Susan Chute is the host of this ongoing series, this being the 4th program in the series 8th year, with featured poets interspersed with open mic poets. Tonight there were upwards of 52 folks in attendance on Zoom. She began tonight reading from Marie Howe on journeys & erasing boundaries. Then on to the first of the 3 featured readers.
Mary Newell is co-editor of the anthology Poetics for the More-than-Human World (Spuyten Duyvil, 2020), & as expected read eco-poems, others with strong connections to the natural world. From her chapbook TILT/HOVER/VEER (Codhill Press) she read poems exploring the use of the word "pith" (e.g., “in the pith of murmurations” of birds), & the Japanese kintsugi technique for repairing cracks in pottery with gold. & from her chapbook Re-SURGE (Trainwreck Press) a couple of poems about hummingbirds.
The first open mic poet was LaToiya Whipple who read a poem with the word “time” repeated as a rhythmic device.
Although Marge Boyle was an English teacher for 40 years & has lead writing workshops, this was her first featured reading. She read a series of short prose memoirs, “Would Rather Be Home” about of a dentist & a pediatrician in North Philadelphia; “Leaving School” about teaching & going to Europe; “Spanish Lessons;” & “Beaches” about her father & in Northern Ireland.
Back to the open mic, Ken Holland read “The Poetry of Lunacy.” I read this year’s “Birthday Poem.”
The final feature was Kateri Kosek, who read a mix of unpublished eco-poems & relationship poems (described by Susan in her “glorious introduction” as the “ecology of human relationships”). “The Colonization of Mars” was a found poem from a student’s paper; “Astrological” combined ecology & astrology in talking about water. The poem titled “The Night Before the Capitol is Stormed” used a bear at her bird feeder as metaphor; “Luck” was a Winter poem combining butterflies & black birds & a relationship. & others.
On to the rest of the open mic poets. Raphael Kosek read about her mother, her daughter & birds in “Pine Wind.” Ken Chute read about the bombing of Al Mutannabbi Street book market in Baghdad in March 2007 during the invasion by the US (for more on that topic I highly recommend the anthology Al-Mutannabbi Street Starts Here, PM Press, 2012).
Claudia Forest read a memoir piece beginning with the line “I gather sea eggs with my eyes…” Linda Freeman’s piece “Pajama” was also a funny memory piece citing a poem by Thomas Lux. Amanda Russell finished off the open mic with a descriptive piece out West again titled “Picture on the Book Cover.”
For more about the series & to get a link for the next reading you can find Next Year’s Words on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NPNextYearsWords/
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