Writers Mic, April 13

The host, poet Jackie Craven, has been running this open mic on Zoom with a regular, returning stable of poets, mostly, but not entirely, from New York State, on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.

David Graham read from his most recent book The Honey of Earth (Terrapin Books, 2019), a persona poem in the voice of Queen Elizabeth, inspired by a newspaper headline “Crab Lobsters, Monkfish, Conger Eels, & Squid.“

Sue Oringel read a short personal essay, “Poetry in the Kitchen” making mango smoothies in her new machine. 

Nathan Smith read a memory piece written on a train along the Hudson, then another written last night at midnight, a happy poem imagining a future relationship. 

Susan Jewell read 2 deer poems, the first, “The Deer” compared their visual acuity with on her more narrow viewing, & “Of Couples” observing couples at the Cheesecake Factory & deer shit. 

Naomi Bindman, the Vermonter in the room, read “Imaginal Being” with images of a butterfly remembering life before changes, then the self-affirmative “Reminder.”  

For National Poetry Month (but, In Albany, Everyday is National Poetry Month) I read my poem “Believe, Believe” an homage to the poem with the same title by Bob Kaufman, then from my “poem cards” a poem-joke for Poem in Your Pocket Day, “April 29.”

Alan Catlin read pieces from a series of real stories, the first at age 28 as a bar man & guys wanting him to write stories from Attica, & another bar poem about a drunk cop.

Scott Morehouse, the resident humorist here read a piece titled “Stars in Their Eyes,” the story of a woman whose husband had become addicted to musicals (wink, wink), & the disintegration of their marriage. 

Bob Sharkey was back “here” again to read “Ground Hog Day” a descriptive poem with  robins eating berries, cedar waxwings in trees, & the poet looks for an omen, then from an entry in the Stephan A. DiBiase Poetry Contest by Catherine Field “St. Francis After Receiving the Stigmata,” & you can find the poem & the list of winners at the website.  

Kate McNairy brought us back to the deer poem theme with “To a Stag,” then “My Wolf”  that gets her out of bed, both poems from her chapbook My Wolf (Finishing Line Press, 2021).

Jackie Craven brought the night to a close with an “ode/anti-ode to technology” “Customer Service Has Put Me on Hold.”

& that was it for this 2nd Wednesday Writers Mic, but you can join this monthly Zoom open mic by finding the link on Facebook.