Invocation of the Muse, August 1

This open mic series run by Albany poetry impresario R.M. Engelhardt seems to have settled in at Lark Hall, in spite of the rather uncomfortable seating, the limited selections at the bar, & problems with the lights & sounds — but the poetry remains varied & interesting. Tonight there were 2 features, which is not usual here.

Engelhardt started us off with a piece that went on & on with the running refrain “I ascend, I ascend…” (not sure where to?). Then on to the open mic list. When I had arrived there were a lot of poets signed up, but still the #1 slot was open, so that was where I ended up; I read a couple of urban/bus poems, “The Meadow” (what was once there where the Lark St. bus stop is now), & a transcription of the rants on the bus of “The Window Washer.” Pat Williams was surprisingly formal with 2 villanelle, “A Long Weekend” (based around “what a fucking day”) & one titled “Have You Seen Dahlia?” Amanda Alden read about an experience we’ve all had, “I Woke Up Like This.”

Alan Catlin, who was the night's first featured reader, & who has a lot of books out there, read mostly from 5 — count ‘em, 5! — new books, with a few other stray poems, including the title poem from the 2021 Sunshine Superman (Cyberwit). Satan’s Kiss (Gutter Snob Books, 2022) follows his 1997 Killer Cocktails as bar stories based on the names of drinks (or the other way around), then a selection from Dead Men Reading Postcards (Replika Press, 2022); a poem about Stephen Crane’s wife, “Cora Crane” from Shadow Play of Life (Iniquity Press, 2022); & 3 from Exterminating Angels (Kelsay Books, 2022), the last in his series of books on film noir titles (not all are real titles). He ended with a poem not in a book titled “Wasted” about a character on Jury Duty.

In contrast, Josh the Poet is a young poet who has recently found his way to some of the area open mics; he recites his poems from memory, tonight pieces titled “My Love,” “Playing Games,” & “Poetic Justice.” Harvey Havel frequents open mics & other literary events, he is primarily a novelist & doesn’t often read but tonight read a gruesome tale titled “Obese” from a collection of short fiction, The Odd & the Strange. Gordon Kindlon read a string of hippy, stoner, preachy advice titled “Poetry Comes to the Rescue.” Austin Houston has been featured in area readings, tonight had 2 pieces “Stallions” neatly combining images of a junked car & horses in a field, then a piece from his experience working in the ER, about the death of a patient “12:04.”

Back when The Low Beat still existed on Central Ave. & was home to the Nitty Gritty Slam & the open mic Getting Down to Brass Tacks, Alyssa Michelle would show up quite frequently to read her poems about relationships. Tonight she was the other featured reader & shared many of those same pieces, some of which seemed to have been gathered in chapbooks. Some of her pieces sounded more like prose, & tended to be preachy, such as “Introvert,” “Solitude Thoughts,” & “Don’t Give Up on Love.” But others effectively used images & language to true poetic effect, such as “Little Mother,” & “Tomorrow” (about death & her youngest daughter), “Sweet Dreams,” & the stunning performance piece “My Melanin.” I had wanted to ask her about her chapbooks & hopefully get a copy, but she slipped out before I had a chance.

Our host, R.M. Engelhardt read a couple poems from his 2019 collection Darklands (Whiskey City Press), “Born Witness” & a piece on civilization & history “Repetition.” Joan Geitz enjoys being in walking distance of open mic venues, she read a poem originally in Spanish “Madre” from 3 years ago, then a piece on freedom from religion. Shannon Grant described what she read as “untitled, unedited bullshit” — I’ll take her at her word. Sam Maurice read pieces from his recent reading at The Fuze Box on Central Ave., short, descriptive urban notes like automatic writing.

Bevan was new here & read her notebook jottings that sound like responses to another, perhaps relationship poems. Juliane also read notebook jottings on her emotions, & an angst-filled “Truth in My Life.” Alex Stokes did a bit of white-boy hipster hip hop rhyming about love, but a better performance than a poem. Amelia McNeil read (a bit too fast) her notebook ramblings from her phone, about getting up in the morning, & a titled piece “Daddy Issues.” Samantha Perry finished off the night with a piece titled “Inadequate” about body issues.

Invocation of the Muse is an open mic for writers with occasional featured poets each 1st Monday of the month at 8:00PM, at Lark Hall, on the corner of Lark St. & Hudson Ave., enter on Hudson Ave. — $5.00.