with his new-grown mustache (actually, as friend once pointed out, one does not grow a mustache, one just doesn't stop it from growing), started by reciting Def-poetry performer Steve Connell's "Compromise." He continued in the same vein, this time a monologue to a lover, "Tonight is the Night," & a monologue, of sorts, "For the Twinds," half of whom were in the audience. Next he read a series of short, aphoristic pieces, not quiet haikus, on art, poetry, & fucking & drinking. Actually, fucking & drinking (or other drugs of choice) was the theme for the rest of the night's poems, memories of teen-age black-outs, his brother cooking crack, the traditional Wednesday-night before Thanksgiving partying, the sadness of "Saratoga on a Wednesday" after track season, STDs, to the cynical inventory of a hang-over diner breakfast with last night's not-so prize score. The conclusion of the pondering of the question of poems versus dancing & debauchery in "A Good Day" was to burn your poems (which at times has seemed the right choice to me too). While Kevin is a facile performer of his own (as well as others') poems, he was not well-prepared, having to ask the key question, "How am I doing on time?" (To which he received the time-honored standard response, "2 more.").

Described by our host as "a single girl in the big city," Carolee Sherwood read 2 sections from her November long poem, working through (what else?) relationships. Elizag recited a poem about memories of fishing with her father, then faltered (happens to us all) when trying to recall the companion, hunting poem (next time). Joe Krausman read a parable of "Good Government," then a poem contrasting the end of the world with the quotidian, "Panacea."

A new face & voice was Lou Rehder, with 4 haikus, then a portrait of a woman in his poem "Tower." Another new reader, Terry Rooney, read a grim, over-wrought poem "The Suburbs in Wartime." RM Englehardt unfortunately broke his reading glasses on the bus on the way down here, but persevered; he began with "See it Through" by early 20th Century poet Edgar A. Guest (bet you thought I was going to say Edgar A. Poe!), whose turgid style still exerts a lingering influence on young poets just starting out, then his own "Under the Hunger Moon," a response to the Occupy movement.

"Inspirational poet" Poetic Visionz was another having trouble remembering his poems tonight, ending "The Two of Us" too soon, then reverting to his signature piece "Upside Down Inside Out" when he couldn't bring up the poem he had wanted to perform (next time).

Leslie Michelle has no such trouble, reading her poems from her handwritten notebook; "He Loves to Hate Her" was written on the bus about someone who can't let go, then a list poem written coming here tonight about missing Summer -- ah yes, do we have to go through Winter again?

Come to McGeary's the last Monday of most months for this open mic sponsored by AlbanyPoets.com, 7:30PM. Good food, efficient service, cold beer, warm hearts.

Sunday Four Poetry, November 27

2011-11-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

Once again we gathered at the Old Songs Community Center in Voorheesville on a 4th Sunday for poetry. As the old song says, "… & the usual crowd was there" (& a few others). Mike Burke adeptly handled the duties as host with an insightful comment on each poet's reading.

Including mine, as I was first up in the open mic with an old poem that mentions our friend Ted Adams, "Belle du Jour," then a new piece, "Coyote III" in a series, & a poem for Dennis Sullivan, "That Apparition." Dennis Sullivan himself followed me with 3 philosophical poems pondering words in one form or another, "Apology," then a poem to William Carlos Williams (that references Rimbaud as well) "Addressing my Mentor with a Question Mark," & the timely/literary "Occupying Ezra Pound." Joe Krausman's selections of poems required mnemonic devices, beginning with using fingers (as he cited the poet Michele Battiste) watching one's own death in "Requiem," then a recited poem using rhyme as a memory aide, then the 2-part "Poetry as Sex/Now they Have Babies" (cf. Paul Celan, "poetry is a handshake").

Howard Kogan sat with his cat waiting for "The Portal" predicted in the Mayan calendar, then found out what "way cool" was at a "CD Launch Party." Alan ("Bird") Casline was super-literary with a take on Wallace Steven's "The Snow Man" "Kenning the Cool Daddy-O," then a poem combining feathers & economics, "A Tour of Charles Olson's 'The Kingfisher'." Obeeduid has been exploring the language of the Mohawks, his work informing his poems on the Onesquethaw, first the correct translation in "Sinking Stream Spirit," then "I've Had a Beautiful Dream" & more. Mike Burke poems were memoirs combined with present ruminations, "Long Ride" (remembering listening to Nixon's resignation speech while in a car with others who are now gone), & the sad portrait of his father in the poem "Headstone."

The featured poet was one of the usual hosts & organizers behind Sunday Four Poetry, Edie Abrams, whose reading fit that perfect model of a poetry reading: "leave us wanting more." She began with poems from a workshop she was in with Bernadette Mayer, then cited the "finger-prints of poetry" in "Through a Poet's Field." On to poems about her cats, then about her rhododendrons ("The Soul is the Soul of the Rhodi"), & a series of untitled poems rich in images of real life. Her long poem of a night-time vision of a white bear was haunting, while a poem on climate change in the Antarctic was actually funny in its grim strangeness. She ended with the a wry memory of her mother & grandmother & potatoes, "Good Night Garden."

This stellar event happens mostly on the 4th Sunday of the mont (but not always), at 3PM at the Old Songs Community Center in Voorheesville, NY for a modest donation that pays the featured poet & supports the work of Old Songs. I love it.

(A brief note that the collection of poems from April's Smith's Tavern Poet Laureate Contest is now available from Square Circle Press. Buy now before they are all gone.)

Third Thursday Poetry Night, November 17

2011-11-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

at the Social Justice Center in Albany, NY. This month's gathering was blessed by the Muse, Langston Hughes. I read his poem "Let America Be America Again," which could've been written this morning down at the Occupy Albany site; it was first published in 1936.

Then on to the open mic with Alan Catlin up first, responding to a prompt ("Fucked by the Muse") with an urban landscape poem (bet he didn't find that prompt on Poetic Asides). Bob Sharkey read from his 52-page poem "Sustenance" with his character Sonny, this segment referencing Lewis Mumford. Edward Rinaldi dedicated his poem "In Extremis Love" to the Muse that is Lyn Lifshin's Madonna.
D. Alexander Holiday read the title poem from his memoir of growing up in foster care, "In the Care of Strangers." Pearse Murray read a meditative poem on Freedom & Joy, invoking the poet Schiller & novelist Nabokov.

The featured poet was Tuesday's Slam champion, ILLiptical (the Wizard of Mars) with an interesting mix of his performance pieces, poems still in his notebook & even haiku, sometime on the mic, sometimes off. The surprise for me was that this was his first featured reading. He began with a poem dedicated to the NYS Liquor Authority, "At Least I Wrote a Poem," followed by the poem he wrote before he was fired, "The Prayer to Morpheus the God of Dreams," one of the pieces that he did on Tuesday at the Slam. My choice of Langston Hughes as the Muse was prescient as ILLiptical did a short series of poems inspired by Langston Hughes, "Listen to a Song," (to his mother-in-law), "the Winter Night on Lark St." (an urban landscape), & the short "Uncertain Times." "The Jubilee of Cortes" was a spoken word dramatic monologue that he had written a few years ago in college. The haiku (& some tonka) were based on movies such as "Batman," "The Godfather," "The Crucible," & the boxing documentary "The Thriller in Manila." He ended with another spoken work performance (also done on Tuesday), his wife's favorite poem, the triumphant & shouted "Love." A stellar performance greeted with snaps as well as applause.

After the break I jumped in with a poem for Veterans' Day, the older poem "John Lees." Former-feature Avery read 2 really short poems, over before you knew it. Poetic Visionz, who placed 2nd in the Slam on Tuesday, also read a piece inspired by Langston Hughes, his signature poem "Upside Down, Inside Out." Also from UGT, Leslie Michelle was up with a poem written on the bus "The Power of the Poet."

Jessica Layton reprised her poem read in Tuesday's open mic, the sexy mind-fuck "Come Inside Me." Screamer's poem, "A Fall Night in Park South" was another sparkling urban landscape, like Alan's earlier piece. Bless ended the night most appropriately with "Closing Time."

We do this every third Thursday at the SJC at 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:30PM, $3.00 donation which helps pay the featured poet, supports the SJC & other poetry events in this marvelous, poetic city. Bring a poem.

Nitty Gritty Slam, November 15

2011-11-21T14:19:00.000-05:00

I missed the last couple of the Slam events here at Valentines but came back on an interesting night. First of all there were more people here, even just to watch (& thus more potential judges, though most declined), & there were more people signed up for the Slam (including me) than the 8 needed (it's a 3-round event of 8, 4 & 2) so those of us not selected for the Slam ended up in the open mic. Then at the end of the first round there was a 3-way tie for 4th place, putting 6 in the 2nd round. Not to mention a problem getting the sound system connected correctly at the beginning of the event (we needed Keith there!).

Prof. Daniel Nester

There were some excellent poems in the open mic from Kevin Peterson (using the handle "Grandma's Hot Apple Pie"), Elizag, Leslie Michelle, Jessica Layton (sex as words/words as sex), & me. Even the slam principals read: Daniel Nester (a memoir written when he was 26 years old), & Slam co-hosts Mojavi & Dain Brammage.

Kevin Peterson volunteered to be the sacrificial poet to prime the judges, but sort of screwed it up by reciting "Coming Up" by Ani DiFranco (which he announced before he recited the piece, the scoring being pointless because in a Slam you must perform original work. Plus, how can you give Ani a low score?

Kate tries the Slam

Since this is probably the most documented poetry event in Albany, maybe in the World, I won't include the gory details, except to note that ILLiptical (the Wizard of Mars) won with Poetyc Vyzonz in second & L-Majesty in third. All the dirty details, including a picture of me lurking at the bar, are at the AlbanyPoets website.

Every 1st & 3rd Tuesday at Valentines, 7:30PM.

BELLE DU JOUR

2011-11-20T16:58:00.000-05:00

The morning along Lark St. is busy
with people I know talking
women in sports bras, sweat pants
walking dogs, both sleepy
still half in yesterday
women dressed like men in skirts
unlock the day’s door
open for business soon
when the sky clouds up
the conversations are about retiring
the basement tenants waking
to talk of Social Security
then, before the bus comes, Ted says
“One Catherine Deneuve movie a month
is enough,” and I agree
even at my younger age.

Poetry + Prose Open Mic, November 13

2011-11-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

I was the host of the open mic at the Arts Center in Troy solo this month, with an interesting backdrop the set of a play being presented in the the theater.

It was the classic nobody-signs-up-first at the open mic, so I took that spot, read "One Day Longer," a poem that I had just missed reading last month, & the even newer "Cape Storm." Ed Rinaldi did a couple of mini flash fiction pieces, then a longer piece about being at the store during "Autumnal Thunder Storm." Trina Porte began with a woman's perspective on soccer & kickball, "Alive & Kicking," then to "Night of the Living Unedited," & finished with a version of the Pledge of Allegiance for frogs & wetlands. Howard Kogan's "The Portal" is a brand-new poem pondering the cosmic potential of the date 11/11/11, then read about "The Now," & ended with a poem, "Paradise," from his recent collection of poems, Indian Summer (Square Circle Press, 2011).

Harvey Havel, who has been showing up in the audience of open mics but rarely reads, read some short prose pieces, 1st person imaginings of the horrors & absurdities of soldiers in war.

In contrast, Heather Haskins tale, "This Woman" (from a longer memoir), was grounded in the very real horrors of domestic violence seen at close hand.

Kathy Smith's 2 poems, "A Painting of the Snake with Adam & Eve" & "Litany" were both products of a writing weekend & both featured her accidental totem, the snake.

Sam Perkins' sad poem "We Don't Dance Anymore" included a section in which he sang.

This is an open mic for poets & for prose writers held on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 2PM at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, 265 River St., Troy, NY -- free.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Kingston, November 12

2011-11-18T12:07:00.000-05:00

This is an ongoing series at the UU Congregation on Sawkill Road in Kingston, an open mic with featured poets. Tonight it was a clutch of Albany poets, Mary Panza, Murrow & Me. But first a bit of the open mic.

In recognition of Veterans' Day, the first reader Annie La Barge read a couple of pieces dealing with same main character, "The Siege", at a VA facility playing basketball & dancing.

Micky Shorr, our host, began with a memoir, funny & chilling too, "Sex Education," then "Wars" (on child brutalities). Rachel Sanborn's first, short piece, "McJob" combined humor & a punch, as did the slightly longer "Mr. Moore I Had a Few Too Many."

I started off the featured poets with an old piece, for Veterans' Day, "John Lees," then on to poems written this past year or so, "What Happens in Autumn, "Letter to a Friend," & "Letter to Take on a Plane." Then on to a couple poems from my chapbook Poeming the Prompt ("Looking for Cougars" & "The Birds' Poem of Thanks"), then "Taking Down the Trees," "Imagining the Mews," "One Day Longer," & "The End," of course.

Mary Panza followed with a garland of favorites, new & old: "Two Men Discuss Victor Hugo…," "Because of You I Believe in Housewife Tuesday," "Roofing & the Art of the Kiss," "I Am Dreaming of London…" (in black & white), the poem for her daughter "Fuck the Giving Tree," "Assumption" & the tough-girl conversation of "And You Missed It." I finally found out the origin of the title "Divorcing Albert" (since none of ex-s are named Albert): it's a mis-read sign that actually said, "driving alert." She ended with a poem about a hot waiter, "The Treacherous End," & the breath-taking "Cock-Kicker Manifesto."

After a short break we were back with "Murrow" -- Thom Francis on word & Keith Spencer on guitar, performing some of their all-time hits, such as the portrait of someone by whom you could "tell time by the wrinkles on his face…" & then a couple pieces about the challenge of writing, a new day, a fresh sheet of paper. "Space" was just that, about making your space, & they ended with the sad story of a woman cleaning her body but not her soul ("Shower"). A good, concise performance even if "we don't practice a lot," as Thom confessed.

Marianna Boncek continued the open mic with a poem about a beech tree, "Remembering in Winter" then a poem for her students, "The Purpose of Poetry." Dave Kime blasted the house (not one to need a mic) with the bitterly ironic letter, "Stay Loyal" (about corporate power), then a piece about finding what's in between "Black & White." Teresa Costa read a series of seasonal poems, including one from 1980, & "True Indian Summer."

Guy Reed has a new book out from Finishing Line Press, The Effort to Hold Light, but chose instead to read from James Wright's The Branch Will Not Break (one would hope that at the big poetry reading in the stars James Wright is reading Guy Reed). Cheryl A. Rice started with a poem about her grandmother, "Thanksgiving Too," then read "Baghdad/Kingston" inspired by a poem by an Albany poet.

Leslie Gerber read a bunch of short poems from the series "poems from sleep," from another series called "Dytopias" a poem in the persona of a corporate mogul, "The Wall St. Strut." Judy Kerman finished out the night with "Daughters," "Plane Surfaces," & sang a poem from a longer work, a most interesting performance.

This series continues on the 2nd Saturday of each month, at 7PM at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 320 Sawkill Road, Kingston, 7 PM. Contact Micky Shorr at mickyshorr@gmail.com, or call 845-331-2884.

their agonizing speed, poems by Jil Hanifan

2011-11-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

Jil Hanifan has been a long-time poet in the city of Albany, NY, her career going back to the readings at the QE2 when she was student; now she teaches writing & she was surrounded by her students & her many friends at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza this evening to sign copies of her book of poems, their agonizing speed (The Troy Book Makers). She also talked about the sources of the poems & read a tidy selection of the poems.

Arising from a week-long workshop at Pyramid Lake, the poems were inspired in part by the nature poems of Mary Oliver. Jil said she tried to use those poems as a framework to do nature poems in the city. Other influences were Louise Gluck's Wild Iris & Diane DiPrima's ongoing serial work Loba.

The Mary Oliver influence shows up in the title poem, while Gluck's practice of giving voice to the flowers is in "coneflower." I've admired, as well, "old pears" which I've heard Jil read at open mics (& wrote down as "old pairs" for good reason). DiPrima's Loba is a wide-ranging exploration of the figure of the wolf-goddess (among myriad other topics); Hanifan's version uses the crow as totem, in "lies about the crow" & the longer piece "we crow."

Many of us have been waiting a long time (since the 1999 chapbook whethergirl: wind rose (TA 'WIL Books and Documents)) for another collection of Jil Hanifan's poetry & now here it is. Get thee to the Book House for your copy.

Live from the Living Room, November 9

2011-11-14T14:41:00.000-05:00

We were live & so was the chatter from the cafe, but I guess that is not to be helped; we just talked louder.

A good group of poets squeezed in to hear the featured poet, Obeeduid (Mark O'Brien). His poems frequently invoke the natural world, even when not specifically "nature poems," as in his opening poems on Winter, the first from a cycle of poems about the Onesquethaw River, the other, "Landscapes of This & That" dedicated to poem Tom Corrado. He could also be pensively philosophical as in the strangely titled "Yet Once they Seemed to Shudder in the Air with Intensity" (about words & poems), or "After Creeley" or "Grateful for Small Acts of Morning" (or Mourning), even in some very short, fly-by poems. Leaving, as a theme, was addressed in a series of poems, "The House All Cluttered with Ponderous Furniture," "Stint," the pairs, "The Convexity of Dishes" & "The Concavity of Dishes," &, obviously, "You Left When You Had the World at Your Feet." He passed around old black & white snapshots of his mother to accompany the poems "Dad Was Right about Your Gams" then a snapshot of for a companion poem about his father. He ended with a poem written today about his poems as children, "When the Noise of Distant Traffic Becomes Part of the Insect Hum." There is a special magic to hearing a poem, still warm & glistening, read for the first time on the day it is written.

Then on to the open mic, with Sylvia Barnard apologizing for reading poems some of us had heard before (until I can go to the library & take out her Complete Poems, I don't mind hearing good poems many times), her 2 poems about Hurricane Irene, "Hurricane" & "Hurricane Aftermath" (in England). She also acknowledged the cross-inspiration for these with Obeeduid's hurricane tales.

Edie Abrams read the triumphant political piece, "Joy to New Scotland," about "throwing the bums out," & a poem pondering her Jewish heritage, "Before I Eat Shrimp Again." Dennis Sullivan read 2 characteristically philosophical, meditative pieces, "Even if the Shadow of Himself," about his grandfather, but invoking Yeats, & the religious/philosophical poem, "Celebrating the Anniversary of Death." AC Everson read from her little red pocket notebook an as-yet untitled piece about a walk in the park, & the wonderful naming poem she read at the recent dedication of a sign for the "Poet Tree" in the Delaware Community "Friendship Garden," the audience-participation poem, "Under the Sun."

Bob Sharkey read 2 poems written in 64 words, a form he has been working in recently, "Waiting for the Table to Turn" (about the revolving stage at the old Starlight Theater), & "Surveillance." I read my finally-completed (almost, since poems are always in progress) "Midnight Fog" based on a May Blog by Carolee Sherwood), & another new one, "Cape Storm". Jill Crammond's first poem from childhood memories, "An Old Letter with Chesterfield, Davenport…" prompted an internet search on the word "davenport" for a sofa, followed by the poem "How to Be a Super Hero, Part 1" (apparently with "perfect" hair while taking out the garbage). Carolee Sherwood has been one of those ambitious (or silly) poets who have taken on the daily prompts in November from the Poetic Asides website ("particularly crappy" this year, she says) & shared 2 sections in which she worried about the dead, then mosquitos in September.

Our genial host, Don Levy read 2 poems about life in his younger days, "Newsprint," a tender memoir about his Dad who was a writer for the local newspaper, & "Homewrecked," about the high school conflict between shop (only for boys) & home ec (only for girls).

Join us in the coziness of the living room of the Pride Center on Hudson Ave. in Albany, NY on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, 7:30, a modest donation. Always "straight friendly."

Paterson Literary Review Reading, November 5

2011-11-12T00:11:00.000-05:00

Many months ago I was very pleased to hear that the Paterson Literary Review, an annual publication from the Poetry Center based at Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ had accepted for publication my poem "Chasing Tom." I was more pleased when, more recently, I had the copy of the huge (400 pages) Issue 39 in my hands. Ably edited by the Poetry Center Mama, Maria Mazziotti Gillan & her staff, the book contains poetry, prose, poems by the winners of the 2009 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards, & a special section on the work of poet Diane DiPrima.

So I drove down to Paterson, NJ this day to be part of a reading by poets in the Review. There were over 30 readers, but the nearly 2 & a half hour reading went by quickly as each poet, in alphabetical order, read 1 poem of theirs from the collection. Maria served as the MC for the reading, moving the poets right along. Stanley Barkan began with his poem, "In Between," then read the translation (by Emanuel di Pasquale) as Mario Moroni read his poem "Cinque Terre" in Italian.

Some of these poets I had met before, either out & about in the great world of poetry, or at other such readings here at the Poetry Center. Laura Boss, editor of Lips, is one I'd met while on a 3 Guys from Albany trip through Paterson & who has also read at Poets in the Park years back. I particularly liked her poem, "Getting to Sleep," where instead of sheep she is now at the point in her life where to get to sleep she can count boyfriends who have died -- funny & tender.

The poems were of particular higher quality overall than an open mic (the editorial process, duh) so if you are interested in what they are, get a copy of the review (information below). But I feel I must mention some, such as Anthony Buccino's "Famous," & Okey Chenoweth's memoir of coming to New York City, "New York, Then and Now The Policeman." James D. Gwyn (an Honorable Mention in the 2009 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award), read "Mallowmars," a rare political piece in the afternoon's reading. Elizabeth Nesius skirted the edge of the political with the personal in her poem "A Woman Without a Man." Vincent Salvati's poem "Begin Again" was a memoir morphing into a love letter. Leah Umansky's long lines twisted & turned on themselves in "The Love Song of the Chambers of the Heart."

Maria also presented separately to Vivian Shipley & Stanley Barkan the "Paterson Literary Review Award for Lifetime Service to Poetry," well deserved by both of them.

The other readers were Susan Lembo Balik, John Barrale, Svea Barrett, Norma Ketzis Bernstock, Charles Brice, Judith Brice, David Stanford Burr, Amanda Crane, Ann DeVenezia, Deborah Gerrish, Gail Fishman Gerwin, Gino Liotta, Bruce Lowry, Janice Maffei, Richard Marranca, Sheila Massoni, Maude Carolan Pych, Christine Redman-Waldeyer, Carole Rittenberg, Jose Antonio Rodriquez, Robert Rosenbloom, Susan Rothbard, Lee Schwartz, Donna Spector, Al Tacconelli, Seema Tepper, Mary Vallo & Sherida Yoder.

Copies of #39 of the Paterson Literary Review can be obtained by sending a check made out to "Passaic County Community College" -- $13.00 for each copy, plus $5.00 for shipping for the 1st copy & $1.00 for each additional copy. Send the check to:

Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Editor
The Poetry Center
Passaic County Community College
One College Boulevard
Paterson, NJ 07505-1179

Caffè Lena Open Mic, November 2

2011-11-08T16:59:00.000-05:00

A house packed with many loyal fans of the featured poet, Carolee Sherwood, & loyal fans of the Caffe Lena open mic, under the stern direction of our host Carol Graser (well, not that stern, really).

I began the open mic with an old piece "Park Closes at Dusk" & the new, political "One Day Longer." Gordon Haymon began with 2 contrasting pieces, "Pseudo-Biography" & "Autobiography," then a memoir of his grandmother teaching him to knit. Barbara Garro admitted to a "villanelle binge" & read 2, "Staggering Information" & "This & That." This was Kevin Peterson's first time here & he recited (slam-style) "Sunday, Funday," a hangover tale set in a diner with last night's date. Kate McNairey read 2 short poems, "Love All Swept Up," & "Cameleon."

Tess Lecuyer hadn't been here in a long time, graced us with a poet's recipe, "The Minnestrone Blessing," & a ballade about singing in the woods, "Camp Little Notch Serenade". Alan Catlin said it was still close enough to Halloween to read "The Aliens" (double-parked outside the bar) & "Sex with Aliens" (a tale of co-eds "dressed" for Halloween).

Carolee Sherwood, tonight's featured poet, read a nice mix of mostly newer pieces written this year with a few older poems too. She began with a poem built on the images from the Wizard of Oz, "Surrender, Dorothy," then "Fly" (another movie reference). "Don't Try This At Home…" combined writing a poem & relationships, & she saw herself as Wonder Woman in "The Comic Book Version." A small cluster of poems circled around themes of moving, packing, unpacking, "Triage," "On Turning 39," & "Genesis." Some very recent poems were "How the Body Decomposes (a love poem)," an uncharacteristicaly untitled poem (about things unsaid in farewell), & the very recent "What's Right in Front of Me." She ended with a series of older poems, "Boudoir," "Dwindling" (images of leaving Portland, OR), a poem based on one by W.S. Merwin, "The Way to the Store," & the elegy "Ode to Tess' Lark Tavern," a poem of loss, tonight dedicated to poet Mary Panza. Another nicely put-together reading by a relaxed & confident poet who has been honing her skills at many poetry venues in the region. Many of these poems, which are worth reading again, can be found on her Blog.

Carol Graser brought us back after the break with her poem for her father-in-law titled with a Yiddish phrase meaning "Cats in your head." Austen Halpern-Graser stood up to do comedy, but I liked his first joke best (about reading on the toilet). Will Kerber did an angry piece (about his sister?) "The Electra Complex" whose strangeness was matched by his sweater. Judith Prest (who will be among the features here in December 2011) read about a leaf falling ("Time Management"), then the equally timely "November Belongs to the Crows." The North Country poet Charles Watts began with the tiny "A Depressing Little Love Poem," then harkened back to both Alan Catlin & me with a poem about the Occupy movement, "Alien Nation." Josh McIntyre read 2 short poems, "Precipitant" (another with a reference to protestors), & "Convalescence" trying to write, a pen, a fire.

Tim Snyder described himself as a "biker poet" & his 2 recited poems, one on Halloweens passed, the other "Down at Sally's East" sounded a lot like what is called "Cowboy poetry." Why is that? Terry Bat-Sonja read "Bio" & an old favorite of hers, "Slightly Odd Spring Love Poem to Gaia." Andrew Sullivan began with the dream poem titled "Unnamed," then a love poem he described as from the secret back pages of a notebook. Nancy Denofio did one long piece addressed to a poltergeist. Meredith Short read the poem "Minneapolis" from an old notebook, then a poem about the associations with "Exit 18." Sally Rhoades read about an encounter in New York City's Union Square "The Homeless Woman," then a poem she dedicated to poet/scholar Donald Byrd, "Individual Action," a response from reading Walt Whitman.

A group of the "Voorheesville" poets came up together & signed up together too. Father Dennis Sullivan wrote about following footsteps in the snow in a dream until they disappear in "This Apparition." Tom Corrado drew on his years as a State Work for the images in "Pencil Pusher." Mark Obeeduid O'Brien read 2 untitled poems about the sky. Mike Burke began with "Sunday Morning Visit" for a friend who died, then the portrait, "Reflections in a Bar-room Mirror." Alan Casline read a long fragment from a long poem, taking off (in a boat) from Ezra Pound's Canto I.

Ellen Finn was back after being away for a while with a chilling poem about a drowning she witnessed this summer, "After a Sneeze a Heart Stops." Jeff Barnes ended the night with a couple very intense poems, the very short "Fade to Grey," & a lyric to a love gone.

Poets from far & near gathered this night at Caffe Lena, as they do every 1st Wednesday of the month, at the historic Phila St. location in Saratoga Springs, NY. Worth the trip.

Puffin Poetry Jam for Peace (V), October 21

2011-11-06T16:27:00.000-05:00

An evening of spoken word & music way down in Teaneck, NJ. I've been invited before but this year I was finally able to make it . An annual event organized by Veterans For Peace member Walt Nygard it is held at the Puffin Cultural Forum complete with a program/poetry chapbook produced by Post Traumatic Press of Woodstock, NY. The dedication to this year's program reads "This event is dedicated to the people who work tirelessly for peace & justice throughout the world. … to those who occupy Wall Street & sparked a movement." Oh yeah.

Walt Nygard began the reading before a packed house with his poem "Going Downtown" to the folks occupying Zuccotti Park in New York City, then poems by Martin Espada & John Fenton. Walt served as our MC/host throughout the night. Gil Fagiani read poems from his published books, including A Blanquito in El Barrio (Rain Mountain Press, 2009) & Chianti in Connecticut (Bordighera Press, 2010), as well as about his experience as a student at the Pennsylvania Military College.

John & Wendy Fisher read from their father, Harry Fisher's memoir, Legacy (Left Legacy Press) about being a labor organizer in New York City. Tamara Hayden was the first of the musical interludes with a couple songs, including "Dewey Canyon Legacy" by Ceili Murphy, inspired by Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

In addition to reading a couple of his own poems, Jan Barry also talked about the Warrior Writers Project & read a poem by Nathan Lewis. He was followed by Iraq War veteran Eli Write from the Combat Paper Project, who read the stunning "What Color Would You Paint Your Soul?". Sam Nygard's poems are in the more contemporary hip-hop style, including "One Nation Under Dollar Signs." Frank Wagner read a series of mostly short poems from his experience in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam in 1964 -1965. Joseph Giannini read a prose memoir about his work as a defense lawyer that dredged up his experience in Viet Nam. I read a couple poems from Poeming the Prompt (A.P.D., 2011), then my newest political piece, "One Day Longer" for the Occupy … movement.

Dayl Wise, publisher of Post Traumatic Press, read some of his poems solo, then performed the tender "Sun light stirs us" with his wife Alison Koffler, who then read a couple of her poems, including one of my favorites "Coyote is Coming."

The music father-&-daughter duo of Roxanne Sharone & Joe Sharone performed songs, the original "In Poet's Dreams" & the favorite from the 1960's, "War, What is it Good For?" as a rousing sing-along.

Great to be among all these peaceworkers & veterans, all these poets -- an honor, a privilege & an inspiration. There are more pictures from this event on my Flickr! site.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, October 20

2011-11-03T20:50:00.000-05:00

At the Social Justice Center in Albany, NY. A nice turnout of poets & audience for featured poet Mike Jurkovic, who was last featured in this series in the early years at Cafe Web. Tonight's Muse, because it was his birthday month, was Tom Nattell in a performance via the 3 Guys from Albany CD. Tom was probably in the audience when Mike was last the feature.

But first, some of the open mic, beginning with the Kingston poetry diva, Cheryl A. Rice, who drove up with our feature; her poem was "Ranch at 70" inspired by her father's notion. Guy Reed was in that car too, & read his Ars Poetica written at 49 years old, a contemplative Nature poem. Alan Catlin can be just as contemplative, but darker, with "If Death is the Answer What is the Question?", another urban moment. Don Levy is no less urban with his hilarious tale of being "just" 10 minutes late for his doctor's appointment (while fasting). W.D. Clarke was back with another ballad, this one about his friend "Jim's Fur Hat."

With all his fine, provocative poetry D. Alexander Holiday chose to perform a gentle poem by Naton Leslie (from his book Emma Saves Her Life (Turning Point Books), "Emma Mails Off her Pickle Recipe Letter on Back" with Joe Krausman as the second voice.

The featured poet was Mike Jurkovic, director of the Calling All Poets series at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY, & a fine performer who I've had in this series all too many years ago. He read from his book Purgatory Road (Pudding House Chapbook Series, 2010) as well as other stuff for a free-wheeling, complex set of poems, wandering among the audience, his posture angled like a razor to scrape away the assumptions of daily life. Poems from memory like "Hand Job," to meditation practice ("The Great Movie Begins"), to being at a party with musicians & poets, to doctors, to the Blues, to bad days & half-shitty days, even his "inner-Mexican" & the remake of "The Hairy Ape". Always a good show -- thanks Mike.

After the break, I re-started the open mic with a new piece inspired by the Occupy Movement & my visit to DC & the "Stop the Machine/Occupy DC" events there & in Philadelphia (I haven't made it to Wall St. yet), "One Day Longer." Alan (Bird) Casline came up to read "Afternoon at Smitty's Tavern" a compilation of things said at the bar, especially about cheesecake. Another hill-country poet, Obeeduid (Mark O'Brien), read from his iPad "Holding On to Two Beliefs With Equal Strengths of Faith." Bob Sharkey's poem about Portland, OR, "Taming the Rogue" were thoughts on a plane. Sylvia Barnard read about the 2 local women who were caught up in the floods of Hurricane Irene. Joe Krausman's poem "All for Love" was a meditation on college boxer shorts. And Poetic Visionz, here for the 1st time, recited his motivational meditation "Dreams are Unrealistic."

We're here at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany NY every third Thursday of the month, at 7:30 PM, an open mic & a featured poet, all for a $3.00 donation which helps to pay the poet & the Social Justice Center. See you next time.

Poets Speak Loud, October 24

2011-10-30T12:35:00.000-05:00

Another raucous evening at McGeary's with Mary Panza as host. The featured poet was Anthony Bernini, debuting his new book, Immediate Worlds, & he did his work by bringing friends & family to pack the audience.

But first some of the open mic. I was first up with an old poem & a new poem for the "Occupy Albany;" "Park Closes at Dusk" was written years ago, & "One Day Longer" was written in response to my experience at Occupy DC early in the month. Bob Sharkey read poems about 2 Portlands, "Taming the Rogue" (Oregon), & "Monument Sq." (Maine). Jan Tramontano is coming back out to open mics now that she has published her novel, & read an Autumn poem for a gone lover, "For Mark." Don Levy read a new political poem, "Choice Words for Herman Cain." Dain Brammage began with a short piece from his phone, then a poem that plays on the word "strings" & the Blues. Dan Nester's piece was a list, "Hated Things." L.A. was a poetry "virgin" & began with "Bored in Study Hall," then attempted another piece from memory that but had to stop. But shecame back later to recite a short poem to her friend.

Anthony Bernini's new book of poems, Immediate Worlds, is another beautifully produced volume from The Troy Book Makers. He read mostly from the book -- "Twister," "At an Unscheduled Appearance of the Moon," "Fretting for Gaia," "Small Craft Lost off Cape Cod," "A Stowaway's Prayer," "Remember the Alamo," & "Sound at Large." But in between he sandwiched in "The Providence Atheneaum" from his first book, Distant Kinships (A.P.D.), a long, ponderous poem by Tomas Transtromer, then a recent poem by Anthony responding to the TV news in the next room, "Held in Place." He finished with another poem not in the book, "The Dance of Dish & Glass."

L.A. with Mary Panza

Back to the open mic & after the return of L.A., Shannon recited a Columbus Day poem. Songsten (formerly known as "Joe") Hollander free-formed a piece about guy in a nice suit at the bar. Sally Rhoades began with a lament, "Michael O'Donovan Why did You Change Your Name?" then searched her notebook before settling on "The Forgotten Child." Sylvia Barnard read "Hurricane," about the 2 folks killed here during Hurrican Irene. Ed Rinaldi did what he called a study of flash fiction & Tweets, then a short piece on "single searching."

RM Engelhardt was the only one of the night who put his sunglasses on to read; his first poem was about "the old QE2 & the old days" ("Disintegration"), then "Saint Poem," then he took his sunglasses off. Kevin Peterson recited a doomed-date-from-last-night piece, "Sausage, Egg & Cheese Defined," then read about a catastrophe, "Deviant Behavior." Avery's seasonal reading of E.A. Poe's "The Raven" was a bit over-dramatic, but then so is the poem. Leslie's poem about the need for understanding & compassion for the homeless was a good thought to go home with (for those of us with homes).

While this night's reading was held on the 4th Monday of October, this open mic is held most-usually on the last Monday of most months at McGeary's on Clinton Square, in Albany, NY, under the auspices of AlbanyPoets.com.http://www.albanypoets.com/

One Day Longer

2011-10-26T21:26:00.000-05:00

How long will we be here?
One day longer than the billionaires.
on these streets

(whose streets? our streets)

one day longer
in these tents, these sleeping bags
one day longer
until there are jobs for everyone

(where are the jobs?)

one day longer
until the 1% pays what the 99% pays
one day longer
after they ignore us, after they mock us
one day longer
after they fight us
one day longer
then we win
one day longer

until the drones no longer fly, then
one day longer
we got sold out, we will last
one day longer
than banks that got bailed out
one day longer
human needs
one day longer
than corporate greed

(we are the 99%)

one day longer than the 1%
one day longer than corporate rule

veterans & grannies
one day longer
stoners & drummers
one day longer
foreclosed fathers, homeless mothers
one day longer
children dreaming in sleeping bags
one day longer than the billionaires.

Urban Guerilla Theater, October 14

2011-10-22T16:21:00.000-05:00

This lively event is usually on the third Friday, but probably got bumped up to be part of the MoHu arts festival (just like Albany's 1st Friday got moved to the 2nd Friday because of MoHu -- What the Fuck??) -- Mo Who? Don't get me started on a tirade about the hot-shot Art Fascists rearranging everyone's calendar… Anyways, this was lots of fun this night, even if most folks forgot their Mardi Gras masks like they were instructed to bring. We even got beads without having to show our tits.

Mojavi was our host, with Tanysha doing intros too, with the usual backup band & DJ, for a fun/variety filled night. There were plenty of poets, a couple of "stand-up comics," dancing, a singer (Tai Anthony Keyes) & even a strutting contest (not sure I should put up some of those photos!).

Carol Graser, the coordinator & host of the Caffe Lena open mic, read from her chapbook, The Wild Twist of their Stems. Kevin Peterson was one who performed in a mask & with beads. I read the old political rant "Richard Nixon Must Die," followed by Richard Nixon reading "Dan Wilcox Must Die" (there is some photographic evidence of this on FaceBook). Carolee Sherwood followed, in a quite elegant mask, with a string of loosely connected Halloween poems, like the beads.

Other poets up included Dave Alexandria, some sex poems from Tanysha Smith ("Jumping on the Bed") & Jessica Layton ("Give it to Me Proper"), Thom Francis (2 poems about a poet), Nicky Black,

Shay (from her phone), Poetess Me (another love putdown), Poetic Visionz, & another poet whose name I can no longer make out in my notes (Sorry!)

But I had fun, & so did Richard Nixon. & apologies if I got names misspelled -- corrections always welcome.

Check it out at the WAMC Linda Auditorium on Central Ave., Albany, NY.

Live from the Living Room, October 12

2011-10-18T15:06:00.000-05:00

A bitter-sweet reading tonight since it was the last Albany reading by The Storm (Donnell Stewart), who I had seen at such diverse venues as Java Jazz in Delmar & the former Wize Wordz series. She read from her hand-written notebooks beginning with an ironic love poem to someone more interested in themself, then on to a piece about how labels de-humanize us. She considered what is it in a woman that is "Inspiration," then a piece in fun, "Why Am I Not a Poet?" "Farewell to Youth" was that & the confessions of life. She asked "Do You Still Love Me?" then ended with a sexy goodbye to Albany. We wish her well & much more poetry in her & her family's new life down south.

There were only 3 readers for the open (& a few listeners). I read a poem combining rock music & a late night phone call, "Henry Rollins," then "What I Found at the Bus Stop When the Snowbanks Melted," & my rant written in response to the "Occupy DC/Stop the Machine" event I had attended, "One Day Longer." Alex was here for the first time & read a couple of untitled pieces, the first where his own loneliness makes his realize how his father's loneliness must have felt, & the second an unflattering description of his first boyfriend. Our host, Don Levy, began with a poem by James Wright, "Complaint," then a crazy lady giviing a "Sermon at the Bus Shelter," a childhood memoir, "South Colonie Side Story."

This reading with an open mic takes place each 2nd Wednesday of the month at the Pride Center of the Capital Region, 332 Hudson Ave., Albany, NY, 7:30PM.

Nitty Gritty Slam, October 4

2011-10-15T23:03:00.000-05:00

This is probably the best documented poetry event in Albany, if not in the wide world of poetry. It is live-streamed & pod-cast & photographed & tweeted & Blogged. So what am I doing? Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away (or at least in a punk club across the Park) I was the only guy with a camera & a pocket notebook, recording the images of the poets on film & the titles of the poems they read with a pen. Now I am just another redundant recorder of digital data. It has posed to me a dilemma -- what to record that isn't available in the links I provide?

A judge's office

Well, obviously, what that is is my own reactions, my own experiences. First of all, I was touched by Bless' poem in the open mic segment (the only open mic poet, not counting Slam Bastard Dain Brammage) confronting the essential element of a Slam. Or as novelist Walter Mosley described it, "a world where poetry is a contest at best & a competition at worst." And Bless is one who should (& does) know.

In one of the night's ironies & a lesson in Slam-rules, Brett Axel, as the sacrificial poet/lamb/goat (used to calibrate the judges scoring) read a poem for which he received a "0" because it was not his own -- one must perform one's own original work. & I was pleased with my own performance in the 1st round of the Slam: 21.1 points, good enough for 5th place. Gradually creeping up in the scoring.

Dain Brammage, Rain Dan, Victorio & Shannon Shoemaker

It was great to see Shannon Shoemaker make it into the money once again (although not into the final round). She has been doing very well in each Slam so far with her angst-ridden lost-love poems that I've enjoyed hearing at open mics for years. It was Victorio's first time here, but not surprising that he made it into the final round. He is an accomplished performer of powerful political rants in Spanish as well as in English, with music or without. Meanwhile tonight's winner, Rain Dan, is a novice to the scene & even performed in the final round by reading his poem rather than reciting it from memory.

And one must to give credit to those poor folks who show up to enjoy a night of poetry & get roped into being a judge, suffering the slings & arrows of the performers & other audience members as well. Meanwhile the crew of AlbanyPoets.com works hard to record, tabulate, calculate & moderate the 6.3s, 8.1s & 9.9s.

Valentine's is on New Scotland Ave. in Albany, NY, & the Slam is on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, as long as folks keep showing up.

Chronogram Open Mic, October 1

2011-10-15T21:49:00.000-05:00

I finally made it down to this series at Beahive on Wall St. in Kingston, with Phillip Levine as our host. I was glad to see some of the poets I've seen before but also heard poets who were new to me, in addition to excellent readings by the 2 featured poets, Cheryl A. Rice & Samuel Claiborne.

I admit to being a big fan of the poetry of Cheryl Rice (& of Cheryl herself) & liked her mixed bag of poems tonight, some love poems, some Poughkeepsie (!) poems, a poem new to me ("Iowa") written on the job at the bookstore, & a couple of personal favorites: "Taking Off Billy Collins' Clothes" & the wise & tender "Imperfections."

I've also enjoyed Samuel Claiborne's poetry over the years, but have not heard him read in a long time. He has a relaxed, direct reading style that perfectly matches his philosophical/meditative poems. Many of his poems start with a hike or a scene in the woods, but his Nature poems are vigorous, grim, unsentimental, such "The Armature" where he imagines the engine of Nature. "Ramsey New Jersey Railroad" was a response to W.S. Merwin's "Lackawanna."

I was glad to hear again Leslie Gerber, David Kime, Donald Lev, Ron Whiteurs ("Bessie & the Bull" in his funny rhymes on fucking), & of course, Phillip Levine. I hadn't heard Haigan Smith read in years & was glad to hear he was still writing powerful, engaging political attacks, & Sparrow made a rare appearance with some of his aphoristic jokes. Elizag also made the trip down from the Capital Region, trying out her work in front of a new audience.

And the voices I hadn't heard before were Tim Dwyer (who has a poem in the New York issue of the Irish lit zine The Stinging Fly), Jackie Dooley (with a cycling poem), & Wilda Gallagher ("Message to the Deconstructionists").

The Beahive is an artist collective at 314 Wall St. in uptown Kingston, & this open mic is on on the 1st Saturday of the month. Members of the collective get in free, the rest of us pay $5 but get wine with it.

Poets Speak Loud!, September 26

2011-10-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

Cheryl A. Rice, Don Levy, Josh McIntyre

The Don Levy Roast! with some startled open mic poets scattered in the mix, & the host was, appropriately enough, Mary Panza.

I went first, to set the fire, turn the spit, bast the …, well you know. It had occurred to me that my relationship with Don is longer than I've had with any women since I was married, going back to the early 1990s at the QE2, & quoted as best I could from memory his "condom poem." After telling some stories (for which I cannot vouch the accuracy) I ended with a reading of Don's poem "Once I Had a Secret Love, for Dan Wilcox."

Poor Mary Crane was just passing through the area on her way back home to eastern Washington state & got caught up the night's craziness; she read 3 poems, but without titles, sensuous, & about being a poet & a woman. Josh McIntyre did a short poem in rhyme, "Midnight Choir." Carolee Sherwood said she doesn't "do" roasts & read instead her poems "Taking Credit for a Sunny Day" for her son Ben & a piece on marriage "According to the Recipe."

Don Levy took his turn, in the roast tradition, to insult many of us who were there (me, Mary, Thom Francis, Cheryl Rice) & others who weren't there (who will remain nameless, the best insults of all). I guess if you can't stand the heat you best stay out of the kitchen (or roasting pit). Don has experienced a lifetime of bullying & so has learned to give back like the best of them. It's always good to have around a Super-Queer Poet to Save the Day! Thanks Don for helping to make the Albany poetry scene the unique experience it is -- we love you.

The slam championship poet Brett Axel has settled in this area & offered a couple of jokes in the spirit of the evening, then a poem on gay marriage, playing off the expression "God's will." Dave Kime was one of a group from the mid-Hudson area who came up to taste the roast; he declaimed, as we say, "It's All About Me!" then a piece about riding into the redneck town of Pine Plains. Leslie was back with the recitation of "Birth of a Phoenix.'

A.C. Everson also came to roast Don ("not to praise him") explaining how much she & Don are alike (WHAT?) & read Don's classic gay-fantasy poem, "He Wasn't Always Such a Reluctant Astronaut."

Sally Rhoades followed with a gentle remembrance of meeting Don for the first time at a reading at the Palais Royale on Jefferson St. Sylvia Barnard has returned from her time in England with her account of the effects of Hurricane Irene way over there, "Hurricane Aftermath." The last poet was a new voice, Tammy, trying out her poem in rhyme "These Tears" to bury hatred.

It's not always a roast, but always fun (& good food & drinks too) at McGeary's on Clinton Square, usually the last Monday of the month (but not always), about 8PM (or thereabouts).

Sunday Four Poetry, September 25

2011-10-04T17:06:00.000-05:00

This series is back after a summer break, with featured poet Susan Comninos. But first the open mic, with Edie Abrams taking the duties as host.

First up to read (but not first on the list; where's Bird?) was Carolee Sherwood, with 3 poems from her "Halloween Suite" (about the holiday, or a wider theme?) "Devil's Night," instructions for Halloween night in "Trick" & "The Morning After the Halloween Party at the Most Decorated House." Mike Burke re-told a ghost story he had heard in Ireland in his piece "The White Lady of Kinsale." Dennis Sullivan pursued his response to the Baltimore Catechism in a poem for his sister, "The Answer to the 4th Question of the Catechism," then a poem dedicated to the poet Catherine Connelly, "It Is Written."

This was Amy Savage's first time here & her poems were commented upon a couple times by subsequent readers; she read "Instant Oatmeal" (a college memoir), "Storms Over Orlando," & another memoir, this from childhood, "Green Lake." I read 2 poems, each based on different poems by e.e. cummings, "A Million Statues" & "On a Poem by ee cummings." This was the first time that local poet & novelist Jan Tramontano was here to read (too busy with her novel I guess), & she read a bouquet of poems from her marvelous chapbook Woman Sitting in a Cafe and other poems of Paris (JMT Press/Troy Book Makers, 2008). Tom Corrado was "Capturing Moments with Sharpies," a poem on memories in a journal & a camera.

This was Dan Lawlor's first time here also & while he started with a quiet piece, "Only a Still Pool Reflects the Stars," he ended with a raucous audience participation piece summarizing famous operas, "The Tenor is a Jerk." Sandy Powley read a memoir of her youth, "Leaving Hemlock," & a piece playing on "falling," "Autumn." Therese Broderick's new poem, "Where To?" was inspired by driving to Boston, using a new GPS to guide her. Howard Kogan read a couple poems from his just-published collection of poems Indian Summer (Square Circle Press), "Photo Album" & "Paradise."

Paul Amidon read 3 poems, "River Scene" about a flood, then at "the arcade of sin" in "Step Right Up," & one about an "Open Mic" (that he said was not this one). Stephen Leslie's "Returning to my Mailing Address" took us on a trip to the airport & off, then "The Divorce" was an extended metaphor with 2 saplings growing together. Tom brought us a piece of hip-hop poetry about being told what to do, "School." Host Edie Abrams brief, drive-by poem was based on last night's news, "Religion in a Nutshell."

Dennis Sullivan introduced today's featured poet, Susan Comninos, who read mostly from a poetry manuscript, "Out of Nowhere." Many of her poems had to do with religion & tensions either within or with other religions, such as "Our Father Our King" (re-working High Holyday liturgy), "Deconstruction Workers" (on Jewish/Christian tensions), & a poem that was her own Psalm (#151?). An interesting exercise was "Paleontology," a poem built on syllabic lines, holding off the word "bone" until the end. Other pieces were around relationships, as in "Commitment," or the love poem "Lullabye for a Husband," & another poem, with a Hebrew title, on mixed feelings about a pregnancy. Her poem "A Co-ed's Birthday" on disappointments looked back to Amy Savage's college poem earlier. She ended with a piece of flash-fiction, "Autumn," from a man's point of view, in a pick-up truck. Although Susan is a local poet, this is the first time I've been able to hear, & enjoy, her work. I hope she comes out more to other readings.

This series is (usually) on the 4th Sunday of most months, 3PM at the Old Songs Community Center in Voorheesville, NY. But stick around afterwards & join us at the "Poet's Corner" in Smitty's Tavern just down the street.

Word Thursdays, September 22

2011-09-27T20:28:00.000-05:00

This is a series, now in its 19th year, at the Bright Hill Center, tucked in the little town of Treadwell, NY, about an hours & half from Albany. I've been featured there, once in the early days in Bertha & Ernie's farmhouse with the 3 Guys from Albany, then last year on my own. I just don't get there enough. This time I was compelled because Albany poet Carolee Sherwood was the feature & in return for navigation over 2 mountains she drove. What a deal.

The open mic was an eclectic gathering of local writers, prose & poetry, often indistinguishable, but all equally engaging. Susan King started off with a continuation of a story she apparently read last month about her experience in a Red Cross shelter during the recent flooding from tropical storm Irene. My reading was more mundane, 3 poems from Poeming the Prompt.

Evelyn Duncan, who I've seen most times here, did a couple of poems that demonstrated how well humor can be done in poetry without being ridiculous, with "Mildred Moore's Funeral" & the self-deprecating "Treatise on Nature" (e.g., "when you've seen 1 tree you've seen them all" -- a girl after my own heart). Dorothy Bloom said she doesn't write poetry anymore, just her Blog & gave us a taste with a story about something that happened yesterday, "Fender Bender" that has the best use of the expletive "Fuck!" I've ever heard; then an untitled short essay about critters eating the flowers in her garden.

Judith Kerman read "Sub Rule", an ingenious abcderaian acrostic, then about the plight of a slug in "Global Positioning," & 2 pieces that were sung, "Star-nosed Mole" & another about a mermaid & deep-sea diver. Graham Duncan is always at Bright Hills Center, it seems, & read the tale of "The Old Soldier Keeps on Darning," then a poem about a plane crash, "The Local News," ended with a poem about how to get thru life, "a recovery piece" he said, "No Charge for This." Jim Williams read a memoir of the trolleys he saw as a boy, as vivid now to us in his telling as to him then in real life.

Our host, Bertha Rogers read a poem about being up in the early AM with the dog "Long Before Dawn," then the descriptive "Hawk," it's dive for death & food.

Carolee Sherwood had a good 25 minutes or so to spread out & explore her themes (or "obsessions" as she called them) of relationships, weather & dead deer (or is that a "dead dear"?). Her first poem, "Apiary" opened up the relationship theme, carried along by others such "Flying Over Snowy Mountains in the Morning Sun" & the moving-out poem "Triage." But then the ostensible weather poems such as "The Kind of Clever Day We Are Up Against," or "At Starbucks Waiting for Spring" seemed to ponder the nature of relationships too, & even the take on a W.S. Merwin poem, "The Way to the Store" & "Dear Reader" on Billy Collins method were really about relationships. "Scenes from the X-File on a Wife Who Didn't Really Die" & "Madness" brought in the dead deer, but then come to think of, weren't they all "relationship" poems?

Christopher Bursk began ("Why I don't Give Poetry Readings") & ended ("Ashes, Ashes We All Fall Down" & "Letter to a Great Grand Son") with poems not in his chapbook, but he bulk of his reading was from The Infatuations and Infidelities of Pronouns (Bright Hill Press, 2011). Based on Shakespeare's sonnets, these are also sonnets, of a sort, obsessing on pronouns & on memories of teen-age sex. The poems are bawdy, funny, but mostly embarrassingly touching (pun intended). Adults get the humor, but it's also the kind of book an young teenager would drool over & then hide under the mattress, & one his father should find to become nostalgic for those awkward days. As much about relationships, of you & I, as those poems of Ms. Sherwood.

Every time I come to this reading I wonder why I don't come here more often, & so should you. Check out the Bright Hill Center website for information.

Nitty Gritty Slam, September 19

2011-09-26T11:19:00.000-05:00

This was the second gathering of this new Slam event, tonight upstairs at Valentines because some bands were scheduled downstairs. But this posed no problem for Slam poets who are typically loud & full of spit. You can get a full listing of the Slam participants & scores at the AlbanyPoets website. I was happy with my 7th place in Round 1 & hope to do better in the future as my poetry improves (or I am able to bribe at least 3 of the judges).

Speaking of scoring, there are 5 judges from audience members, each Slammer is judged on a 10 point scale (with 1 decimal point); the highest & the lowest scores are dropped & so that the actual score comes from the 3 judges in the middle range. That means that if you get a "0" (as I did 2 weeks ago), or a "10" that everyone aspires to from a judge, it doesn't count, but you could still end up with a 29.9 (even a 30).

Mojavi hosted the open mic & in the middle did a distressing monologue about the negative effects on his gut of a meal at Denny's, it was painful. Others in the open mic were virgin Elaine Grabowski whose poem went by so fast I never got a picture), Jessica Layton, & Slam host Dain Brammage, who recited "Slam" (i.e., "it ain't in the writin' it's in the recitin' " & that's for sure). The "sacrificial poet," who is used to prime the judges was Illiptical with an apt piece about being afraid to watch Def Poetry.

Not all the poets in the Slam performed from memory, some of us read, such as me, L-Majesty, & Sleepy Brent Simpson (who would probably have beaten me if he had not lost a ton of points for going too long).

I was glad to see Elizag won; she has been attending a bunch of the local open mics lately, honing her skills. Who knows, maybe Albany will have a Slam team soon.

Nitty Gritty Slam takes place on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month at Valentines on New Scotland Ave., 7PM sign-up. If you sign up for the Slam but don't get picked (it's limited to 8 performers) you still get to do a poem in the open mic.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, September 15

2011-09-24T18:28:00.000-05:00

Our featured poet, Elizabeth Thomas, had to cancel but I will re-schedule her for 2012. But there are plenty of great poets in this area with a bunch signed up for the open mic tonight, with plenty more in the audience just to listen. & since there was no featured poet, everyone got to do 2 (!) poems tonight.

But first, the muse for the night was one of the father's of 20th Century poetry, William Carlos Williams (his birthday September 17). Alan Catlin paid tribute to another great 20th Century writer whose birthday was also September 17, Ken Kesey, by wearing a "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" tee-shirt. He read the last 2 poems he has written, "Knowing Bach at 4:30 AM" from his weekly Bukowski writing prompt exercise, then on to another American poet, "My Dream Date with Sylvia Plath."

A new voice & face here at the Social Justice Center was Luis Pabon with 2 sexy hip-hop style pieces, "Her Body is Some Body" & "Deep Tissue." I had picked out a couple of recent poems for tonight, but got a request from one of the non-reading poets to read "Poeming" & "The Lesson" from my chapbook, Poeming the Prompt (A.P.D., 2011). Anthony Bernini has a new book coming out soon & read "Know My Name," & another titled "Day Trip" (Anthony's book launch will be at Poets Speak Loud, at McGeary's on October 24).

Another new face & voice, at least here, was Elizabeth Gordon who frequents the 2nd Sunday open mic at the Arts Center & now goes by the performance tag of Elizag, who read (from her laptop, "tired of buying ink") a slam-style piece "Blue" class-warfare with a professor. Moses Kash III was here too, starting with acknowledging advice he has received over the years from writers, mainly from the Harlem Black Arts authors, then on to a recent piece, "I Have to Go Now Irene" on love & trusting the other. A last minute addition to the sign-up, just coming home from the job, was Marcus Anderson, artist & poet, with "8" on the burden of work.

Third Thursday Poetry Night is at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:20PM on, well, the third Thursday of each month, usually with a featured poet, always with an open mic.

Live from the Living Room, September 14

2011-09-22T13:33:00.000-05:00

In the cozy parlor of the Pride Center, our host, Don Levy, presented the featured poet, Avery, to a small, intimate audience.

At Cafe Web, 4/20/2000

Avery began with reading a poem he did in at my Third Thursday open mic when it was held at its first location, Cafe Web, on Madison Ave.; the poem was titled "Blossoming Flower", a "motivational" piece in rap-type rhyme & rhythm. He followed that up with a poem that can be found on his FaceBook site, "On Equality," responding to the issue of gay marriages. His main piece was a long "letter-poem-story" (as he described in), "What Do You Choose?" in which he worked in pop song lyrics, mixed with philosophical ponderings & self-help style advice. He topped off his reading by bringing out his guitar to sings the Muppet classic, "The Rainbow Connection."

Starting the open mic, Carolee Sherwood read a poem from this past Spring that she hadn't read out yet, "Fly," then her newest poem, written only yesterday, & as yet untitled. I followed, also with a poem from late Spring, "First Vegetables," then the older piece, "Those Big APR Poems."

Don Levy, a connoiseur of anthologies, read a couple poems from the old collection edited by Mark Strand, American Contemporary Poetry, the first by Randall Jarrell, then one by Kenneth Koch.

We were just about to go when Caitlin (also known as "Bacon"), who had been working the Center's cafe, read a short piece in progress from her laptop.

Second Wednesday of each month, the Pride Center of the Capital Region on Hudson Ave. in Albany, NY, starts about 7:30 & a modest donation helps pay the poet.

Poetry + Prose Open Mic, September 11

2011-09-19T21:03:00.000-05:00

We’re back, after a summer off, the open mic for all writers, of prose or poetry at the Arts Center of the Capitial Region in Troy, NY, with your hosts Nancy Klepsch & Dan Wilcox (that’s me).

No one signed up for the #1 slot (again!) so I took it (again!) & read my poem that is included in the exhibit in the Arts Center’s President’s Lounge of my photos, “Photo at the QE2, 1991” then a “postcard” poem referencing my escape from New York on September 11, 2001, “Leaving New York.” Bob Sharkey read some selections from his daily writing, pieces that included a narrative after the floods, & his characters Earl & Sonny remembering the Towers, then leaping images from the Taconic Parkway (it will be most interesting when Bob puts these pieces together, how the jigsaw puzzle will look). Tim Verhaegen’s memoir “The Dating Part: an Overview for the Straight Crowd” was a hilarious take on gay dating from about 1975.

A new voice for this venue, Julia Soto Lebentritt, read a poem that was a series of directions from when she lived in a tent in Vermont, “Julia’s Cloudburst Dance,” then 2 journal entries from when she lived in Manhattan, 1 from 1981, another from after 9/11, 2001. David Wolcott also read a memoir about 9/11, this from working in Washington, DC & witnessing the plane crashing into the Pentagon. (Note: we, Nancy & I, had decided that we wouldn’t characterize this as a 9/11 memorial reading, while knowing full well that some of us would certainly include it, but letting others, & ourselves, decide to do otherwise.) However, Carolee Sherwood’s poem “Boy Leaps from Burning Building” was not a 9/11 poem, but equally chilling, then she read an old poem not read out before, “My Bug Collection of Stories.”

Ron Drummond mentioned that he was one of many who had submitted a design for the New York City 9/11 memorial building, then read his parody of a draft of a Constitutional amendment against person-hood for Corporations, then a long, Proustian provocative paragraph from one of his short stories.

Jil Hanifan has just published a stunning, short selection of her poems & read the title poem, “Their Agonizing Speed,” then her agonizing, tearful homage to the saints of 9/11, “Psalm 141.” Co-host Nancy Klepsch closed out the reading with 2 poems, one like the recent floods in Troy, “The Woman Speaks of This River,” then “Planting” from Open Mic: the Albany Anthology (Hudson Valley Writers Guild, 1991).

Back again on the 2nd Sunday at 2PM at the Arts Center in Troy, NY free & open to poetry & prose.

Polis: este jardin zine launch, September 17

2011-09-18T16:13:00.001-05:00

Of course I would go to Gloucester & stumble on a poetry reading, one with old poetry friends no less. I had been on Main St. after lunch & ran into Donald Wellman who asked if I knew about the reading. It was at the Gloucester Writers Center, the former home of Gloucester poet Vincent Ferrini in East Glouceser. I grabbed my camera & headed out there.

James Cook at Polis reading.

This issue of Polis was edited by James Cook, Zachary Vincent Martin & David Rich, with illustrations by Greg Cook. The readers, who sometimes read from the zine & sometimes read something else were Donald Wellman, Joe Torra, Susan Sklan, Jim Cocola, Peter Anastas, James Cook (who also read Zach Martin’s selection), David Rich, Greg Cook (no relation to James), Danuta Borchardt & Gerrit Lansing. The reading included poetry, poetics, memoir, even translations, just like Polis itself, expansive just like the figure of Charles Olson himself, whom the zine (& the reading) invoked, along with the whimsical figure of Vincent Ferrini.

It was also great to be in Ferrini’s old home, with pictures & books, now a place for visiting writers to stay, & for readings. Check it out at it’s website here.

Yes! Reading, September 9

2011-09-12T22:46:00.000-05:00

This series is back at the Social Justice Center, with helmsmen James Belflower & Matthew Klane, back from the mid-West. As James described it, this reading is "somewhere between the University & AlbanyPoets." This year they are changing their format slightly from the usual 2 readers to 2 readers with another art form performance, tonight the electronic music of Rambutan (Eric Hardiman).

As he began his piece, Eric placed 2 cassette recorders playing loops of bird songs & other sounds on the bookshelves on either side of the room, so that these somewhat anachronistic analog devices formed frames around his bent & twisted digital manipulations, both in space & in time (since he had to manually turn them on & off before & after his performance). Another somewhat ironic juxtaposition was Belflower's prepared introduction which sounded oh so much like what one hears delivered by one of the Professors before a University reading.

Matthew Klane's introductions, on the other hand, sound like, well, Matthew Klane's poetry -- fractured lines & words rubbing around each other; I suspect they were lines from the respective poet's work.

Heather Christle began with a couple poems from an early chapbook & it was apparent that the central figure in her work was "I"/"me", sometimes "we". This continued on with the poems she read from The Trees The Trees (Octopus Books, 2011). On the page the poems are short (less than a page) & printed as fully-justified blocks, with extra spaces between sentences & phrases as if these were line breaks. Listening, they were generally short, direct statements, often non-sequitars, as in the random thoughts about making borscht in her poem "Soup is One Form of Salt Water." At one point she said (after reading the bear poem "Je M'appelle Ivan") that she felt this book was about animals & men.

Dana Ward's poems, also often centering on himself (or "I"/"me"), were both longer & shorter than Heather Christle's. His longer pieces, such as "Like the Tiniest New York City of Itself" (a recent piece referencing Hurricane Irene) or the memoir "Regime Change" were meditative, philosophical, in well-constructed sentences. But he also read a chunk of shorter piece, just as meditative, but often more edgy, such as "Deforestation" on chewing pot, or the masturbatory "Sugar Cane."

Both readings were undramatic, letting the work speak for themselves without performance tricks, but the silence & passivity of the audience was unsettling, &, like the university readings, no one applauded until the end. So in that sense it was, contra-Belflower, more like a University reading than AlbanyPoets where even crappy poems get applause.

This is an irregular series held at the Social Justice Center. Check them out on FaceBook & online. The schedule generally fits into the University semesters.

Caffè Lena Open Mic, September 7

2011-09-10T23:53:00.000-05:00

The horses (& the horses asses*, at least most of them) have left Saratoga Springs, so it was safe to go back to Phila St. to Caffe Lena for the monthly open mic, hosted by Carol Graser. She started the night with May Swenson's incredible poem about waves, an impossible poetic goal to which to aspire.

Someone had left the first open mic slot blank so I ended up there, with an old poem, "Photo at the QE2, 1991" then the 9/11/01 inspired "Leaving New York." Carolee Sherwood had followed me up from Albany & followed me on the list with a poem containing Albany's Tulip Festival & the assassination of Osama bin Laden, "Do Not Be Startled," then "Plane Twilight" (or is it "Plain Twilight"?). After hearing Barbara Garro's 2 poems, "Dams" & "Learning to Love," I'm not sure who is happier, her dog or her ex-husbands. With a 2 poem limit, Kate McNairy had 3 "short" poems, "Deer," "The Bag of Bones," & "Crows."

The featured poet, actually a filling-in, was Carol Kenyon, who is a regular at this venue & such loyalty well deserves the feature slot. She read a variety of poems, opening with a series of short ones, then moving into some longer works. She dealt with getting older, & writing ("What Joy Writing"), the seasons (the Spring-time sonnet "Thrill" & the rhyming "Summer's Last Kiss"), & food (the revenge of the tuna in "Tyrant's Fish Tale" & a poem on Cheez Whiz). Her most daring, engaging work were a couple poems about being a woman, "Hormonal Sidelights" (or, as she glossed it, "female therapy"), & the lush, psychedelic female fantasy of "Big Rock Candy Condo." She concluded with a short line chant, complete with toe-tapping & finger-snapping, "Dream Scape 1" ending on the word "gone." It was good to hear such a big chunk of her various work.

After the break, Carol Graser continued the open mic with her poem "The Struggle to Return Home." Todd Fabozzi did a couple poems from memory, the same ones from the last open mic at McGeary's, "The Couple" & "No Matter What Kind of Love" (that title was mangled in my report on the reading at McGeary's -- sorry). Marilyn McCabe said this was her first time reading from her new book Rugged Means of Grace published recently by Finishing Line Press, but she didn't have any copies with her to sell. She read a poem about singing at Caffè Lena, "Open Wide," & another poem, "Consumed." Charles Watts read 2 pretty intense (in different ways) poems, "Missing My Daughter's Wedding," & "How to Keep Deer Away from the Garden."

Bob's poem was about a visit to his therapist, "Prescription for Stolen Wednesdays." Carl Castleman says he writes songs & read 2 of them, "Florida Road" & "A Thousand Trees" (on the passage of Time). Josh McIntyre was back after a summer of umpiring softball games with one of my favorite poems of his, about memory & music & poems, "Old Songs." Tracey Oatfield read 2 poems from a book, but I wasn't clear if these were his poems or those of someone else. Nancy Denofio ended the night with a long prosy piece invoking the days of broadcasting executions on the radio, "Public Enemy Number One."

This event happens each 1st Wednesday of the month at historic Caffe Lena on Phila St. in Saratoga Springs, great featured poets & local poets, sign-up at 7:00PM & start at 7:30PM, $3.00.

* but as my grandmother, Anna Clark Wilcox, used to say, "There are more horses asses in the world than there are horses."

Nitty Gritty Slam, September 6

2011-09-08T16:33:00.000-05:00

This was "Albany's first Slam in 10 years" claimed co-host Dain Brammage at the new slam venue at Valentine's. But poor Dain's brain must be addled, since as recent as March 2006 he was hosting a slam at the Bayou Cafe on North Pearl St. right here in Albany. Or was that another "Dain Brammage"? Oh well, tonight the house was packed for the first in a new series of bimonthly events sponsored by AlbanyPoets, Urban Guerrilla Theater & Frequency North, an un-holy 3 if I ever saw one.

There was an open mic with the readers, like the slam, selected at random from sign-up slips in the hat, & also like the slam, limited to 3 minutes (but not enforced). The open mic host was Mojavi & the poets were Poetyc Vyzonz, Stephen Leslie with 2 Haibuns, Eliza G. with some poems composed from the text on the back of an aspirin bottle & Murphy's Oil Soap & the sexy-funny "Heterosexual Phase," Michelle Bula (a long drive to read 1 poem, "Hope Springs"), Bless "lyrically putting myself on the front lines for you,"

& Dan Rain using appropriated text for his tsunami poem "Harbor Wave." A pretty good selection of open mic poets & poems & reason enough to be there in itself.

The slam was an "8-4-2" with the 8 contenders chosen at random, with Miriam Axel-Lute chosen as the "sacrificial poet" that slam events use as a way to give the randomly chosen judges a chance to practice scoring before it matters. Her poem was the slam-respectable "Things Fall Apart."

Algorhythm's angry piece was done in short line rhymes, as was Jessica Layton's "Fuck you & your Jesus…" piece. Tammy Lopez started singing then just over-dramatized her shopping list of the world's injustices. Emily (Hamilton Creative Infinity) Epstein read way too fast a piece I think was called "Infinity." Shannon Shoemaker did her poem about love gone bad beginning with the line "I need a drink…" Kevin Peterson's poem "Waterworks" was about STDs, while my performance in tribute to John Cage was unspoken (of course), & Illiptical took it off the mic with "Their Eyes Watching Each Other."

There was a lot of silliness between rounds with goofy word guessing games; better to have the open mic poets between the slam rounds, I say, while the scorekeeper tries to work it out with a pencil.

Next down to 4 poets, 3 of whom will be in the money. Not me, for sure -- I had the lowest score of the 8 (sort of like the Houston Astros in National League standings). Illiptical did a poem on Grinch teachers, while Shannon Shoemaker followed with "dyke on a bike" in the suburban school parking lot poem the audience liked. Tammy Lopez came down off the mic & the stage with the same sort of breatless piece driven by rhyme, as did Algorhythm also off the stage.

Shannon, Tammy, Dain, Algorhythm, & Mojavi

So when the smoke cleared, Algorhythm was in 3rd place, & Shannon & Tammy duked it out for the last round, with Shannon first, another love-lost poem standing on the roof of the parking garage. Tammy was off the mic again, but now her voice much weaker & could've use it, a piece talking with a girlfriend about anger & vengeance, just under the limit. When the votes were tallied, the winner was Tammy Lopez & Shannon Shoemaker a not-shabby-at-all second.

You can find the scores on the AlbanyPoets website. But, as always, the winners were us in the audience &, of course, like most slams, more performance than poetry.

This was the first in this ambitious series of twice-a-month slams, at Valentines on New Scotland Ave., Albany (NY, just so you don't go to the wrong Albany), sign-up at 7:00PM, slam at 8, 5 dollars.

Poets Speak Loud! August 29

2011-09-06T13:28:00.000-05:00

Another wild night at McGeary's -- it's beginning to catch on -- with Mary Panza (AlbanyPoets' Dominatrix) as the Host, with a full house. Somehow I ended up first on the sign-up sheet for the open mic, so I did a piece written some months ago but never read out, "The Noon Train," then "The Thunder" (in honor of dear-departed Irene). Joe Krausman read a piece in rhyme written today "The Urologist" (with a bit too-much information), then "A Letter Found in a Dumpster." Carolee Sherwood brought in her poetic heteronym, Bernadette with "Bernadette Breaks Mardi Gra," & a poem about girls competing, "Iceland's Volcano."

Andrena described herself as "a reluctant reader" & debuted (at least in public) her love poem, "Late Spring" meant to be read some months ago. Todd Fabozzi, who has 2 books of poems out, read the "rather new" "The Couple" (what he called "an anti-poem"), then another "anti-poem" commentary on gay marriage, "What Kind of Love," then the "poem" "The Labyrinth of Love's Lonely Outpost." The night's virgin was Ben who read "The Following Tree" (that talks too), then a poem in fractured rhyme about his grandfather, "Cellphones in Heaven." Kevin Peterson was another poet new to Poets Speak Loud! & did a long autobiographical/philosophical rap in short rhymes from memory.

The featured performer was Poetyc Vyzonz who did 2 poems then shared the stage. His first piece was "Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Best" & although he said he "was not a pastor" he does preach, like a motivational speaker offering life advice. His other piece, "Right Now," was read from his smart-phone, a picture of all the things happening now. Then he called up a selection of poets from the audience who each took a turn performing, some with prepared pieces, some free-styling:

Illiptical, Bless, Kevin Peterson, Carlos, Leslie, & Thom Francis, with Poetyc Vyzonz ending with a tribute poem, praising the beauty of his honey.

Back to the open mic Chris Rizzo read 2 selections, one angry, the other beginning with cliches, from a new piece he admitted he didn't understand either. Illiptical did "Must Accomplish" from memory (having done it at another venue from the page). Tess Lecuyer read a piece about a really cold December day, then a series of haikus, everything from cheese & Glenn Beck, to Mary Panza, to weather, even eggplants. Avery cracked us up with a his poem loaded with triangles, "Bikini's on the Beach" (yeah, I look too) & then a poignant one about photos washed up on the tide, "Retouched Memories."

Leslie read a piece written today, "Creative Destruction of the Hater, Part 2" (or, as she said, "taking your punk ass out!"). Bless' poem "Tag, You're It" was about one-night stands & the chain of HIV infections. Carlos was back too with "Heart's Desire" on relationship baggage, & a poem for unknown poets, "For Unheard Voices," both feeling like about the Slam limit of 3 minutes. Sally Rhoades' "Rain Drops Dancing on the River" was a description of just that, then "Ended April."

To end the night, Mary Panza brought back Poetyc Vyzonz ("because he was so generous with his time…") for one more, another motivational piece, "to the fellas," "Poetic Visions of the Perfect Mate" (I'd prefer to be surprised).

All in all, a most energetic evening where Poets Speak Loud! (& well). The last Monday of most months of the year at McGeary's on Clinton Square, well cared-for by Tess Collins & her staff. Check it out at AlbanyPoets.com.

Rip Van Winkle Poetry Competition, August 27

2011-08-30T00:03:00.000-05:00

All Arts Matter, a non-profit arts organization that creates many arts & humanities events throughout the year, held a reading for the winners of its 12th Annual Poetry Awards at the Greenville Library on Sunday, August 27. The competition provides emerging poets the opportunity to submit their work for objective review and encourages their continued growth as poets. Divided into two categories: adult, and young poet’s 14 years and younger, the number of participants has steadily increased over the years. This year, in addition to submissions from the area’s emerging poets, entries were received from as far west as San Antonio, Texas. Area schools incorporated the Competition as part of their study of poetry in the classroom, submitting works that showed formal poetry conventions as well as contemporary poetic structure. Entries came from the school districts of Windham-Jewett, Cairo-Durham, Coxsackie-Athens, and Berne-Knox.

The reading was held was on the eve of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Irene so only 2 of the winning poets were on hand to read their work themselves. The winning poets in the Young Poet category showed the student’s grasp of poetic form and the diversity of their interests.

Sasha Shablovsky of Catskill showed up with her family & her grandparents to read her imaginative poem “How To Build A Ziggurat. Executive Director Tony DeVito read the poem by Thomas McGahan from Cairo, “Basketball”.

Equally diverse were the subject matters in the Adult category, ranging from snowflakes to poetry itself. Anita Sanchez of Amsterdam, author of “A Short Story” shared third prize with Lauren Maisenbacher (Hudson) for her haiku-like “Characteristics of a Snowflake.” Edward Clopman from Coxsackie, took second prize with “Neo-Slavery” & Tony DeVito shared an intriguing story of a pseudonomynous past winner (also from Coxsackie) whose prize check went undelivered for years.

First prize went to me for my “Poems on Poems”, a two-part glimpse of the moment of writing ("Poeming" & "The Lesson", subsequently published in my chapbook Poeming the Prompt). I have won a couple of Honorable Mentions in the past but have never won a poetry contest before this, & I was naturally proud & thrilled to be there. But how equally wonderful to be in the room with (I hope) a future great poet, Sasha Shablovsky, who is off to a great start. She recited her poem from memory, but had with her a well-worn notebook that I expect contains other musings that will someday become other engaging & thrilling poems.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, August 18

2011-08-28T12:31:00.000-05:00

With only a summertime handful of open mic poets, the one-poem rule was suspended & 2 (!) poems were allowed, with our featured poet, Naton Leslie, reading at the end. Our Muse for the night was the Chinese poet Tu Fu (712-770) while my daughter was visiting his studio in Chengdu.

So to start the open mic Alan Catlin read a poem based on the Antonioni movie, "Blow-up," about photos used in the film, then from his self-portraits that are not self-portraits, "Self-Portrait with Vincent" (van Gogh). Bob Sharkey read a page from his work-in-progress, "Sustenance," page/week 25, then a piece about Monument Square in Portland, Maine. Joe Krausman sang the woes (metaphysical & otherwise) of "Apartment Hunting." Moses Kash III read "What is Love? II" (there is an earlier "What is Love?").

Avery traced the path of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" through literary & pop culture history. D. Alexander Holiday debuted his new book, Emails from Satan's Daughter (Xlibris), containing literal (if redacted) emails, a book about bullying in the workplace, & read from the book, "Satan's Daughter Likes Her Liquor" & "Satan's Daughter Gets Herself a Promotion." Congrats to Doug on his new book. I closed out the open mic with a new poem in what is becoming some kind of a series, "Coyote 3" then from Poeming the Prompt (A.P.D., 2011) the award-winning poem "The Lesson."

The night's featured poet was Naton Leslie, who teaches literature at Siena College, hoping to sell his new book of poems, Small Cathedrals (David Robert Books, 2011). The poems are blank verse sonnets about mothers & children. From the book he read "The Wrong Man" (about his mother & his father), "A Capella" (to his wife), "Mother: the Movie," & "Perambulators." He said he was eager (as many of us get) to read some new poems he was working on, a series about the many "rights" available to us, recognized or not. He began with "You Have the Right to a Full Set of Wrenches," then a political poem "You Have the Right to Hot Peppers;" "You Have the Right to a Birthplace" inspired by Walt Whitman's house on Long Island, on to "You Have the Right to Big Foot," "You Have the Right to Super Powers," "You Have the Right to Abstinence" a found poem based on an ad in Craig's List, & concluded with a poem to his step-daughter, "You Have the Right to Find Your Keys." We'll be buying that book, too, someday.

We are at the Social Justice Center on the Third Thursday of each month with a featured poet & an open mic, at 7:30PM -- donations go to pay the featured poet, & support the Social Justice Center & the Poetry Motel Foundation.

Poets at Pine Hollow Arboretum, August 12

2011-08-15T20:13:00.000-05:00

This is a recent series under the guidance of Alan Casline, & held at Pine Hollow Arboretum in Slingerlands, under the steardship of John Abbuhl. There was a tour of the arboretum at 6PM, which I missed, before the poetry reading. But I did see a tree as I parked my car on John's front lawn, & that's usually enough for me. The place was quite quite packed. Alan has learned the 2 secrets to having a audience for a poetry reading: have an open mic so people show up to read (not necessarily to listen), or have lots of scheduled poets.

Tonight there 14 poets, plus spouses (spice?), friends, stalkers, etc., & one winsome & occasional guitar player, Jim Williams.

Alan Casline was the MC & introduced each poet with a "tree quote." Of course there were a proliferation of Nature poems, such as Marion Menna's about coyotes & fledgling birds, Virginia Acquario's poems about the Florida Keys, & of course

John Abbuhl's philosophical rhymes starting from his walks outdoors with his notebook. Then there was Howard Kogan's poem about a poetry reading, & Carol Graser's classic piece, "Plastic Factory." Dennis Sullivan managed to conflate summer squash & sex.

Other readers included the MC, Alan Casline, Obeeduid, Therese Broderick, Mimi Moriarty, Tom Corrado, Catherine Connolly, Jim Williams & Mike Burke.

Look for future readings at Pine Hollow Arboretum in the coming months, at 16 Maple Ave., Slingerlands, NY.

Live from the Living Room, August 10

2011-08-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

(a popular title, it seems) In the living room of the Pride Center of the Capital District, an intimate gathering of poets & listeners with our host Don Levy.

The featured poet was KC Orcutt, one of Metroland's "Best Poets" this year, in a rare reading, a Blogger (keepalbanyboring.com) & student. She started off reading from her smart phone, then on to paper, beginning with a wrong-number poem, one she read at WordFest, "Mistaken," then "The Good-Bye Letter to My Typewriter." Then on to the poem "Formative Year," & one about a sandwich. Switching to paper, she read a group of untitled poems from her notebooks, often to "you" (or maybe those first lines were titles?). Short, fast poems referencing relationships, food & social networking. The way to win any of the Metroland's Best Of categories is to get the most votes & one way to do that is to have a Blog & a big fan base to vote for you. The poems will come at any time.

I had a new poem in what is becoming a series on suburban life, "Coyote 3," then the short poem "Contemplatio Mortis." Jill Crammond's first poem was "a little bit new" looking back to the wedding, marriage, then in honor to her old cat, "Why I Have Abandoned Motherhood in Hopes of Running a Brothel & Being Called Madam" (her titles could be poems in themselves). Carolee Sherwood read from her iPad (continuing the technology use) her Twitter poem, "I Think I'll Go Make a Video about Ivan the Terrible" (which Sergei Eisentein did when they were called "films"), then a dream poem, "Tangle." Bob Sharkey read his own poem set in Portland, Maine, "Monument Square," then "The Horse" (for a survivor of Hiroshima) by our new poet laureate, Philip Levine. Avery (Stempel) will be next month's featured poet here, & read 2 poems about writing poems, one written today, "Unwritten Poems Scars Very Deep," then "My Thoughts Are Scattered."

Nigel Greene's poem was a dream, "Spellbound," then "Keep Me in Your Peripheral." Don Levy read "Sitting This One Out," about learning square-dancing in school, then the short piece, "The Fine Art of Conversation." Todd Fabozzi was a last minute addition with a short piece by Nicanor Parra, then his own poem about nursing homes & death, "Time."

This reading, an open mic with a featured poet, takes place on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the Pride Center, 332 Hudson Ave., Albany, 7:30PM, cozy & straight-friendly.

Poets in the Park, July 30

2011-08-05T13:11:00.000-05:00

The season's last in the series, with poets Alan Catlin & Marie-Elizabeth Mali, under clear skies & quite pleasant summer weather in the Park.

Schenectady resident & much-published poet Alan Catlin read first, puzzled why he would have "work-anxiety dreams" while on vacation & being retired, his "Work-Anxiety Dream #6, The Bus" prompted by a bus trip in England's Lake District. Next, he summed up his whole career working in bars in "The Hole." Other poems included a true story "Hugh Casey & Ernest Hemingway the Artist & the Ball Player", "In Dreams," "Auralee in Striped Pajamas," & a poem on political poems with a long title beginning, "On a Poetry's Professor Assumptions …" There was a poem to a prompt (on the incessant hum of the refrigerator), another from a vacation in England, "Standing on the Grave of Jane Austen" & a recent poem imagining "Amy Winehouse at 45." A couple of zombie poems ran together, one bouncing off a remark of Raymond Carver's on what we speak of when we speak of love. He ended with a classic poem about riding the bus to Schenectady, "Our Lady of the 55" (that could be still another zombie poem), beginning & ending with a bus poem. At one point during his reading Alan was interrupted by the sound of sirens (as happens sometimes here at Poets in the Park), happily not coming to take him away.

Marie-Elizabeth Mali is the author of the new collection of poems Steady, My Gaze. She began by reciting "History of My Body," a generational autobiography. Then "Subway" in honor of Alan's bus poems. "Whiskers & Gristle" was a poem of faith. Then the marvelous new poem about dancing, "Ain't Nobody's Business," a "bop," a form invented by Afaa Michael Weaver. She dedicated "The Diver" for the performance poet David Blair who died recently, much too young. A new poem written this week ("new shit!"), "Ode to the Mind," was followed by "Late Summer Prayer" to the hummingbirds she has seen around her house this summer. She also read a selection from the 3rd section of Steady, My Gaze, on family & relationships, love poems, including a series of 5 poems, one for each year of marriage. Another from that section "To the 5-Inch Stilettos I Didn't Buy 12 Years Ago" was written to a prompt, but a tender love poem too. She ended as she began with a poem from memory, written this April, "Fish Gotta Swim." She said she was pleased & honored to read here, as we were as pleased & honored to hear her as our last Poet in the Park for this season.

The reading was followed by a poets' party at the Poetry Motel Hotel Convention Center & Spa, honoring not only our great featured poets but our equally great audience.

The series was co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation & the Hudson Valley Writers Guild.

Poets Speak Loud!, July 25

2011-08-01T13:11:00.000-05:00

We certainly do, sometimes. In McGeary's backroom it was a good night for local poets, with the featured poet, Bless, sharing the stage with new voice, Ben Golden, the whole thing under the firm hand of our host Mary Panza.

But first, I started off with 3 (holy mackerel ! 3! poems!), "Letter to Take on a Plane." "The Thunder,"& the old poem referencing the new terror in Norway, "Timothy McVeigh." Dain Brammage (Dale Walker) had 3 poems on the meaning of life, "Current" (vibrations & demons playing the blues), "My Sun is Setting," & "Musings on LIfe" (at the end). Todd Fabozzi read 2 poems from his book Umbrageous Embers. Tess Lecuyer has been digging through baskets of old poems & found a few to read, including "a sci-fi poem" "Aries" & the comment on winter as the season of forms, "November."

The featured poet was one of my favs, Bless, who did a short set, sharing his time with new kid on the block, Ben Golden. The first piece Bless performed (he does his poems from memory) was a meditation on how smoke & booze have shortened the lives of some of the jazz greats, that it's not the substances that make the music great, it's the genius of the performers. Then a very short bit of poetic advice to make any woman happy, & on to the tour-de-force that is said in the voice of a gun -- this poem should be performed in every school in Albany, heck in America.

Ben Golden has been performing at the monthly Urban Guerilla Theater & was at Valentines earlier this month. "Night Life" was on wasting one's life drinking alone, then he had us laughing at the wild images in his sexy piece, "Note You Found Under Your Pillow After I've Climbed a Tree to Break into Your Bedroom." The final poem was "a fucked up dream" of the ATF at his door, aptly titled "Paranoia."

Jessica Fisher-Smith had also been at Valentines early this month; she read 3 poems, including "Shadow Games" about a mother's abuse, & the New York City subway poem "If I Hadn't Taken the N." Avery's piece "Letter" sounded like a draft of a poem being tossed away, while his second poem was a picture of his return to where he grew up in the Helderberg Mountains. Sally Rhoades had an old poem, "Little Pink Houses" (in Maine), & a new, just written piece about her father-in-law, "Cyprus Time." Nadi Morsch entertained us with the sleep-deprived ramblings of "I Know Dear." Mary brought Bless back to perform the appropriate "Closing Time," done to musical accompaniment from his smart phone.

Poets Speak Loud!, a project of AlbanyPoets.com is on the last Monday of most months, at McGeary's tavern, Clinton Square, Albany, NY -- good food, good drinks, good words.

Poets in the Park, July 23

2011-07-29T20:03:00.000-05:00

The third in this year's series, with 2 out-of-town poets, Alan Berecka from Corpus Christi, Texas & Rebecca Schumejda from Kingston (NY, that is).

I'd met Alan Berecka at this year's Scissortail Creative Writing Festival in Ada, Oklahoma, but the connections to this area & this reading series are both personal & poetic/arcane. He grew up outside of Utica, for the personal, & his book Remembering the Body was published by Mongrel Empire Press out of Norman, Oklahoma by Jeanetta Mish, who once lived in this area, read her poetry here, & whose son Michael was born here. Alan started with a few poems from his earlier book, The Comic Flaw (NeoNuma Arts, 2010), beginning with some on the theme of the current heat wave, & his (over-read, so he said) "Pope poems" about being a student in Italy in the late 1970s in Italy, & touching/funny poems about his family, his father flipping the bird. Then on to work from Remembering the Body, narrative, meditative poems to his son, friends, his father ("What's Left"), a wise-ass (& sexy) response to Roethke, & particular favorites of mine "A Father's Confession" & "The Visit" (bringing the statue of Mary home). His poems tell good stories of family, religion & what really matters.

Rebecca Schumejda is a great friend of the Albany poetry scene, having been a featured reader here in many venues, including the Third Thursday Poetry Night, & has brought Albany poets down to the Half Moon Bookstore reading series she runs. She began with "Wedding Waltz" from Falling Forward (sunnyoutside press, 2008), then onto a selection of her gardening poems, some from The Map of Our Garden (verve bath press, 2009), other new ones on the gardening theme she is working on, such as the tender poem about her father & his ashes, "A Row for Sinners." The last issue of Chiron Review (really the last, since the venerable poetry rag has folded) included her poem "Plumbing" (interrupted here by the fire engines passing by). She described the new poems she read from a book she is working on as "depressing," but I found them, such as "The Deflowering Myth," like her earlier poems, to be tender, perhaps wistful, explorations of sex, family & relationships, sometimes sad, but certainly thoughtful.

It was a steamy night, but under the trees of Washington Park & the setting sun, it was quite a pleasant evening of the cool breeze of poetry & friendship. The series is co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation & the Hudson Valley Writers Guild.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, July 21

2011-07-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

Not as hot in the Social Justice Center as I had thought it might be & keeping the door closed kept the Summertime hot air out & the Poets' hot air (or were they poetic cool breezes?) in. Overall an interesting night of new voices, returned voices & a fine featured poet, Avery.

But first a bit of the open mic, with Carolee Sherwood starting us off with a new poem of hers, celebrating another anniversary of her 26th birthday, "On Turning 39." Christopher Locke was the first of the night's new voices; he has book of poems, End of American Magic, from Salmon Poetry in Ireland, & a number of chapbooks; he read "Waiting for Grace" (his daughter at the school bus). Another new reader, Brandie Hensman, had picked up a flyer at the Poets in the Park & was brave tonight to read her poem "Beautiful LIes."

Alan Catlin brought along a hot-weather poem, drinking poem, "War Movies." Sylvia Barnard said her poem, based on a real person, "A Poem for Deborah Squash," was a post-4th-of-July patriotic poem. & Joe Krausman brought us back to his childhood in Brooklyn, "On the Street Where I Live."

The featured poet, Avery (Stempel), brought copies of a brand-new DIY 16-page poetry chapbook, Seeds for a New Garden (subtitled: Writings to Inspire Change). All but one of the pieces he performed were in the book, starting with the first poem, "Getting Active." Included also were a few haikus that were sprinkled throughout the book, followed by "And there was much rejoicing," & "Tomahawk Cruise Missiles of Peace," a couple of his anti-war rants. On the page "Violent desolation with the needle's prick" is a shaped-poem, like a junkie's spike. "Take Care of the Mother" is a ecological screed for us to tread lightly. Another cry for ecological sanity was the poem he called one of his favorites to read because he can yell & scream & which had a title almost half as long the the piece itself, "A frozen image, snapped during a choreographed dance… or Breathe slowly in and out and do nothing at all." He ended with the lone poem not in his book, a piece he wrote about an open mic at Professor Java's that I missed, "An Open Mic Sans Dan Wilcox" (thanks Avery!). So when you see him at open mics around town, ask about his book, & buy a copy.

After the break I read a birthday poem, "This Birthday is Not Divisible by 10" for the folks in the audience celebrating recent birthdays. Nigel Fellman Greene, another new voice, blamed Avery for bringing him here & read his piece "Sinker" in rhyme on drinking & smoking & trying to write. Shannon Shoemaker read an old favorite, "Michigan," invoking another summer night, off the top of her head. Dain Brammage also did a poem from memory, "Epic," pining for inspiration from Calliope. The first of the night's 2 Sallys, Sally Rhoades read a new piece, "The Long Sweet Road of Marriage," on the little things.

Sally Leber ("Sally #2") returned to the poetry scene recently after a hiatus of years, good to have her back again, & read tonight a poem to her young son being taken away from her, a sad poem. Penny Meacham said it was so hot she felt like some poetry, "Om, A Love Poem," at the beach. The last poet for the night, as he frequently is, was Moses A. Kash, III with an untitled poem he had just written this afternoon, on the historical Moses & the political changes in current Egypt.

We're at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY every 3rd Thursday, sign-up beginning 7:00PM, with an open mic starting at 7:30PM, & a featured poet, all for a $3.00 donation, that supports the Poetry Motel Foundation & the Social Justice Center.

Poets in the Park, July 16

2011-07-20T21:40:00.000-05:00

Another beautiful night in Albany's Washington Park at the Robert Burns statue. A good crowd of poetry-lovers & just folk stopping by, to hear Gary Metras & Cara Benson.

Gary Metras has a stack of poetry books to his credit & is the printer/publisher of Adastra Press, publishing letterpress books of poetry since 1979 out of Easthampton, MA. He began with a series of poems from his new book Two Bloods: Fly Fishing Poems (Split Oak Press, 2010). He began with a meditation (what fishing often becomes), the poem "The Horizon," then "An Offering" (to the turkey vultures), & what these fisherman often do, "Throw Them Back." A poem about meeting a young fisherman, "The Promise," followed by a poem about meeting a young doe, "East Branch," then the quintessential fisherman's poem, "The Lost Trout." He ended with a short selection of poems from his Greatest Hits (1980-2006) originally published by Pudding House press, but now available from Kattywompus Press.

Cara Benson was recently awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship for her work. She read 2 pieces, decidedly different in style & technique from Gary's poems. The first a stream-of-conciousness of leaping images, "Serial Confession, with Interruption" read fast, carrying us along from image to image, seemingly about the poet herself not a persona, & even quoting poet Philip Larkin at one point. Her next piece was an exploration of different texts, commissioned for "Theater of War in a House of Peace" at Skidmore College; she included the grim statistics of wars of the 20th Century (& beyond), interspersed with cold, philosophical commentary, & the names of killed soldiers & "hostiles," the piling up of words like the piling up of the war dead.

I was pleased with the different approaches of these 2 fine word-smiths for this event, giving the Summertime audience a chance to hear amid the sounds of traffic, motorcycles & helocopters the kind of sounds of words in the tradition of Robert Burns & other fine poets who have gone before.

Poets in the Park is co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation & the Hudson Valley Writers Guild, & is free & open to the public -- just bring a chair, or blanket, to sit on.

Live from the Living Room, July 13

2011-07-17T21:33:00.000-05:00

Another informal gathering of poets around the coffee table of the Pride Center, with our straight-friendly host, Don Levy.

The featured poet was Glenn Werner, who arrived with his entourage, & with copies of a new broadside of his poems, "Mongrel Poet #1," to sell. In fact, a number of the poems he read were from this broadside & it was nice to be able to bring them home with me. He opened with "Words About Words" a poem by a Latvian poet, then on to his own "What the Cherry Tree Said," responding to a line from Pablo Neruda. Throughout his reading he weaved in a number of his "Dream Abbreviations," short, occasionally humorous pieces based on dreams. Another recurring theme was modern painters, including "No. 14 (White and Greens in Blue)" based on a painting by Mark Rothko, & a poem using his persona Walter contemplating a Robert Motherwell painting, also a poem on a painting "The Angelus," & "Leto at Delos" with technology as its theme. Others he read included the NYC poem "Canarsie Line 5AM," "Spartacus" (working tech support), & a poem he said was inspired by a comment made by Don Levy on FaceBook. I've heard Glenn read "180 Bibles" before, a poem on changing technology, & was pleased he included it here, & was equally pleased by the wonderful new poem, "Walking Brooklyn Bridge." He ended with the philosophical "The goat sings itself ready for the pyre." Check out his website at www.mongrelpoet.com.

I started off the open mic with a poem that appeared a few years back in a journal called Gender on our Minds, "Homage to Lesbians" & the poem written last month "Imagining the Mews." Sylvia Barnard has been going through her old poems & brought copies actually done on a typewriter (!), one about whining lovers, the other "Easter" (1988). Christopher "Pinky" Gazeent had travelled with Glenn, read 2 gay-lover poems, one in 5-parts, the other "The Factory." Adriana Delgado was also in Glenn's entourage, read 2 poems with lush images, & rich with repetitions, "Sunflower Seeds" & "The Sky Inspires Without Want."

Bob Sharkey read a couple of pieces inspired by a recent trip to the Southwest, "The the Monument" (a picture of the morning light), & page 21 of his ongoing work, "Sustenance" with Sonny & Earl. Carolee Sherwood read a couple of her new poems from her new collaborative Blog, "Triage" contemplating packing, & the urban crumble of "Reading poems to Warehouses." Shannon Shoemaker dreamed of Summertime happiness in "March 2011," then read the sad poem of lost love, "Your Pillow Doesn't Smell Like You Anymore." Don Levy ended with his recent poem on the New York State Marriage Equality Act, "Poem for Bigots" & the old favorite about growing up to be gay, "Everything is Coming Up Show Tunes for Your & For Me."

A pleasant urban poetic experience at the Pride Center on Hudson Ave. in Albany, NY on the second Wednesday of each month -- usually a featured poet followed by an open mic; join us at 7:30 PM, our host Don Levy.

Professor Java's Wide Open Mic, July 11

2011-07-14T21:24:00.000-05:00

Wide open, as in music, poetry, comedy, whatever can easily be performed in the limited space in the side room of Professor Java's coffee house on Wolf Rd. Frankly, I go to hear the poets. One of the reasons we have such an active poetry open mic scene here in the Albany area is that many (many) years ago poetry was the smelly step-child barely tolerated at (some) music open mics in town, so we built our own scene to showcase poetry without guitars. But it is nice to mix it up now & again.

At one point our host, Keith Spencer, mentioned that I don't often write about the music performers on my Blog. That's true, but not because I don't like music -- I happen to listen to & enjoy most types of music. & to the current scene's credit there is more variety in the music performed at open mics now than what I experienced years ago, where the first poem-length part of the performance was tuning up (not always successfully), then still another in a long string of "I'm going down that lonesome road" folk songs. But the reason I don't write as much about the musical performances is that I don't know that much about music & I don't always recognize the covers some performers are attempting, but mostly, poetry is my main, over-riding interest (next to stopping war).

That said, I would like to point out tonight's favorites, in no particular order.

I'm toying with the idea of how to apply bringing 2 guitars to a music open mic, as Greg Guba does, to poetry events -- bring 2 notebooks, do a wardrobe change, use different mics? But then I've already done all that at one time or another. Greg always does a piece on his resonator guitar (not a Dobro -- I get it), & other songs on another guitar. I liked his cover of "Can't Find My Way Back Home" from the Blind Faith album with a freckled, nubile girl with pink nipples on the cover, an LP I bought for the cover many years ago, & grew to love the music.

Back again was Dwight, this time with his daughter Kendra, so it was "Dwight & Kendra" tonight, with another moving poem, beautifully put together with voice & guitar, about 4 Viet Nam vets -- good, simple lyrics; & in a nod to a poem I had done earlier, he began by reciting a poem, "Marriage."

& I liked "new guy" Herb Carter, Jr. & the big sound of his 12-string guitar (but it does take twice as much time to tune). Recognized his first song cover, but damned if I could tell you who it was, one of those '60s/'70s hippy bands, I think, then a good love song original, & another cover by a new group, "Head & Heart."

Other music performers included the return of the duo "The Midnight Society," using a "Stylophone" on one of their pieces; Seattle-angst rocker Alex Rohr; "The Normanskill Saxons" with 4 players tonight ("all 3 songs have never been performed by all 4 of us");

Shannon, who is usually hanging out in the audience, did a cover & an original; Mark Hecker strummed through 3 cover songs about father/son relations; & John Veith did instrumentals until he thought his time was up. (& another thing, why do so many singers ape those false Southern accents? Leonard Cohen doesn't try to sing like Willy Nelson (& the other way around))

There were only a handful of us spoken word folks tonight & not very spread out in the program. I was first up with 3 Summertime poems, the recent "Imagining the Mews" & the older poems "Park Fantasy" & "Cutting the Lawn for the Ex." Carol Jewell is not at all intimidated by Keith & keeps cranking out those pantoums, this one on anger. Later in the night Avery also did just 1 poem, a piece about being at a drum weekend, sounding a lot like advertising copy with drum sounds, "A Composition for the Rhythm Section." Joe Krausman had trio of his funny/serious ponderings, "Specialist," "Internal Medicine" (actually about brain surgery & the little men inside our heads), & the cat poem (!) "Cat."

The 2nd Monday of each month, bring your notebooks, bring your guitars, harmonicas, keyboards, Style-o-phones, string bass, ukelele, saxophone, mandolin -- pretty soon there will be so much equipment we won't be able to move.

Poets in the Park, July 9

2011-07-11T23:11:00.000-05:00

This event is sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation (me) & the Hudson Valley Writers Guild (I'm the President), & I'm the MC, so what do you expect me say about this? Is there someone else out there to write a report on how much fun it was?

The readers were 2 "Daniels" -- Danielle D. Colin Charlestin & Daniel Nester -- 'though as someone pointed out from the audience, there were 3 Daniels present, counting me. But enough of me.

I had first seen Danielle D. Colin Charlestin at some of the area open mics & was impressed by the power of her words & performance. She didn't disappoint tonight. She started with a couple of short poems, "Before Translation" & a piece she had performed at WordFest, "God in the Rain." The next couple of poems were about urban experiences, "On the Corner of Washington & Swan," a portrait of a woman whose life is "singing the Blues like Bessie Smith," & another poem about a poet she met on a bus. Then a cluster of poems about Haiti; I didn't always get the Creole titles. The first was written after a visit after the earthquake, in which she stepped away from the mic to sway & sing & clap. The next poem was about a river & watching chlldren swim, from her first visit to Haiti. Then the tender & expansive celebration in "Haiti I Never Left You," like an anthem to the land & its people. A simple, funny haiku was all that was left.

Daniel Nester (author of the collection, How to Be Inappropriate) was a change of pace, more in style & content than in feeling. He began with what he described as "the third poem I published," the account of finding an embarrassing childhood photo in the bottom of "The Ceramic Apple," then a piece on failed childhood musicianship, "Trombonliness." He read a group of short vignettes from a series he is writing about the people he knew living in Camden, NJ -- on music, smoking dope, weird characters smoking dope, & on smoking dope. Another series that he read selections from was the hilarious "Anatomy of my Mother," based on interviews with his mother, who basically raised him (quote/unquote). He ended with a poem based on the Biblical Proverbs, but I must've gotten the reference wrong; oh well, perhaps he just made it up, that's what poets do.

Anyways, if think this report is too glowing, just ask any one who was there & see what they tell you.

The readings are held at the Robert Burns statue in Washington Park on Saturdays in July at 7PM. Get there on time to hear the history of the reading series, the life of Robert Burns & the history of Washington Park since the pre-Cambrian age (or thereabouts).

Writers Institute Summer Program, Skidmore College, July 8

2011-07-10T21:39:00.001-05:00

Even before the horses get to Saratoga Springs, the Summertime tourists begin to fill up the town for the ballet at SPAC & the New York State Writers Institute Summer program at Skidmore College. I haven't taken any of the courses or workshops there, but try to make it for some of the readings in the evening.

Former USA Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky performed this night in the Gannett Auditorium, as he did last year, with jazz accompaniment by Todd Coleman on bass & Pat Labarbara on tenor & soprano sax. But first we had to endure the ritual introduction by Bob Boyers, who got chuckles from the audience when he said, "I might go on for a long time…", knowing full well he might.

Pinksy said he would take advantage of the jazz to do a "film noir" reading, & claimed the genre was invented by the French poet Charles Baudelaire writing about the decay of the city. He started off with a reading of his translation of a Baudelaire poem, trading choruses with the band, then read the original French while the band played over him for "camouflage" (a fine French word). He also read an urban poem by Robert Frost, "Acquainted with the Night," & what he described as a noir/romantic-comedy/urban poem, "Harlem Happiness" by Sterling Brown.

Then on to a trio of his own poems, beginning with the appropriately titled "Horn," about wanting to be a jazz musician in his youth, a love poem to the saxophone ("Listen says the Dante of Bop"). I particularly liked the combination of arco bass with the soprano sax with his poem, "Samurai Song." Then on to conclude with the history of saxophone in the poem "Ginza Samba."

I was brought up, poetically, on jazz & Beat poetry & have vivid aural memories of a recording of Kenneth Rexroth reading his poems with a jazz quartet, so this performance brought me back to those days. Pinksy obviously loves jazz & has worked hard with his talented, sensitive musicians to weave the music with the spoken word, using repetitions of lines, even whole stanzas, the way music repeats & folds back on itself. An exciting night in Saratoga Springs.

Albany Poets Present!, July 5

2011-07-07T22:07:00.000-05:00

Surprise, surprise, there were already poets gathered at the bar at Valentines when I got there, & more arrived as the night wore on. As el presidente of AlbanyPoets.com, Thom Francis, expressed it, he was "shocked & amazed" at the turnout. There was even a poetry-virgin in the crowd.

Still, I ended up first on the list again, the perennially open slot, & read poems of love & lust as I am wont to do: "The L-Word," "Nocturne" & "Since Monday." Illiptical (The Wizard of Mars, to give his full name) did a piece dedicated to substitute teachers, "The Grinch Who Stole Your Class." Mojavi took us from sex ("Harder than a Diamond"), to "Separation," to the long hit "The First & Last Time I Smoked a Joint." Thom Francis read us a Carl Sandburg poem, over a dead child, in response to a current trial in the news. Dain Brammage read about "Growing Up" & about death & dying. Ben Golden stumbled through a piece "mistaken for a suicide note" titled "The Night Life."

The night's virgin was Jessica Fisher-Smith who began with "If I Had Taken the Ad," a personal rant that sounded like that old song, "You're So Vain," then read "Shadow Games," a series of tips for covering up physical abuse (as she did). Nadi Morsch began with a couple of the poems she had read at McGeary's, aphoristic & sarcastic, then a couple more in the same vein, "Never Mind I'll Bring My Own Flowers" & "This Constellation is Neither Permanent Nor Complete."

This open mic happens (or not) the first Tuesday of the month at Valentines on New Scotland Ave. in Albany, NY, 8PM.

Poets Speak Loud!, June 27

2011-07-02T19:57:00.000-05:00

This series from AlbanyPoets continues at McGeary's. Tonight's featured poet, Sally Rhoades, did the right thing, packing the back room with her friends. & the host, Mary Panza, of course kept it going.

Somehow I ended up first on the sign-up sheet for the open mic, again. I read my poem "Missing Pieces" about Wren Panzella's paintings, then the short, erotic "Since Monday." Avery did the sounds of "The Construction Project." Poetic Visions was surprised to to be be up so quick, having signed up about #6, but nobody filled in the blanks. His first piece was like a riddle, with the answer, "my name is poetry;" his second piece, "Dreams are Not Realistic" exhorted us to be a dreamer. Anthony Bernini piled up images & tight word play (as he so often does) in his poem "The Intrusions."

It was nice to hear Sally Rhoades, dancer & poet, do more than the 1 or 2 poems she is limited to at open mics. She began with a couple of recent pieces, "Lantana" (for her mother-in-law) & "What If My Father Was a Poet." "Gathering the Dawn" is the title poem of a collection she is working on, & "The Pool" was a cool Summertime treat. She acknowledged our hard-working waitress, Megan, with "My Mother Was a Waitress." She read an old poem, "Studying the Street Music," then to a poem about dancing, "Around the Corner," & "Desire" as a fine-toothed comb. A couple of traveling poems, then "America Woke Up Last Night" on President Obama's inauguration. She ended with a poem in 83 works for her friend Annette, & the tribute, "Tom Nattell." A nicely put together selection of poems.

Returning to the open mic, Dain Brammge did a poem in rhyme, "Love Sick" then a cinquain, "Reading Into What is Not Said." Shannon Shoemaker had 2 breakup poems, the sweet one, "Poem for Star," & an angry rant (including a reference to the poetry/music duo, Murrow). Jill Crammond (whose hair was perfect, once again), had 2 poems for her Dad, the first about dreams of firemen, the other a story of him sharing a hospital room with a drug runner, "Wanted: Participants for Exciting In-Patient Study." Tess Lecuyer has been going through her old poetry notebooks & read a found-again poem, "For Noriko" then "The Poet Ascends."

The night's poetry virgin, Nadi Morsch, won us over with her bitting aphoristic poems (or was it 1 poem in 3 parts?), "I'm Leaving You" (or he's leaving me), &/or "Well Next Time Don't Fuck my Fiance," (the great line, "I like my Oreos like I like my women…").

It's another one of those events where what you think is going to happen does, then something else happens too. Last Monday of most months, at McGeary's, Clinton Square, Albany, NY.

Poets Speaking Out for Social Justice, June 26

2011-06-30T21:06:00.000-05:00

I've know the folks behind the Riverwood Poetry Series since the Connecticut Poetry Festival back in 2008, then the re-named Riverwood Poetry Festival in June 2009.

I was pleased & honored to be asked back to read at this event with poets Eileen Albrizio, Jean-Yves Solinga & Elizabeth Thomas. Equally thrilling was to read at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, CT -- not just the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, you know.

After Sonya welcomed us to the Center, Julia Paul talked about the Riverwood Poetry Series, then Kathryn Kelly & Terry Klein did tag-team introductions of the poets.

I was up first, starting with "The Communion of Saints," important to name our own heroes, then a selection of political poems reaching back as far as "I Thought I Saw Elvis," up to the recent "Chatham Peace Vigil, & including poems from Poeming the Prompt & Baghdad/Albany & other Peace Poems.

Eileen Albrizio read just 2 pieces, one a poem, the other an excerpt from an unpublished novel. The poem, "Oh God, What Have We Done?" combines 2 incidents from 1998, the murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming (for being gay), & the murder of James Byrd in Texas (for being black); it's in her collection Perennials: New & Selected Poems (Ye Olde Font Shoppe, 2007). The excerpt from her novel was set in the past in North Carolina & was the grim tale of the lynching of a young black boy, I guess for the crime of reading.

Jean-Yves Solinga is from the Marhreb but has been in the USA & taught in schools for years. In "The Sheets Have to Be Clean" he brought in elements from an NPR interview & Rembrandt, contrasting the daily work of women with the killing work of men. Other poems were "Haiti from Barbecue to Misery," "Litanies for the Devil" (philosophical ponderings on evil), a poem about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina "The Danzinger Bridge" (on exceptionalism), & "Africa in Harmony" on the nature of exploitation, in the images of animals.

The poetry of Elizabeth Thomas centers around her experience teaching, & many of the poems were performed from memory. She opened with her "favorite poem" "Revelation" about a student with a tee-shirt that says "I Am God." Then a piece in the language of drug addiction, "On Words & English Teachers." In "The Games We Play" a student returns to Israel to fulfill military service, with similar issues brought home in "I Ask My Grand Daughter," & in "Mother's Work" she created a celebration from piled up images of birth & violence & the work of women. Her final poem was a collaborative piece (including a line from her mother) from folks at a health care center for Seniors proclaiming what was "Beautiful."

The reading was followed by a lively & provocative question & answer session, with the audience challenging us poets to articulate in ways different from our poems the issues of writing about politics & social justice & protest. Perhaps the hardest part of our performances today.

Saint Poem, June 20

2011-06-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

It's tough for me to get to this reading on time since I have another meeting at the same time. But tonight my earlier meeting ended early & I only missed 1 open mic poet (I can't write about what I don't hear -- actually … well, nevermind).

Joe Krausman was reading as I arrived his poem "The Game of Life," based on news stories he had read about a house infested with snakes. Robert Natello said he had nothing to read, that he had read out 15 years ago, maybe; then read a revelation of waking up alone, & naked, & a poem reflecting on his life as a poet. Our host, RM Engelhardt, said his poem "Walt Whitman is Dead" was written with the recent birthday reading of "Song of Myself" in mind & preached to Walt about the evils of our days, then a poem about a visit to the dentist, "Ghost of my Tooth" (Rob was once the host of a reading series called "Ghost of the Machine").

The night's featured poet/performer was Avery Stempel who began with a poem in a goofy pirate voice, "In Search of Plunder," about an artist seeking inspiration, then the anaphoric list, "I Found a Poem." I like the energy behind Avery's poems, but many are afflicted with abstract meditations on grand topics, like "Life Never Ceases to Amaze Me" (change is coming), or "Imminent Anticipation" which is saved by some images of leaves & rain, or "Onward Ever Onward." In his final poem, "Bottled & Labeled & Ready for Distribution," he used a series of drawings to illustrate the poem, which in itself was ironic because the poem was about a poet being filled with words, not images.

After a short break I read a couple "Postcards from New York," composed for a Chicago project instigated by my partner-in-crime, Charlie Rossiter.

Penny Meachem tried to have a musical accompaniment from her smart phone, but the images in her poem, "Jazz Blues," were good enough to carry it without the music, & her singing in her piece "Never Too Far" was just fine. Stacy Stump read from her 1992 journal ("Stacy's Journal: Don't Touch") a piece called "5 Days 2 Hours 58 Minutes" which she said is the length of her relationship with the boy in question, then read "part 2" written months later about the same boy -- ah, young love!

This is a new series hosted by RM Engelhardt, at the UAG Gallery on Lark St. in Albany, NY, on the 3rd Monday of each month (check AlbanyPoets.com for a calendar); his series at the Fuze Box on the last Friday of the month is now defunct.

Urban Guerilla Theater, June 17

2011-06-25T10:56:00.000-05:00

This monthly series often has a theme & musical acts, but tonight our host, Mojavi, was running it "old school," basically an open mic with DJ Jams in the background as needed & in between performers. I hadn't been here in a number of months & hadn't expected to read but then I always have a poem or 2 on me somewheres so Mojavi signed me up.

First up was hooded Leslie with 2 pieces done from memory about relationships going bad & a woman getting her life back, moving on, keeping her options open. O.Z. Morris/Ozymandias did a couple of pieces in hip-hop beat, including a love rap to "Miss Medusa." Jessica Layton confronted the issues from the day's news with a piece called "Homies" & one titled "Victims." This was Ben Golden's first time up & did a piece, "Paranoia," about ATF raiding his apartment. Usually comics just wash over me, but I tend to pay more attention to sexy female comediennes, like Jay (or was it simply "J."?) McBride. Then it was my turn with poems from my chapbook Poeming the Prompt: "Looking for Cougars," "What Really Happened,"& "The Lesson." Next up was what I would call a "cock grabbing rap" group with the refrain "you ain't fuckin' with me who you fuckin' with?" -- check it out online by Googling 16 bars.

I thought I 'd seen Clare McDonald before but it was only because she must have had the same slam poetry coach as about a dozen other aspiring competitors on the scene; her piece, a take-off from Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" was done breathlessly in classic slam style, good performance, eeh poem. Another comic, with a seemingly random array of jokes was Matt Kelly. Bless gave a preview of next month's UGT with his pussy-addict poem, followed by his fine piece about visiting his old 'hood, "…up the street from history…" Then he tag-teamed as he launched into his poem in the voice of the gun, & Darian (Poetic Visions) followed as the bullet, a powerful message.

Carlos Garcia said he used to be "a Blackberry poet," but has returned to paper, & performed 2 pieces, the first pondering where inspiration comes from, then a poem for poets who preach but don't do, unfortunately the poem a bit preachy too. Dain Brammage did a selection of his insomnia haikus, then his earliest performance piece, the misogynist wife-killer poem. Kee Jackson was new to this stage & read her poem "I Am Beautiful" for all women.

Elliptical is a regular here, & brought paper to the stage with a piece just written today, "Must Accomplish" about being jobless, then the hip-hop piece "breathe me in, I am here…" Rashad the Poet recited a poem about the chain of being, a young mother & then a still-born child. Bless jumped in again with a recited piece on child support. The last group I caught briefly on my way out was a rap duo S.P.I. (I think).

Check the schedule of events at The Linda, & look for the next UGT on the 3rd Friday of the month, a unique venue showcasing a variety of fine local performers.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, June 16

2011-06-22T14:01:00.001-05:00

One of the joys of hosting a poetry series is scheduling featured poets whose work one has heard in open mics & featured elsewhere & seeing them shine, hearing members of the audience express their enjoyment. That's what happened this night with our featured poet Mike Burke. It's sort of the proud-Poppa feeling.

After invoking the Muse, tonight the quintessential urban poet Paul Blackburn, our first of the night's 16 open mic poets was Alan Catlin with "Work Anxiety Dream #5." Carolee Sherwood's poem, "Marriage as Possessive Pronoun" was about searching for words, with multiple pronouns in parentheses (she said) in the printed text. Alan (A.F.) Casline often writes about (& photographs) the Norman's Kill (creek) & tonight his poem was "The Norman's Mill."

Carol Jewell read the first of the evening's topical political poems ("Weiner's out…"), just written today (& it was her first time reading at this venue). Don Levy read an old favorite, "Why I Blew My Muse" (part of his gay fantasy series, or reality?). W.D. Clarke's poem "That 4-Letter Word" (in rhyme, of course) was not about profanity but, perhaps, insanity (i.e., "gold"). Mark (Obeeduid) O'Brien did a duet with his iPad with a piece called "First Oscillation."

Sometimes when I write these Blogs folks take offense at terms I am wont to use that I am either using in a purely descriptive way or even clearly as a positive term. Mike Burke (our featured poet) described how someone took offense to my describing him in a past Blog as a "blue-collar poet;" Mike correctly understood that this was a term of praise, & his reading proved my point. He began with "School Days," a battle of "minds" with his mother, while "Pissed" is about hanging out in an airport bar, becoming un-pissed, & "Room #16" about a hook-up in a motel. Then a short series of poems on death, "Dog Day Afternoon", "His Yorkies" & the chilling "Mother's Day" in the morgue, identifying her only child, a suicide. "Graduation Night" changed the tone (somewhat) with a remembrance of a "short night, so many years ago." Another death poem, "My Ex-Girl-Friends Wake," has the narrator scoping out the barmaid, while the description of clientele & the drugging of horses in "Saratoga", was "not NYRA-approved," according to Mike. "Mates" linked his mother's fall to pairs of birds. Mike acknowledged the help of fellow poet Tom Corrado in a couple of poems, including one about young recruits in the military coming home in a casket. & he ended with a poem, sort of an extended joke, from a friend who is Greyhound bus driver, "A Bus Ride," about the man who "always pulled out on time."

After the break I read my new poem, "Imagining the Mews," from a trip to an open mic in Provincetown. Then Tom Corrado read "I'll Pencil You In," playing off that common phrase. D. Alexander Holiday read "Black Statue of Liberty" by Jessica K. Moore from the anthology, Listen Up. Therese Broderick's poem "Pinning the Dress" was about her daughter's graduation from high school. Bob Sharkey paid tribute to "Bloomsday" with a quote from James Joyce's Ulysses, then read his own piece titled "To Get his Breakfast," describing Bloom's morning. Edie Abrams' 4-part poem "Weeding" was a meditation on sperm as well.

Anthony Bernini followed with a political piece he'd read at WordFest, "In Fukushima Prefecture." Sally Rhoades read a recent meditative poem, watching the passing fields from the train. Moses Kash III slipped in at the last moment to be added to the sign-up sheet & he also read a recent piece, "The Wretched Earth," pondering 9/11, Osama bin Laden & death.

A great night of open mic poets & a fine featured poet. We do this every third Thursday at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:30PM, a modest donation (or, hopefully, an immodest donation, if you can afford it), brought to you by the Poetry Motel Foundation.

Professor Java's Wide Open Mic, June 13 (not Keith's Birthday)

2011-06-17T16:42:00.000-05:00

It seems the folkies & the poets have at least one thing in common: they both shun the #1 slot on the open mic sign-up sheet. So once again, I was the first performer up. Meanwhile, our host, Keith Spencer kept insisting that tonight was not his birthday, his birthday was tomorrow. But that didn't stop little Julia (Mary Panza's daughter) from making a miniature birthday card, signed by many of us (but "no poetry" she told us), & delivering it abruptly during the evening.

It was a mix of poets & musicians, as always at this "guitar-friendly" venue.

I started off the open mic list with poetry, "The Pussy Pantoum" then a couple of poems from my chapbook Poeming the Prompt (A.P.D. [Anticipating Pantoums Daily, etc.] 2011), "Poeming," & the wistful haiku "Love Poem." Other poets this night were Carol Jewell with a "Pantoum for Keith" wondering what to write about, then the 2 sad, short poems for her brother that she had read yesterday at the Arts Center. Brenda Rusch read 2 versions of a poem she first wrote in college, the second shorter, compact, more a poem than the original. Dain Brammage found his way back here after a year with a string of haiku, some from an insomniac series beginning "4 in the morning…" "Poetic Visions" (Darian Gooden) performed one of his signature pieces, "Upside Down Inside Out," then a love poem he had performed at WordFest, "The World's Most Wanted."

In between & around the poets there were a series of musical performers, & one "stand-up" comic, Mike Ingraham. There were performances of classics by Robert Johnson & Eric Clapton by Greg Guba, & more Eric Clapton & a Seals & Croft tune by visiting Sheri Levin. Brian Rivera got some level of audience participation with his song & Dan Sayles played instrumental bass pieces. In addition, there were groups, the duo "The Midnight Society" & the trio "The Normanskill Saxons."

But the musical highlights of the night was the father & daughters team of Dwight, Kate & Margaret. As a trio they performed a moving tribute to Viet Nam war veterans, "A Man Named Clay," the performance debut for Dwight. Kate followed with a stunning solo piece about meeting a homeless man in Italy & singing the "Ave Maria" together, then she & sister Margaret sang Joan Baez's love song to Bob Dylan "Diamonds & Rust," reading the lyrics off their smart-phone.

Wide-open for musicians & poets, at Professor Java's on Wolf Rd. in Colonie, NY, 2nd Monday of the month, 8PM. Brought to you by AlbanyPoets.com.

Poetry + Prose, June 12

2011-06-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

This was the last of this season's open mics here at the Arts Center in Troy, from a series that started in the Fall. We are just taking the summer off (July & August) off & will be back on September 11. Each month there has been a grand selection of writers (both prose & poetry) who seem to like the Sunday afternoon format, so you don't have to believe me (I'm one of the co-hosts along with Nancy Klepsch). This month was no exception.

Some folks had a hard time getting here this month due to the Flag Day parade in Troy & I've heard that at least one writer had to turn around & go home because she couldn't find a way across the parade route. But Howard Kogan made it through, with a memoir about growing up in the '50s, "Black & White," then a true story of a real event at a reading in North Adams, MA, "Open Mic."

Marion Menna read from her chapbook, An Unknown Country (Finishing Line Press, 2009), 3 pieces that were family memoirs, "The Tapestry Chair," "Migration" (a prose poem without punctuation), & "Engrams." Mimi Moriarty likes to do what she calls "companion poems," today about her grandchildren, "Childrens' Chorus" & "Tap Dancing." Bob Sharkey began with a piece from his travels out West & on the Navaho Nation, "To the Monuments," then from his series of pieces set in Troy, the gruesome "The Body." David Wolcott's prose memoir was about following Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks with a chick on the railroad 40 years ago. Sally Rhoades began with a poem about her Turkish mother-in-law who has Alzheimer's, then a short mother & daughter scene from a play she wrote a number of years ago.

My co-host, Nancy Klepsch, read a moving memoir titled "Being There San Francisco 2004" about that city's experiment in gay marriage. Ron Drummond introduced what he read as "3 relatively short pieces;" the first a draft of a movie voice-over, the 2nd (or 2nd & 3rd) a dream sequence, first as the dream, then as a re-telling based on it; the final piece was from his critical writing on the works of William Shakespeare. I followed with my new poem from Cape Cod, "Imagining the Mews," then "Prophylactic" from my chapbook Poeming the Prompt. Carol Jewell read 2 poems she had just written today, both tender, emotional: "My Brother Was Brilliant," & "June 12, 2011 For my Brother Gone 3 Years Ago Today." Todd Fabozzi read 3 related pieces from his 2009 book of poems Crossroads, "Waiting," "The Mystic Road," & "Maybe."

This series has been (& will be) held at The Arts Center of the Capital Region on River St. in Troy, NY on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 2PM, free, & welcomes all writing genres.

(f)Art on Lark, June 11

2011-06-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

Albany Poets were one of the early acts at the stage on the Washington Ave. end of Lark St. for the Art on Lark event. The weather was cool, cloudy but the rain had stopped. We did a "round robin" of alternating poets, starting with Cheryl A. Rice's recent poem "Nixon in China" (as much history as the Philip Glass opera), then I read my new poem from Cape Cod, "Imagining the Mews," while while Tess Lecuyer rounded it out with a poem about crows for the day's rain. I was having such fun up there on the stage with these 2 fine poets, but nothing like being between 2 women to make a guy feel inadequate.

So we continued on, Cheryl with "What Spring Does," I promoting my chapbook of poems, Poeming the Prompt with "What Really Happened," & Tess with a poem for Don Levy (our cheerleader) "Bob Dylan on Mars." Then Cheryl again with the Roy Rogers inspired "Trigger at Auction," I read "Blame the Prompt," & Tess with "Sonnet for Dana Ave. at Midnight."

Cheryl returned wondering "Is Nothing Sacred," then I with the prompts once again with "My Birds' Poem of Thanks," & Tess continued with another poem in a form, the ballade "Camp Little Notch Serenade." Cheryl read "Perfume," & I explained my absence at a peace demonstration in "A Pain in the Neck" (from Baghdad/Albany & other Peace Poems), then Ed Rinaldi joined us on stage. He seems to be writing longer poems these days, & some today seemed to be about gardening, this first one with the worms beneath it all.

Tess read "A Villanelle for Girard" then back to Cheryl for a September poem, "Running Short." Ed commented on his "burning" imagery in "Burning All of Them," then "Neuromancy" (but not the William Gibson novel), & I read "The Job."

Cheryl's poem about our "mid-life" issues, "Imperfections," was followed by Tess' "The Magic of the Broomstick" then Ed described a confrontation with a woman in the produce section of the supermarket in his poem about gardening "Planting Yellow Beans for Juna Luna." I looked to a future where "If Peace Broke Out Tomorrow," & Ed brought us home beneath a goddess in a poem about "managing the mechanics of what lust can be."

A varied presentation to the random audience of what is Lark St. festivals; there had had been other poets who couldn't make it like Mike Jurkovic, & Gary Murrow showed up late just as we were leaving the stage, spoiling his debut. But it was a statement about the presence of poets & poetry in Albany.

"Not to pull the shades down on what's happening next door..."

2011-06-10T22:38:00.000-05:00

This is from a recent Paris Review interview with Adrienne Rich, on a topic I ponder often:

What are the obligations of poetry? Have they changed in your lifetime?

I don’t know that poetry itself has any universal or unique obligations. It’s a great ongoing human activity of making, over different times, under different circumstances. For a poet, in this time we call “ours,” in this whirlpool of disinformation and manufactured distraction? Not to fake it, not to practice a false innocence, not pull the shades down on what’s happening next door or across town. Not to settle for shallow formulas or lazy nihilism or stifling self-reference.

Nothing “obliges” us to behave as honorable human beings except each others’ possible examples of honesty and generosity and courage and lucidity, suggesting a greater social compact.

(Earlier in the inteview she takes issue with the interviewer's posing the dichotomy of "political" v. "personal." Here's the link to the full interview:)
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/03/02/adrienne-rich-on-%E2%80%98tonight-no-poetry-will-serve%E2%80%99/

Imagining the Mews (Commercial St., Provincetown, MA)

2011-06-07T23:12:00.001-05:00

& as everywhere else there are more

guitar cases than briefcases though

Mr.12-String in a pink headscarf stands out.

I'm sensitive where I am, know the red-head

with bicep tattoos is not interested

that her poems about butterflies & kittens
are metaphors crushed under work boots.

Of course there are songs about love
& 2 different guys sing Judy Garland

& there are pop tunes I just don't know.

Another poet reads from a marble composition

book, all teenage angst & outrage.

I'm wondering if the cute bartender
with the pink thong & vague tattooes

flowers & vines on the inside of her breast

will ever come back to refill my beer

when the host calls my name & I don't know
what to read, realize I'm too heterosexual
for this bar, these singles, this clientele
but read my poems about cougars & pussy
anyways, & they all clap (they always do).

I buy the red-head a drink after all
& it turns out she is the bartender's girlfriend.
Nobody buys a book, but then they never do.

Caffe Lena Open Mic, June 1

2011-06-06T15:07:00.001-05:00

Our genial host, Carol Graser, began with “Poem for Wisconsin” by Matthew Zapruder, then a bit of the open mic before the featured poet, Terry Bat-Sonja.

Carole Kenyon started us off with a rhymed ditty about a Phish concert, “Bucchus’ Last Stand.” Kate McNary’s poem “The Gambler” was about playing strip poker. Barbara Garro’s first poem was about something called “holy fire,” then she read a memoir of her father defusing land mines, “Normandy Beach, France.” Lily Loveday was back with her troupe of young dancers who choreographed & danced to the collaborative poem they wrote, “Reflections on Being a Young Woman.”

The featured poet was Terry Bat-Sonja who said she was reading poems written over the last 10 years & they are about “everything that life is about.” But first she read a poem by Edward Hirsch, “Ancient Times.” She began with poems from her days in California & her depression after her husband died, as in “Figs & Figments.” But other poems celebrated happier times, such as remembering her son’s first sounds in the poem “First Son Laundry,” or the lush language evoking Chagall’s paintings in “Peacock Spring 2007” (Terry is, afterall, a painter as well as a poet). In fact, a recent poem, “The Color of Love is Pizza” is very much a painter’s poem sex in colors. And other love poems included ones to someone she has never met, who travels all over the globe. Terry’s poems often read like letters, addressed to some un-named “you.”

After the break Carol Graser read one of her own poems, the humorous/satirical “Portrait of a Poet Unhappy with the Size of his Crowd.” Marilyn Sanberg continued the humor with the Heaven (& revenge) fantasy, “Words Not Spoken,” & continued with another death poem, a short obituary with a nod to William Shakespeare. Todd Fabozzi read 2 poems from his first book, Umbrageous Embers, the love poem “Sometimes” & “A Spirit to Suffer” about his Polish immigrant grandmother. There was some debate over how many times Stever Pilar had been here to Caffe Lena (see last month’s blog ); tonight he read about things he can’t explain, a sometimes-rhyming poem that became a love poem at the end, “Tomorrow’s Wings.” Charles Watts brought us back to humor with the “educational poem” “What Do the Old Talk About” & his version of the Tennessee Ernie Ford song “16 Tons,” here about rejected poems, “16 Lines.”

Kelly de la Rocha read a nostalgic piece about her childhood, rich images from the past. Holly Clark’s poem struggled with generalities in describing a “phoneme seeker.” My poem tonight was the militantly heterosexual (& feline cynical) “The Pussy Pantoum.” Therese Broderick gave her age away in “Approaching 52,” then read one of her new moon poems, “Moon of the Spice Root,” on handmade paper. Nancy DeNofio addressed her poltergeist mother in “Mama You Can Fly.” Judith Prest read a couple poems from a new poetry book, one poem she had never read out before, “The Harpest Survives the Tornado” (she should get to more open mics), & then the handy poetic excuses of “Why Poets are Late for Work.”

At Caffe Lena on Phila St. in Saratoga Springs, NY, on the first Wednesday of each month, 7:30PM.

Harmony Cafe at Wok 'n' Roll, May 30 (Memorial Day)

2011-06-04T14:23:00.000-05:00

This is the first time I've been down to this weekly open mic in Woodstock, run by Michael Platsky. This night there seemed to be a huge crowd, 22 open mic poets, in addition to the 4 featured poets, reading as a group, Thomas Brinson, Jay Wenk, Dayl Wise, & me. Once again honored to be reading with my military veteran brothers. But first some open mic poets. Michael even had a small digital timer to keep the poets within the 5 minute limit.

Michael led off with a couple of pieces for the holiday, the first about the meaning of the day (not shopping), then another about seeing a tattered flag float by in a stream. Richard Traitner read his poem "Night at the Window Light at the Door" in a breathless crescendo to the word "thunder," others, including images of war in “The Face of Wisdom.” C.J. Kreager’s poems were mostly short, humorous pieces, some playing off the trope “good news/bad news.” Daphne was waif-like & her surrealist poem “The Golden Horse” revolved around the phrase “from my window.” The well-known Donald Lev started with “Notes to an Imaginary Lecture by Joseph Campbell,” then musings at his kitchen table in “Pushing the Day,” a series of humorous observations in “Short Takes,” then a poem for Memorial Day.

Thomas Brinson did the introductions for us featured readers, starting with World War II veteran Jay Wenk whose first poem considered a photo of “mankind,” then talked about the personal terrors, the smells & techniques of warfare in the poem “I’m Not Gonna Tell You.” He ended with the section about Teddy the D.P. from his memoir Study War No More: A Jewish Kid from Brooklyn Fights the Nazis. The rest of us followed with a round robin of pieces, Thomas Brinson with a piece by Mark Twain on the folly of war, then Dayl Wise with “Thanksgiving ‘69” followed by a chilling piece set in the home of terrified Vietnamese peasants, & I read “John Lees” about an Army buddy who was killed in Viet Nam.

Thomas’ next piece, “Compassion,” was a portrait of person in a recovery program wracked by “survivor guilt” for not having gone to war. Dayl read 2 of his odes to things he carried as a soldier, “Ode to Zippo” & “Ode to the P-38” (the pocket can-opener). Since this was Woodstock I figured folks would understand my poem “The Hundred Thousand Ten Thousand Million Buddhas.”For the last round Thomas read a gloriously erotic piece of urban observations, then Dayl followed with 2 poems of civilian life invaded by memories of Viet Nam, one at a wedding, the other seeing road kill, & I ended with the fantasy “If Peace Broke Out Tomorrow.”

The open mic continued with Leslie Gerber reading poems by Siegfried Sassoon & Stephen Crane, then his own poem “Memorial Day” & his words to the tune “America.”

Although the next performer was signed up as “R.W.,” I know who it really was beneath the red wig, who claimed to have just gotten out of the happy farm, & read a piece about being at an airport & relieved his “you-know-what went underground.” Hmm… Ron Whiteurs was equally outrageous, with his signature title-sign for his poem, tonight, “Charge of the Tight Bridade,” an hysterical tale of 19^th century soldiers & anal sex. Martin’s “Real Life on the Tube” was a commentary of TV programming. Phyllis’ piece, “The Wedding,” was a character sketch of a loud-mouth aunt. Dean Shambach, who used to run a poetry open-mic at the Tinker St. Café many years ago, talked about poet Maxwell Bodenheim, who had once give Dean a copy of a poem, then read one of his own he described as “a bitter poem.”

Diane E. read from Dana Goia’s book, Can Poetry Matter? Then reading randomly poems, including Weldon Kees, then a piece she seemed to be making up on the spot, which she dedicated to Dean for inspiring her, “Another Loss Another Cross.” Victoria Sullivan read an anti-war poem from October 2001, “The Reckonig,” then a poem by a made-up character who was a Viet Nam war veteran. Andy Clausen read, in his distinctive, deep voice, “Soldiers of Christ,” & “More than Siesta” in praise of “the day-time fuckers.”

I mentioned at the top of the Blog that Michael Platsky was using a digital kitchen timer to keep the readers in line. I hadn’t heard it go off yet, so the folks so far had seemed to stay within the 5-minute limit. However, the timer dinged during Sue Willen’s long political rant (after she had read the dictionary definition of “democracy” & read a tribute to Iraq war veterans, “Dry Heat”), but Michael just let the poem roll on, sort of like living in a “democracy” & not taking any political action. The next reader, another Michael, read a piece that combined a robin, a conversation & a war.

The night was getting long & late & I had an hour drive before sleep, so I slipped out before the last readers took the stage, for which I apologize. But it’s the type of scene I would like to check out once in a while, timer or no timer.

Every Monday at 8PM at the Wok ‘n’ Roll as you enter Woodstock.

Poets Speak Loud!, Ma[r]y 23

2011-05-25T09:18:00.001-05:00

& a wild night it was, a week early (this is usually held on the last Monday of the month) due to the Memorial Day holiday next week, but more so (perhaps) so we could all celebrate Mary Panza's birthday (it was Avery's birthday as well) -- she was the host. So we once again gathered in the backroom of McGeary's for food, drinks, words, cared for so well by the ever-patient, ever-tolerate Meghan.

No featured poet tonight, just an "old-school" open mic. Sylvia Barnard started off with a poem inspired (prompted) by Carolee's encouragement to write about her "ex-," the father of her daughter, so she read "Books" (on his remarking that Sylvia could not be a good mother because she had too many books!).

I'm sorry if this is sounding as repetitious as it is, but I read (yet again) from Poeming the Prompt, tonight the poems "Prophylactic" & "Looking for Cougars" (there is a connection there). I had made the mistake of giving Mary Panza her birthday gift before I read so there was so much commotion & to-do about it that I almost didn't get to read my poem, but Carolee Sherwood settled us down with a found poem, "Boy Toy Brad" reading from the back of the box of the gift (while one of Mary's friends at the bar was blowing up for her), then she continued with her poem from Albany's Tulip Festival, "Do Not Be Startled" (read from her iPad). Don Levy, catching his breath over the blowup doll, read an old poem from his rare chapbook Super Queer Poet Saves the Day! "Hard at Work on the Tiger Beat" (on the movie "The Breakfast Club").

Tess Lecuyer paid tribute to one of Albany's finest poets (& thrilled me to no end) by reading poems by Harry Staley, "Biology 1" & the percussive "The Senile General in the Garden." Jill Crammond (whose hair was perfect) responded to Don's remark that she was a "side-kick" with the super-hero poem "Wonder Woman Returns to the Passenger Seat Lets Cat Woman Take the Wheel."

It was at this point that Brad returned to the room, fully inflated & (alas!) less than as hyped on the box, at which point the battery failed on my camera. Needless to say, there was much ado about nothing (or at least air & some surrounding plastic). (The photo is by Carolee Sherwood, & shows the birthday boy & girl with Brad.)

Like I said, it was also Avery's birthday & he helped pack the house with his entourage to hear him read his birthday poem, "Where Did the Time Go?" & the confessional "Tequila & I Watch a Movie." His friend Adam Blythe was up next with creepy poems, one for his Mom about fighting Ninjas (I wonder if she believes him?), & another about sleeping with a dead body.

Jessica Layton's poems brought us back to more normal relations, reciting from memory an untitled piece about "almost walking away" & a poem about mutual love, "I Need That." Leslie Michelle also did poems about love, the just written "Losing You," & "Dreaming with You."

Our host, Mary Panza, introduced the night's last poet as "Host of the Universe." Not quite, but R.M. Engelhardt does host poetry readings at the Fuze Box (Vox) & at the UAG Gallery (Saint Poem); he read a long, whining rant supposedly referencing the recent non-Rapture titled "The Rain Poets," & about "All their poems that never change," that sounded like other such poems he's written. You can read this latest version on his website.

Most months of the year Poets Speak Loud! is on the last Monday of the month, 7:30PM sign-up, 8:00 PM start (but come early for dinner), at Mc Geary's, Clinton Square, Albany, NY. Sponsored by AlbanyPoets.com.

Sunday Four Poetry, May 22

2011-05-24T21:39:00.000-05:00

This series usually has a featured poet, but unfortunately today's feature, Rachel Ikins, couldn't make it, so it was just an open mic (which was just fine). Dennis Sullivan introduced the event, then Edie Abrams did the individual introductions.

Lloyd Barnhart was back again, starting with "Silver Justice" about the 1831 axe-murderer Frances "Frankie" Sliver, who was only 19 when she was hanged, then the test responses to the question, "Poetry Is…" & the timely "Left Behind" (but more like 5th grade). Michael Burke read recent poems from his journal of his trip to Mexico, one about an old dog, then a bicycle benefit for missing children, & attending an old friends burial "Poor Dave."

Carolee Sherwood's 3 poems seemed related (& with an oblique nod to yesterday's non-Rapture), "Zombies Talk in their Sleep" (just like you & I), then a strange piece about growing kidneys (no kidding), & a poem about escaping, "Earth's Lover Disagrees with Paul Simon." Mimi Moriarty returned us to the ax-murderer theme with a poem about a dream about her daughter, then 2 more about her daughter, "The Books of Strangers" & "Her Closet." I read 2 from Poeming the Prompt, the "Top-Tips…" & "November 23" (in the West-African form, the giambone), then dedicated the philosophical "At the Center" to Dennis Sullivan. Therese Broderick showed off a couple poems in a form she invented called a selene (ancient Greek for "moon"), playing with sounds: "Selene 1: Moon of the Hand-made paper" & "Selene 2: Moon of the Magnolias."

Joe Krausman did just 1 poem, "Be Good to Me," like a song with it's easy rhythm & lilting rhymes. Speaking of forms, Stephen Leslie read poems in the Japanese form "haibun" (& his hybrid version): "Second-Hand Cake" (inspired by working in a homeless shelter), "Knife" (stories of being robbed at knife-point), & one for his daughter, "Brigid."

When Obeeduid (Mark O'Brien) read his tee-shirt, Mike Burke said it counted as a poem, but Mark went on to read 3 poems anyways, the first from a series on the random paint patterns on the windows of a garage door, "We Folded Together" written on a paper towel, & a dream poem inspired by falling asleep watching an old Western on TV. Tom Corrado's first poem "But I Do" was a narrative, if I followed it properly, then he pondered "The Garden of Unearthly Delights," & I don't think I have to tell you what he did in "On Listening to John Cage's 4 minutes 33 Seconds" (if you know the piece).

Dennis Sullivan was characteristically philosophical, thinking about the passage of Time in a poem dedicated to his sister Rita, "Remembering When," then "Ode to a Sad One," & "A Beatitude" pondering "the naked soul of poesy." Go figure that self-proclaimed Atheist Howard Kogan had 3 religious poems, returning to the theme of the Rapture, "May 22, 2011" (a cash-only Rapture), then wry humor on the creation myth in "Lilith," then the holy images debunked in "Not All Who Are Called Answer." Jim Williams was also thinking about the meaning of Life/the Universe, all the big questions, with "I'd Rather be Doomed than Dislodged" filled with contemporary & historical figures & Kali & ancient Greeks, & then "Shadow Poet," & ended with "The Waterless Flood Part 2."

Former city-girl Edie Abrams gave a nod to Obeeduid with "I Awaken to the Song of Birds," getting used to the sounds of nature.

Dennis Sullivan gave out drafts of the flyers for next season's Sunday Four Poetry, starting in September. There is one more reading this season, 4th Sunday in June, 3PM, Old Songs Community Center, Voorheesville, NY, before they take the summer off. Catch it when you can.

Poet-Soldiers Reading, May 21

2011-05-24T13:34:00.000-05:00

This reading was held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Kingston, a monthly open mic, with a featured reader, hosted by Micky Shorr. This month, in conjunction with the upcoming Memorial Day, the feature poets were veterans, all members of Veterans For Peace. I am always honored & humbled to be reading with these warrior-peacemaker-poets.

But first a couple open mic poets. Annie LaBarge read 3 memoir poems about her father & her mother, including "Mouse House" about her mother doing her hair. Leslie Gerber read a cluster of political poems; among others, "Meeting the President" is a fantasy of metaphorically assaulting President Bush, & the march of the dead in "It's Called Memorial Day."

Thomas Brinson was the first of the veterans to read. He began with "Eyes," written in a bar in Viet Nam in 1967, then a poem from 1968 after he was discharged from the Army in which he declares war irrelevant, then a poem from last year, "In Memoriam for Countless Civilian Casualties."

Jim Murphy read poems about "The Wall" (the memorial in Washington D.C.), the first poem by fellow veteran Gerald McCarthy about the dedication of The Wall, then 2 poems of his own: "Black Granite Panel" on what The Wall doesn't tell us (a touching memorial to a high school friend who was killed in Viet Nam), & his own poem on the dedication ceremony, "November 13, 1982."

Walt Nygard is not only a veteran but the parent of a son serving in Afghanistan, & read from his chapbook The Summer Joe Joined the Army & Other Poems (Post Traumatic Press, 2010). He read a section from the title poem, then "Echo 2/4" contrasting Humvees here with the war in Iraq, "Stupid Head," "Photo of a Night Firing: Bravo 4/25" (in Afghanistan), & ended with a recent poem about peace vigils in Nyack, NY, "Honk for Totalitarnism."

Jay Wenk is an US Army veteran of World War II & author of the memoir Study War No More: A Jewish Kid from Brooklyn Fights the Nazis. He began with "Twinkling in an Eye," a poem about Spring from a series about the seasons, then the political piece, "We Need To Talk," & a memoir of a World War I vet in Brooklyn in 1933, "Frenchy."

Each vet reader introduced the next, sometimes in humor, but always with respect, so I had the distinct honor of being introduced by Jay. As I have been doing the last few open mics, I read from my new chapbook Poeming the Prompt, beginning tonight with "Top-Tips for Anxiety-Free Writing from Prompts," then the peace poems "What Really Happened" & "Fast & Slow," & ended with "The Lesson."

So then I had the pleasure to introduce Larry Winters, the author of The Making & Un-Making of a Marine (Millrock Writers Collective, 2007). His poems were serious, political, beginning with the grim "Who's Accountable for the Enemy's Dead?" then "Fire When You See the Market Drop" (with it's chilling refrain "if you can't understand it, just pull the trigger"), then a poem just written, & untitled, in the rough, tough-guy voice, covering his fears.

The final vet reader was Dayl Wise, publisher of Post Traumatic Press. He began with a poem from World War I by Siegfried Sassoon, "Does it Matter?" His own poems reflected on his service in Viet Nam, from "First Cut" (that emblematic first Army haircut), to the recently written "Thanksgiving '69" (explaining to his family that the overseas cap is called a "cunt cap"), to seeing the dead of Viet Nam while out with friends at home in "Road Kill."

The evening ended with a few more open mic poets, including Alison Koffler, who instead of reading one of her own fine poems, read from a poem by a high school student, Brian Pascal, the tough & tender political rant "This Is For." Our host Micky Shorr read 2 poems of family conflict & stress, "No Exit" & "The Absolute Rule." Bobbie Katz had to borrow Jay Wenk's reading glasses to read 2 persona poems on distant wars, one in the voice of Penelope in 325 B.C. "Returning Home" & the other based on her own memories of being on the home front during World War II.

This is a regular series at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 320 Sawkill Road, Kingston, starting at 7PM, on the 3rd Saturday. Information at 845-331-2884.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, May 19

2011-05-22T18:09:00.000-05:00

While some folks huffed & puffed in the Park in the annual Corporate Run, we gathered at the Social Justice Center to read & listen to poetry, with our featured poet, Mary Eliza Crane. To start, I invoked the Muse in the form of poet & activist Audre Lord, then into the open mic. With only a handful of poets there at start time (more arrived later) I allowed 2 poems (don't get any ideas for future readings!).

First up was Bob Sharkey with 2 sections from his long poem, "Discursive," the first a tale of catching squirrels, then a tribute to an old Buick. Joe Krausman pondered the philosophical/metaphysical with "Smart People Do Dumb Things." Michael Purcell was back after an absence, with a self-published book of poems (don't we all), & read from it "No Destination" & "The Original Sin" (the birth of money). Anthony Bernini's poem "The Dance of Dish & Glass" is a portrait of "an older woman who is dear to me," as he said.

The featured poet, Mary Eliza Crane, has been traveling throughout upstate New York the last 3 weeks, reading her poems. I had caught her first reading early in the month at Caffè Lena & this was her last reading before flying back to the Pacific Northwest. Her reading was pretty much what she had done at Caffe Lena, which was fine with me -- good to hear those poems again & new to the audience here. The weather was pleasant & she read barefoot & without the mic, poems of nature & her family.

After the break I read "What Really Happened" from Poeming the Prompt. Brian J. Liston drove up from Saugerties to join us & read the multi-part "Mission" (about donating books to kids) & "Cracks" as useful to an author. Moses Kash III began with a long autobiographical introduction, then into his poem mentioning the attacks on Pakistan & Libya. Sylvia Barnard's poem, "Christopher Slaughterford" was about a 300 year old murder mystery in England. Jill Crammond brought us closer to today with a poem, "The Skin & Ribs Dog," about being bitten by a dog when she was 11, a lesson from her father. To conclude, "Screamer" read a poem about her sobriquet (turns out it is from a rock song she likes), filled with longing for the ocean & Asbury Park, then ended with more longing, for a younger boy, "Pillowhead."

10 open mic poets & a featured reader made for an enjoyable night of poetry, here at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY, third Thursday of each month, 7:30PM.

The Saint Poem Reading Series, May 16

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This is a new series in only its 2nd month at the UAG Gallery on Lark St., hosted by Albany's perennial poetry entrepreneur, R.M. Engelhardt. This was the first one I was able to get to, & I got there late as well. I missed the first round of open mic poets & the featured poet, Steven Minchin, was just getting going when I got there. He had done the right thing, packing the audience with his friends, & everyone except me seemed to have a beer.

Steven Minchin is not someone who frequents the open mics in town so it was my first chance to hear his work. His titles are funny (i.e., quirky) word plays, such as "Cosmonauts Afraid of Foam in their Seats," "Blues Psalm 13 1/3" & "Duet Whispering Out," almost as if they were composed of random words. Many of his poems, such as "Grand Marshall We're Lost" & the Frank O'Hara/New York City -inspired poem "This Radiant Boy" dealt with gay passion & love, & he gave us his version of his biographical introduction in the long, whimsical Biolab 111.

After a smoke break Rob brought those of us that was left back with ee cummings' poem "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond…" Bless recited 2 pieces, the pondering of beginnings & ends & Faith in the poem "Death" & a poem he wrote in his teen-age years for a hooker at Hunts Point. I selflessly promoted my new chapbook, Poeming the Prompt, by reading "What Really Happened" & "The Lesson."

The photographer Lona Cygnus read an emotional piece, "Trink," as a tribute to the late gallery owner & artist Nadia Trinkala.

Rob gave us one more round, of one poem each, to finish out the night. Todd Fabozzi read "The Other America" from the copy of his book Crossroads that he was giving to Rob. Late arrival Lisa Powell Graham read a long, rambling piece she called her "woman's anthem" that can be found on her Facebook Notes. KJ (aka Keith) Spencer also read from his smart-phone, the poem "Muse." Bless talked about his days with the Soul Kitchen reading series, & recited "Uninspired." I read "Poeming" from my chapbook. Steve Minchin did more of his word play, a poem containing phrases such as "skin flinch turns". & Rob ended with his own poem defining "Truth."

This new series continues on the 3rd Monday of each month at the UAG Gallery on Lark St. in Albany, 7:30 sign-up, 8:00 PM start, with a featured poet & an open mic, hosted by RM Engelhardt.

Poetry + Prose, May 8

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This is a series that I co-host with Nancy Klepsch at the Arts Center of the Capital Region on River St. in Troy, NY, so of course I'm only going to say great things about it, but then that's not difficult because so many fine local writers show up.

Speaking of which, Jil Hanifan was up first with 2 crow poems, "Wheatfields with Crows" (after the Van Gogh painting), & the list poem, "Lies about the Crow." I actually signed up #2, read the "Top Tips for Anxiety-Free Writing from Prompts" from my new chapbook, Poeming the Prompt (A.P.D.), then the new poem "At the Center."

Kate Laity has been a fixture here since this series began & announced she will be in Ireland next year on a Fullbright grant; tantalizingly, she read about half of her story, "A Case of Dead Faces," where the main character meets the Buddha on a bus. David Wolcott's memoir of working on a horse ranch in Colorado when he was 19, & it's graphic images of horses mating got a rowdy response from the audience, oh yeah. Howard Kogan said he had been watching too much CNN so his poem "In News Closer to Home" imagined tribal warfare in the NYC boros & spreading to the small towns of Western Massachusetts, then "Folk Singer at the Senior Center" paid homage to singer Marilyn Miller, & he dedicated his moving poem "American Exports" to me & my peace-work (thank you Howard!).

Stephen W. Leslie read a couple of pieces that had been great hits at WordFest "Ornamental Cherry Tree" & the hysterical haibun "The Omega Retreat," then the equally amusing hippy tale "Did You Drop Something" (also a haibun). Ron Drummond began with an excerpt from a weblog entry on an essay by science-fiction writer William Gibson, then the opening scene of a novel-in-progress, an eating scene that grossed me out.

Barry Goldman read from his netbook (which Nancy pointed out was a first for this series), "The Possum," a poem based upon another poem by Richard Eberhart, then some reflections on the flood-tide of the Hudson around Troy, & ended with a short urban poem about flowers growing at the entrance to a subway station. Elizabeth Gordon, who had read so movingly in the Memoir Project, read 3 poems, the first about fishing with her father, then a piercing poem "The Professor" (who claimed to have no childhood trauma), & then from a series of poems in praise of the months of the year, "In April & May Gratitude." Nancy Klepsch ended the afternoon with "a bee poem" written this morning, responding to her allergies.

This reading, open to both prose & poetry, is held on the second Sunday of most months (we are taking July & August off), at the Arts Center in Troy. It's free & it's fun.