Third Thursday Poetry Night, February 20

A cold night but the poetry was hot! There was a short open mic followed our featured reader, Jill Crammond. But first I invoked the Muse, tonight the gone Albany poet Moses Kash III (1945 - 2017) by reading his poem “Black Einstein.” 

Aron Ervin was the 1st poet on the sign-up sheet, one who has not read here in a long time, pleased to see/hear him again; he read a poem he has been working on through many versions, a mix of real life & imagination & alchemy, “Philosopher’s Stone.” 

David Gonsalves read “Pitfall” a brief, intricate Valentine story of the apocalypse, or something like that.

Avery Stempel read his poem “The Leaf,” wondering about what the leaf is doing floating past our busy lives.

Carolee Bennett had been here in December for the visit from Sanity Clause; tonight she read a poem/essay “Google: Find Tacos & Dive Bars” on the vastness of the universe & billionaire astronauts.

Lady Shevoné read a poem responding to a prompt, “Self-Sacrifice,” written in the style of a letter of advice to a friend.

In honor of our featured poet’s interest in the Tarot I read my poem titled “The 9 of Cups” which I wrote some years ago about a Tarot reading that Jill did for me.

The earliest photo of this night’s featured poet, Jill Crammond, is from January, 1997 at the Border’s Bookstore on Wolf Rd.; she is a mom (& about to become a grandma), & an early-childhood teacher, with numerous publications in poetry & literary journals. She read largely from her first book of poems Handbook for Unwell Mothers (Finishing Line Press, 2023) poems about being a single-mother, starting with, “All the Pretty Mothers.” On to “Still Life: Ex-wife Washing Dishes in the Burning House,” then a true story “On Forbidding Certain Words at the Dining Table,” & “The Town Witch Tries to Make Friends” (on the suburban housewives). Next some new poems, a couple of poems about conversations with her daughter (who was in the audience) “On Learning & Disbelieving the Average Age of People When they Go Missing is 34” (on possums & superpowers), “Epistle to My Daughter Standing on the Shore of the Watery House,” then one about being a medium, “My Life As a Very Real Ghost,” & “My Mother is an Ironing Board” (on aging & grief). A poem she tried to write to be like Avery, then, since he was here, decided to ask him up to read it in his performance voice, “On Learning There is No Word Like Widow for  Daughter of a Dead Man” & indeed it sound just like something he would write, “Grief Answers Its Own Question” (an abcedarian), then to a poem about a failed relationship “On Forgetting to Invite the Groom to the Wedding,” & ended with a poem responding to a poem by Frank O’Hara, “Someday I will Love Jill Crammond.” So good to hear Jill out reading again among her poetry peeps. 

During Jill’s reading a figure that I at first thought could be the ghost of Moses wandered in to use the Social Justice Center’s bathroom & select a scarf for some warmth from the Free Store — he also took a flower from the bouquet that Sophie, Jill’s daughter, had brought, & took one of Jill’s books — before wandering back to the street. 

Many things can happen at the Third Thursday Poetry Night, not just the written & spoken work, each month at 7:30pm at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY — bring a poem to read, make a donation to support the featured poet, poetry readings in Albany, & the work of the Social Justice Center.