Third Thursday Poetry Night: James Duncan, July 19

James Duncan, featured poet

A Summertime Third Thursday at the Social Justice Center. We had a short sign-up sheet, then some last minute add-ons, so our featured poet, James Duncan, went last. But first we had to invoke the Muse, tonight the recently-gone beloved poet & jazz impresario, Paul Pines.

I had first encountered Paul at the bar he owned in NYC on the corner of 2nd St. & Bowery, The Tin Palace, back int the mid-1970s. I lived 2 blocks away on 2nd St. & 1st Ave. & it became my neighborhood bar even after Paul sold it & moved on. It was a jazz joint with the occasional poetry event on Saturday afternoons. By the time I moved back up here in the mid-1980s Paul was already here, still writing poetry & organizing the Lake George Jazz Festival. In the years up to now, I was pleased to get to know him, his fine poetry, & to work with him when he directed the theater event Ajax in America in 2016 at Skidmore College. Paul cared deeply about art but more importantly about people. I honored him tonight by reading his poem “The Death of Eddie Jefferson” from Paul’s book Message from the Memoirist (Dos Madres Press, 2015), a poem that harkened back to the days of the Tin Palace. Paul had read here at the Third Thursday in 2010 & later at Poets in the Park in 2015.

Douglas Holiday started off the open mic in pure Holiday fashion with a brand-new piece inspired by the current President “A Montenegro Matter,” full of often humorous but mostly upsetting satire. Samuel Weinstein was back again to read tonight a piece written for his grandparents, a dialogue, “I’ll Miss You I’ll Be Seeing You I Love You.” Alan Catlin has a new chapbook out from Presa Press, Three Farmers on the Way to a Dance, poems responding to the work of August Sander the early 20th Century photographer & read the brief “A Student of Philosophy” about a photo from 1926.

Joe Krausman discussed the work of Paul Pines in the context of the Jungian concept of synchronicity then read a short poem by Pines “After a Mayan Folksong by Antonio Medez Bolio” from Reflections in a Smoking Mirror (Dos Madres Press, 2011). Bob Sharkey read “June 16, 114 Years Later” imagining walking through Troy with Leopold Bloom. The poet known as Screamer returned to read the humorous list poem “Reasons I Burned My Toast” many due to her dog (but then she is someone who rescues such critters).

The poet known as Algorhythm also made a rare appearance here (after just seeing him at the Low Beat earlier this week), read from his phone, about a trip to Spain in 2012, “The Hill of Pardon,” grieving his mother, & finding happiness climbing a mountain. Jeff Stubits read his piece combining personal essay & stand-up comedy about his roommate, “Feeding My Guru.” I brought the open mic to a close with another nod to our Muse tonight by reading “A Small Bouquet for Paul” composed of 2 short parts each responding to poems by Paul Pines.

James Duncan, tonight’s featured poet, has quietly become more involved in the local poetry scene, co-hosting The Troy Poetry Mission at the (now closed) O’Brien’s Pub, with an occasional appearance at area local mics. He began his reading tonight with a poem from the recent Up the River “Spiders at Night” then on to another poem of nighttime & grim urban images about a “sidewalk town.” Trying to think about something happier he read “After the Long Nights” about a visit to his father in Texas. “Soft White Infinity” was a Winter poem referencing Jack Kerouac. He ended with a selection of poems from We Are All Terminal But This Exit is Mine (2017), “There’s This Dream I Have” about chemotherapy as an 11 year old child, another childhood memory “That Gum You Like” about zebra-stripe gum, then one about looking for the painting he lost in 3rd grade along I-90, on to “Virginia Slims” (the favorite smoke of trailer park kids), & “Hudson” about the trailer park again.

The Third Thursday Poetry Night happens on, well, the third Thursday of each month, at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:30PM with a featured poet & an open mic for community poets — your donations support poetry programing, including paying the featured poet, & supports the work of the Social Justice Center. Bring a poem & join us.