2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose, June 11

My co-host, Nancy Klepsch, was lazing at P-town, & we missed her presence, particularly since we were well into Pride Month. There was a good turnout of poets for the open mic, some the regulars who show up here at Collar City Mushrooms, others here the for the 1st time. Then a tender gift at the end.

Rachel Baum was here for the first time (but I have heard her read at the open mic at Caffè Lena in the past, & she was instrumental this year in getting Saratoga County to establish the position of a Poet Laureate); her 1st piece was about her dealing with long COVID, comparing herself to the strength of an Elm tree; then she read a piece about the death of a 10-year old son of her nephew, “In His Memory.”

Joel Best has been a regular on the 2nd Sunday back to the pre-pandemic days at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, & we have come to know his poems of associative leaps & bounds of images; today he read about not seeing any birds for a while “Lost Birds” (but now they are back), then a poem from a dream (which he says he doesn’t usually do) “Inconstant Moment.”

The proprietor of Collar City Mushrooms, Avery Stempel, is a long-time participant of the local poetry open mic scene, & now provides this marvelous space of mushrooms each month for this open mic; he did a brief exposition on the Lion’s Mane mushroom, introducing a new product, Lion’s Mane, organic Colombian cold brew coffee with the mushroom, produced in conjunction with kru coffee of Saratoga Springs, then read his poem “Amongst the Mushrooms.”

Alexander Perez is another frequent flyer at this open mic, he read a couple poems from his series on gay sex, with the recurring character Alejandro, “Devil’s Imprint” (with a description of Alejandro like a devil out of the engravings of William Blake, or the movie Rosemary’s Baby), then one titled “Prospect.”

Tom Bonville showed up today in a bright red shirt to background his poem “Raz-a-ma-taz Red” an intricate descriptive exploration of the color.

Kathy (Kathleen Anne) Smith introduced her new book from The Troy Book Makers, Let the Stones Grow Soft, by reading the tale of a small-town boy “Rough Cut;” then what she called “a mid/post COVID poem” titled “Home for Christmas After Falling on my Head.”

Deyva Arthur was here for the first time, she said she was primarily a prose writer, but indeed she won an honorable mention in the pre-pandemic HVWG Poetry Contest; today she read a poem titled “Tilling the Serenity Prayer,” then one titled simply “Passerby.”

I read a poem written last year for the anniversary of the birth of Allen Ginsberg, “June 3, 2022,” combining his poems & my Diaries, then one from further back than that from an exhibit at the UAG Gallery years ago, “Missing Pieces,” to honor the painter, the recently gone Wren Panzella.

The afternoon ended on a surprising note, one of the happy-sadness of remembering one who is gone, but who remains here in our memory & in her poems. Becky Partridge, the wife of the late Carol H. Jewell, who left us last year for that Poetry Open Mic in the Sky, joined us to read 2 of Carol’s poems from her 2017 chapbook Hits and Missives (Clare Songbirds Publishing House), the sexy poem with olives, “If You Want to Write a Love Poem,” & the tender poem of love & death, “My Fears.” I’m glad Becky was at the end of the list because I don’t think I could’ve gone on if she had read any earlier.

This open mic is each 2nd Sunday of the Month at 2PM (from which it gets its name), at Collar City Mushrooms, 333 2nd Ave., Troy, NY — it’s free, but the mushrooms are for sale — ask Avery about them. Bring poems to read.

Prose Writers Showcase, June 3

Sponsored by the Hudson Valley Writers Guild at the Albany Public Library Washington Ave. Branch. Bob Sharkey, Board member of the Guild, gave a general introduction including the fact that this series started just before the pandemic hit, & we all know what happened then! The individual readers were introduced by Moriah Hampton.

Richard Matturro, who has published 6 novels, as well as worked as a writer for the Albany Times Union, & taught literature at UAlbany, read first. He had a CD for sale titled Niobe, a goddess from Greek mythology. The section he read was titled “Porch of the Maiden,” a ghost story in which Nancy, a writer of YA fiction is visited by the ghost of a writer in Hell (“all writers go to Hell” he says). He tells her this is a project in which dead authors visit living authors to advise them on their craft, the inherent humor of the tale in the pairing of the authors. While an unconventional story in its premise, it was actually the more conventional of the works presented today, basically a tale with a beginning, middle & an end, if somewhat elongated finale.

Heather E. Schwartz’s response to the COVID pandemic was to make changes in her writing, as well as herself & her attitude toward writing. She described the genesis of her book, How to be Ridiculous: 28 Tips for a Brand-New You! (Troy Book Makers, 2023) as being the result of reading celebrity writing, decided to go from shy to self-promotion. She read sections based on random numbers called out by audience members, the advice is humorous, sometimes silly, sometimes self-deprecating, & great fun.

Mary Murphy’s work was still another turn in genre & sensibility. She read 2 short pieces of memoir writing. The first, titled “Public Information," was about working as a Public Information Officer for her college when she was a student when a student on the Crew team drowned, which was moving enough, but the follow-up/coda about getting an intense emotional reaction when she performed the story as a theater piece. “New Friends” as about picking up Barbie dolls & outfits, triggering a memory of her daughter playing Barbies with a male friend, the piece a gently defiant statement on gender identity.

Check out the website of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild for information about local literary events, & writers (in all genres). You can also sign up for the Guild’s weekly email, if you are not already on their list, become a member of the Guild, & make a donation to support the work of the Guild. Tell ‘em I sent you.

Gloucester Writers Center, May 25

Sometimes when I go over to Gloucester, MA for my periodic rest & inspiration, I get lucky & there is a program at the Gloucester Writers Center. This was one such trip, a reading by poets Jim Dunn & Dick Lourie, on my last night in town.

Jim Dunn read first, beginning with comments on the late Gerrit Lansing (1928 - 2018), poet & long-time Gloucester resident, then on to a poem just written today, “Dogtown Bull Blues.” Then a sad piece, “The Wanting Mare,” about a woman film maker who drowned in a reservoir in Gloucester in 2020, later read “The Day Before the Drowning Girl,” circling around again to the story at the end of his reading. Other pieces he read included one about his birthday, “2/2/22,” a couple of pieces on Trump, a loving poem “Lunar Delight,” a poem for the poet & essayist Bill Corbett (1942 - 2018), & of course poems about his beloved Gloucester, “Glos Star” & “Fishing at the Mouth of the Chasm,” his poems are effusive rants flowing from, I surmise, a poet’s ever-present pocket notebook, some from his 2022 book This Silence is a Junkyard. After the applause he tossed in another, of course titled “Gloucester, MA.”

Dick Lourie’s performance was a combination of poems & music, he had brought along his sax. He is a founding editor of the long-running, legendary zine Hanging Loose, that when I submitted poems to them years ago (none accepted) was a loose, unbound stack of half-page sheets stuffed into an appropriate sized envelope. It eventually transitioned to a more conventional bound format. At the end of the night I picked up a copy of Hanging Loose #109 (2018) . He began with a humorous take on “Object Permanence,” then on to 4 poems listening to music: “Blues in the Night,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Gymnopédie” (& played one of Erik Satie’s versions), & “Night Train” about dreams. He has a book out titled Jam Session, from which he read pieces; also read nostalgic name-dropping poems from a book-length poem about radio, & read one of his “Letters to the Dead,” this one to the sax man Clarence Clemons, letters more painter-like than musical.

It was a fittingly poet way to end my short, Spring retreat on Cape Ann. If you don’t know about the Gloucester Writers Center, check out their website — & while you are at it, make a donation!

Third Thursday Poetry Night, May 18

Once again the local Corporate Challenge run took over some of the streets & roadways in the neighborhood of the Social Justice Center, having a negative impact on parking & navigating the streets. As a result many poets were intimidated & stayed home (or elsewhere). But there were a handful of us who made it to the SJC, including our featured poet Alan Catlin. Before we began the reading, I invoked the Muse, a long-time friend & poet Terry M. Dugan, by reading her poem “Ode for the Open Mic Poets” published in the anthology World Poetry Day (Moonstone Press, 2023).

Valerie Temple, our 1st open mic poet of the night, announced that she has a book of her poems published recently & read from it a poem titled “The Breath Past Death” written for veterans, or all the dead, addressed to the character Death. The book is Discovery of A Blunt Treasure by “Bertha Blunt” (Xulon Press, 2023) & apparently contains some poems she has read here in the open mic in the past.

Joan Geist didn’t worry about the traffic since she lives only a few blocks away; she read a draft “When the Lights Go Out” pondering what it would be like to go blind.

Julie Lomoe followed with a poem she started writing today for yet another Moonstone anthology, The Weight of Motherhood, “Stacey’s First Year” about her daughter, but knows it will be too long, as most of her pieces are, to be accepted in the book.

Francesca Sidoti also brought a work-in-project, titled “Junior High” a Winter poem from 6th grade.

I read a poem in honor of Alan that is an homage to all the bartenders in my life, “Joe the Bartender.”

I introduced Alan Catlin, one of the most published poets in America, by reading the unedited version of the bio he had sent me, but suffice it to say he “has been published in parts of six decades…” He has lived & worked right here in the Capital District for most of those years & is a frequent participant at this & other open mics in the area. He began by reading the most recent poem that he has written, “Hotline, a One-sided conversation,” about someone calling the Suicide Hotline after having worked there, a good introduction to his poems with their memorable characters in odd, dysfunctional situations. As was a poem from a prompt,”We’re Planting the Baby Heads by Moonlight…” (actually, doll heads). He read from a forth-coming books, Bar Guide for the Seriously Deranged, & other new books, The Shadow Play of Life, Listening to the Moonlight Sonata (Impspired), & How the Heart Will Endure (Kelsay Books) about the life and work of the photographer Diane Arbus, as well as from previously published books Exterminating Angels (Kelsay Books), Altered States (cyberwit.net), & Sunshine Superman (cyberwit.net). If you don’t have any books by Alan in your private library, get cracking, there are lots out there.

This event, an open mic with a featured poet, takes place each third Thursday of the month at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, 7:30PM start (I’m usually there around 7:00 setting up) — your $5.00 (more or less) donation supports poetry events & the work of the Social Justice Center.

Writers Mic, May 10

Jackie Craven manages to squeeze in a lot of good writing, poetry & prose, in a Zoom hour, from a stable of regulars, friends who like hanging out reading to each other. Tonight there was even some leftover time for extras.

First up was David Graham with a very new poem, “A Daily Chore,” from a passage by Jim Harrison about living in the now, then from a Haiku exchange with a friend “Earth Day” in 4 Haiku.

I was up next with a poem from the streets of Philadelphia based on one by William Carlos Williams with the same title, “The Great Figure,” then a new one based on a real name from the days on the job “Vaseline Johnson.”

Alan Catlin, who has plenty of new poems he said, read 2 old poems, “An Explanation for an Extra-terrestrial of Beethoven’s 9th Directed by Leonard Bernstein on TV with the Sound Turned Off” in multiple parts equal to the title; then a telling of a conversation with a crazy guy (or an alien?) in a store at the Mohawk Mall in which his inner snark from the bar business comes out.  

Susan Carol Jewell said she had received a notice today of a poem accepted from Comstock, the poem titled“The Taste of Color” about her mother; then an ekphrastic piece, “Take Me In” based on a sculpture.

Scot Morehouse read a humorous piece about a group calling themselves R.O.M.E.O.s (i.e, Retired Old Men Eating Out), a cranky rant from a befuddled old white man.

Jackie Craven read from her surreal series in which the times of day such as “Half-Past Eleven” & “Eight PM” are treated as human-like entities, a tremendous challenge to the imagination that she manages to make sound almost every-day.

Sue Oringel read an older poem titled “Fruit Cocktail” prompted by hospital food that brings up a memory from her childhood; then Sue talked about a website of online poetry workshops run by the poet James Crews, The Pause, then read a poem “We Are Here to Take Care of Each Other” inspired by someone else. 

Jackie then offered some poetic “overtime” & 3 poets stepped up. David Graham read 2 more Haiku from his series “Stroke Haiku;” Alan Catlin read “An Unanswered Phone Call is the History of Life;” & Sue Oringel read “Spring Returns” about a partner who died, imagining a past that didn’t happen.

This Zoom gathering happens on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, & you can find the link on the Facebook page for Writers Mic — join us. 

All Genre Open Mic Out of Bennington, May 9

Tonight, the 2-round pattern that Charlie Rossiter, our host, likes made for an interesting interplay of poems.

I was up first, as I often am, but that with the 2 rounds I get to hear everyone before I go again which gives me a chance to respond to other readers that I don’t often get when I read first in other venues. In the 1st round I read a new piece from my stay in Philadelphia at the beginning of April, “The Great Figure,” based on a poem by William Carlos Williams of the same title. In the 2nd round I read an old poem I performed many times with the 3 Guys from Albany, “I Thought I Saw Elvis” inspired by Cheryl Rice’s reading (see below).

I was followed by another Sheryl (Bedingfield), her 1st round a piece about visitors to her neighborhood, “Animals Come;” then the 2nd time around an inspiring poem inspired by woman who influenced her, “Conversation with White Rose.” 

Mark O'Brian read from from a work-in-progress, a a segment titled "Trouble on the Trails,"  about the character Pathos Phil; in the second round, responding to Cheryl’s poem & mine, with rock’n’roll lines, “Elvis is the Driver on our Bus.” 

Bill Thwing, with his guitar, sang “a Mother’s Day” a ghost story about a call from his Mother. In his second round, he sang a piece with lyrics by a friend (Bill wrote the music) “Live in the Beauty of Light, about the historical figure, Jonathan Edwards.  

Cheryl A. Rice started all the trouble in her first round with a piece about Elvis’s daughter, “I Saw Lisa Marie,” that brought to mind my old poem, that I read in my 2nd round (see above); then, in her 2nd round, a bio of sorts titled “The Wives of Tom Mix” (he had 5).

In both her rounds Bridget Elder read descriptive pieces without titles, 1st round poem was about a Sunday by the beach; in the 2nd round a Winter poem.

Our host Charlie Rossiter began with a poem “Canada Boring, What if the Artist Asks;”

then in his 2nd round some wistful musing of the seasons “Seasons of Wisconsin.”

Bruce Robinson who I believe is another poet Zooming in from Albany only read in the first round, a descriptive piece musing at cocktail hour at a local bistro (wonder if I know the place?).

Tom Nicotera read a portrait of his Italian Grandma, remembering her meatballs & ice cream; for the 2nd round he read “The Man from the Asylum” based on a scene in Fellini’s movie Amaracord, which is a favorite of mine that I’ve heard him enthusiastically perform a number of times.

In her first round Naomi Bindman read about a bee visiting her in the garden; in round 2 she read a prose poem titled “Gratitude,” about walking the dog in the morning in the rain, mixing in childhood songs, thinking of her mother’s voice.

Francesca Sidoti, also Zoomed in from Albany to read a work in progress titled "Age," then in the 2nd round read "Back to School," a mother & child poem based on working in a school. 

Julie Lomoe read a couple of repeats that she has been reading out lately, in the 1st round one from 2016, “Bela & the Rats;” then in her 2nd round (& the night’s last round), one in the voice of her (now dead) dog, “Sirius the Alpha Dog of the Aries Lake.”

This is better than being there — you can wear what you want, make your own drink, not have to drive home, & you can use your own bathroom — but you can still hear some good poetry. Every 2nd Tuesday, & if you’re not on Charlie’s list, you can send an email to charliemrossiter@gmail.com & ask him for the link. Hope to see you there.