Caffè Lena Poetry Open Mic, September 6

Back here again for the monthly open mic, with tonight’s featured reader Rebecca Schumejda whose reading was live streamed. Carol Graser, our host, got us off to a good start with Martin Espada’s poem “The Republic of Poetry.”

Rebecca Schumejda began with a group of poems about the seasons, from her earlier books, From Seed to Sin (Bottle of Smoke Press, 2011), The Map of Our Garden (verve bath, 2009), & from Falling Forward (sunnyoutside, 2009) “Workman’s Prayer.” Her most recent book is Sentenced (NYQ Books, 2023) from which she read a trio of poems, & ended with a trio from Cadillac Men (NYQ Books, 2012). I recommend that readers of this Blog go to the Caffè Lena Youtube channel to see her performance from this night, & seek out any of her books, particularly the stunning, moving Sentenced.

The open mic portion of the evening is not live-streamed, so you will have to take my word for it; it was a rich night with 17 readers on the sign-up sheet. Rachel Baum read a sad poem about her father “Over the Rainbow.” 

Betsy Lynch, recently re-located to the North Country from Florida & was here for the 1st time, read a descriptive piece about last year’s hurricane in Florida, then to a sad memoir of the death of a brother & her father within in a month, then played a brief portion of the Irish song “The Parting Glass” on her flute. Darcey Anne Farrow was also here for the 1st time, she read a couple of pieces in rhyme, “A Note to Stephen” & “An Unbreakable Bond.”

Alan Catlin, one of the most-published poets in America, has been here many times before tonight, read from his new book based on photos by Diane Arbus How Will the Heart Endure, the poem “My Dream Date with Diane Arbus” & a poem about the photo of the “Jewish Giant” — Arbus one of my early photographer fascinations. I had followed Alan & his wife Val into Caffè Lena & signed up right behind him, I read a couple of Saratoga Springs poems, “& the Mary Lou Whitney You Rode In On” & one actually written in Oklahoma, “Didn’t We Do This in Saratoga?” 

It has been a while since I’d seen Rich Tomasulo at a poetry open mic & I enjoyed the 2 poems he read tonight, “The Good Death” & “In Coconut Grove.” The 2 pieces that Joe DiBaci read sounded like song lyrics & I think they were, “Esmeralda’s Place” & “Roots of All Evil.”

After a brief break Carol Graser read one of her poems, “Laid Off Summer” about picking berries. Fred Ziemann followed with a piece titled “Asthma” descriptive of what is like during an attack.  Melissa Anderson’s poem “Desert Country” was about the wonder of being there, then read a poem on her dislike of thinking of the future, “5 Year Plan.” Rumera Jewett’s rhyming poem, “That Skin-Thin Floor” was about the loud noice  from downstairs.

The Piñata Queen, A.C. Everson, read a poem from last year titled simply “8 AM.” Rodney J. Parrott, who is nearly always here, read another segment from his “fiction memoir” “The Wanderer.” E.R. Vogel read a couple of his abstract, philosophical musings/ponderings. Maire Spellman’s first poem on regret & death was a sonnet, while her 2nd piece was about touching a waterfall.

Wendy Daniels read her poem titled “I Stand” about how the maze & frustrations of her daily life overcome her dreams & her loves, & her struggle against it. Sally Rhoades, who made an appearance in my poem from Oklahoma that I read earlier, read a piece titled “Thistle” & the memoir “What If My Father Was a Poet?” Leslie Vasquez ended the night with a love poem, a good way to wrap up this evening of varied & wide-ranging poetry.

The Caffè Lena Poetry Open Mic has been held for 20 years now on the 1st Wednesday of the month, with a featured reader at 7:00PM followed by an open mic — sign-up to read in the open mic at 6:30PM — $5.00 — at 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs, NY.