VSG First Thursday’s Open Mic Night, October 3

VSG (Vincinanza Studios & Gallery) is a fairly new gallery located in Southbury, CT. The owner, Faith Vincinanza, invited 3 Guys from Albany (Charlie Rossiter & Dan Wilcox) to perform for the open mic night held on the 1st Thursday of the month. To my recollection we met Faith at the Connecticut Poetry Festival in 2001, although perhaps it was at the National Slam Championship in Middletown, CT in 1997. In other words, she has been involved in the Connecticut poetry scene for a long time, & now involved in a labor of love with the VSG. She is the inaugural Poet Laureate for Southbury, CT.

Charlie & I drove down from Bennington, VT, picked up Tom Nicotera in Bloomfield, CT then drove another hour or so to Southbury to perform. The night’s MC/host was Kate who started with some open mic poets, Faith Vincinanza herself led off, first with a poem titled “Unsung” from her book Arturo (Hanover Press, 2022), then from Shall We Dance? (Hanover Press, 2024) “In case of emergency, grab me.”

Victor Walton read a humorous piece, in rhyme, titled “There Goes the Neighborhood, Car.” Bill Morehead read a cluster of poems, the quasi-Biblical “The Parable of the Few,” “Isolation of Fielding” (baseball), a tale of love among spies in Russia, & “The List” about the things he has missed in life.

Then it was the time for us featured poets, & I went first to talk a bit about the history of the 3 Guys from Albany & to read a collaborative poem that was written with Charlie Rossiter that had been commissioned by the NYS Writers Institute for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Opalka Gallery at Sage College in Albany, NY. Then on to a poem performed across the country “I Thought I Saw Elvis…” The other poems were more recent pieces, such as “Tashlich” for Rosh Hashana, & a pastiche on the poems of William Carlos Williams.

Charlie Rossiter began with performance piece “On Reading Snake Back Solo…”, then a piece from his days in Chicago “Night Life,” “The Music of the Universe,” & one written for a Day of the Dead event, about dead poets “At the Poetry Party.” He ended with a newer piece, an hysterically funny ode to a church supply catalog.

After a break to sell books, etc., the open mic continued with Irene Sherlock, who introduced herself as a psychotherapist, & read a fascinating poem titled “Rorschach” about the reactions of her clients to the art in her office. Clare Warner read “What We Lost” about a conversation with her sister about their family.  Sherry Bedingfield read a poem on a related theme, “Without Carlene,” about a deceased cousin; then a speculative vision titled “Under a Blue August Moon.” Sharon Smith followed with a piece in rhyme — good, not forced — “My Ghosts,” & then a creation myth, “to repair the broken world,” “Tikkun Olam.” 

Tom Nicotera began with a humorous piece in rhyme “Why I Keep My Mullein,” then a poem from a prompt, “Trading Places with Donald Trump.” Pamela Cleary’s poem “Collateral Damage” was about the effects of human existence on Mother Earth; her poem “Urban Lonely” contrasted the trendy “tiny houses” with a homeless person living in a box; she was more hopeful in the poem titled “It’s Catching On” about the spread of communal kindness.

Chris Gaffney said that he wrote poems to his children before they were born & read an example, a mix of rhymes & song lyrics, titled “Family Formed.” Our MC Kate read a poem about “Time Lapse” through the figure of a porch glider.

To bring the evening to a close, Charlie, Dan & Tom performed a multi-voice piece that often concluded performances of 3 Guys from Albany, about a grand boulevard in Albany, NY “O Central Ave.” written by Tom Nattell, Charlie Rossiter & Dan Wilcox.

Vicinanza Studios & Gallery is located at 493 Heritage Road, Suite 4C, Southbury, CT. Visit the website  for a calendar of events, including the monthly open mic, & other information about this wonderfully eclectic gallery.