All Genre Open Mic Out of Bennington, June 11

Back in Bennington — not really, this is a Zoom event — again for poetry. Our host, Charlie Rossiter got us off & running with his signature open mic intro rap — 2 rounds, 1 poem each round.

I’d Zoomed in early & ended up 1st on the list. I’d been going back into my poem vault & pulled up a couple from the past, the 1st, “Noble Truth;” in the 2nd round a take on my favorite poem to recite when I’m at the beach, “Not the 'Walrus & the Carpenter'.”

Tim Verhaegen’s 1st round poem was titled “Almost Gay,” gazing at a younger man,  pondering what his future might be; in the 2nd round he read “I Want It to Be Over” about going to an open mic that was not his cup of tea & went on & on.

In her 1st round Sharon Smith read some advice about what one should do today, titled “If;” later in the 2nd round she read a poem from a poetry workshop, a work still in progress, perhaps titled “21,” with a recurring line beginning “not sure…”

Sherri Bedingfield began with a Nature poem,”Impressions of Flanders,” in the early Spring, “the trees are waiting…” published in an anthology from Orenaug Mountain Publishing; in the 2nd round she read a poem of tender affirmation, “The Field,” for her son.

Our host, Charlie Rossiter, in his 1st round, read a group of Haiku with comments on a variety of topics: on nature trails, a friend in hospice, a cemetery; in the 2nd round read “Lovers Night” that used an evocative line (“I enter her garden”) from a Chinese poem.

Ginny Folger’s 1st round poem, “Deferred,” was a mediation on love & sex, on time & aging; her 2nd round poem was titled “I Remember Being An Aerialist,” with an epigraph from Edgar Allen Poe. 

Both of Tom Nicotera’s poems were from a poetry workshop, the same workshop that Sharon Smith had been in; the 1st round based on a prompt about trading places, “Trading Places with Donald Trump;” the 2nd round poem was from a different prompt, the poem ‘The Dream,” about a street corner preacher. 

Bill Thwing brought out his guitar for both rounds, thus fulfilling the “All Genre…” in the title of this Zoom, in the 1st round, a sad, wistful song that can be found on Soundcloud.com, “Gaza;” in his 2nd round he sang “Foggy Days & Foggy Nights,” a song based on a poem written by his wife. 

Jim Madigan dialed in from the mid-West with a poem about a town after a tornado, “Beauty & Heat in the Ruins;” during his 2nd round he mentioned that he has had a full-length book accepted by Broadstone Books, read a poem set in the West Bank “Olive Grove,” about settlers attacking an old man celebrating the budding of trees. 

Julie Lomoe read a poem in her 1st round written today, “The Old Crone Blues,” in the classic blues form, perhaps proving why some say white women can’t sing the blues; then in her 2nd round brought the evening to a close with “The Terrors of Motherhood” a poem about her daughter, from her Proof of Process book being revised. 

You don’t have to be in Bennington, VT to attend this open mic, I’m not. It happens on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00PM EDT. If you are not already on Charlie’s email list, email him at charliemrossiter@gmail.com & ask for the Zoom link. Poets/writers/musicians sharing writing & music.