2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose, June 10

This was an odd day at the Arts Center, starting off in the Black Box theater where we are most 2nd Sundays, but then in the middle they moved us upstairs to the Dance Studio. In the past we have occasionally been re-located to a studio on the 2nd floor, but this was the first time we were moved in the middle of our event. Whatever.

There was a long (16 writers) sign-up sheet, with a number of poets who have not been here in a while, to pay tribute to Howard Kogan who will be moving with his wife Libby to Worcester, MA. Howard has been an integral part of our community of poets & his poetry is much admired & enjoyed.  First up was Tom Bonville with a memoir of what many of us experienced “Hide & Seek.”

Edie Abrams hasn’t been here in quite some time & we’ve missed her; she read a piece that I’m sure Howard could appreciate, about acquiring too much stuff, "except…” Dianne Sefcik began with a descriptive piece titled “Thunder,” then a poem for Howard about the gifts from his garden. Tim Verhaegen read a long, lush, Whitmanesque memoir prose poem “I Am the Sea.”

One of the day’s new voices to show up today  was Kendall Hoeft who is new to the area, but jumped right in seeking out the poetry open mic, her first poem was a portrait of a street guy on a bench “God Who Bloodies Knuckles,” then “Poem I Didn’t Write” in response to her mother’s “don’t write a poem about me.” Joe Krausman read a poem by his uncle, originally written in Yiddish, on hating, & paid tribute to help with his translation by Barnett Zumoff, MD, endocrinologist & poet. I followed Joe with 2 new poems, a description of an imagined room from a photograph “Lily White,” & a political rant “Buttons Not Bombs.” Tom Corrado’s poem “Becoming Ocean” mentioning the suicides of Virgina Woolf & Anthony Bourdain was inspired by the music of the American composer John Luther Adams.

Our honoree, Howard Kogan, began with a poem celebrating unions “Blue Collar,” then one written for a workshop with Bernadette Mayer the assignment to write on Syria, it began “Seriously…”. Bob Sharkey read a childhood memoir “Cave” then another of his humorous, quirky re-writes of Chinese fortune cookies that he knows Howard likes, this one titled “Feckless Fortunes.” Alan Casline writes poems about being in the woods & read such a piece with birds, then a poem for Howard “Road Salt from a Previous Journey.”

Sometimes I can’t always understand Karen Fabiane so I think the title of her stream-of-conciousness piece that began with dogs & ended up in Brooklyn was “Me Fingers,” then a piece read previously but now re-written “Ain’t Like That.” Co-host Nancy Klepsch read a just-written poem “Cook” composed of the language of food & cooking ending with the name “Bourdain,” then the untitled poem “Untitled” from her 2017 book god must be a boogie man that begins “I am shaped by dreams…”

Sally Rhoades rushed in for Howard, read a poem about the night sky in Oklahoma “Missing the Starlight,” then one about a World War II memorial in Europe for American soldiers “White Crosses.” The last poet was also a new voice & face, John Teevan who read a short prose story titled “A Melancholy Euphoria” set in 1917, lovers parting, with a consideration of the possibilities, from a book titled Afternoons and Evenings in Vienna.

From there, many of us, Howard & Libby’s friends, adjourned to Brown’s for food, libations, conversations & a toast to one of the poets who added so much to our local poetry scene, so much to our community, a good poet & a fine gentleman. It ain’t over until it’s over, as another Brooklynite once said, we’ll see Howard again.

But you won’t see 2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose again until September, we’re off for July & August, just like school. Otherwise, we’ll be at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, 265 River St., Troy, NY the rest of the year on, you know, 2nd Sunday @ 2. It’s free & open to all writers.