Poets Speak Loud, November 30

This month the host was "Tony the Intern", completing his semester as the slave/gopher/victim of AlbanyPoets. He read a short piece of prose about being at the Pine Hills Deli, deciding "I can live without music."

I was first up at the open mic with the older "Poem Beginning with a Line from Paul Blackburn" then the very new "This Dream Is Not About You" (or anyone else in the open mic). Todd Fabozzi read from his just-out book of poems, Crossroads, "Love's Pain" & one on our consumer society, "More."

Carolee Sherwood read new poems, "Jalopy, Dear" & one about a sexy talent some lovers have either playing with earlobes or ideas (or both?). Don Levy took us back to his childhood watching TV in his jammies with "Captain Ralph," then once again his anti-Maine poem "On Golden Douchbag."

The feature tonight was the poetry & music duo Murrow, Thom Francis (words) & Keith Spenser (guitar). The set included some of the Thom's best, including a couple about his father, "She's an Angel" & its companion piece ending with a flag over her face, the blank-page/writer's block poem &, of course, driving. It was good to see them as the poetry feature & not surrounded by other bands. Keith's guitar riffs don't overwhelm the words adding just enough sound-spice. And the duo's occasional use of computer loops & mixed effects is not over-done.

Continuing the open mic, a new face/voice, Avery, did a poem on wanting to write a poem today, then the hip-hop parody, "Walking Life's Paths." Tess Lecuyer's skillful sonnet was "for women in big romance novels." Sylvia Barnard's poem was just written, but was about her experience in Cyprus in 2003 after the barriers came down. Ed Fennell's first poem was either "Four" or "For", then one about standing at his own grave, "Myself."

Shannon Shoemaker has been writing new poems, "Brought Low" & one for Don Levy "Tongue in Cheek" in hip-hop rhyme about "a dyke on a bike". Brian Sullivan was back with more short prose, what he called an untitled dialogue, "2 white Russians & stale milk" sounded like a title or just the first line. Amanda was another virgin, did a long, untitled preachy rant against every social ill in America, poetry v. common sense, then "Voice," humped by a stranger.

Every last Monday at Tess' Lark Tavern on Madison Ave. in Albany. Come early for dinner, stay to listen & read a poem, presented by AlbanyPoets.com.