Poetry/Spoken Word Open Mic, September 11

I haven’t made it back to this open mic in Bennington, VT in nearly year, & wanted to see how it has progressed since I was last here. The host is Charlie Rossiter, of 3 Guys from Albany fame. He seems to have planted his feet firmly in the Bennington poetry & arts scene, such as it is, with a group of regulars gathered around tables in the back room of the Tap House.

Good ole Charlie was hanging out with Jerry (who didn’t read) when I arrived but we quickly moved into the open mic, with Laura (Ellsby) first up with her newest poem “The Tragedy of Co-Dependency” then on to the nature/descriptive “White Egrets.” I followed with a poem written for other September 11’s “Another Tuesday” & the much smaller “Hidden Cafe Table Poem.” Kenn Ash read about a universal issue, “Other People’s Children” (in rhyme), then a piece titled “Let Us Pray.”

Jason Everett read his almost sci-fi architectual/gynogological piece from the KGB Bar Lit Magazine “Noma Plus” then the one-sentence effort “Bone Folder.” Charlie read a nostalgic memory piece “Fredericks Maryland I-70 Truck Stop Torn Down," then a poem built on someone else’s line “Confessional Poem” about the poem itself.

Charlie offered us a 2nd round & Laura took the bait to read “Other People’s Children” written at a recent workshop from a prompt (as was Kenn's earlier poem), then an early poem “The Swing.” I did 2 baseball poems, “Waiting for Jacqueline Robinson” & the ditty about the Valley Cats’ players the 2 Pinedas. & Kenn finished up the night with another rhyme “Ephemerality.”

This open mic is on the 2nd Tuesday of each month in the back room of the Tap House at Catamount Glass, 309 County St., Bennington, VT — sign up at 7:00PM, reading starts at 7:15. It’s about an hour from Albany, less from Troy & points East.