Brass Tacks, September 4

Getting back down to the brass tacks of an open mic at The Low Beat on the first Tuesday, with the host Thom Francis, el presidente of AlbanyPoets.

Algorhythm was first up with a poem he described as coping with anger, about his mother & a man-hating environment, “Escalation of Emasculation.” I followed, trying to lighten it up a bit, with “A Traney Story,” “Blue” a poem I’ve worked on for years, & my baseball ditty about the Valley Cats’ players Juan & Andy Pineda. el presidente read a new poem “Family Tree” with the interesting trope that it is not a tree but a pile of sticks. Roof-Topper Danger Jenkins spent some time flipping pages before reading “Unassimalated” then, for his daughter’s step-sister, “Bloody Footprints.”

Christa DeMarco was back to read 3 poems like letters, “In the Dark,” “Always,” & “The Places You Would Find Them.” It’s always good to see Shannon Shoemaker at these open mics, she read a new poem-in-progress about living alone “I’m Becoming Feral” then an oldie-but-goodie “Emo Boys.” Algorhythm was back with a segment from a play on suicide prevention in the voice of a political figure, but sounding like so many of his poems. The last reader was Alyssa Michele, who had been mentioned by Algorhythm, with 2 pieces on similar themes of love & relationships “Solitude Thoughts” & Soul’s Vacancy.”

This relatively new series, Brass Tacks, is at The Low Beat, 335 Central Ave., Albany, NY on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month, just an open mic for now — more information at AlbanyPoets.