BOOG City 10.5 Festival, February 18

As a young, red-haired student David Kirschenbaum was one of the poets who frequented the QE2 Open Mic on the last Monday of each month back in the late 1980s & 1990s. He went on to form BOOG Literature, a poetic umbrella group published small-sized poetry chapbooks, & established a long-running series of readings in New York City, series that include music, book fairs as well as readings. David’s information for 10.5 states “It will feature 51 poets, 17 musical acts, 3 poet theater plays, 2 poets in conversation with one another, & a d.a. levy lives press” from Friday February 17, through Sunday February 19. David has graciously included me in these festivals in the past & invited me again to read on Saturday, February 18 at Unnameable Books in Brooklyn.

I spent the afternoon in the basement of the bookstore where the readings were held, on a beautiful walking-around afternoon in Brooklyn, & heard about 16 poets & musicians performing their work, each poet getting 10 to 15 minutes to read. The intros were shared by David & one of his poetry editors, Jackie Clark.

As the late crowd was gathering the Megan DiBello read a couple long pieces which were, to steal one of her lines, a “biography” of her last week. Sam Jablon’s 4 poems, with titles like “Beautiful Nothing” & “Everything Dies,” used repetition well in their short spaces.

The poetry scene in Philadelphia was represented well by the next 2 poets. Davy Knittle began by talking about still another Philly poet, Gil Ott (1950 - 2004)  & included “Traffic” a long poem that seemed to be about itself that was inspired by reading Ott’s work. Thomas Devaney was the other Philly poet, he also spoke of Ott, read some Winter poems, including one an urban piece “The Blue Stoop” that Ott had once described as Devaney’s signature poem. Sarah Bartlett was here from Portland, OR, read from her phone selections from her book Sometimes We Walk With Our Nails Out (Subito, 2016); one line I noted was “there is no graveyard for desire.”

Alyson Pomerantz apologized for reading prose, a funny, touching (pun intended) memoir in 3 parts, “A Meditation on Masturbation,” including discussions on the topic with her aunt & with her mother. Gracie Leavitt’s poems were short, with lots of wordplay & randomness, as if they written in small, pocket notebooks. It was my turn & I began with selections from Gloucester Notes, then on to a sampling of sections from Inauguration Raga, followed by “When Donald Trump Farts;” & to end on a happy note, I read a couple from the series “What Makes America Great” #14 & #35. Katy Lederer’s poems explored the use of scientific language, both real & made-up, in poetry, from her new collection "The Engineers," & from poems in Colorado Review, as well as some poems from the 6x6 series (#35, February 2017) from Ugly Duckling Presse.

A couple of scheduled performers had not yet shown up & it was time for a break so I headed out to Vanderbilt Ave., found a most pleasant watering hole, the Breeder Bar, for a beer, then returned to reminisce with David about “the old days” in the Albany poetry scene, & some of its (many) characters.

Back to the performers, Emmerson Pierson did a set with her acoustic guitar of songs she had written as well as a cover.

She was followed by Sparrow in his stocking feet who did his usual Sparrow act of short pieces, some just brief sentences, aphorisms, often just a stoner’s take on a common phrase, ‘though he did read a “sonnet” titled Not a Poet.”

One of the hallmarks of the Boog City Festivals is the celebration of “renegade presses,” the small-small presses that keep poetry of the streets & experimenters alive, titled “d.a. levy lives,” honoring the poet & small press publisher who flourished in Cleveland, OH, d. a. levy (1942 - 1968).  Today’s honored press was Argos Books.

Samantha Zighelboim was the first from this group with a reading from a forthcoming collection The Fat Sonnets, intense, personal poems about struggling with weight, many poems with funny titles, including some from a series of 14 word “poems on a diet.”

Isaac Fornarola did a set of songs with his guitar, what he called “folk songs” that were mostly his own compositions, played with a skillful use of finger-picking.

Jennifer Hayashida gave what was perhaps the most unusual reading of the afternoon, reading from her translation of the Swedish poet Athena Farrokhzad’s White Blight (Argos Books, 2015), in both Swedish & in English, the poem a family memoir/narrative. Marina Blitshteyn has a book forthcoming from Argos, Two Hunters; today she read new pieces, a surreal narrative, & other pieces, including one titled “King Tut’s Space Knife.”

Amber Atiya’s book The Fierce Bums of Doo-wop is available from Argos Books. She dedicated her reading today to her nephews, poems of death, & of King Tut, once again. Isaac Fornarola returned for another set, surprising me by announcing that he was trans-gender, that his songs in this set were ones written before he transitioned.

The festival, which had begun Friday night, continued on Saturday evening & on Sunday. But my time was limited in the City so I headed out to wander the streets of the Village & have dinner before heading back on the train to Albany.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, February 16

Back to the third Thursday at the Social Justice Center for the open mic & our featured poet, Daniella Toosie-Watson, & a cluster of Daniels. In honor of lots of things, I selected for our Muse tonight the gone poet June Jordan (1936 - 2002) & read her poem “To My Sister, Ethel Ennis, who Sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Second Inauguration of Richard Milhous Nixon, January 20, 1973,” after all, it was our first third Thursday after the events of January 20 & 21 of this year.

Alan Catlin dedicated his poem to poet Michele Battiste (a former-feature here), about her parents market in Schenectady, “666.”

Brett Axel returned, talked about a planned anthology America Under Trump, but read an hysterically funny poem from a poet he heard at an open mic on his book-tour on the road “How Poetry is Done” by mentioning “blood” & “bone,” & other suggestions. Joe Krausman lost the poem he was going to read, but did a poem from memory instead. Next month’s featured poet, Dawn Marar, gave us a sample of her work, “Survivors” about the work of Joseph Beuys (& sexual assault). W.D. Clarke read his rhyming bit of humorous socio-anthropology “The All-You-Can-Eat Buffet.” Ainsley’s poem “Weed Does Not Agree with Me & Neither Does Our Political Climate” was about getting high on Election Day & waking up not knowing if it was real.

Tonight’s featured poet was Daniella Toosie-Watson, & she said her reading is designed to show a “broader spectrum” of her work than she usually does in readings, inspired by other poets who put their vulnerability on the page. As a result, her poems were introduced by personal background & history, filling in the spaces between the lines, writing her personal “I”. But the first poem was a familiar piece, “Linguistics of Broken English,” about school, growing up in a new, alien culture, a compilation of hers & other's experiences. An incident on the bus prompted “Lessons in Isolation” that is a tender story about her Iranian mother teaching her (& her brother) to belly-dance. Her poem “Ode to My Grandmother’s Backyard, or Odes Are Never Not Spawned from Elegy,” is a lushly detailed memoir of her grandmother & her dad, an attempt at being more wistful. She said that her more recent work has been dealing with trauma, & her next poem “Jesu Frito”, built on her mis-hearing her mother’s expression, but was about the aftermath of sexual assault. The poem titled “Pediophobia” (a fear of dolls) mixes in the death of her father, visions of him in a dream, & of her lover. Next she read from her phone, a poem she said she doesn’t like to read, about suicide & sexual assault by her ex-, “If I Were to Commit Suicide It Could Not be in My Grandmother’s Apartment.” She ended with hope, about the grace of God in her life, a poem she has read many times before, “Love Found Me.” Then a rare touch, a selfie of all of us.  A brave & exhilarating reading.

After the break, I returned to the inauguration theme with sections from my new poem “Inauguration Raga” published as a chapbook by A.P.D. (a presidential disaster), starting with the beginning of the poem, a recollection of the inauguration of Richard Nixon, as in June Jordan’s poem. D(anielle). Colin, host of the every-Monday “Poetic Vibe” in Troy, also had an inauguration poem but one filled with crows, “On the Pulse of Ancestors,” a play on Maya Angelou’s “On the Pulse of Morning” that she read at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. Brian Dorn commented on the proliferation of Daniels here tonight then read a “kind of a” love poem, “Arousing Reflection.” Anthony Bernini’s dream-like poem was about “Meteorological Spring.”

A new voice & face here was Mariah Barber who read from her cellphone a humorous vignette about her Dad, a people-watcher, now able to follow his passions, a metaphor for her life & her poetry. Our last poet was Liv (Olivia McKee) who moved the music stand out of the way for “the monagomy poem,” beginning with singing, about finding love & the "heteronormative paradigm" Slam style.

Each third Thursday of the month we meet for a featured poet & an open mic at 7:30PM at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY — bring a poem for the open mic & a donation to support the featured poet, the SJC & other poetry events in this city of poems.

Albany Poets Presents: Mike Jurkovic, February 15

This was held at the Restaurant Navona on New Scotland Ave., Albany, NY.

Before I go to these events I like to find out when I first saw the poet who is the subject of this showcase/reading series. The easiest way to do this is to go through the photos in “the world’s largest collection of photos of unknown poets,” from back before the days of smart phone cameras when I was often the only photographer in the room. & there it was -- a photo of Mike Jurkovic at the A.I.R. Studio in Kingston, NY taken on February 15, 1997, or, as the Beatles once sang, “it was 20 years ago today…”

As is the custom here, the evening began with a reading by the honored poet, who began appropriately enough with a poem looking at language as dangerous. A couple poems on mortality included “Gravity Gets Us All,” & “Breathing Issue” from a hospital visit. Mike can be a soapbox poet (in the best sense) & read poems about the new administration in Washington, including “Cloud Land,” “I’m the Next Guy” (the one who wipes the toilet seats in Trump Tower), & a poem of revolt beginning “I can’t control myself these days…” Of course there was a poem for his wife, “Gather Here,” & one composed of lines that never made it in to poems, “Cleaning House,” & others titled “Still Live with Magnolias,” “Device,” “Passing Showers” (on extinctions), “Cheering the Ponies with God,” & “Cold Shot.” He included a poem about him, “Bored” written by Guy Reed, that sounded as if he could have written it himself, then ended with “Poetic Justice,” about Poet Laureate Billy Collins some years ago looking for a seat at the Woodstock Poetry Festival.

The reading was followed by an “interrogation,” beginning with Thom Francis’s customary question, “Why did you start writing poetry?” To which Mike answered that he was too lazy to become a musician. This led to a discussion of Mike’s wife Emily’s role in creating “Gary Murrow," & the 2003 WordFest “Psycho Cluster Fuck” — it was therapy. Mike then went on to describe the rise & demise of the reading series at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, & the move of CAPS to New Paltz.

To a question about how today is different from 20 years ago, Mike said that what’s changed is technology, that now the poetry scene is more active than ever. Nick Bisanz talked about growing up in the mid-Hudson area, about following Mike’s band & it’s influence upon him & his friends, about seeing them in the 1980’s at the 8th Step in Albany, & even quoted lyrics from one of the band’s song. In response to a question from Mary Panza Mike responded that “Mary taught me how to curse in poetry.”

Stay in touch with AlbanyPoets.com to find out about the next Albany Poets Presents.

Gloucester Writers Center Open Mic, February 6

I like to treat myself to a couple days on Cape Ann for my birthday, which is January 26. This year I decided to wait a week so that I could attend the Open Mic at the Gloucester Writers Center held on the first Monday of each month. I have been to a couple of these open mics this past year & have always enjoyed the variety of voices & experiences. Tonight was no different. Our host Amanda Cook & another woman talked about some of the events being planned for the GWC, including writing groups, as well a workshops on memoir writing & poetry.

The writers who filled Vincent Ferrini’s old living room were overwhelmingly old white guys, so I fit right in. & I was the first reader & read, for the first time anywhere, selections from my new chapbook Inauguration Raga. Sandra Williams, one of the 3 women to read, read 2 poems by Langston Hughes for Black History Month. Chuck Francis said he was working on flash fiction, read a piece about a friend who who stepped back from a ledge, another, “The Cribbage Player,” a memoir of an uncle. Evan Beilin determined that he was the youngest (29 years-old) person in the room, & read poems titled “Recovery” (from bad times) & “The Bi-Polar Bear” in rhyme.

Larry J.’s “12 Tomorrows” was a diary-like memoir, with a yorkie, Key West, & Vermont. Jim D. began with the biblical “The Cedars of Lebanon,” then read “Errant Thought,” & a piece on dreams & reality “There is No Strife Between.” Joe Rukeyser’s story “The Genii” was about internet dating & genome testing. Tony B. read a prose memoir about a funeral of a pastor. Mike McManus also read prose, this a scene from a novel-in-progress, a grim story of a veteran from the Iraq war with an opioid addiction. Gary Shane didn’t actually read, but talked about writing a book at work 20 years ago. Patrick Steele read a dream-story with drag queens “Driftwood.”

Robin Regersburg read a synopsis or brief of a screen play she is trying to market, “They Grow Up.” Ian read from his battered notebook what he said was a series called “Inappropriate,” & what he read was a collection of lines from songs by Dylan, the Stones, others, with his variations. Joshua S-F read from a work-in-progress about Cape Ann, lines & images of granite, immigrants & America. Our amiable host, Amanda Cook read a recent piece dated January 30, 2017 about her mother in a nursing home. Roger D. said it was his first time here, apologetic about being a middle-school science teacher reading poetry, read “The Greatest Spectacle on Earth” (about a poet reading his work in public), & a poem in rhyme from his published book of poetry. Phil Story read 4 poems, but all were quick, from linked haikus, to a seagull in Gloucester with a broken wing, to crows, then a memory of watching the Wizard of Oz on acid. Carmine Gorga didn’t read as much as talk about his economic theories & his book The Economic Process.

A most eclectic night of good writing — must be the salt air. The Gloucester Writers Center has an open mic on the 1st Monday of each month, 7:30PM, at 126 East Main St., Gloucester, MA.

Caffè Lena Poetry Open Mic, February 1

Last month’s open mic was the first one back in the new, refurbished historical Caffè Lena, but I didn’t make it up to Saratoga Springs then. So it was my first time to see the changes.  No more narrow, treacherous staircase entry between 2 storefronts, the new entrance is up the block, wide, glass doors, a wide, staggered staircase to an entrance outside the performance space. Once in I noticed the stage is where it has been & that part of the room looks pretty much the same, with a new set of steps to the stage. Still the cluster of small tables & chairs, but no more L-shaped room for the audience, now you can see everyone in the room. & there are comfy couches along the back wall, where there are a series of lighted murals depicting Caffè Lena’s history.

Our host, Carol Graser, started us off on the right (i.e., correct) foot with Alice Walker’s poem “Every Revolution Need Fresh Poems.” Then to the open mic sign-up, a long list tonight, & the first poet up was Ivy Darling who read a poem written when she was 12-years old “Eldorado.” Ainsley, who comes out to the open mics in Albany & Troy said that this was her first time here at Caffè Lena, read a piece about being out partying with a friend with a drinking problem. Kate McNairy shared a poem of love & lust & mountain climbing in Winter “Final Assent” then a Fall poem. Sue Jefts made a rare appearance out of the woods & read a poem written after the Women’s March on January 21 “The Tremble.” Eric Krantz began with a rhymed poem, “Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal,” then another in even funnier rhymes on climate change “March Came In Like a Lamb,” then challenged the rules with a third poem titled “Rained Out No Bike Ride Today” that played on the phrase “rained out.”

Tonight’s featured poets, Carol Jewell & Allison Paster-Torres, are that rare breed of writers who are graduates from the short-lived MFA program in creative writing at the College of St. Rose. Both read a set composed of mostly short poems, with little, if any, introductions or glosses on their poems.

Carol Jewell has been coming out to the poetry open mic scene for some time now & I have enjoyed (& even been inspired by) her fascination with & writing of pantoums (more on that later). She said that her poems tonight were on the general topic of “what kills people.” This included a cluster of pantoums, such as “The Embrace,” “Snow” (with a cat), “Attachment” (on a therapist leaving), one about remembering the dead “The Dream,” & one about re-establishing a relationship with her sister “Revelation.” Cats also popped up in a another poem titled “The Pit.” There was sex (“Flashing,” “Furtive”), death (“Brother Memory,” “Carbon Monoxide,” “Survivor”) & poetry (“The Lines, after Adrienne Rich,” “Literary Devices”). Carol has also invented a new poetic form, the “cento pantoum” in which the pantoum is composed of lines from other poets (or your own) & she ended with 2 examples (“Cento Pantoum #1” & “#2”), the second of which was a composed from other poet’s pantoums.

Allison Paster-Torres also reads out at area open mics, but tonight she said she would be mostly reading poems not read out before (many of which were untitled). Love was a big topic (ain’t it always?) & many of the poems sounded like letters or notes (emails?) to the other, such as the poem beginning “the lover after you…,” or the one titled “Tomorrow When This is Over” & others included such things as Nutella & the planets. There were a couple of amusing list poems, “10 Things Condoms Don’t Prevent” & “A Few Things Resistant to Flames.” There was a complex piece, whose title I can’t decipher in my notes, that included a “marmelade Jeep” & references to William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Charles Dickens, Andrew Marvel & others. Even a sprinkling of poems about drinking with friends, or finding pills in her purse. She ended with an “old poem” about hanging out with a friend “The Train Bridge at 8th Avenue North.”

After a break, Carol Graser read one of her own poems “The Icicle” where the title character was not an object described but a character in the poem. Mike Basfore read a tender poem about/to his Mom. Joe DiBari began with a piece about being on a mountaintop in Winter, then to a relationship poem in half-rhymes. Anna Feldstein said her first poem, about being on a lake, was from 2011, while her second poem was written last night, a prose poem about a clock tower & bell. Jodi Davis read a memoir piece about teen-dating violence, then one based on the Greek myths of Aphrodite & Ares, “Love & War.”

Nicola Marae Allain read a prose narrative from her childhood in Tahiti about rescuing & helping to heal a dog that was violently knifed. Joe Bruchac’s poem “Winter Tracks” was to the memory of his father, then a new poem “At the Well” responding the odd notion that one can only have 100 friends. W.D. Clarke was back with 2 of his rhyming narrative poems, the first a tale from his youth in California “The Purloined Ham,” then one about a wedding “The Reception.”

Speaking of centos, Thomas Dimopoulos read one composed from lines from the songs of Tom Waits. Rodney Parrott announced that he has a Twitter page for aphorisms/tweets about the new President Donald Trump & invited folks to contribute, then read a few examples, more literarily aphoristic than most tweets. & speaking of pantoums & Carol Jewell, I read a piece inspired by her obsession with pantoums & in reaction to the prevalence of cats in her poems, the autobiographical “The Pussy Pantoum.”

This was Mz. Tu’s first time here & she gave a dramatic & breathless recitation about lust entitled “Reality & Forbidden Consequents.” James has been coming to the open mic here for years & is known for his haiku & tonight’s cluster included ones about Winter, being in bed, in a restaurant & about his daughter. Another habitué here is Barbara Garro who introduced her new book, Love Bites: a Collection of Poetry (Cambridge Books, 2016) & read the poem “Road Paved with Words” from the book, then a portrait of a “Medicine Woman.” [My reaction to the book’s title, Love Bites, is that the title has an unfortunate (& apparently unforeseen) double entendre in the sense that “bites” is a word that has the negative colloquial meaning of something bad, from its meaning of a wound inflicted by teeth, or an insect, of pain — so perhaps the author has written an entire book of poems about how love bites, or at least how disappointed she has been in her love life.]  Effie Redman brought us bravely home with a poem that I think was titled “Quiet Tulips,” a sort of portrait, or even a biography, of the flower hovered over by a bee, or perhaps a metaphor of sex.

& yes, the old graffiti covered bathrooms of the old Caffè Lena are gone, the new ones down the hall, but, pleased to say, the new graffiti has begun, so bring your Sharpies. & come some 1st Wednesday of any month at 7:30PM (sign-up starts at 7:00PM) for the poetry open mic at Caffè Lena on Phila St., a big new sign will point you to the correct door & check it out for yourself.

Poets Speak Loud! — The Tom Nattell Memorial Open Mic, January 30

The last Monday in January is always a special — & busy — night. It is the night that we celebrate the memory of Tom Nattell, Albany poet & peace/environmental/social justice activist. Tom died on the morning of January 31, 2005 & had been scheduled to read that night at the very first Poets Speak Loud! at the Lark Tavern.   The open mic that night turned into a poetic wake. Since then we remember him on the last Monday in January with a ceremonial beret toss at the Robert Burns statue in Washington Park & then I host Poets Speak Loud!, now held at McGeary’s.

Mary Panza, the usual host, introduced me as tonight’s host & this year it was the very first time that Charlie Rossiter, fellow member of 3 Guys from Albany with Tom & me, had joined the celebration. Charlie had been living in Chicago at the time Tom died & only recently moved back to the Northeast. Tonight he was here with us. I began with a 3 Guys from Albany intro with Charlie (& Tom) & read my poem to him “Theology 101.”

It was a mix of young & old poets, many of whom had known Tom, & yet a number who never knew him, but are now partaking of the legacy he created for the poets of Albany. Carrie Czwakiel is one of those poets in the latter category, began with what she described as her 1st rhyming poem in years, on recovering from suffering, then another in the same vein “Perspective.”

Nancy Klepsch performed her marvelous chant “Holy Tom,” then a funny ramble “I Wrote this Poem Thinking of Garrison Keilor.” I threw in one of Tom’s “Christopher Columbus Fantasies” because he would have loved to be writing poems today about Donald Trump. Mary Panza read her next entry to Housewife Tuesday on AlbanyPoets.com “Shit Show.” Nancy Dunlop read a poem dedicated to her husband’s good advice “Flaying into Walls,” then “The Sentence Snatcher” which she said was about alternate facts & that she dedicated to Tom Nattell. Sally Rhoades read a couple poems scented with politics, “Aghast at a World Lit Up by Protest” & “Flamingoes in Cyprus” inspired by a rare snowfall there.

I read another of Tom’s “Christopher Columbus Fantasies” then Charlie Rossiter read his poem “Ready” about how Tom had rearranged his bedroom to be able to use his computer, be surrounded by his “shamans” (books), & be able to welcome visitors as he died. I followed with my tribute poem “Chasing Tom” with its epigraph from Timothy Leary, “We don’t want to get too serious about all this.” Tess Lecuyer said she hasn’t been writing many poems lately so read “Snow” by Anne Sexton. Adam Tedesco got political with a piece beginning “pretty soon they’re going to have to equalize it for the whites…” then philosophical on the subject of violence in “Bliss.”

Karen Fabiane read 2 poems “honoring Donald Trump,” “Grizzlies at the Door” & “Not My President.” I read a brief scatological poem Tom had sent me on a postcard from Utah. Joe Krausman waxed grimly philosophical with “Freak Accident” then a poem with a funny take on the amenities of jail “Freedom.” Julie Lomoe wore a pink Planned Parenthood scarf as a hijab & read a poem written afternoon “Donald the Bantam Rooster Speaks His Mind.”

James Duncan was a new face/voice in the crowd & began with a poem set in San Antonio & dedicated to his father “Sanctuary,” then read his Trump poem “Inauguration Afternoon.” R.M. Engelhardt came in late & thus missed the rules, read his tirade “I Hear America Screaming,” then a take on Tom’s “Christopher Columbus Fantasies” & then a tribute poem “Think Beautiful, for Tom Nattell."

Charlie Rossiter & I did one of the last performance pieces Tom wrote, “I Beat My Drum,” then we gave Tom the last word with a recording of him performing his proto-eco-poem “Save It.” As Tom said, “Stardust is Us” & his spirit not only lingers on, but thrives!

Meanwhile, Poets Speak Loud! continues each last Monday of the month at McGeary’s on Sheridan Square in Albany, 7:30PM, a featured poet & an open mic for the rest of us.

Book Launch: A Chill in the Air, poems by Howard J. Kogan

This was a one-time event created by the esteemed & venerable Dennis Sullivan as a celebration in honor of Howard Kogan’s new book of poems, A Chill in the Air (Square Circle Press). But before Howard read, Dennis said we would have an open mic run like a Quaker Meeting — no sign up sheet, just stand to read, a one poem limit.

Joe Krausman was the first to his feet, read his circus-themed poem titled “A Thrill in the Air” (dedicated to Bill Clinton). I followed with a poem whose title also played against the title of Howard’s book, mine a political metaphor “A Shill at the Fair.” Alan Casline’s poem “May 11, 1975, Old Jake” was a nod to Howard’s poems about the conversations of old guys.

Ron Pavoldi showed up to read an old poem, sticking to the theme, “Wind Chill.” Paul Amidon had a chill of a different sort in his cynical piece “Humbug & Other Holidays.” Ice & snow was a focus of Mark O’Brien’s poem “A Helderberg Journey” that also included the warmth of the neighbors.

Christine Zacher was a poet I hadn’t heard previously & she read about being on a bike path & “Speaking of Hope.” Diane Sefchik considered “Maybe We Should Be Like Dogs.” Tim Verhaegen read one of Howard’s poems, “CD Launch” & made it sound like his own. Sally Rhoades read a new poem of hope & protest “Flamingoes in Cyprus.” Dawn Mara read about a her aunt’s use of “Grandma’s Purse.” Dennis Sullivan wrote his poem “How to Kill a Poet,” written on January 26, about Nero & President Trump. Brian Dorn read from his book his poem “Changing Ways” because it had the word “chill” in it. Joan Gran brought the open mic to a close with her poem titled “January Thaw.”

Howard Kogan prefaced his reading with his recollection of his introduction to the area’s poetry scene at the 2010 Poet Laureate contest at Smitty's Tavern, at which he was a runner-up & caught our attention. He read a generous baker’s dozen of 13 poems from A Chill in the Air, starting with a pigeon poem “Twilight in November” & later read another, “Homers,” on the themes of life, death & mates. Speaking of mates, his poems “Imagination,” “My Wife 4 Months Pregnant & I Take a Walk” & “Last Act” brought in his wife as a character, while his mother figured in “My Mother’s Salami Sandwich.” “A Close Family” was an ironic take on that well-worn phrase. His poems “Matinee,” “Closing” (about a favorite gathering-place in Stephentown) & “Senior Wellness” looked at his life in upstate New York. But some of my favorite poems of Howard’s are memoirs of his childhood on Long Island & in New York City, including the tender “Mickies,” “Tanta Chava,” & the Haibun style Holocaust memory “Namesake: A Prologue and a Prayer.” 

This moving reading was followed somewhat anti-climaticly by a brief Q& A session where Howard revealed he has always been writing but for a long time not publishing. He also talked about the challenge from poet Bernadette Mayer to write a poem that didn’t make any sense that he was unable to meet. This reading was a demonstration that we don’t have to always meet challenges tossed our way — & that we are glad Howard is reading out & publishing his poems so we can take them with us.  Buy the book -- Support Your Local Poet.