2nd Sunday @ 2, January 10

First reading/open mic I have been able to get to, & a good thing too since I am a co-host here with Troy poet Nancy Klepsch. There were 14 writers on the sign-up sheet.

First up was Bob Sharkey, with a descriptive piece set in New York City “Walking to Golda Meir Square,” then a memoir, “1957,” from his continuing series of pieces on the Libby Town section of Portland, Maine where he grew up. Peggy LeGee read an essay she said was written under the influence of a fever, a personal piece on gender identity “An American Herstory.”

Anne Rokeach was equally bold as this was her first time ever reading, & she said she had just started writing poetry this Summer, so she read a poem, “You”, that she said was a love poem to everyone she knows, then a piece on the death of her father-in-law. Mike Conner read, “Waves of Life,” a piece from his early Blog, then what he called “a visual snap shot” from this kitchen window “Day is Done.” Co-host Nancy Klepsch read a funny political piece “If in Iowa…” then “Before You Know Gratitude” based on a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye. Cathy Abbott does short pieces, one to her daughter & another on the elections.

Dave DeVries announced that he had taken over the hosting of the 3rd Tuesday poetry open mic at the Colonie Town Library, a long-running series that had been started by the late William Robert Foltin, then read “My Day” a poem to his birthday, then one from the perspective of a “Hawk’s Eye.” Jay Renzi has been going thru old poems & making revisions & read a couple of the results, “The Moment” & “She Was Fond of Fondness.” Howard Kogan read 2 poems from his series about where he lives, Stephentown, both dealt with poverty, “Food Pantry” & “Gleaning 2015.” M. McCauley was back with a continuation of a reading from a prose memoir, this segment about reading fashion magazines & trying to fix her hair.

Sandra Rouse has confronted her fear of birds by writing from their point-of-view, & today she read “Robin” & “Red-Tailed Hawk.” Tim Verhaegen read a poem about reading a poem at an open mic & getting no response from the audience, then read the poem he had read, “Just Friends with my Buddy James.” I followed with a new piece about my years in bars, “Joe the Bartender.” Karen Fabiane read a couple of her stream-of-consciousness poems, “Origami” on poems, words & music, then “Most of the World” from her book Dancing Bear.

This series continues each 2nd Sunday at 2:00PM at the Arts Center in Troy, NY, an open mic for poets & prose writers — free.