Invocation of the Muse, April 3

Surprised — & pleased — to find this event downstairs from the grand Hall, tonight in the smaller practice room. If you want to have a poetry reading, do it in a small room that way if it gets crowded everyone will think it was really popular. This practice room with its wall of mirrors made for some interesting, & challenging, angles of reflection, not to mention the creaky floors adding a sort of obligato when folks enter the room as a poet is reading.

Out host, R.M. Engelhardt, noting that it was the start of “National Poetry Month” [In Albany, Everyday is National Poetry Month], invoked the Muse of the gone Jim Harrison by reading 2 of his poems, “Word Drunk” & “Complaint,” from his Collected Poems. Also of note was that there was no featured reader.

The first of the open mic poets was Billy Stanley whose first poem was titled “Indestruction” full of rhyme & word play, then a circus poem strangely titled “Zombie Airways.”

Ian Macks announced that he has a new book coming out very soon & read for us a couple sample poems, “The Good in People,” & a portrait of a street character “Lyrical Genius, Common Sense Failure." I followed with a couple older poems from my poems-on-poets folder “The Poet’s Coat” & “Poets Talk."

Our host, R.M. Engelhardt, read from his latest book RAW (Dead Man’s Press Ink, 2023) “Rumi’s Secret & Soulful Advice on Writing,” & the deeply serious “The Day that Poetry Died” (but then it returns through the spoken words of children).

Samuel Maurice announced that he was a new editor of Dead Man’s Press Ink, then read a couple of his own untitled poems, one about a vision of the Moon thru the windows of a bus, the other about seeing Dopplegangers. 

Alexander Perez read a few of his surreal fantasy poems, “Ritual of the Equinox” (like a ritual of death), “Dance with the Devil” (more death, with Alejandro the master), & “Ritual of the Blue Bird” (again with Alejandro).

I haven’t seen John Thomas Allen out at a poetry open mic since well before the pandemic; his work is characteristically dream-like, surreal. He mentioned having spoken to the gone poet Franz Wright (1953 - 2015), then read a poem titled “Dilator” mixing random, perhaps dream, images, & another of that ilk titled “Visiting Hours.”

The last poet of the night was a last-minute add-on, arriving late, Briel Mastriani, who read a political rant/threat titled “Reckoning” on the repressive anti-transgender laws being passed elsewhere in the country, thankfully not here.

This series has been held on the first Monday of most months at Lark Hall, but at the time I am writing this I have been informed that due to renovations being done at the Hall the series will be on hiatus. Check out the Facebook & Instagram pages for Dead Man’s Press Ink for updates.

In Translation, March 26

Another one of the evocative pop-up events, like the mushrooms themselves, at Collar City Mushrooms, billed as “a poetry presentation in multiple languages,” centered on a reading by Ukrainian poet Natalya Sukhonos, with an open mic — how could I resist? I’ve studied & dabbled in a few languages in my life but have never become fluent in any other than English (& profane) to be able to translate poems. But it was an opportunity to hear other community poets & meet others who up up until today were strangers.

Our host & the proprietor of the mushroom farm, Avery Stempel began approriatlely enough with a mushroom poem, “My Partner,” in the voice/persona of a tree in appreciation for its mushrooms.

I read my poem titled “Kadinsky’s Red Spot” that began in the Guggenheim Museum at an exhibit of paintings by Wassily Kadinsky (1866 - 1944), that was later translated by Inna Ehrlich Ph.D. into Russian, then even later transformed in a workshop with Bernadette Mayer through a Google Translate of Dr. Ehrlich’s translation, then my re-write based on the Google translation from the Russian; I rarely have anyone available to read the Russian version, but today that was done by Natalya.

Amber Jackson, who had read in another event here back in February read a poem in Irish & in English titled “Sensitive Spring.” 

I hadn’t heard Peter Monaco read out in a poetry event in a number of years, but here he was; he talked about his long-range project the “Hudson Valley Paranormal Vortex Blues” that he described as “not necessarily poetry,” sang based on John Cale’s “Paris 1919,” a song & a story for Albany (& the paranormal presence of Charles Fort (1874 - 1932), buried in Albany Rural Cemetery).

Johnathan read 2 poems about names. Freya read a memoir piece in the voice of her step-mother, who is a memoirist. 

The next reader was Ian Ross Singleton, who is married to Natalya Sukhonos. He read a poem by a woman Ukrainian poet who wrote the poem in Russian, he read the Russian text then his English translation, a triumphant piece “Life’s More Enduring than War.” Then a poem of resistance written in Ukrainian, reading it first in Ukrainian, then English, “This Is Still Us.”

The featured reader was Natalya Sukhonos who began with poems written in English from her book A Stranger Home (Moon Pie Press, 2020). “Holodormor” was dedicated to her grandmother, the title refers to the famine imposed by Russia in 1932 - 1933 to exterminate the Ukrainian people; next was a poem about her father from Odessa titled “Lost in the Stars;” then a memory of her mother titled “Specter Garden” & another to her mother about a painting “Night Sky #16 by Viga Celmins.” Then she read from her phone newer work, on the theme of translation, poems inspired by others' poems in Ukrainian, one titled “My Lover My Home My Earth,” another about her grandfather & a trip in a car, one on her own life & based on a poem by Elizabeth Bishop, one titled “The Goddess of Winter,” & ended with a poem about their new home in Delmar, “Space.”

It is such a thrill to be surprised by poetry & poets I did not know before & there were a lot of surprises here today among the mushrooms. Check out Collar City Mushrooms on Facebook for other events — & surprises.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, March 16

On the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, the featured poet was Marylou Kelly Streznewski, with also a  list of of community poets for the open mic. Our Muse tonight was a repeat Muse the great, gone Poet of All Ireland John Montague (1929 - 2016); I read his poem “Brighid O’Neill” from his book Smashing the Piano (The Gallery Press, 1999).

First, a little bit of the open mic list. The first up was Valerie Temple, who had been here a couple times in the Fall, & who read in honor of the arrival of Spring on Monday her poem in rhyme “Spring Fever” on getting rid of Winter. She was followed by Alan Catlin, one of the most published poets in America, in the tradition of St. Patrick’s Day he read a new poem that he wrote yesterday based on a dream & his years of working as a bartender in an Irish bar, “Ex-Post Facto Work Anxiety Dream.”

Catherine Dickert who has been a regular here, tonight read a story about a warm Groundhog Day at “Beverwick,” after a warm Winter, no snow, no ice skating, then Snow, what might be turned “eco-fiction.” Julie Lomoe had a green hat (but not Irish), read a narrative written in 2016 “Bela & the Rats” about living in SoHo in NYC, the rats both 4-legged & 2-legged. Joan Geitz read “I’m Out of Here” a rhyming poem by Irish poet & radio personality Tony Fallon, about waiting for his own wake.

Our featured poet was Marylou Kelly Streznewski brought with her copies of her 5 (!) books; in 2019 Kelsay Books published her latest collection Sitting in the Shade of My Own Tree. Tonight, she began with her father’s favorite Pat & Mike joke. Her reading included poems from several of her books & some poems still in manuscript. There were family poems, such as one to her son, “Anti-war Mama Learns to Keep Her Peace,” & “For my Daughter, Upon the Changing of her Name,” & a tender series on grieving the death of her husband. There were other anti-war poems, & one on the shooting in Euvaldi “Voices.” The poem “The Irish Hunger Monument, Battery Park” reflected upon her Irish heritage, & she ended with “Poet Noodling” (a phrase from poet William Stafford) about writing a poem in Spring. It was an like a retrospective of her work — she noted that this was the first time she has been paid for a reading of her poems.

We took a short break & Marylou sold some books, then on to the few remaining poets on the open mic list. But first I read one of my own poems, this for St. Patrick’s Day from my 1995 chapbook Ireland (A.P.D.) titled “Tracings.”

Melissa Anderson read a new poem-in-progress about childhood drawings & communion “God Bodies,” & her new gods of cities & Nature & memories & love. 

Gene Damm has not read his poems out in quite a long time, but tonight he showed up to read about the coming of Spring “Crocuses.” 

Alexander Perez read an intense piece titled “Festivals of Saturn” from a series about a master called Alejandro & his subjects. Ellen White Rook, the last reader this night, will be the feature here in April, gave us a sample titled “Suspended,” a poem of March (& the title poem of her forthcoming collection of poems).

We gather at the Social Justice Center in Albany each third Thursday for a reading by a local or regional poet & an open mic for anyone else, 7:30pm — your donation helps support poetry events in the area & the work of the Social Justice Center.