Writers Mic, December 8

This monthly open mic is still on Zoom, which definitely has its advantage — I always have a chair, & can get a drink when I want. Our host is Jackie Craven, who may or may not be “here,” wherever that may be.

I volunteered to read first, because most people don’t like to be first (but I do, that way I  can pay better attention to the other readers); I read a mix of old & new poems, “Falling Asleep in Patchouli” about the aftermath of a visit by wandering poets, “Easter Sunday 2020” a COVID-19 poem, & “Stump Poem #23” from a series of poems written on the stumps of Albany trees that have been cut down.

Alan Catlin began with an ekphrastic poem inspired by a painting of the Hudson River, then a poem written for Poetry Sundays at the UU in Schenectady in the early 2000s “Love in a Time of War.”

David Graham, from the North Country, read “Elegy for my Father” who died in 2007, then a poem titled “Identity Crises” about the results of doing an internet search on what is his common name, ponders “poor David Graham.“

Kathleen Herold also dialed in from the North Country & read “Expired Eggs” about walking with a child at the beach & crows.

Scott Morehouse interjected his customary humor into the evening reading (& singing) about a  woman listening to Guy Lombardo on Near Years Eve, waiting for the arrival of the sexy ghost of New Year’s past, then a short, satirical news story about the state of Texas banning vasectomies.

Sarah Chaviano read a story inspired by memories of growing on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, with characters Magda, Hector & Maria & Uncle Raymond’s pet store.

 

Susan Carroll Jewell frequently reads her poems the she had submitted to the Rattle magazine ekphrastic contest & tonight announced she had won the contest for October - ! -, shared the image & poem “Grief” that had been chosen by the artist. Persistence (& good poetry) pays off.

Mary Ann Rockwell, who is “that poetry pusher” at the Saratoga Springs Public Library read 2 cat poems, first the “less silly one” about a cat sleeping “The Longer She Lies,” then one about what cats can’t stand & the things they don’t care about, titled “Idiosyncratic.”

Jackie Craven, our patient host, read last, what she described as “a poem-in-progress,” titled “To Float a House” filled with a great mix of what Robert Bly called “leaping images.”

This gathering of poets is held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month on Zoom, you can find out how to get the link at the Facebook group page Writers Mic.