Poetic Vibe, August 14

Finally, I made it back to Poetic Vibe in Troy, the weekly open mic/featured reading now at The Fish Market Gallery, the host still D. Colin. Mondays are difficult nights for me to get out to Troy after the Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace Vigil in Delmar, particularly in the Summer with the later start time. But here I was!

Danielle started us off with a draft of a piece about being a diabetic, then on to a tribute to teachers in general & to her 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Large, “Larger Than Life.”

Then on to the open mic list. The first reader was Nick with a self-portrait, like a note to a potential lover, “Am I Enough?” then more auto-biography, “The Fulfillment of Love.” I followed with a couple poems for the month of the Bomb, “August 1945” & “Poem for August 6.”

Nathan began with a short beach poem inspired by “Alec,” then a humorous revenge poem for his past lovers, “Welcome to Lake Indifference.” A last minute add to the list was Shalom who read a story about her hair, then one about being on stage “my hands are shaking…”

During the open mic, Danielle writes down lines that she likes, her impressions, etc., & then she reads her instant poem/Blog-without-a-Blogsite, great to hear the lines in different contexts

The featured poet tonight was El (Evelyn) who co-hosts readings at Troy’s Cafe Euphoria down on River St. She began with a poem on her phone, but moved on to others from a chapbook. She also had a hair poem that she did from memory; there was an untitled piece asking what is the poem, who is the poet. Most of her poems were untitled, some on death, on being vulnerable, even a poem based on poems & poets at an open mic, much like Danielle’s. All in all, a good performance from a poet who clearly enjoys presenting her work on stage.

Another of Danielle’s practices is to pass around a clipboard during the reading for the audience to compose a poem in the manner of the Surrealists’ “exquisite corpse” where each writer sees only the line that the person just before them wrote, so to conclude the evening Danielle read what the group wrote — always fascinating to hear the leaps & bounds such an exercise creates.

Poetic Vibe takes place every Monday at The Fish Market, 2952 6th Ave., Troy, NY, doors open at 7:00PM, open mic at 7:30PM.

2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose, August 13

The mushroom keep growing, the writers keep writing. & Nancy Klepsch & I are still the co-hosts, while the open mic poets keeps showing up.

First on today’s list was Rachel R. Baum with a poem based on her experience on Ancestor.com on finding a relative she didn’t know about, “What You Missed,” then, what she said was a “loop poem,” titled “Words Once Flew” based on the work of novelist Jerzy Kosinski (1933 - 1991). Our esteemed co-host, Nancy Klepsch, read from a work-in-progress, a memoir “We Lived Happily Away from the War.” 

Joel Best talked about index cards he keeps with ideas for characters who might (or might not) show up in short stories, then read a poem titled “My Charles” about a character who had not yet made it into a story; then a speculative poem, “Astral Being,” about what it might be like if he were one.

Bob Sharkey was back with a couple of memoir pieces from the beaches of Maine, the 1st about wild fires there, “Goose Rocks Beach, 1947; then a piece he found when he was looking for the poem he just read, “Killing Me Softly.” 

Kathy Smith read “Things That Spill,” a memoir of her Aunt Mary from her book Let the Stones Grow Soft (The Troy Book Makers, 2023). Naomi Bindman’s new poem, “Crazy,” began with the line “I am the crazy lady …” then on to “Shabat” & the nature of god.

It was my turn & since it was August I read Tom Nattell’s poem “Hiroshima” in my best (?) Tom Nattell imitation, then my new piece about the Bomb, “A Poem for August 6.” Tom Bonville’s piece “The Apostle Thomas” was filled with memoir & images of Troy, on being an altar boy at Xmas eve Mass, & why he is now known as “Tom” rather than “Ed.”

The final 2 readers were young women, both reading for the first time (i.e., “virgins”). Harleyanne Richards said what she feels comes out on paper, read a piece titled “Anger.” 

Anna Galvagai read a piece on loss, with images of a dance, then what could be described as a “broken piece” in line fragments. A good way to end the open mic with poets of the future.

This congenial, community open mic is held at Collar City Mushrooms, 333 2nd Ave., Troy, NY each 2nd Sunday of the month at 2PM. Join us & bring some poems or a short bit of prose.

Gloucester Writers Center: Howard Kogan, August 7

When I heard that Howard Kogan was going to be reading his poetry at the Gloucester Writers Center, I thought, that’s a good excuse to return to Gloucester, but as someone who knows me well said, “Dan, you don’t need an excuse to go to Gloucester!” True - it is one of my favorite places on Earth.

Howard Kogan, right

Howard Kogan used to be an active member of peer writing workshops & open mics in the Capital Region of New York until he & his wife Libby moved some years ago to Massachusetts to the area around Worcester. I am a great fan of his poetry which is easily accessible, blessed with humor & gentle wisdom — but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The reading included the monthly GWC open mic & I’ve always enjoyed being there when I’m in town & sharing my work with the fine writers who live on Cape Ann. The host is local poet Bob Whalen.

First on the sign-up sheet was Isaac Ferrini with a meditative, philosophical essay that he wrote for admission to Boston U.

Mike Cangemi described himself as a “lyricist,” but read part of a family memoir (with the names changed) of an uncle who served in both WWI & WWII.

David Newton read a prose poem titled “Shadow Reflection Disbelief Belief” based on an interview with Ada Limon, about being raised an atheist.

Marrelle Sabbag read an excerpt from a prose piece, “Mountain,” about teenagers on a hike where one falls off a ledge, not sure where that is going.

Dick Lourie read from his laptop from a book-length poem about radio, the segment from September 1939, with a memoir of Jack Benny.

On previous visits to the GWC for the open mic I'd heard Bob Guttman read; tonight it was a piece with a long title that I did not completely get, starting "Grimm's Fairy Tales for the World, or ..." which was on polo & political debates.

Rachael read a piece about having a baby 3 years ago, leaving a violent partner, & in a trial the prosecutor said, “she’s no ballerina,” — a fascinating exchange.

My piece was the recently written poem about The Bomb, “A Poem for August 6.”

Henry Ferrini, the Executive Director of the Gloucester Writers Center, read from Vincent Ferrini’s (here in Vincent's former home & frame shop) Ten Pound Light (The Church Press, 1975) #9 & #11, noting that today is “Light House Day,” Vincent speaking to us from beyond, I gather.

Our host, Bob Whalen, finished up the open mic list, a piece for Hiroshima, but viewed through the news of the 1960s, titled “What Good Are Tears?”

Howard Kogan, the night’s featured reader, read from his recently published collection of poems, Before I Forget (Square Circle Press, 2023). He has 2 previous collections from the same press, Indian Summer (2011) & A Chill in the Air (2016). As I read through the new book when I got it a few weeks ago I recognized a number of poems that Howard had read out before he moved away, & hearing him read tonight a selection of 9 poems in his gravelly, laconic voice, still tinged with Brooklyn, I thought I recognized other poems previously heard — or, perhaps, it was just being in Howard’s rabbinic presence. I’ll buy whatever his next book of poetry is, & know that he will keep at it.   

Check out the website for the Gloucester Writers Center, attend their fine events, & make a donation to support this important Temple of Writing on Cape Ann.

Hudson Valley Writers Guild Presents, August 5

Throughout the year the Hudson Valley Writers Guild holds these readings at The Linda Auditorium, on Central Ave. in Albany, NY. This event showcased writers from the online zines, Trailer Park Quarterly & the Hobo Camp Review. Mary Panza the vice-president of the Guild was the host.

First reader was Rebecca Schumejda, whose work I’ve admired since I first encountered her poems years ago; she is the co-editor with Dan Crocker of Trailer Park Quarterly. Her recent book is Sentenced (NYQ Books, 2023), a tender, sensitive, moving family story of death, incarceration, & how life moves on thru family & Time. The poems are built of everyday details, with the story enfolding more like the way birds emerge from eggs, or how are lives are pieced together after a tragedy, one moment at time, rather than a straight-line narrative. She has a relaxed, clear reading style, letting the poems speak their own power.

The next reader was a stark contrast in manner & content. During Schumejda’s reading Kenning JP Garcia spent the time with a handful of Garcia's books, flipping thru pages, arranging Garcia's poems. When it was time to read it was with Garcia's “nose in a book,” as my mother would say, with little to no engagement with the audience. I guess that’s what Garcia means by “Anti-Poet” on Garcia's website. I’m not sure which of the many books Garcia has published that Garcia read from since Garcia didn’t share that with the “dear audience,” as Garcia put it at one point. As for what was read, although it was described as a “diary,” the text was more like notes to Garcia about Garcia, no images other than the words in Garcia's head.

Alina Pleskova read from her recent collection titled Toska (Deep Vellum, 2023). She was born in Moscow & currently lives in Philadelphia. The title of the book derives from “the Russian word which denotes a melancholic longing without a singular cause, longing for a better world than the late-stage capitalist hell we live in,” per the blurb on the publisher’s website. She is clearly the center of her poems, but in the sense of a person surrounded by images in the world, as opposed to some self-absorbed philosophical ponderings; an example would be her poem “I Forgot What I Returned For” about being in an airport on her birthday. I particularly liked this line from one of her poems “I want the class war to start but everyone is too tired;” I guess that’s toska.

Erren Geraud Kelly was another out-of-towner, based in Lynn, MA, according to the HVWG promo. He read a series of memoir poems grouped together under the title “8-Track Tape Reminders.” He read a poem about Tyre Nichols, “Blues for Tyre,” murdered by cops in Memphis this past January, another about Bessie Coleman (1982 - 1926), an early American aviator who was the first African-American woman & first Native American to hold a pilot license. Other poems were about women who caught his eye, such as a patrol officer in a homeless shelter, another about a woman in a Starbucks; in fact he seems to have a string of such poems because one about a woman veteran with a prosthetic leg is titled “Coffeehouse Poem #282” (published in Trailer Park Quarterly).

The final poet was Albany poet, scholar & activist Victorio Reyes Asili, who served as the executive director of the Albany Social Justice Center for 11 years. He read from a series of chapbooks under the title Crown Me: an American Mixtape. The pieces were a mix of sonnets inspired by Hip Hop, & prose poem memories of growing up, some using current poetic forms, such as erasures mixing metrical lines with Hip Hop, such as the pieces titled “2000 After Big L,” & “After Biggy Small 1994.” It makes me want to read his PhD dissertation completed at the University at Albany, Mic Check - Finding Hip Hop’s Place in the Literary Milieu. One of the many futures for current American poetry to follow.

It was a stunning event, one in a series that the folks at the Hudson Valley Writers Guild plan about 3 or 4 times a year, showcasing the variety of poetry & spoken word in this word-rich region. Visit the Guild website for more information.

 

 

Book Launch: Ephemera by Sierra DeMulder, July 27

This was a rare trip for me to Caffè Lena twice in a month, both times for poetry, & a rare event here as well: a book launch. However, this being Caffè Lena, the opening act was a singer-songwriter (the mother-in-law of the feature performer, poet, Sierra DeMulder) Peggy Lynn, who was clearly a veteran of this stage.

Peggy Lynn’s set was what most think of what Caffè Lena is all about, a performer on the famous stage with a guitar, or banjo, singing songs of social import, or about going on down the road, or rebellion. Such as her opening “Color Outside the Lines.” Actually, Ms. Lynn played both the guitar & the banjo (not at the same time, of course), her banjo piece was a funny song about god. There was also the obligatory “new song,” hers about being on St. Regis Mountain. It was fun, the songs left you feeling good about yourself.

You can find a recording of her performance, as well as that of Sierra DeMulder, on the Caffè Lena Youtube channel. 

I first saw Sierra DeMulder read at "Invocation of the Muse" at Lark Hall in Albany in December 2022, but prior to that she had published 4 books of poetry. Tonight was the launch of her 5th book, Ephemera (button poetry, 2023), which she described as “about the peaks & valleys of life” & she offered up a generous selection of over half the poems in the book. There were poems about the death of her grandmother, about her ectopic pregnancy (more death), as well as poems about her daughter’s birth, & some tender love poems for her partner, with the ghost of poet Mary Oliver hovering over.

DeMulder has a professional, well-honed reading style & stage-presence, as you can see on the Youtube segment, undoubtedly from coaching & her time spent on the Slam poetry circuit. She was twice a runner-up for Slam Champion at the Women of the World Poetry Slam (WoWPS): in 2010 in Columbus, Ohio she was the 11th runner-up, & in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2013 she was in a 3-way tie for 8th place. In her reading tonight she avoided the ubiquitous stylized Slam gestures & clichés, while using her best stage voice to present her work.

If you are into poetry, the Caffè Lena Poetry Night, now in its 21st year, happens each 1st Wednesday of the month with a featured poet & an open mic for the rest of us, sign-up at 6:30PM, the featured reader at 7:00PM. The rest of the month you can find jazz, & more folk singers than you ever thought existed. Worth the trip from anywhere.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, July 20

It was a rare Third Thursday without a featured poet; it has happened before, but not often. But there were 8 of us on the open mic list to keep the night interesting. The Muse for tonight was the late Charles Simic (1938 - 2023) & I read his poem “Club Midnight” to set the stage.

Tom Bonville started off the open mic with a tale of being in a Summer home during a storm with his family. 

Catherine Dickert was back again, this time to read her piece “Persistence of Memory at the E-waste Recycling Center” where the pictures have a life of their own beyond the digital picture frame. Julie Lomoe sang a little song dedicated to her new cat “Sympathy for Cleopatra” a take-off of the song for the Devil by the Rolling Stones.

Josh the Poet was next with a new poem from his new book soon to be out the poem titled “Home” lost in his thoughts & finding solace there. Alexander Perez, the winner of this year’s Gay Pride Poetry Contest in Troy, read a poem titled “Dark Eyes” a mix of images of various “dark eyes,” then continued with the dark with the intense images of “The Poet as a Mad Dog.”

Joan Geitz read some poems, the first titled “Elevator,” written in 1978 by a former incarcerated person, Thomas Portelli, another about trying to rid himself of the pain of his years in prison. Joan Goodman showed up at the very end, as she usually does, & read a rambling memoir about Summers throughout her life.

I read at the end a poem for my friend Tamara now living in Costa Rica, a descriptive tribute titled “Tapestry.”

We are at the Social Justice Center in Albany each third Thursday, starting at 7:30PM for an open mic with (usually) a featured reader, $5.00 donation supports poetry events in the area & the work of the Social Justice Center. 

 

Poets in the Park, 2023

There were 2 Poets in the Park readings this season, Saturdays July 15 & July 22, with a variety of poets representing some of the great diversity of the written & spoken word artists, young & old, in this poetry-rich region. 

July 15

The 2023 series began with great weather to be outdoors, with the student poets from Albany High School who were the Winners & Honorable Mentions in this year’s Tom Nattell Peace Poetry Prize. 

The first of the Honorable Mentions was Minieq Polk for the poem “To Shi” which I read in their absence, a poem of encouragement & support.

Ian Roach was the second Honorable Mention; his poem “Seasons” offered the hope of Spring, again, during the hot, urban summer.

There were 2 Winners in this year’s contest. Preeya Ahmed read “The Key Maker,” a tribute to her Grandfather.

The other Winner, Leslie Santos, read a poem titled “Locked Down” which she said was “based on the reality of many schools.”

Community poet Carol Durant filled out the program. Her style was enthusiastic, effusive, & engaged the audience, in what she calls interactive poetry, in “Poetry is Key.” She uses loose rhyme schemes often & humor, such as in the political piece “Karmic Justice” about “the Liar,” & the title poem from her chapbook of COVID poems, How Will I know It’s Santa? She did a number of pieces from her book Whole Phat and Gluten Free Poetry, by asking audience members to call out numbers that corresponded to pages in the book, the topics included the poet Maya Angelou, on drug use, being on a plane & others.

July 22

Once again great weather & the poets were back in the Park, with families, children, even grandchildren. I did my traditional “History of the World of Washington Park & Poets in the Park," attributing the great, balmy Summer weather we had both nights to the influence of the creator of this event, Tom Nattell.

First reader was James Duncan, editor the online poetry zine Hobo Camp Review. He talked about having 2 hometowns, San Antonio, TX & Albany, NY & read largely from his collection of poems Both Ways Home (Alpine Ghost Press, 2022) that explores & pays tribute to these 2 cities. He read from the Albany poems of the collection, about the new pedestrian skyway over I-787, about the thrills & sounds of local county fairs, & about 4th of July celebrations as a metaphor for love. He has a new book coming out soon, Tributaries (Maverick Duck Press, 2023), a series of poems about the Hudson River, & read selections about Lake Tear of the Clouds, Warrensberg, Schuylerville, & Poughkeepsie. He concluded with a tender memoir from his childhood of his grandfather from San Antonio, “The Daredevil.”

I had met our next reader, Natalya Sukhonos, at a reading in March titled In Translation at Collar City Mushrooms in Troy, NY & have enjoyed immensely her book of poems A Stranger Home (Moon Pie Press, 2020). She grew up in Odessa until she was 9 years old & her poems this evening were filled with memories & images of her family, her mother, father, grandfather & grandmother. Since James Duncan had read a poem about his grandfather, she read her poem about her grandfather, “Parachute,” that is included in A Stranger Home, as were 3 others, “Theater of Bones” (her daughter’s questions), “Lost in the Stars” (her father), & “Specter Garden” (her mother). She also included poems based on the testimonies of Ukrainians about the war, & ended with a poem filled with images of Odessa, stories of her mother’s mother, “Dreaming Odesa” [the Ukrainian spelling]. 

It was a night of poems celebrating memories of place & family, among an audience of families, a good way to bring the 2023 Poets in the Park series to an end, with a hope for future readings here in Albany’s Washington Park.

Poets in the Park was founded by the late poet & community activist Tom Nattell in 1988 & is supported by the Hudson Valley Writers Guild & donations throughout the year by community poets at other events such as The Third Thursday Poetry Night at the Social Justice Center.