All Genre Open Mic out of Bennington, October 10

Back to Bennington! I’ve been (poetry) busy & haven’t gotten “here” (which is actually in my own house) on Zoom in months. But here I was (am). Charlie Rossiter, our host, started the night as he has done for years with his open mic chant, “You can rant …” & then we did, in 2 rounds.

I was first up on the sign-up sheet with a poem for Indigenous People’s Day “Rain,” that cites a line from Black Elk, then in the 2nd round my answer for the growing war in the Middle East “Baseball in Palestine.”

Sheryll from Connecticut followed with just a round one poem, a Haibun, “The Collective Dead, The We,” a dialogue between the dead & the other.

Naomi Bindman said her poems in both rounds were on a theme; in the first round “Denial,” then in the 2nd round 2 very short pieces, “Counting Blessings,”  “Mending,” an eco-poem. 

Tom Nicotera’s first round poem was a meditation on death, & what any creature needs, “Coyote God” inspired by a coyote on his porch; in his 2nd round he read “Ghost Dog” about a walk in the New Jersey pine barrens with poet Robert Farr.

Violeta Zoomed in from San Antonio Texas, read in her first round “In the Water,” a chant-like poem built on “we found … we lost …;” then later read “In the End We All Become Houses,” inspired by a Margaret Atwood poem.

Our host Charlie Rossiter said he has been re-reading Robert Bly & read “Reflection on Robert Bly’s Reflection in a Snowy Field;” in the 2nd round he read a piece I was very familiar with from our performances as 3 Guys from Albany, “The Ex,” that had been inspired by the late poet Tom Nattell talking about his ex.  

Jim Madigan was in Illinois & has been reading How the Irish Became White & responded with a poem “Dance Contest;” then in the 2nd round a bit of memoir “The Last Time I was in a Fist Fight was in the First Grade.“

Julie Lomoe only did the first round but that was a lengthy essay “Proud to Be a Bra-less Octogenarian” that was long enough even without her foray into self-indulgent commentary.

This Zoom event takes place each 2nd Wednesday of the month from Bennington, Vermont, hosted by Charlie Rossiter. If you want to join it, & you are not already on his list, email him & ask for the link — charliemrossiter@gmail.com