2nd Wednesday Open Mic, June 12

This is the series in Schenectady that was formerly at Arthur’s Market, now at a storefront on State St. known as C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, & this was the first time I had been able to get here. It is being coordinated now by poet Jackie Craven. To start us off, Dave, who runs the space & makes it available for us poets every 2nd Wednesday, sang & played one of his unique homemade guitars that use old license plates as a reverberator, a funny piece (his 1st!) titled “Is This How You Write A Song?” Then on to the poets.

Jackie Crave, Host

I hadn’t seen Margaret Bryant in some time & so it was good to hear her read again, tonight from her 2010 chapbook Aligning Stems the poem “Ivonne” a touching tale of a child immigrant from Cuba. David Walsh’s short pieces included “Draft #8” about writing a poem. Edwin Litts read a pair of somewhat prosaic pieces, the descriptive “A Few Couples,” & a pondering of what it would be like to live in “Oh that Prohibition Era.”

Scott Morehouse read a piece about Dorian, a mannikin he lives with that is dressed in his clothes, appropriately enough titled “Probably More Than You Want to Know.” I was somewhat in that same vein & read my poem “Reading Mary Oliver while Masturbating.” Malcolm Willison calmed us down with a descriptive piece about the Saratoga County “Scotch Church Cemetery.” Susan Jewell read one of her entries in the Rattle ekphrastic poetry assignments, her poem titled “Mother 1952” with a nod towards the poet Elizabeth Bishop.

Poets in the Dugout: Ungar, DeBritz, Kress & Neustadt

Tonight’s featured reading was by 5 poets who wrote together in a class/workshop run by one of the night’s readers, Barbara Louise Ungar, as part of her series “Poetry One, Two, Three.” This one on the theme(s) of “Questions, Curses, Blessings & Invectives.” Barbara began the first segment on questions with the first poem from her first book, a series of questions. Jackie Craven followed with questions about the functioning of the microwave, while Stacy DeBritz’s questions were about planning a party for “March Madness.” Susan Kress’ “FAQs Frequently Asked” was just that, & Leslie Neustadt read “Things You Know About Taking Care of Maya” her granddaughter.

For the curse poem, Barbara read an eco-poem with a very long title that began “Curse You Donald Trump...” Jackie read “Dear House” cursing the nests of vermin & parasites. Stacy’s poem “Our Lady of Guadaloupe” was in the voice of a sponge in the sink. Susan said her poem “Sticks & Stones” was more of an insult poem. Leslie read “Curses for Dummies.”

Blessings are apparently hard to write as some of the poems veered into invective, such as Barbara’s “Daphne at the Dodge Poetry Festival” about lusting after a famous (now dead) poet, & Susan’s poem about a woodpecker on her house (but in the end was a blessing). Jackie reached back in her memory to write “For Room 329.” Stacy wrote about a funeral mass of a prominent politician & non-Catholics taking communion. While Leslie rose to the occasion with a political piece inspired by her research about the #MeToo movement “Praise Be the #.”

It all made for a wonderfully varied, engaging & thought-provoking reading.

This series will continue each 2nd Wednesday of the month at C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, 137 State St., Schenectady, 7:30PM, with a featured poet (or more) & an open mic. Your contribution (& purchase of coffee) supports the work of the venue, which includes making the space available to poets.