I rarely use Zoom these days, but this event is one I do use it for, but lately whenever I go to an event the Zoom app jumps me hoops, sometimes landing at a virtual brick wall. This night was one of those times & by the time I was connected it was well underway.
Cheryl Rice apparently was the first on the list & I heard only the last few words of her 1st round poem (the host, Charlie Rossiter likes to do the 2-round thing, 1 poem each round). But I was there from the beginning for her 2nd round poem, “Ocean & Sky,” about the actors Robert Redford & Paul Newman (Cheryl is a big fan of old-time movies).
In both rounds Ginny Folger read poems of the season, in the 1st round “I Dream of Spring,” memories & cats; in the 2nd round the descriptive “March is Messy…” set in a graveyard.
Tom Nicotera began with a poem from a workshop prompt to write about a childhood experience, his a memory of fellow student in a wheelchair from polio, the first time he had thought about death. In his 2nd round he read “The Coming of the Light” in honor of the change to Daylight Savings Time.
Mark O’Brien, in the 1st round, read one of his “correspondence sonnets,” this one titled Ninehva Junction” on the Susquehanna River; in round 2 he read his annual birthday poem, this in the voice of his dogs, “What We Did for Daddy on His Birthday.”
Our host, Charlie Rossiter, read from his new book, For Now, from Foothills Publishing; in the first round, “Reading a Friend’s Poems,” just the fun of it, hearing the poet's voice; in the 2nd round, “They Say Clothes Makes the Man,” about starting to wear a beret — a vest, sky-blue speedo, ties, faded jeans — so fashionable!
Carl Nyberg’s label on Zoom said he was from Shelburne, I’m guessing Vermont; his 1st round poem was titled “Discontinuing the Lincoln Penny.” His 2nd round poem, “Not Creole, Not Jargon, Not Pidgin,” was about language in the military.
I thought I was the last poet to sign in & for the 1st round read a poem inspired by a breakup letter from some years back, “different taste in music,” then in the 2nd round a poem modeled on one by William Carlos Williams of the same title & inspired by a visit to Philadelphia, “The Great Figure.”
Julie Lomoe joined the Zoom event sometime in the 2nd round & spent the time going through her poems, apparently oblivious to what others were reading, was the final reader of the evening with a piece from a few years ago about getting fat, titled “Excess Baggage.”
This Zoom event takes place on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7PM Eastern time. If you would like to join it & you are not already on Charlie’s list, send an email to charlierossiter@gmail.com & ask for the link. You’ll be glad you did.
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