Stage & Stanza, October 30

C. Durant, M. Panza, D. Camp, D. Baecker

This is an ongoing series held at the Opalka Gallery on the campus of Russell Sage College in Albany, NY. This night the interviewees were with poet Mary Panza & radio/media creator Darrell Camp. The host/moderator was poet Carol Durant & Professor David Baecker of the Theater Institute at Russell Sage College.

Mary Panza, proud of her South Troy upbringing, described her early years in the Albany poetry scene, her class in poetry at Hudson Valley Community College, then on to the formation of Albany Poets & its eventual merger with the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. Apparently one of the regular features of this format is to ask the honorees about their favorite song; Carol read the lyrics of “When You Are Mine” by Prince that had been Mary’s pick. On being asked by Prof. Baker about her varied roles as a bartender, masseuse, mother, poet, Mary replied, “I did a bunch of stuff, then I did other stuff.”

Darrell Camp also grew up in Troy & spent many years in local radio. He proposed that the Beach Boys were a better band than the Beatles, citing “Barbara Anne” as an example. HIs favorite song is “What You Will Do for Love” by Bobby Caldwell, which he sang. To Prof. Baker’s question he said he was "intermittently adapting in order to survive," currently learning about the uses for AI & being part of a “Nerd Fitness Cult,” as he called it.

Check your local & social media sources for future events of Stage & Stanza.

Poetry at La Perla, October 29

This night I drove to the La Perla Restaurant in Averill Park with Mary Panza, poet & Vice-President of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild — not to mention that she is a long-time friend from the earliest days of the Albany poetry scene & we had a pleasant dinner in a side room the staff called "The Library," appropriate place for poets to eat. The open mic was in a parlor room off the bar & main dining room & is hosted by local poet Rhonda Rosenheck.

The first reader was Karl Michael who said he has been writing stories about things that actually happened & read an example, a piece about touring the United States -- the Washington Monument, Winslow Arizona, etc. -- with an exchange student, titled “To Connect with Kia.”

Nancy Klepsch is the co-host (with me) of the monthly open mic for writers, 2nd Sunday @ 2 at Collar Works in Troy; she read a moving elegy written with her wife, Lauren Pinsley, “Pierre Joris Talks with Jane Goodall in Heaven,” then a celebration of food that she wrote around the rim of a bowl, “Eat.”

I followed with a Haibun quoting from the band The Monkees “Last Train to Clarksville,” then a birthday poem that I read to honor the upcoming 15th anniversary of 2nd Sunday @ 2, "This Birthday is not Divisible by 10." (I don't usually post pictures of myself in these Blogs but I particularly like this shot by Rhonda).

The first poem that David Gonsalves read tonight was titled “Incomplete,” not sure if that described the poem, or something else; the second poem he read had a similar ambiguity - it was titled “Dave’s Dybbuk“ & was about a poetry manuscript clinging to the “Dave” (not sure if that was the poet himself or another Dave); a dybbuk is a malicious, possessing spirit in Jewish folklore believed to be the dislocated soul of the dead.

Mary Panza was here for the first time (although a veteran of many readings) & read what sounded like instructions, “Tales from the Pelvic Floor,” then somewhat related, “Thoughts on a Belly.”

Edie Abrams said the word wyeht means ghost & the poem she read was titled “The White Wyeht,”  the poem was filled with magical images of ghosts binding this world to the next; her second poem was not as scary, about 2 trees whose limbs intertwined, “Secret Love.”

Our host, Rhonda Rosenheck, read some recent short poems, “Republic,” “Later” (a poem about poetry), “Redemption” (for Yom Kippur, perhaps a confession), & “New Car Haiku.”

The final reader for the night was Mark Edsan who read an excerpt from “Open Face,” a longer manuscript, about a young woman in South Africa having a conversation with a teacher about herself & democracy - I am interested in reading the entire work someday.

Poetry at La Perla takes place on the last Wednesday of the month at La Perla Restaurant at Gregory House Country Inn, 3016 NY-43, Averill Park, NY, in a pleasant room off to the side of the dining area. While you can get food & beverage service in the room where the reading is held, the seating is scattered & informal with limited places to put your drink & food. I recommend one arrive earlier enough for dinner at the bar or the dining room. The food is excellent.

Unspoken Word - Main Showcase, October 25

This was a weekend (October 24 - 26) of workshops, poetry performances, & shared community space, including writing workshops, even yoga — & food! — in downtown Troy, NY. It was co-curated by poet-educator D. Colin & creative strategist Patrick Harris Jr., & sponsored by an interlocking connection of community activist/poets & organizations — Mary Panza, Hudson Valley Writers Guild, Poetry Motel Foundation, United Way of the Greater Capital Region, Connect Center for Youth, Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, and the New York State Writers Institute. There was an overwhelming schedule of events throughout the weekend. 

I was only able to make it to the Saturday night Poetry Showcase. The schedule had listed the event at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, but there was a sign at the front door directing us to Lucas Confectionary, a wine bar a few blocks away on 2nd St. Uh-oh, I thought, has this become another literary cluster-fuck? Fortunately not: it was a perfect location for an urban poetry event, I breathed a sigh of relief & sipped my bourbon.

The host/MC for the reading was the Poet Laureate of Schenectady, NY, Adonis Richards (aka Sincerely Donnie), who performed his emotional piece, “Shattered Glass.”

Earlier in the day there had been the Empire State Slam & a representative from the winning team, North Star Poets from Rochester, performed a typically intense, histrionic, entertaining Slam piece.

D.Colin was one of the organizers of this weekend, as well as being a dynamo in the local poetry/art scene; she performed some of her signature poems celebrating her Haitian heritage, including the title poem from her 2019 collection, Said the Swing to the Hoop, “Painting Flowers in a Time Like This,” & sang in Creole, “the voice of Haiti in my throat…”

Jade is a local poet/performer & recently returned from Gaza where she provided aid as a nurse; she performed “Community Butterflies.” 

Lynette Johnson dedicated her first poem, "Crickets,” to poets “on this side of the mic,” followed by an audience participation piece, “’Til You Do Right,” then its flip side “How to Ruin a Good Thing in a Few Easy Steps,” & on to unnecessary apologies “Unapologetic,” & “Transference.”

I’ve enjoyed the poetry of Mahogany L. Browne & was happy to get this chance to see her read in person. She began with a poem citing poet Sister Sonia Sanchez, being inspired by her & other women, then to an intensely political piece quoting James Baldwin, “every bombed village is my home too," & a piece on patriarchy & the rich & famous doing bad. Then to poems from her book Chrome Valley (Liveright Publishing, 2023), one part of “A Chorus of Hands,” “Do Not Make Grief Your God,” & “Black Girl Magic.”

D. Colin book-ended the night with her poem “Behold” (& another quote from Sister Sonia!), that is on the wall of the Albany Institute of History & Art in the must-see exhibit For Liberation and For Life: The Legacy of Black Dimensions in Art, at the Institute through December 31. 

An Afternoon of Poetry, October 23

Indeed it was, & a most pleasant afternoon it was at the Chatham (NY) Public Library. This is a quarterly event; when they send me an email about it I bounce it to the Poetry Motel Foundation list, but this was the first one that fit in my schedule. It’s an easy drive from Albany.

The reading was held in a corner of the Library’s main room; it’s a small Library, but there seemed to be a regular stream of patrons in & out. There was no sign-up sheet, just informal introductions & a random, self-selected order to the reading, with a mic & podium. Many of the poets, as usually happens at long-running series, knew each other. We went around twice, no specific limit but each poet was sensitive about leaving time for others, & there was a mix of original poems & poems by others. 

Judy Staber began the readings. Her poems include “Going South” about watching geese, a more serious piece about an empty house, “Erosion Restoration,” & one titled simply “October.” 

David Bly read a mix of Nature poems & political pieces, including “A Thanksgiving” (with geese, again) apparently from a chapbook, a descriptive Spring poem, & one looking back to Easter 100 years ago; then a trio of political poems written in the last month, “Is Feudalism Our Future,” “Morning Glories,” & “Where Will We Find Hope?” He said he was a recent transplant to Chatham from Minnesota where he had served in the state legislature.

Joanna Auerbach coordinates this series & sends out the PR. She read a peace she heard read at an event to support refugees, titled “Home,” but I didn't catch the author's name; then a piece written in a poetry workshop, “Write a Poem She Said About New York City,” & a poem imitating Emily Dickinson’s rhymes, “Dear Emily.”

This being in the midst of the World Series I read some pieces from my chapbook, Baseball Poems (A.P.D., 2019).

Chris Stewart read poems by David Whyte (including “The True Love”) & by Mary Oliver (of course “Wild Geese” just to connect to the afternoon’s minor theme).

Jay McEwan read a mix of short pieces, many without titles, descriptive, sound/word play, even a string titled “Bad Jokes,” another humorous piece titled “Wind Directions, & a poem, “Angel Fire,” responding to a photo of band.

Steve Auerbach read a piece, “Cold Hard Facts,” written in a workshop, a political piece titled “Choosing Sides,” & poems by William Carlos Williams & Leonard Cohen.

Thomas Morrison arrived in the middle of the 2nd round & read poems by others, “The Night of the Wickie” by a librarian here (Laura?), & the beginning & ending of Robert Services’ famous “The Cremation of Sam McGee," & one of his own about the sea.

It was an afternoon with poets & lovers of poetry. If you can get to Chatham, NY try calling the Library & asking when is the next Afternoon of Poetry.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, October 16

Bob Elmendorf, March 1991, 8th Step

Back at the Social Justice Center in Albany with a handful of open mic poets for the featured reader Lance Le Grys to read from his new book. I invoked the Muse of a recent gone poet, well-known in the Albany poetry scene, Bob Elmendorf (1946 - 2025); I read his poem “Chess After Death” from his book The Return (The Troy Book Makers, 2021). 

Sylvia Barnard was in the place she likes best, #1 on the open mic sign up sheet, so she can relax & pay attention to the other poets reading; she read a poem inspired by the play Becky Nurse of Salem recently at Albany’s Capital Rep Theater, about a woman hung in 1692 in Salem, MA, drawing parallels to her own trial of losing her job at UAlbany, “To Rebecca Nurse.”

David Gonsalves read his characteristicly enigmatic poem “The Unfolding” images of throwing down textbooks, among other things.

Elaine Kenyon hosts a poetry open mic at the Schuylerville Public Library on the 2nd Wednesday of the month; the poem she read was an exploration of the word “Over” inspired by a poem by Melissa Anderson who did something similar.

John Thomas Allen gave a rambling introduction referencing some books he had intended to read from but did not, finally settling on a poem from the collaborations of the American Surrealist poets Laurence Weisberg (1953 - 2003) & Philip Lamantia (1927 - 2005); he read Weisberg’s poems titled “Targets” originally published in 1971 in Caterpillar #17, then “Obstacles of Sleep,” both can be found here 

I was next - & last - to read in the open mic, “On Eagles’ Wings,” reacting to hearing the song at a funeral earlier this year.

Lance Le Grys, our featured poet, had been featured here in the past & also featured with his daughter Alex at Poets in the Park. Tonight he read from his new chapbook from Bottlecap Press, Pilate Suite. He said that he has been obsessed with the historical figure Pontius Pilate since teenage years; the poems in the book were written over many years & are not historically accurate. Structured like a piece of classical music with tempo markings as part of the titles, he read “Andante: Pilate Poeticizes;” from the long section “Allegro: Three Dreams” he read “Pilate at Play” & “Pilate in White” & the opening section from “Scherzo: Pilate’s Confession,” written in rhyming quatrains. From his forthcoming chapbook Stray Hunter’s Bullet (Broadstone Books), which he characterized as “a failure in narrative,” he read a brief section, & a piece from a recently accepted book, Fishing Tale. He concluded with a couple poems about his writing shed from the 2019 Views From an Outbuilding (Clare Songbirds Publishing House). He generously donated his honorarium & proceeds from his book sales this night to the Poetry Motel Foundation & the Social Justice Center.

This monthly reading by a local or regional poet, with an open mic for community poets, takes place each third Thursday of the month at 7:30PM at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY — your donations support poetry events in Albany & the work of the Social Justice Center.

2nd Tuesday All-Genre Open Mic Out of Bennington, October 14

Of course we began as usual with our host’s Charlie Rossiter introductory rant, “The Mic is Open!” & on we went, with 2 rounds for each reader.

I was up first with a couple of new poems, in the first round my death-fantasy reaction to hearing the insipied song “On Eagle’s Wings” at a recent funeral. In the second round, an “accidental sonnet” on the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, “The Sound of the Tides.” 

Sharon Smith read 2 poems from her 2022 collection of poems, reflection. In her first round she read “Long Form Duet” for her parents, their cooperative roles, in a series of short stanzas, back & forth; then in the 2nd round the first poem she ever wrote back in 2018,  “Hearing the Shaman Boogie, or Is That a Waltz?”

Sherri Bedingfield read a poem titled “Animals Come” with strutting crows, an owl in the road, from a new book, for which Charlie wrote a blurb; then in her second round read a prose memoir, “Gloria & Me, 1957” for an Orenaug Mountain Press collection.

Charlie Rossiter, Full Circle Bookstore
Oklahoma City, 8/29/2010

Our host, Charlie Rossiter, began with a nature poem of sorts, “Nothing Much Happens Here;” his second round poem was “Morning Thoughts” which he said was one of many with this title.

Tom Nicotera’s first round poem, “The Trees on the Ridge,” was an Autumn poem, the trees & the light; then in the second round read a Halloween poem about The Green Lady Cemetery, a haunted place in Burlington CT, a descriptive piece, with a lyric ending.

Julie Lomoe’s only poem was titled “The Toothless Crone,” TMI about her missing dentures, hearing aids & growing old, 

Anthony Bernini began with a poem titled with a quote from Benjamin Franklin, “If You Can Keep It,” about fighting for our values, then, in the 2nd round, an old poem, “Survivors,” about squash abandoned in the fields, ending up in the market.

This is a monthly Zoom open mic for “all genres” with an eclectic mix of writers & & strummers, & what-evers is on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, at 7:00PM ET. If you are not already on Charlie’s list, send him an email at  charlierossiter@gmail.com & ask for the link & bring your stuff -- I hope to see you there.

Read for Your Rights: Banned Books Readout, October 7

This is an event held each year, unfortunately because many books continue to be banned Nationwide. The flyer for the event proclaimed "Censorship is so 1984." It was held at the Albany Public Library Washington Ave. Branch, presented in partnership NYCLU (Capital Region Office), League of Women Voters of Albany County, Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, & Albany Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Opening remarks were by Andrea Nicolay (APL), Sharon Cates-Williams (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority), & Joanna Palladino (NYCLU) who served as the host & MC. 

Joanna Palladino

According to the website of the American Library Association, there were "... attempts to remove 2,452 unique titles in 2024." See below for more from the ALA.

At the APL this night there were 11 folks from the community who read brief excepts from 11 books. The readers & the books that they read from were;

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 

read by Q. Sales.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 

read by Laura Graver

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins 

read by Gary Hoffmann

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn 

read by Josephine Tracy

Monet Thompson-Young

Crank by Ellen Hopkins 

read by Monet Thompson-Young

Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

read by Kathleen Carey

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

read by Dan Wilcox

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

read by Dona Bulluck

Bob Resnick

Me, and Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

read by Bob Resnick

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

read by Dr. Jacquline Kane

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Read by Gary Maggio

This is an excerpt from the website of the American Library Association:

“The 2024 data reported to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) shows that the majority of book censorship attempts are now originating from organized movements. Pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries. Parents only accounted for 16% of demands to censor books, while 5% of challenges were brought by individual library users. The 120 titles most frequently targeted for censorship during 2024 are all identified on partisan book rating sites which provide tools for activists to demand the censorship of library books.

The most common justifications for censorship provided by complainants were false claims of illegal obscenity for minors; inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice.

Since 2021, ALA has tracked a sharp spike in censorship attempts in libraries. In 2024, ALA recorded the third highest number of book challenges since tracking began in 1990: ALA documented 821 attempts to censor library books and other materials in 2024 across all library types, a decrease from 2023, when a record high 1,247 attempts were reported. ALA recorded attempts to remove 2,452 unique titles in 2024, which significantly exceeds the average of 273 unique titles that were challenged annually during 2001–2020.”

Caffè Lena Poetry Open Mic, October 1

The Featured poet this night was the venerable Bertha Rogers, co-founder of the Bright Hills Literary Center in Treadwell, NY, as well as Bright Hills Press. Since her reading was live-streamed then posted on Caffè Lena’s YouTube channel one can experience it in its entirety, so I will only share with you a summary & some highlights. She read exclusively from her recent book from Salmon Poetry, the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland, What Want Brings: New & Selected Poems. Although the book has selections from her books dating back to 1987, the poems she read were either newer poems, or poems from 2019. Even that covered a lot of ground in 25 or 30 minutes.

Early on she paid tribute to the memory of her friend the gone New York poet Colette Inez (1931 - 2018) in the poem “Mezzo and Dead Colette.” I urge you to watch Bertha’s actual reading at the Caffè Lena YouTube channel. The reading starts with the introduction by Carol Graser about 5 minutes in.

Then on to a full sign-up sheet of community readers (not recorded). First up was Mary Cay with a tearful “Sadness Reigns,” a quote & poem about hope, & then “Take a Breath.” David Graham read a piece titled “All the Citizens,” important in this time of Constitutional crises. I followed with a baseball poem, “October Land,” & another seasonal piece, “Yom Kippur.” Pauline read OPP (i.e., other people’s poems), namely, Emily Dickinson (“Parting”?) & Wendall Barry (“The Peace of Wild Things”).

Leslie Sittner, who is a regular at Saratoga open mics said she was reading October hunting poems for the "Full Hunter Moon", “Father Says” about her brother at 13, & another about the full Moon itself. In contrast Pat’s poem, “No Fucks,” responded to social media posts. Our host, Carol Graser, the host for the event, read the title poem from her new book of poems “Prayer for the Sorrowful Brain.” Melissa Anderson who had been the featured reader here back in June read poems titled “Still Life with Gnashing Teeth” & “Weights and Measures.” Elaine Kenyon is also a frequent reader here, tonight read a meditation “On Sylvia Plath” & a September Haiku.

Jay Rogoff, who has been selected as the next Poet Laureate of Saratoga Springs, & who is no stranger to this popular open mic, read a poem about donuts & his mother, “Holes,” then a villanelle about apples “At First Bite.” Jeanine Laverty read a couple poems by one of my favorite poets, Kenneth Patchen (1911 - 1972), from his grand Collected Poems (New Directions, 1968), “The Great Birds” & “Wide Wide in the Rose’s Side” (the last poem in the book). Jackie Craven is the host of the Zoom open mic Writers Mic & her poems are no strangers to the surreal, so her comment that what she was reading was “weird, nostalgic, seasonal” was an obvious introduction to her piece from 1962, “Post Card I Wish I’d Sent to Elizabeth When She Was Sent Away” with lines in Pig Latin.

Richard Levine has a foot in Brooklyn, another in Upstate New York; he read his poem “Pulse” published in an online journal, & “Once Upon a Grimm Time” with images from a dream which can be found in his Selected Poems (Futurecycle Press, 2019). Andy Fogle read a poem about driving (& drinking) from Virginia with his cousin, then another poem about working with his Dad. Another regular here, Rodney Parrott, read a couple of excerpts from his revised memoir A Perspective of Movement, & another piece from “The Wanderer.”

Andrew improvised a random list of words & dates he called “Mirror Images,” then what he said was a poem written on acid, disconnected phrases, which sure sounded like a poem on acid. Lucyna Prostko read a poem about her experience being an immigrant, “The Art of Leaving.” Gripp read a poem in the Slam style, written about a film class. & that was it for this night.

Caffè Lena Poetry Open Mic takes place on the first Wednesday of each month at the historical Caffè Lena on Phila St. in Saratoga Springs, NY — a featured poet at 7:00PM, which is live-streamed & recorded for YouTube, followed by an open mic for community poets, sign-up starts at 6:30PM when the doors open, $5.00, free for students.