I am most familiar with Jan Tramontano's Paternal Nocturne which she has been reading around at various venues, including Albany WordFest. This evening she read 2 poems from each of the 3 sections of the chapbook, poems based on letters home written by her grandfather in the 1930s & 1940s. She ended with "the most personal" poem in the book, her own tender letter to him, "Letter 2011."
Mimi Moriarty & her brother Frank Desiderio's chapbook Sibling Reverie pulls together some of their "companion" poems they have been writing & performing for a number of years. They read 4 sets, some like "A Matter of Substance on my TV" (Frank) & "Mummers Parade, January 1, 2010" because they were both there; others pairings, notably "Afternoon Recreation" (Frank) & "Jesus at Bat" (Mimi) came about because they discovered that each had written about Jesus & baseball (which would almost get me to go to church again).
Jan Tramontano, Linda Sonia Miller, Mimi Moriarty, Frank Desiderio & Cecele Kraus |
I've also recently heard Cecele Allen Kraus read from her captivating chapbook, Tuscaloosa Bypass, memoir poems of growing up in Alabama. She read the beginning ("Every Sunday Morning") & concluding ("Mississippi Encounter") poems, & others. I was particularly moved by the poem "Mirror" about a dead brother, & the companion piece "Three Sisters."
After the reading, the group fielded questions about being a poet & their experiences with the process of being published by Finishing Line Press. All in all a pleasant evening of poetry in the front room of the Pine Hollow Arboretum, a light & airy setting for small readings.
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