Second-Friday Veteran Reading Series & Open Mic, December 13

This fairly new reading series is held at The Hudson Valley National Center for Veteran Reintegration in Saugerties, NY & is hosted by poet & US Army Viet Nam veteran Dayl Wise. Dayl is also the publisher/editor of Post-Traumatic Press out of Woodstock, NY; over the years he has published my work in anthologies & collections of poems. I was honored to be invited to be the featured poet on this night. He dedicated tonight’s event to the memory of Jim Fallon, a recently deceased buddy.Wayne started us off with a couple songs on his guitar, a Xmas standard “Have Yourself a Merry Xmas,” & a song by Pete Seeger.

I started off my reading with a peace poem from Oil War I “Peace Marchers at the Viet Nam Memorial" then into a variety of other pieces: 2 related pieces, “Tourism” (about the fire at Nortre Dame in Paris) & an older piece, “Church Burner.” Then on to a couple poems each from my chapbooks, Baseball Poems (2019) & Poeming the Prompt (2011), & ended with another, albeit lighter, than what I stared off with, “Buttons Not Bombs.” 

Then on to the open mic, with Cheryl A. Rice leading off with a poem about Long Island, “Oysters Learn to Keep Their Mouths Shut.”  Bruce Weber followed with a poem about his cats, then one about a woman living alone by the sea, & some reflections on the 1950s titled “While Waiting.” 

Joanne Pagano Weber read a short story titled “Nova” a somewhat magical piece about a character taking a cab to Brooklyn looking for blue lights & a green door. Our host, Dayl, read a poem about his experience in Viet Nam & memories of his childhood.

Next was more music by Karen Beth on guitar, a fun song about late night radio & “Taking My Baby Back Home.” Richard Comerford read an alphabet poem I think was titled "Sugar Bush aka Maple Tree.” Alison Koffler read a memoir piece about shopping with her parents & about Green Stamps, then another about her deceased mother, “Calling Mom.” 

Marianna Boncek read a poem from a news story of an young girl in Central America & dedicated it to Leslie Gerber (coming up) who had also written about the same story, then a poem about her deceased father inspired by a slow driver, “My Father on Xenia Road.” Dave Kime read about an incident in the Mojave from his time in the Army, “Tank Trap.” The aforementioned Leslie Gerber did a “mini-feature,” with “Buddha Walk” (micro-fiction), “Outdoor Music,” “Breakfast Mozart on the $19 Boom Box,” “The Trees Sing,” & a love story “Her.”

Judith Kerman read from a new book of poems, like a dictionary, “Xylophone” & “Zenophia,” then a Xmas song, “The Cherry Tree Carol.” Dayl was back with another poem from his combat experience beginning “I was a dancer once…” Guy Reed paid tribute to the late poet/publisher Donald Lev (1936 - 2018) by reading Donald’s poems, “The Workshop,” “The Not-So Great,” “Number 1,” & “I Have Vision.”

This reading series with an open mic takes place on the 2nd Friday of the month at The Hudson Valley National Center for Veteran Reintegration building located at 24 Twin Maples Plaza, Saugerties NY. The building is a bit hard to find, off to the left after one enters the Plaza, but be patient & bold, it will be worth it.