Northshire Books Reading Series, October 22

Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs has a continuing series of readings & book signings, which makes great business sense since they sell books (duh!). This night’s readers were 2 wonderful regional poets whose work I’ve been following (& promoting at reading series that I run) for a number of years, Natalya Sukhonos & Lucyna Prostko. In fact, I already had & read each of their recent books, but I made the trip to Broadway in Saratoga Springs to hear their poems in their own voices & to be in that mezzanine room with so many other wonderful regional poets also listening.

The host & MC was Rachel Person from Northshire Bookstore who introduced each poet, who then read from their books, followed by a book signing.

Natalya Sukhonos read from Sunlight Trapped in Stone (Green Writers Press, 2026), mostly from the 1st of 3 sections, poems about her family, her grandmother, mother & her own memories of Odesa, Ukraine. The last poem she read, “Tunnel Vision,” was inspired by early memories of coming to New York.

Lucyna Prostko’s book, House of Wandering (Finishing Line Press, 2026), is divided into 5 parts. When she read the title poem she remarked that she had never read it out previously. She too read poems of her family, of her mother & her grandmothers, memories & tales of Poland, often mixed in with dreams of these memories, as in the poem “Layers of a Dream.” 

Both poets were born into languages other than English & have crafted intricate, supple, tender poems written in English, & both are now living in upstate New York, their poems as native & as tasty as apples. Find their books, & if you hear of either (or both) of them reading somewhere you can get to, go.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, October 15

This being October, I thought it appropriate that our inspiring Muse be Albany poet & activist Tom Nattell (1952 - 2005) whose birthday was October 11, & to read one of his Christopher Columbus Fantasies in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day — I read #32, in which Columbus wanders the streets of Albany looking for America. Our featured poet, Jen DeGregorio, joined us from Binghamton with her husband to read from her collection of poems What To Wear Out (Get Fresh Pubishing, 2025). But first we heard from the open mic poets.

First up was Doug Campbell, who last month was part of a reading at Historic Cherry Hill, titled “Poetry in Pursuit of Liberty.” Tonight he read a piece using the characters created by Eddie Murphy in his movies & in SNL, “Images Continue,”a rhyming tribute to Albany.

Hannah had shown up for the 2nd Sunday @ 2 to read about something had happened to her a long time go, a bold & brave escape from domestic violence.

Laura Ludwig read a piece of comic prose about some of the other folks in the Senior housing where she lives, “A New Generation of Seniors” inspired by a book, The Hundred Year Old Man Who That Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.

David Gonsalves read a piece that was a bit longer than his usual poems, an anaphoric piece repeating, “Send Me,” a letter.

Sally Rhoades had recently spent some time in Cyprus with her husband & not surprisedly wrote a poem while there, “Another Cyprus Morning.”

’Tis the season of the Baseball World Series & I read my pastiche of the opening of T.S. Elliot’s The Wasteland “Octoberland” from my chapbook Baseball Poems (A.P.D., 2019).

Tonight’s featured poet, Jen DeGregorio, teaches at the University in Binghamton, & she began with “Landlines,” a poem I remember reading a few years ago when it was published in the American Poetry Review, a tale of calling her mother from the Mall in her much younger days, then “I’m a Millennial, Technically,” “Gigs,” & “Blonde on Blonde” a chilling tale of domestic violence & growing up & away. “Ode to Paperless Billing” mixed up images of her monthly payments of her student loans coinciding with her period, & more memories of growing up, with humor, then the last poem in the book, “An Argument Against Cynicism,” which became popular among soil scientists & entomologists in New Zealand. Her poems are an easy, accessible mix of self-musings, mixing memories with the present of the poem. 

The Third Thursday Poetry Night takes place each month at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:00PM sign up for the open mic, reading starts at 7:30PM, the event includes a featured poet — $5.00 suggested donation supports poetry projects in Albany & the work of the Social Justice Center.

2nd Sunday @ 2 - Poetry + Prose, October 11

My co-host, Nancy Klepsch, asked me to handle the duties solo this Sunday so she could take care of business at home — that’s one of the advantages of having a team, we can cover for each other when necessary, & we do every-once-in-a-while.

There were 5 of us on the sign-up sheet, even a new face & voice. I started us off with a couple pieces from my Gallery Poems file; “Missing Pieces” about a painting by the gone Wren Panzella of the jazz musician Sun Ra, & another where a painter’s easel was the centerpiece of the exhibit, “The Easel’s Story.”

The ubiquitous Thomas Bozzo was next with a relationship poem, “I Go By,” then one he read last week at the new Old Songs open mic, “Capital L” about how he feels he has arrived.

Joel Best is a long-time regular at 2nd Sunday at our various locations, & I’ve been fascinated for a long time with his stream-of-conciousness narratives. This afternoon he described his writing as wandering, like Billy Pilgrim, & his first piece “Sacred” showed off his wanderings. Then he talked about being a substitute teacher which opens up time for him to write, then he read an example, “Last Days Thoughts.”

Another regular, David Gonsalves, read a piece about his mother-in-law’s death, “Pearl’s Room,” then “Memory of Someone Else,” with a mention of the Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992).

Hannah Kennedy was here for the first time to bravely read an intense piece, “The Last Night,” about a woman plotting & escaping a violent relationship.

2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose takes place, for now, at Collar Works, 50 4th St., Troy, NY — check out the Instagram account for any changes — Also see the poetry calendar at the Hudson Valley Writers Guild website for a full listing of the area’s literary events.

Old Songs Poetry Open Mic, October 4

A new series in an old place, the home of Old Songs Inc. at 37 S Main St., Voorheesville, NY, where brother Dennis Sullivan once hosted Sunday Four Poetry for many years. This reiteration was hosted by Larry Rapant who recently came back out on the poetry scene after a long hiatus. The Old Songs space has a good, resident sound system, which a cluster of folks were trying to figure out — to use the sound or not? where to put the mic? on the stage or on the floor? how close to get to the mic? Then, how many poems to read? If Larry had been to open mics in recent year he would have had a better idea about what to do before he took to the stage. Ultimately what matters is the poets who read & what they read.

Laura Ludwig, who had moved to Guilderland last year, was quite close to home this day; she read a memoir poem “California in Moonlight” from a her self-published poetry collection.

I was one of those poets in the room who had read in this space previously in Sunday Four Poetry; I read an old poem from my days living & working in NYC, “The View from the Bellevue Bridge.”

David Gonsalves read 2 short pieces (allowed by the rules today), “Autumn Invocation” with the refrain “let those who…” then a poem like a letter to itself, “Send Me.”

Elaine Klein followed with a short poem about a forest, “Thacher Park.”

Thomas Bozzo has been writing poems about what it is like to move to a new place, the challenge of meeting new people, he read a piece titled “Capital L” about being new here, but still being what he was.

Tom Corrado has been writing, & self-publishing, his series of “Screen Dumps” for a very long time, his recent iteration was titled “Screen Dump #877” a walking poem through music, Time, gear, Kierkergard, Diogenes, & whatever I missed.

Edie Abrams read “A Finger Brushes Against Another at a Concert” that finds comparisons with the title in the stems of plants, with viruses; then “When You Leave,” scolds … don’t do it again.

Larry Rapant our host read the pensive & defiant “Not Going Gently” about the slow process of dying, but enjoying what one is doing while living.

Lady Carla finished off the afternoon with an a cappella performance of the black American anthem, “Lift Every Voice & Sing.”

Look for this open mic again on the 1st Sunday of the month at Old Songs, 37 S. Main St., Voorheesville, NY, 2:00PM — your donation supports the presence of Old Songs. 

Salon Salvage, September 26

For any number of reasons I find it difficult to get to this wonderful series on the last Saturday of each month. It is run & hosted by local poets Matthew Klane, Amie Zimmerman, & Hajar Hussaini While they often include a local or regional poet in the program, the fascinating part for me is the “out-of-town” poets they invite to read. This was #48 in the series, it keeps on chuggin'. Local poet Cara Benson was one of the readers promoting her new book; the other two poets, Jeffrey Yang & Elizabeth Willis were both out-of-towners & both had a connection to New Directions Publishing.

Amie introduced Jeffrey Yang who is an editor at New Directions & a poet & translator. He read a new poem/essay titled “The Bears,” a long mythical tale with references other myths. It is a descriptive, narrative meditation of the bears survival of an ecological disaster. It sounded both old & as current as the news of the deadly melting of the glaciers in Nepal. He concluded with a much shorter piece, the last segment from a longer work, in an edition with drawings done in tea ink, an elegy. Apparently this was from his 2022 Line and Light: Poems (Graywolf Press), the drawings by Kazumi Tanaka, which I found out from online searches. 

Matthew did the introduction to Cara Benson. I was at Cara’s launch of An Armsfull of Birds back in May at the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, & I also saw her at the recent NYS Writers Institute Book Festival paired in a panel discussion with Virginia Eubanks (A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care, and Survival) moderated by Christy O’Callaghan. Cara’s memoir is subtitled A Personal Field Guide to Love, Loss, and Commitment, an apt description, with each chapter tagged to a particular species of bird. She read from Chapter 3 ("Wild Turkeys: We engage in courtship") about how she & Jon met, & Chapter 21 ("Winter Wren:The dream that is not a dream") set after Jon’s suicide, a lyrical piece about the site (un-named) where he died.

Hajar introduced Elizabeth Willis who began with a new topical piece about the war on Iran in the Straits of Hormuz, in which the ship “Washington Bails Out Lincoln..” After paying tribute to the gone poet, Bernadette Mayer, Willis read mostly from her 2024 book, Liontaming in America (New Directions), described as “a spiraling, staggering [272 pages!] new collection of historical and mythic reinvention …” She read 6 passages, tales in which Pocahontas crossed paths with Paul Robeson, with Jim & Huckleberry from Twain’s novel, one passage a meditation on rivers, geographical, historical & fictional. I was particularly fascinated by a passage titled “Matoaka & Mrs. Rolfe” referring to the “other” names of Pocahontas. She ended with 2 newer pieces, “The Writing on the Wall” riding on MetroNorth, & a personal poem with a title from (& in the style of) the poet Charles Reznikoff, “I Didn’t Invent the World.”

This ongoing series continues on the last Saturday of each month, 7:00PM, at the Upstairs Arts Collective, 403 Fulton St., Troy, NY — sliding scale donations to support the poets. You can find it on Instagram @salonsalvagetroy & elsewhere.

Caffè Lena Poetry Night, September 22

Our long-time host, Carol Graser, started off the night of poetry with a poem by a more famous poet than the rest of us, tonight the recently gone Wendell Berry, with reading his poem “The Summer Ends.” 

The night’s featured poet was Esther Cohen who was briefly the Poet Laureate of Greene County. The featured reader each month is live streamed & recorded on the Caffè Lena YouTube channel so I will just hit the high points of her reading. She began, as she often does, with her story of becoming a poet & meeting Allen Ginsberg (1926 - ), from her book, Breakfast with Allen Ginsberg (Pleasure Boat Studio, 2021). Then told the story of becoming not-the-poet-laureate of Greene County (news articles can be found from, The Overlook News, the Albany Times-Union & others), & read the poem, “Dear Whoever is Listening,” written to be read to the Greene County legislature. & at the end of each her poems she suggested the audience say, “Bingo!” She also read from her Substack posts (@overhearec), & from her collection of poems & stories about her neighbors, All of Us: Stories and Poems Along Route 17 (Saddle Road Press, 2023). But don’t take my word for it, I strongly urge you to watch her video for a very entertaining performance. 

The open mic is not recorded so, as is my habit, I will do my best to create an archive of the event here on this Blog. I was able to get a photo of the signup sheet so as best I can tell I got everyone’s name correct. But if I didn’t get something correct — a title, details, whatever — please email me & I will correct the record.

First up was Badiana Eckstrom with a couple pieces about being a writer, a prose poem, “I Wrote Myself Whole,” then one that began “I fell like a griot …” That could be a seque to David Graham with a piece based on a 2011 news story that he just finished today, “Adler’s Ashes.”

Lin Murphy introduced her piece, “Vulnerability” by apologizing for her “froggy voice & tremor” but that was not needed; the poem was about current events. Emily Rieffel said that this was her 1st open mic in 25 years(!), read 2 pieces, “Burmese Star Turtle” & “Learning to Crochet.”

Leslie Sitter is a frequent flyer here, read a memoir of “Schroon Lake,” then another memoir piece, this about her life in NYC before 9/11, “Then & Now.” Catherine Clarke read a seasonal piece about seeding a field, “August,” then “A Candle for Our Common Grief,” a meditation on the sere time.

Carol called for a brief break, then returned to read her own poem, “When Workers Decide to Unionize,” much needed these days - & always. Recognizing how many poets were still on the list to read, Carol made a plea that readers limit their time to one piece. While the next reader, Charles Lapinski, read 2 pieces, “Morning of the Appointment” & “Loving Winter,” they were both short.

Ed Valentine, by contrast, was notable by his flaunting Carol’s recommendation & by his disregard for other readers; he recited 2 pieces, neither by himself, either of which would have been too long for Carol’s recommendation — tedious & just plane hogging the mic. Fortunately, the rest of the night’s readers were more courteous (& creative). I followed with a poem for Rosh Hashanah, written in Gloucester in 2004, “Tashlich.

Marilyn McCabe read a poem of exactly 100 words, “Observer Effect.” Micaiah Pedersen’s poem was titled “Path of Power.” I’m not sure if the poem that Pat Curtis read had a title, it was a memoir of the Kennedy assassination when she was 10, black patent leather shoes & sugar cookies. Harry (no last name given) read an energetic rant about his emotions on high. Nancy White described her poem as “a downer,” a story of a death. Randee Rienzi read 2 very short letter poems, “Dear Dick” & “Dear Owner.” David Walsh was here for the 1st time & read “Preface as Ars Poetica” which he described as a “whimsical introspection” on writing a poem.

Joe Carosella will be the featured poet here on November 24, & read a piece based on John Greenleaf Whittier, about how life is like hiking, titled “Wither Now.” Melissa Anderson’s poem “On Making” was about how beauty comes from labor. Saratoga Poet Laureate, Jay Rogoff, read a political piece titled “Uprising September 11, 2026.”

Susan Kress read her poem “The Apple Speaks.” Thomas Bozzo read “Rules of Engagement.” Jake (also no last name) read “Dinosaur,” which was about a sparrow. Leslie Neustadt read a poem for her sister dying, remembering her spirituality. Peg Clark’s poem “Live Laugh Loons” was about being out on a lake. 

Ashton French who was the first of a quartet of young women poets bringing the night to a close, read 2 poems on the same theme & with the same title, “The Sky is Pink.”

Cedar Matzke & Danielle Kravetz shared a back-&-forth collaboration on hardship & the pain of being hurt. Juniper McGrath read a descriptive, nostalgic piece about a small mountain town in Spain that she misses very much. Phew! A big night of poetry.

This event takes place on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the historic Caffè Lena, 47 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs, NY, sign up starts at 6:30PM, featured reader at 7:00PM, followed by an open mic for the rest of us. $5.00 donation, free to students.

Poetry Jam, September 18

This is a regular program at the Alice Moore Black Arts Cultural Center, & this month paid tribute to Spanish Heritage Month. It was co-hosted by Mark & Shalaam, with Dr. Andrea Miranda-Pestana the Deputy Director at the Center for Law & Justice, who was the MC for the trivia part of the contest with questions relating to Hispanic culture & history.

First up for the poetry open mic was a well-known performer in the spoken word scene here, Kareem (aka, Your Favorite Underrated Poet) with a piece titled “F in Family Means Family.”

Valerie Temple performed from memory a couple pieces from her 2023 poetry collection Discovery of a Blunt Treasure (written as Bertha Blunt), both in rhyme, “Holy Wood or Bust,” & “You’re Not My Friend.”

I read 2 pieces from my informally published “poem cards,” “Content Advisory” (on the challenging nature of poetry), & the more scandalous “Patriotism.” 

Ebony Queen Freeman was so bold as to mention that she was Newburgh (for which she took a lot of kidding from Mark), responded to a racist comment that “Blacks can’t read” with the in-your-face comeback “This Black CAN Read;” then the sexy piece about being turned on by her boyfriend, “You’re Awakening the Beast.” She said one can find her books on Amazon under her name.

DJ Eddie had been spinning the music tonight & Mark took a few minutes to interview him about his background, he said that he was born in Manhattan & grew up in the Bronx. Mark also asked Kareem similar questions, said he was from Brooklyn.

Mark continued his community interviews with Denise, from Brooklyn, & Amina from Manhattan & the Bronx, bringing them unto the stage from the audience.

Mark also paid tribute to Miss V, a venerable elder in the community, also in the audience this night.

Poetry Jam takes place each third Friday of the month at the Alice Moore Black Arts Cultural Center in Albany, NY on the corner of Madison Ave. & South Pearl St. Food & soft drinks are also provided, & donations greatly appreciated.