2nd Tuesday All-Genre Open Mic Out of Bennington, July 8

After Charlie’s “The Mic is Open!” introductory rant we were right into the list of poets showing up on Zoom from anywhere. There were 2 rounds, one piece each round.

I was up first & read a poem by Charlie, an email he sent to me in July 2002, “July 4th in the Year of the Terror.” In my 2nd round I read my own poem with the same title as Charlie’s, responding to his panic. (I’ve been hearing at poetry open mics, & elsewhere, about how “bad” things are now; I’m old enough to know that it’s always been “bad” in America, & 2002, as in Charlie’s poem was one of those times, with the government’s response to the 9/11/01 attack on the WTC.)

In his 1st round Mark O’Brien read “Where Did the Stars Go?,” feeling mortal in a diner; in the 2nd round he read a love poem from Heaven’s waiting room, “It Is in the Shelter of Each Other that People Live.”

Julie Lomoe began with a cranky piece about rampant nimbyism at Snyder’s Lake “Forsaken Beach;” in her 2nd round she read a piece from 2003 “Gaia on the Vernal Equinox” from her self-published book of poems, Proof of Process.

Tim Verhaegen in his 1st round read a piece about a woman looking out her window, “Her Great Big Window,” then in his 2nd round a grim portrait of his twin brother who died 5 years ago, “Me & You.”    

Sharon Smith read her most recent poem in the 1st round, “We Bless Our Children” (whether 4 or 54); then later, “Rusty” about Rusty Young, a musician song-writer of the band Poco who died in 2021. 

Our host, Charlie Rossiter, said about the poem he read, “I Need to Hug More Trees” that he didn’t remember writing it, perhaps for Arbor Day one year; his 2nd round poem he said was from the time he was living in Chicago, for an open mic, “The Inaugural Reading of We Don’t Need No Books Book Club.” 

Cheryl A. Rice read only 1 poem, “Turtle On My Back,” a leisurely, meandering meditation about reading in bed.

For both his round, Bill Thwing brought out his guitar, along with some adjustments to his sound connection, which took time; his first round was a followup Charlie’s tree poem, from a prompt about hinterland. His 2nd round song was “I Am an American” which sounded his prior tune, not the words but the music & rhythm. 

Tom Nicotera, who works in a library, read his poem “The Library in Heaven” imagining an infinite, eternal library (that actually is a description of most good libraries now, or the Internet).

During his 2nd round I got a phone call & so missed the rest of the open mic, including Ginny Folger’s 2nd round poem, but I did hear her poem in the 1st round, “Lucky in Love,” something she said she has never been, the poem a response to a horoscope entry.

Charlie Rossiter hosts this open mic out of his home in Bennington, VT on Zoom on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, starting at 7:00PM VT time. I you have not yet made it to Charlie’s list you can get the Zoom link by sending him an email asking for it; if you are on his list he will send it to you a few days prior to the reading. Hope to see you “there.”