Poets in the Park — 30th Anniversary Edition, July 13

Poets in the Park can be dated back to a poetry series the late Tom Nattell called “Community Poets/Public Verse” & a string of readings in Albany parks in 1989, the last of which was held at the Robert Burns statue in Washington Park on the night of a Full Moon eclipse, August 16. There were 5 featured poets, Lyn Lifshin, Sarah Davenport, Amy Halloran, Tony Burroughs, G.E. Schwartz & me, plus an open mic. Tom liked the site for poetry readings so much that the following year he began an annual event here. In the Fall of 2004 he asked me to continue the series & Tom died in January 2005. Here we are 30 years later.

This night was the first of this season’s 3 readings in the Park, & it was lovely evening to sit at the feet of Robert Burns & listen to poetry. Our readers, Guy Reed & Cheryl A. Rice have a new, collaborative book out, Until The Words Came (Post Traumatic Press, 2019).

Guy Reed began with a couple poems from his 1st book, The Effort to Hold Light (Finishing Line Press, 2011) “Community” making up names for the fireworks, & “Blue Conveyance.” He explained that Until The Words Came originated from a reading he & Cheryl did & they liked the way the poems played off each others. From the book he read, “Oh But it Does” “Why I don’t write Like Frank O’Hara,” “Revision” from a dream, & “Poet at the Convenience Store” abut the late John Ashbery. Then from “manuscripts waiting to become books” (as he described it), “Taking Flight” (dragonflies) “Ghost”, & ended with “Prayer” walking in a meadow at dawn.

Cheryl A. Rice responded to Guy’s first poem with her own “Fireworks” from one of her homemade Flying Monkey Production chapbooks, as was “Hay Run” about Long Islanders trucking hay from “upstate.” From Until The Words Came she read the the title poem, then “Paul Newman at the Dodge.” Poems from other chapbooks were “Finding Orion”, & “Morning Prayers” with the message to work for it don’t pray for it. She finished off with 3 more poems, these about poets, from Until the Words Came: “Ed Hirsch in the Congo,” “Donald at Boughton Place” (poet Donald Lev), & “Taking Off Billy Collins’ Clothes.”

Visit the website PostTraumaticPress.com for more information about Until The Words Came. Poets in the Park continues on July 20 & July 27, 2019 — free, just like the Park itself.