Troy Pride Night Poetry Reading: Alexander Perez, June 23

In conjunction with a Pride Month celebration in downtown Troy, there was a reading by poet Alexander Perez at the opening/unveiling of his poem “Origins” mounted on the South wall  of the Troy Architectural Program (TAP) building at 210 River St., Troy. Alexander’s poem was the winner of the Pride Poetry Contest sponsored by TAP & the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. The contest was developed and organized by Nancy Klepsch, local poet and Shawn McCann of TAP, Inc., & was judged by Atsushi Akera (she/her), the general manager of Cafe Euphoria in Troy.

Alexander began his brief reading with a poetic intro including a piece beginning “Love is a queer thing…” then on to a reading his poem on the wall, “Origins;” there was even a poem titled “Origins 2.” What he read were mostly descriptive, story poems of a tender relationship, including “Poem for 2 Men in Love,” “Making a Living,” “Black Locust” (the tree as metaphor), & “In the Poet’s Garden.”

In his statement in the press release announcing this event, Alexander said, “Without the uplifting force of love, I would not have found my calling as a writer. My husband and I celebrate my creative achievements as an artistic victory over the spiritually, mentally, and materially life-destroying forces of hate, and only wish for a world where loving one’s self or another could be less conflictual.” 

The poem/mural will be up as long as the forces of Nature allows.