Third Thursday Poetry Night, June 16

Tonight’s featured poet was Karen Fabiane. & because today is the international festival of “Bloomsday” our muse for the night was James Joyce, a bit of Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from Ulysses. & as the mythical tour-bus was still circling the mythical streets looking for that mythical parking spot, tonight’s open mic poets had the option of reading 2 — count ‘em! — 2 poems in the open mic.

First up was Richard Propp reading poems from the Spanish Jewish physician, poet & philosopher Judah Halevi (1075 - 1141). Alan Catlin read a memoir poem inspired by a reading of a book on the killings at Kent State in 1970 “After Reading 67 Shots, the Killings at Kent State,” then from his recent book American Odyssey “Our Lady of the Sub-Basement.” Annie read, with her dark glasses on, a piece exploring love “Narcissus eats Goldmun & Spits Him Out,” then “10 of Cups” beginning with a quote from Jimi Hendrix. Philomena read from her recent chapbook of poems, My Moon Self, first the poem about a blackout, “Inadequacies,” then the last poem in the book “Benefaction,” a bus poem on gratitude.

Bob Sharkey, who of course knew today was Bloomsday, read a new poem, “Pulse of My Heart,” a meditation on gender-identity, on Orlando, all in the context of Ulysses & Bloomsday. Kaly had shown up early, signed up, then cut out for a while, but was back in time to perform a free-form sermon on love & victims. I ended the open mic with the poem “Beach” from my chapbook Gloucester Notes.

Karen Fabiane has been doing a number of featured readings in the last few months & is a frequent reader at open mics around town. Tonight she was the featured poet here.  She began with a new poem about miscommunication, “Was That You?” Then from her first book, Dancing Bears (Bright Hill Press, 2011) she read “There Was a Very Smooth Aspect to Her,” “Slay Me,” & “Rain Today.” From the anthology from 2nd Sunday @ 2, 2, she read both her entries, “This Hardship of Loving” & “Noticeably Difficult.” On to poems from Seeing You Again (Grey Book Press, 2014), including “I Fucked St. Joan,” “Begone,” & the title poem. She then shifted to a poem written today “The Best Thing You Said Was I Am Really Tired of it Now,” another phone conversation like her first poem, this with a woman going through a break-up, even referencing the very reading she is given now. She ended with a brief “The Rest of Us.”

Join us with a poem each third Thursday at the Social Justice Center (33 Central Ave., Albany) for a featured poet & an open mic, 7:30PM. Your donation of $3.00, or as generous as you want to be, helps pay the featured poet & supports the Social Justice Center.