2nd Sunday @ 2 - Poetry + Prose, October 11

My co-host, Nancy Klepsch, asked me to handle the duties solo this Sunday so she could take care of business at home — that’s one of the advantages of having a team, we can cover for each other when necessary, & we do every-once-in-a-while.

There were 5 of us on the sign-up sheet, even a new face & voice. I started us off with a couple pieces from my Gallery Poems file; “Missing Pieces” about a painting by the gone Wren Panzella of the jazz musician Sun Ra, & another where a painter’s easel was the centerpiece of the exhibit, “The Easel’s Story.”

The ubiquitous Thomas Bozzo was next with a relationship poem, “I Go By,” then one he read last week at the new Old Songs open mic, “Capital L” about how he feels he has arrived.

Joel Best is a long-time regular at 2nd Sunday at our various locations, & I’ve been fascinated for a long time with his stream-of-conciousness narratives. This afternoon he described his writing as wandering, like Billy Pilgrim, & his first piece “Sacred” showed off his wanderings. Then he talked about being a substitute teacher which opens up time for him to write, then he read an example, “Last Days Thoughts.”

Another regular, David Gonsalves, read a piece about his mother-in-law’s death, “Pearl’s Room,” then “Memory of Someone Else,” with a mention of the Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992).

Hannah Kennedy was here for the first time to bravely read an intense piece, “The Last Night,” about a woman plotting & escaping a violent relationship.

2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose takes place, for now, at Collar Works, 50 4th St., Troy, NY — check out the Instagram account for any changes — Also see the poetry calendar at the Hudson Valley Writers Guild website for a full listing of the area’s literary events.