Writers Mic, February 8

Our host, Jackie Craven, has returned to the Schenectady area from Florida, which doesn’t mean much if you are on Zoom & can be anywhere on Earth (or elsewhere?) — which is also a good thing. Although online, there is a lot of warm interaction among & between the poets.

First up on the list was Sue Oringel starting with 2 “tiny,” as she said, Valentines poems starting with a 1958 childhood memory of her parents arguing, & a limerick from 2015 by her boyfriend then/husband now. & a poem inspired both by her family history & the romance movie Dr. Zhivago, “The Cold Reminds Me.”

David Graham began with a meditation on aging as he turns 70 this month, “Nearing 70” a conversation with his doctor post stroke & learning to speak; then some tiny poems, funny, linking nature & politics.

I was next with an old poem brought to mind by the recent “green comet,” a poem about the 2017 American eclipse, “Spathe is the Plathe,” then my annual “Birthday Poem” subtitled “Magic in Gloucester.”

Ellen White Rook’s first poem responded to an XJ Kennedy poem on Duchamp's “Nude Descending the Staircase,” then a more personal one titled “Tender at 2 Am” about a conversation with a “mad brother,” as she put it. 

Scot Morehouse usually reads hilarious/outrageous prose stories, tonight he read a couple of Valentines poems, “When You Care Enough To Send the Very Best” where love comes from, & “Another Valentines Day Without a Card From You” in which he talks to the ashes of a past lover.

Beth B said she was dialing in from outside Woodstock, NY, that she had found this even "by mistake" but hung around to read some poems, in rhyme, “For Teddy” a sad poem to one who had died, then a more cheerful piece, & another about looking for the happy life “Waiting for Life.”

Alan Catlin read from Altered States an old file that had been corrupted & now restored by his wife, the poems “The State of New York,” & “The State of Massachusetts” about an old new Bedford whalers, then a new one “The Naked Room,” about his early years, & visiting an old hospital.

Alexander Perez read from a poetry magazine his work had be published in, short pieces from others, then one of his own, an elegy for the past “Touch My Fingers with Fire as if They Were Candles” trying to capture the heat of the past of lovers. 

The 1st three poems that Naomi Bindman read can be found on the Hudson Valley Writers Guild website “Lament,” “Why Write when it’s All Been Done Before,” “Found Poem: Texting with My Brother,” then she read a longer piece she has worked on for a year “The Shape of the Wind” with images of hawks flying, a piling up of sounds & visions of the wind.

Francine Farina was here for the 1st time with a couple of descriptive poems “The Final Visit” at a gravesite, & “Northeast Winter.”

Jackie Craven read a surrealistic prose poem, “Surveillance Video Shows Suitcases Resisting Arrest” just out in Pleiades.

Whether you know how to get “here” or just stumble in it by accident, you can get the Zoom link from the Writers Mic Facebook page  so you can join us each 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7:30PM. Have some poems handy to read.

Caffè Lena Poetry Night, February 1

I’d missed the last couple month’s readings at Caffè Lena so I was glad to get back to Saratoga Springs in 2023. Our host, Carol Graser, got us started with a poem by May Swenson, “The Process,” then on to the featured poet, Hajar Hussaini, whose reading was live streamed & you can view it on YouTube 

Hajar Hussaini is a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at nearby Skidmore College. I was not familiar with her work & was more than pleasantly surprised by what I heard. She read about a dozen poems from her debut poetry collection, Disbound (University of Iowa Press, 2022), in the order they appear in the book. There were poems about her native Kabul, such as the opening poem “notes from Kabul,” also “losing sight,” & “simple café;” a “classic American road trip poem” (“road trip”); &, wonderfully, a love poem (“peopleless”). Her last poem was a poem not in Disbound, “Look at the Moon” in multiple parts. Her work is a combination of word-play, informative spacing, & surrealistic leaps in the things/images, just the kind of poetry I like, but you can judge for yourself by watching the YouTube, &/or buying her book.

Then back, without a pause or a break, to the open mic list. Since I was able to snag a photo of the sign-up list I was able to see why Carol often just announces the first name of the reader, or even has trouble with that, the legibility of the names on the list for some, but not most, was mysterious. I will do my best to report the correct name here, but I offer no guarantees. If you are reading this & I mis-report your name, please email me at this Blog & I will correct it.

First up was R.J. as Carol announced it which was what it looked like to me, with a couple untitled pieces, the first like a letter, the other in rhyme.  Anne Brennan use her walker from her seat to get to the stage & eschewed the stairs to read from her walker; her first piece was, she said, “her father’s song” about gardening, her next was a meditation on violence &  the recent murder by police of Tyre Nichols. Robert Preuse was a flash-from-the-past, a poet from the early days of this long-running open mic, tonight he did a long intro to his clever poem titled “Word He Made Up,” then another short one that may have been untitled.

Alexander Perez has been making the rounds of the open mics in last few months, tonight his first poem was titled “On the Roads We Traveled,” then a piece about a butterfly in the garden, “The Crush of Mint.” 

Amanda Blodgett is a regular here & read 3 Haiku, as she said, “on my current situation.” Also a frequent reader here, Leslie Sittner read a piece titled “The Roach” about her dog who had to be taken to the vet for mysterious symptoms until it was determined it had eaten a joint.

Pauline Bame read an elegy to Bob Dylan’s former girlfriend, who died in 2011, “Suze Rotolo is Dead,” then a poem by Barbara Crooker “Praise Song.” Iffy Redman has been coming here to read since the early days, tonight read a poem titled “Beneath Bone” & mentioned she has a memoir coming out next year. Chuck Coperspire said this was his first time reading on the East Coast; he began with a self-parody titled “Mixed Bag,” then a piece titled “Check on Your Strong Friends,” & squeezed in a short 4 line “spell” “Serendipity.”

As far as I can tell, Todd Fabozzi has been coming to the Caffè Lena Poetry Night since 2008 when he published his first collection of poems Umbrageous Embers; he has gone on to publish other collections & tonight read from his latest, Poems & Anti-Poems, Book 4 the poems “The Muse on His Shoulder,” & one on rhyme like a greeting card, “Happy Valentines Day.” Jan Tramontano has been a featured poet here, & a long-time habitué of readings & open mics in the area; she noted that Holocaust Remembrance Day was on January 27, read her poem “What We Remember” from her chapbook Woman Sitting in a Café and Other Poems of Paris (The Troy Book Makers, 2008), inspired by a poem by Edward Hirsch. 

Our gracious host, Carol Graser, was the next reader with a seasonal poem titled “Icicles.” Sally Rhoades was yet another of the fine poets who have been at Caffé Lena often & way back, & way before that at Albany open mics; she began with a poem about the great, gone poet Stanley Kunitz, “Nonpareils, for My Father” then a poem from her 2022 chapbook Greeted by Wildflowers (A.P.D.) “I Have Danced with Druids.” & I had the pleasure of following all these other poets with a poem for another Albany poet, Tom Nattell, my elegy “Chasing Tom;” on this past Monday a number of us held our annual memorial Beret Toss in his memory at the Robert Burns statue in Albany’s Washington Park.

Tonya Wile began with a piece titled “A Lesson in Losing,” with a Buddhist-like line “all will be lost,” then a descriptive piece “Meditating.” Melissa Anderson’s first piece was the short “Dark Star,” then “New Years Countdown” which was a literal countdown. The pieces that Jenna Kitchen, who was new to me, read were titled “Gleaners” & “Oblivion.” Elaine Kenyon’s poems, written on loose pages, were both about teachers, the first about a teacher she worked with who died recently, “The Van Keeps Moving,” the other “Dear Niki” to a Kindergarten teacher. Rodney Parrott also read a death/tribute poem titled “I No Longer Have a Guru.” The final poet for the night, E.R. Vogel, read 2 poems with questions, but seemingly without titles, from a book he published last year titled Love Poems & Other Stuff (if memory serves me correctly, since he didn't announce the title of the book tonight).

The Caffè Lena Poetry Night is usually packed with open mic readers (tonight there were 18), & there is a featured reader, who is live-streamed at the start of the night, at 7:30PM — 47 Phila St., Saratoga Springs, NY, $5.00. 

 

Sand Lake Center for the Arts Authors Series, January 12

“It was a dark & stormy night…” is perhaps not the best way to start a story, but this description of the night it was indeed accurate, but inside the Sand Lake Center for the Arts (SLCA) it was warm & cozy. This was the inaugural Authors Series of readings, writers talk, & book signings here at the SCCA in Averill Park, NY. Tonight’s kick-off of the series featured author Paul Grondahl who was interviewed by Chet Opalka. Paul is the Director of the New York State Writers Institute, was a long-time reporter for the Albany Times Union, & still contributes regular columns to the TU, & biographer of Mayor Erastus Corning, of Theodore Roosevelt, among other books. Chet Oplaka is a local businessman, community leader & philanthropist, founder of the Opalka Gallery at the Russell Sage College Campus in Albany, & known for wearing a button that says “Collaborate, Collaborate.”

Paul began by talking about his arrival at the University at Albany in 1981 as an English major, immediately meeting William Kennedy (who was here tonight in the front row, as he is at most the the Writers Institute events). Paul said that he never took a journalism course, but felt that his job as a reporter at the TU gave him a privilege & a sacred trust to be invited into the homes of community people for them to share their stories of their tragedies, their struggles.

The ensuing conversation included his work on the Corning biography, & how he learned so much about the history of Albany by reading through the newspaper’s files of clippings on the Mayor & on the Democratic Party boss Dan O’Connell. Among the mentors & elders that Paul mentioned were, of course, Writers Institute founder William Kennedy, legendary newspaper editor Harry Rosenfeld, & journalists Andy Rooney & Walter Conkrite. 

Back on October 21, at the Opalka Gallery in Albany, there was a celebration of 20 years of the Gallery honoring Chet & his wife Karen & for their ongoing support of the collaborative arts community. The program included pop-up performances by Albany Pro Musica, the REP, the Black Theatre Troupe, Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, & the NYS Writers Institute, who had commissioned me to write & perform a poem on the theme of “Collaboration” for the event.

The SLCA Authors Series, which has a schedule of literary events in many genres, continues through November 9. For a full list of the events, including theater & musical productions visit their website at https://slca-ctp.org

Writer’s Mic, January 11

Since this open mic is held on Zoom our host, Jackie Craven, can be in Florida this month, & we can be wherever we are, as always, & still be "together."

I continued my current practice of reading poems written in 2022, starting with “Last Night’s Dream,” then one work still in progress/not-yet-abandoned, “I Have Some Masks,” based on Joy Harjo’s “She Had Some Horses.”

Scot Morehouse read another of his richly-imagined, hilarious tales, this titled “Reading is Believing” set in Paris, TX, about a character, Hank, whose vasectomy was announced in the newspaper, & subsequently he is visited by “an amazingly mature” Girl Scout, Brittany, & the eventual court battle.

David Graham read the poem, “Cameo Appearance” by the recently gone Charles Simic, then David’s own, recently written, “Epiphany.”

Susan Jewell said she has been writing some short things like koans, she said & read a series of them, with titles like — Seaside Zen (by Clark Carroll - Jackie & Susan) — “Craft Talk,” “Electronic Ignition,” “The Tides End with Moon,” “Tables of Content,” “The First Time,” “House & Home,” “Rental Cars,” “Vegetables,” “Practicing Daily Astonishment 1,” & “Rationalized Existence.”

Jackie Craven describe her piece as an absurdist poem in 9 short parts titled “Compact Florescence,” on the theme of light, some like koans as well.

Naomi Bindman apologized to me for reading the same poems she read last night at the Zoom open mic from Bennington that I also attended — but I like to say that it is always good to hear good poems again (& again!) — to quote myself from the previous Blog: 

"Marble Goddess,” responding to a poem by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer, also a grieving mother; then … she read a new poem written New Years Day titled “Burning Wishes” for her daughter, Ellen, 14 years gone.” & a third one she had recently posted on her FaceBook page, one word per line, titled “My Poem."

Always good to see Alan Catlin here, tonight he read childhood memory poems, the first titled “The Last Summer We Went to Coney Island,” the in the voice of a child about her mother driving, & one set in the town dump about his "socio-path" cousin Doug.

Alexander Perez’s poems were “God is the Ultimate Party Planner” imagining the world expanding while going to sleep, “On Snow” an imagistic meditation, & the grim narrative of “On Loneliness.” 

Nathan Smith read poems from his recently published book Cotton Candy Sun, one, “Broken Heater,”  written a year ago today, on his father & the man fixing the furnace, following his thoughts strung together, on writing, & one simply titled “Lover.” 

You can find the Zoom link for this monthly open mic, 2nd Wednesdays, 7:30PM EST, on FaceBook at Writer’s Mic. Join us.  

All Genre Open Mic out of Bennington, January 10

Nobody had to drive to Bennington in the dark for this open mic, except for our host, Charlie Rossiter, who was already there. I Zoomed in from the warmth & safety of my home. One piece each round.

In the early months of the New Year, I’m reading at open mics poems written in 2022, some of which I have read at 2022 open mics; in the first round I read “The Rescue” about an encounter at the Caffe Lena Poetry Open Mic; then in the 2nd round a poem I think I never read out previously, “What I Saw at the Mall.”

Bill Thwing frequently brings out his guitar as he did this night for his 1st round piece, a sad song based on a restructured poem about helping the homeless, what a church is for; in the 2nd round a response to a Haiku in an anthology, thus a renga.

Cheryl Rice dialed in from Kingston, NY; her 1st poem, the descriptive “Spring in the Village;” in the 2nd round she read a piece from the early days of the pandemic, “Two Weeks.”

Bruce Robinson began with a sonnet based on a painting by Hendrik Abercame; in his 2nd round he read a piece about being on a bus, in16 lines, “Seat Yourself.” 

Alexander Perez read a descriptive narrative about being at an Adirondack lake “Holiday’s End;” then in the 2nd round his poem “In the Catalog of Smiles” was an interesting take on searching for one to fit his face.

Our host, Charlie Rossiter, read 2 poems he has submitted for publication recently; in the 1st round, “Spirit Days” based on a used copy of Ginsberg’s Indian Journals with lines left behind, like a letter to the previous owner; 2nd time around read “A Fable for the Times” about bears at the door.

It was great to have poet Naomi Bindman back after a hiatus during the Fall with a piece titled “Marble Goddess,” responding to a poem by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer, also a grieving mother; then in the 2nd round she read a new poem written New Years Day titled “Burning Wishes” for her daughter, Ellen, 14 years gone.

Mark W. O’Brien talked about the places in upstate New York he has been reading about in old records, such as an 1888 newspaper; then read a sonnet based on characters from his work-in-progress.

Jim Madigan regularly dials in from Illinois, in the 1st round read a poem written on random pieces of paper, like a list, “Slipping Poetry Across the Border;” then in his 2nd round a poem about the anniversary of the walk on the Moon, “From Above.”

Tom Nicotera said he was reading “another hopelessly romantic poem,” “Her Voice New Year’s Eve 2022 for Sherry;” then his 1st poem of the New Year, in 2 parts, New Years Eve & New Years Day, about being alone with COVID, numbered lists.

Julie Lomoe read only in round 1, left to watch the Golden Globe Awards, she read a serious, anaphoric list poem about her dead dog, Sirius.

This open mic (for all genres) is a monthly Zoom event held on the 2nd Tuesdays at 7:00PM EST. If you haven’t made it to Charlie’s list yet you can email him at charliemrossiter@gmail.com & ask for the link.

Invocation of the Muse, January 9

Usually on the 1st Monday of the month, this reading/open mic was moved to the 2nd Monday due the holiday weekend last week, & there was a good showing of the regular crowd.

Our host, R.M. Engelhardt, invoked the spirit of the rock’n’roll writer, biographer, poet, Nick Tosches (1949 - 2019) as the evening’s Muse, & read his poem(s) “If I Were Robert Stack” (if I were, I’d be dead). On to the open mic.

I read a couple poems written during the last year, “Fiona’s Cards” & a tale of mystery & suspense “The Rescue.”

As Melissa Anderson came to the stage, the old pipes in the Hall began clanking as the heat started coming on; she described her poem, “Found Dream,” as “fantastical” but it sounded like a love poem to me, then read one titled “Reflex City.”

Josh-the-Poet was here to perform a new, untitled piece on relationships as spiritual.

The featured poet was Shannon Lynette who has been around for a number of years but except for a rare appearance at an AlbanyWord Fest many years ago I haven’t seen her at area open mics. But she does have a few books out on Amazon Marketplace  as well as serving as the editor of a number of anthologies, &, according to her Facebook page, is the Associate Editor of Dumpster Fire Press  So tonight was a rare treat to see & hear her read. She read from her May 2022 self-published collection of poems Awkward Years.

There was a screed titled “Fuck You Cancer” about her sister, a couple poems with “time stamps,” “2AM” & "Wednesday Night at 9:30PM,” another titled “Open Mic” (I guess I missed that one), a poem she described as “a personal favorite” about how you can write about anything titled “Shower Poem,” & “Safari” that I took to be about hunting for a poem. Her poems are the kind of work that can easily fit into the poetry open mics that I attend regularly so I am perplexed why I haven’t seen her out more often. 

After a short break we were back with the open mic & the former featured poet, Dimitri Wild, performed 2 poems from his last book which I think is titled Rebel Eyes, the first titled “Death Ship to Paradise” in rhyme as if it might be a song lyric, & one “on bad words” with lots of dramatic posing.

Maurice, who has been coming to this open mic since it began at the Fuze Box, said he was working on his new book, the first piece about a car crashing into a hydrant, then one titled “Thrown into the Flux of Things” but both sounded similar & if run together the 2 pieces could be one poem.

Both of the poems that Caitlin Conlon read tonight were untitled, & about love, the first about being in bed with a cat & a lover, the 2nd in her kitchen thinking of the things love has taken away.

Sierra DeMulder began with a poem about partying in a truck bed with the captivating title “How to Change the Pronoun in a Love Poem,” & another with a simpler title “Sacral Chakra.”

Pat Williams was the featured poet here back in November; tonight in the open mic he read a piece titled “Epigenetics” about sharing the characteristics of both parents, & another piece, “Caught in a Drift,” both read way too fast.

Alexander Perez showed up to read a poem for “dog lovers” titled “On Cats,” then “The Older Men Have Given In to Love,” & one about being with a lover in the cold “Holding On.”

Our host, R.M. Engelhardt, ended the night with a couple of his poems, both in his characteristic serious, preaching style, the first about a pissing match with another poet, “With Nothing More to Say,” then, similarly, “In the Last Days of the Obvious Unknown Words.”

This monthly open mic, with a featured poet, continues each 1st Monday of the month at Lark Hall on the corner of Lark Street & Hudson Avenue in Albany, NY, sign-up at 7:30PM, 8:00PM start — $5.00.

2nd Sunday @ 2: Poetry + Prose, January 8

Back in Troy at Collar City Mushrooms for poetry on a Sunday afternoon, no snow storm this time. It was a short sign-up list as far as number of poets, but no shortage of good poems.

I was the solo host this month & started off the list with a couple of poems written in the past year, “I Have Some Masks” modeled on Joy Harjo’s poem “She Had Some Horses,” then one about an encounter in Saratoga “The Rescue.”

Alexander Perez has been busy making the rounds of the local open mics & apparently has been busy sending poems out since he read poems published recently, from Ouch “Cicadas” & one titled “Forestlings” that also included cicadas, then from a British zine, Lit 202, a descriptive poem titled “In the Town Square.”

Tom Bonville read a poem inspired by an encounter at a book signing, “Her Next Poem.”

Avery Stempel is the proprietor here at Collar City Mushrooms & showed off a new publication, Amongst the Mushrooms, an anthology of poems by local poets, & performed one of his as a chant in the “voice” of a mushroom, “When Will Prototaxites Return?” then another titled “Violet in the Forest” about another mushroom.

Tim Verhaegen regaled us with more of his hilarious tales, this one still being workshopped with his group, titled “Transcendentalish,” was an exercise inspired by Tom Corrado’s work of random lines, leaping from image to image, starting with Catherine di Medici, to her dwarfs, to dogs, on to more contemporary images, & pondering of the past — phew!

Tom Corrado finished out the afternoon showing us how he does it with one of his “screen dumps,” this number 699(!), a typical example of what was the model for Tim’s piece. Tom gave me the latest of his chapbooks of these screen dumps, this numbers 601 to 650, thus not including the one he just read.

This is a monthly gathering of writers at Collar City Mushrooms, 333 2nd Ave., Troy on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 2:00PM — you can even buy mushrooms for dinner if you need them, as well as read your work to an attentive audience of writers. Free.