Poetry Open Mic at the Pine Hollow Arboretum, October 13

In Slingerlands among the trees, the featured poets were Kathleen Anne Smith & Mimi Moriarty who did a collaborative reading, & there was as well as an open mic broken up by the featured readers.

Our host, Alan Casline, began reading a poem by John Abbuhl, the late founder, creator of the Arboretum, who was also a poet & read often at poetry events here; the poem Alan read was titled “To Be Sustained.” I read next my mini-chapbook of Irish Pub Jokes (A.P.D., 2023) the adventures of Eamon (an infant) & Paddy (a dog), then a tribute poem “Bernadette Mayer.”

Frank Robinson read a piece written 5 years ago about Trump's Mexican wall “Walls & Ladders,” then a piece titled simply “Death & Life.” Alan Casline read 2 poems from his poetry collection Summergreen (FootHills Publishing, 2019) (“summer green” his made-up word for the season), one titled “Summergreen Vacation,” the other about satori.

Round 1 of the Featured Readers

Mimi Moriarty & her brother Frank Desiderio have given readings together in the past in which they alternated poems on themes, memories, images that they both shared, so Mimi & Kathleen decided to do the same. Some of their poems were from prompts, some that they had already written. The 1st prompt was about a quirky relative, with Kathleen reading a memoir from age 5, “Great Aunt Nanna,” & Mimi reading “In August” remembering her parents at the beach. The next prompt was to write about “Your Best Decade,” which Mimi defined as her 1st, Kathleen read a poem of that title from her poetry collection Let the Stones Grow Soft (The Troy Book Makers, 2023). Then on to memories of school, with Mimi reading “Memories of St. Francis Xavier” the nuns in grade school that made her what she is today, & Kathleen read “Barbara Lynch’s Braids” (also in her book), as was her contribution to “advice before marriage,” “The Sybil Talks to the Teen Age Bride to Be,” & Mimi’s piece was titled “Advise Before Marriage.” 

Back to the open mic David Gonsalves read a piece titled “Stand Off” referencing the poet Jack Gilbert (1925 - 2012). Joe Krausman read a Haiku on Autumn “Feedback.” 

Paul Amidon read 2 pieces, the first about an old tree cut down for firewood “A Death in the Family,” then a funny piece titled “Fine Print.” Philomena Moriarty (no relation to Mimi) read a poem on force & power titled “Bobby Punishes the Ball,” then one about teddy bears in Starbucks bringing back memories, “One Falls Over Laughing.”

Back to the features, Kathleen read “Crows” from her book, a sad poem about crows mating, then Mimi wondered “why not crows in a love poem?” Kathleen read “When Driving Failed You” written soon after her mother’s death, & Mimi read about an abandoned white Caddy in the driveway. Mimi's poem “Beach Cottage” was memories of her father fixing it, & Kathleen's poem could be about the same cottage, sounding like Emily Dickinson. They brought their entertaining set to a close with some humor, Mimi’s poem about chicken, or rather peeps. 

Finishing out the open mic list, Tom Corrado read “Screen Dump #723” (!) (as usual addressed to a “you”). Therese Broderick read about the failure of political environmental policies, stealing a title for her poem from an ad for light bulbs “Advanced Solution Lighting.” Tim Verhaegen read a piece of fiction about a woman with the unusual name “Honey Flavor” to bring us on home.

This monthly series continues for a least 1 more month this year, check the events listings on the Hudson Valley Writers Guild Website for details. Lots of good writing going on.