It was the last Monday, again, & Thom el presidente Francis was our host. & Nicole was our most gorgeous waitress, yes! & it was an open mic.
Sylvia Barnard was first up with her poem about dying flowers, "Painting Flowers." Then I read my new poem "Split this Rock Dream Poem" & the old poem "Joe Krausman" (originally published in Open Mic: the Albany Anthology). Josh McIntyre's poems are characteristically short, as was "Downhill Blues" & the very short "NIght & Day". Chad Lother has popped up a few times at local open mics, tonight read a narrative titled/about "Juda" polishing the shoes of D.B. Maybe you can find him at WordFest this year.
Tonight's feature was Avery Stempel with a variety pack of poems, from the very short (a haiku), to the almost interminable "The Colors of the Rainbow" which was printed out on different colored pages with astrological & mystical signs & symbols & wingdings on the back, a meandering poem of movie lines, random philosophical (& otherwise) thoughts, timed throughout the night & day. Other pieces included his "Blossoming Flower" in hip-hop lines read fast (he has a tendency to read his work fast, pressured, in a somewhat numbing rhythm). He writes with poet friends from Siena College (who'd thunk?) in a collaborative group called "Different States of Poetry" that co-creates a poem every month; he read one of his contributions to the group, "Reflections on Windows." He has been showing up here recently at the open mic & it was good to hear a bigger chunk of his interesting work.
You have to stay up with pop culture (both gay & straight) to get with the poems of Don Levy & tonight he challenged us with "Ziggy Family Peanuts" about the Sunday funnies. Jill Wickham told us about Barbie & G.I. Joe & Ken in "What the Dolls Do When They Sleep" (I always wondered!) & then "An Old Story, after Bob Hicok" in his style of random connections.
While I got Carolee Dawn Sherwood's little story titled "Tuesday Lunch" in my notes OK, a line I liked from her poem "Mine" disappeared into gibberish -- oh well, I enjoyed it. Jason Crane showed up in his bike outfit (you know, those cute little hats & tight pants) & read "Lillian Dupree & the Ballad of Frenchman St." which has just been published in Blue Collar Review (Journal of Progressive Working Class Literature); also, from his forthcoming chapbook, "Eating Godzilla." Joe/Songsten Hollander signed up as "Pablo" with a love poem to a Newark stripper, ah!
Good food, good drinks, a beautiful waitress, & wonderful poetry on the last Monday of each month at the Lark Tavern at 7:30 PM (actually, the good food, good drinks, & beautiful waitresses are there all month long) -- Madison Ave., Albany, NY.
Cute little hat? Check. Tight pants? Noooooooo!
ReplyDeleteAs it says on the masthead, "It's not the Truth, but it's pretty darn close."
ReplyDeleteI hope someday to get to the point where the wearing of tight pants would be anything other than a horror for the audience...
ReplyDeleteYes, like a complete falling down on your ass laughing joke, like it would be for me now.
ReplyDeleteMay you live so long my friend.