2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose, December 15

Photo by Sally Rhoades

Sadly, this was the last 2nd Sunday open mic at Collar City Mushrooms in Troy — the building they have been renting has been sold & the mushroom farm must move. And indeed they are, they have found a new home at Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont, NY. This series originated at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in November 2010, & it has always had a Troy identity, with Troy resident, Nancy Klepsch, & me (Albany) as co-hosts. The COVID pandemic shut us down from March, 2020 to May 2021when we did a few seasons on Zoom. Later in the 2021 when the Arts Center reopened they did not have funding to support being open on Sundays but Nancy & I agreed that Sunday, like Troy, was part of our identity. Avery Stempel had recently opened Collar City Mushrooms on 2nd Avenue, & he welcomed us into his space in August 2021, &, with the exception of a few months in early 2022 back on Zoom, we continued to hold this open mic for poetry & prose each 2nd Sunday of each month.

This Sunday we had an overflow crowd (& an overflowed signup sheet) for our final session here.

First up was Gary, who joined us for the first time last month; he read 2 pieces in funny rhymes, the first a humorous take on filmmaker Michael Moore, “Roger, You, and Me,” then the astronomical “Who Mourns Pluto?” Wayne read a poem that he had read at a 50th year reunion at Vassar College, “Field Studies Benediction,” then a meditation on the existence of God, “How Can There Be Nothing?” Julie Lomoe sang (sort of) 2 pieces, “The Old Crone Blues,” & “It’s the Most Over-Hyped Time of the Year.”

Rhonda Rosenheck read “After the Writing Retreat” about after swimming in the Kinderhook Creek, a funny piece about how her thinking & even her speech changed to match the style of the poems, then a peaceful piece about being in the forest, “Earth’s Watch.” David Gonsalves confessed that he doesn’t like to work from prompts, but tonight read 2 poems from prompts, “Burnt Offering” & “Aardvark.” Tom Bonville read a tender, moving poem, “Christmas Morning” about his mother dying, remembering her life in Europe before the war.

Sally Rhoades read her short memoir “Summertime” about her youth in Westville, NY, recently published in True North: Words and Images from New York’s North Country, an anthology published by the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System. Tom Corrado read another poem from his ongoing series of “Screen Dumps,” this #797. 

Photo by Sally Rhoades

I read a couple poems I'd read at a previous 2nd Sunday some years ago, "Arts Festival Delray Beach," channeling Alan Catlin's poetry, & "Southwest Flight 2095," the hot-pants poem. Co-host Nancy Klepsch read a poem, in accent, “The Woman from Long Island: the Queer Version” then a poem about a friend who died of AIDS years ago, apparently in a drug trial but on the placebo. Kurt talked about the history of Haiku, then read a couple of his own, one on the New Moon, another his “mushroom haiku.” Rita read a poem in rhyme, “Hear the Call of the Wild,” then one titled “Many Moons.”

Maria Diotte read at the first open mic in August 2021 here at Collar City Mushrooms, & returned today to read a poem titled “Clairvoyance.” Erica’s first poem was titled “The Fox & the Burn,” then an emotional piece about the mass shooting in Buffalo in 2022, “Goodbye to Springville.”

It was fitting that the final reader of the final 2nd Sunday at Collar City Mushrooms was Avery Stempel. He announced that his article, “Treating Cluster Headaches with Psilocybin-Containing Mushrooms” was recently published in the recent issue issue of The Mycophile Quarterly (can be found on page 25) a publication of The North American Mycological Association. In addition to farming mushrooms, he has been doing advocacy work promoting the medical benefits of psilocybin. Then he launched into a couple poems responding/commenting on the closing of his storefront in Troy & moving up to Altamont to the Indian Ladder Farms. “I’m Feeling” was what the title says, a litany & performance of his feelings, often loud & dramatic, while “Amongst the Mushrooms” was quieter, a tribute poem community, & his friends & supporters in Troy. As they say, a bitter sweet moment.

2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose will continue on at Alias Coffee, 219 4th Street, Troy at, well as is says, the 2nd Sunday of each month at 2:00PM. We’d be glad to see you there.