Invocation of the Muse, December 5

Our host R.M. Engelhardt introduced this night of poetry by invoking the “Muse,” a not-dead-yet poet from Canada, Ryan Quinn Flanagan, you can find some of his poems at his website 

Then on to also living poets in the room who had signed up for the open mic, with me being first, to pay tribute to a recently-dead poet, Bernadette Mayer (1945 - 2022); at many open mics I’ve heard poets introduce a poem by saying, “I wrote this in a poetry workshop with Bernadette Mayer,” & I had my chance this night to say the same thing before reading 2 poems inspired by being in a couple of workshops with Bernadette, “Saturday Hawk” & “Triple Time Jacket” (inspired by Ravel’s Bolero).

Catlin Conlon was new to me; she read “3 Vignettes on Loss” about her mother who she is “mother of,” & a piece titled “Buffalo, New York 2022.” Sierra DeMulder was also new to me, always interested in new voices, new faces; she read a piece about reading Mary Oliver’s poems to her grandmother in hospice, then one about regretting her wedding vows, & what she should have said.

Tonight’s featured poet was Thom Francis, who has a long history in the Albany poetry scene, dating back when he was a high school student reading in the open mics at Border’s in Colonie Center in the mid-1990s. He has been a host of open mics & Slams at various venues in town, was one of the founding members, & President, of Albany Poets, until its merger with the Hudson Valley Writers Guild where he is currently co-President. His skills as an “IT guy” web designer created the invaluable events calendar & dynamic website we all depend upon (hvwg.org) to find out who is reading where. 

He began his reading with a new piece, “Being,” about his head now cleared, then went back to a piece from the past, “Shower,” another recent one written yesterday in Stewarts, “Glazed,” on being sober & it’s struggle,  on a similar theme “I Used to Drink at this Bar on the Corner,” & “Rust in Hope.” Then on to older poems about his parents, about his father living nearby but might as well "be on another planet," & about his mother, “Listerine.” His love poem “Dirt” was about working in a garden, & he ended with the notebook jottings he titles “Time.”

After a short break we returned to the open mic list. Archie Marker said it was his first poetry open mic, read a couple of Limericks on Halloween, & other pieces, “The Modern Performer,” “and You Don’t Understand,” & “Change Your Religion.”

Our host R.M. Engelhardt read poems from his recent poetry books, from the more recent We Rise Like Smoke, published in July, 2021, & from Where There Is No Vision: Poem 2020, from June, 2020, both available from Amazon.

The next poet signed up as “Dan W.” but it wasn’t me, I had already read.; he has read here in the past, tonight, a piece titled “Haiku” (but it didn’t sound like a Haiku), & one titled “Let Go.”

The final poet of the night, Sandra D., read a piece I think was untitled about music playing through the rain drops, & another untitled drug poem.

Invocation of the Muse takes place (usually) on the 1st Monday of the month, but is sometimes moved to another Monday due to a holiday), 7:30 sign-up/8:00PM start, at Lark Hall, on the corner of Lark St. & Hudson Ave., enter on Hudson Ave.