Pine Hollow Arboretum Open Mic, November 8

2nd half of today’s poetry double-header was out in Slingerlands, with a featured poet, Alan Catlin, & our host, just 2 letters off, Alan Casline — but first a few of the open mic poets.

In honor of Alan Catlin I read my poem “Joe the Bartender” which Catlin had published in Misfit Magazine some time ago, then read an imitation of his poems in his book Alien Nation (2011) “Arts Festival, Delray Beach.”

Mark O’Brien made an unconscious/synchronistic link to the day’s earlier open mic with a (dead) dog poem “What Lingers,” then a John Prine inspired piece with passive-aggressive post-it notes. A.C. Everson showed up to perform “Flamingo Hands” inspired by an exhibit at MassMoca, then a piece titled “No More” that she didn’t get to record with her friend Albie von Schaaf who died recently, read as a tribute.

Frank Robinson read an impassioned rant with the appropriate title “Crie de Coeur” addressed to an America who betrayed him (“how I loved you …”) in response to the recent Election. Therese Broderick’s piece “Safety in Numbers” was about finding solace in the daily tasks. Joe Krausman read a Haiku about Autumn.

Alan Catlin is perhaps the most-published poet in America today, a long-time resident of the Capital Region. His many years as a bartender has supplied him with endless inspiration, which was reflected in his choice of poems tonight. He began with a couple poems that commented on the recent Election, “Full Moon” (when the crazies come out), & one from a Bernadette Mayer workshop, “We Are Planting the Baby [doll] Heads.” “May Day Dream Poem” included me as a character (!), then on to a couple of true stories, “Black Widow” & “A Moveable Nightclub” (a shooting in Schenectady). From a new manuscript of formerly uncollected poems, titled Last Call for Lazarus he read selections, a bar recipe poem “Senior Citizen Surprise,” “Near Death in the Afternoon on Becker St.” in his neighborhood, “Mother Night” was about the work of the photographer Frances Woodman, & a cento based on the writings of Nona Fernández. He ended on 2 more notes of violence (after all, this is America), “After Reading 67 Shots” about the shooting of protesting students at Kent State in May, 1970, & one about Sharon Olds being bumped from a TV show by the bombing at the Boston Marathon 2013 — bringing us back to where he started with oblique commentary on the Election.

Tom Bonville began with showing a photo of his grandson, then on to a pessimistic list poem titled “Fear,” personal, political, spiritual. Edie Abrams read 2 poems from her phone, both mentioning Venus, the first with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, & one titled “Anniversary Celebration.”

Melody Davis began with a new poem “November 6” (“Fuck …”), then from her book, Holding the Curve (Broadstone, 2013), “Ode to Sunset Park,” & one about how we remember “Breath” from Ghost Writer (Broadstone, 2019). Sally Rhoades read a poem Catlin had also published in Misfit Magazine, “Thistle,” then a memoir of a family party, “Out Last Fathers Day.” 

Our host Alan Casline read some very early poems from his 1st published book, descriptive pieces set in San Francisco in 1974, with some rhymes thrown in.

This was the last open mic at the Arboretum for the season; the parking spaces are not paved & in the Winter months can be very messy. Check out the Events schedule on the website of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild for news of it starting up again in the Spring, as well other literary events throughout the Capital District.