All Genre Open Mic Out of Bennington, September 8

Charlie Rossiter, he host, out of his living room in Bennington, VT, got this monthly Zoom open mic going with his signature introduction “you can rant you can chant …” & we did. We went around in 2 sections of one poem each section.

I was first up on the signup list with 2 poems related to the upcoming 25 anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001 (where where you then?), in the 1st round with the opening segment, “Matins & Lauds,” of my older poem, subsequently published as a chapbook in 1991, Meditations of a Survivor (A.P.D.), then in round 2 one of my poem cards describing my experience on 9/11 in NYC, “Leaving New York.”

Sally Rhoades recently participated in a poetry workshop in Provincetown with Major Jackson & read this night in the 1st round a piece written there, “The sky was bright this morning…” a celebration of herself, her words, her memories; then in round 2 another new poem titled “Figures Forgotten in Porcelain” a memoir of her father, sitting, waiting for Death.

Sharon Smith began in the 1st round by reading Wallace Stevens’ famous poem “13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” then in her 2nd round her variation, “13 Ways of Looking at the United States,” images & history & baseball, quoting poet Claude McKay’s “America” to end the poem.

Our host, Charlie Rossiter, in his 1st round, read a new one, a memoir, “With the Radio Low” listening on a little transistor radio; then in round 2, 2 very short poems -- "Haiku Tears," maybe just notes, & “Call Me Lucky.”

In Tom Nicotera’s 1st round he read a a love poem from on a trip to Niagara Falls with Sherri, “Incongruities,” about a photo of him holding him a guitar in the Hard Rock Cafe, & list of books on his shelf. In his 2nd round, he said that our host, Charlie, was the first to publish him, a broadside of his poem “Spring Concert 4th Grade Chorus” about his daughter singing, wondering about the background of the diverse kids, wondering about the future.

Julie Lomoe used her 1st round to talk about not being able to find her poem about Windows on the World (a pre-2001 visit to the World Trade Center, & read a recent gloomy list poem. In the 2nd round she read her poem “The Terrors of Motherhood,” published by Moonstone Press in the anthology, The Weight of Motherhood, about the birth of her daughter & more.

The afore-mentioned Sherri Bedingfield read in her 1st round an older poem, “Gridlock,” set in NYC, as the subject of an attempted car-jacking; then, in the 2nd round, a poem written 

mid February in Georgia, a memoir of her father, a description of geese flying over a pond.

I prefer to spend my time at readings with in-person poets — & there are plenty where I live in Albany, NY. But I enjoy this Zoom open mic to hear poets from Connecticut & other parts of the country. It is run by poet Charlie Rossiter in Bennington, VT on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00PM Eastern time; if you want to get the Zoom link (& are not already on Charlie’s list) send him an email & ask him to send you the link charlierossiter@gmail.com. Maybe I will see you “there.”