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. 

Poetic License - Reading & Open Mic, September 22

This is the forth year of the collaboration between the Hudson Valley Writers Guild & the Upstate Artists Guild, to create an exhibit of visual art inspired by poetry specifically submitted for the event, Poetic License. 

The first exhibition of the work was at The Fish Market Gallery in Troy, NY, with a reception combined with a reading of poems by the poets whose work inspired visual artist, as well as others reading in an open mic.

The poets who read who have poems in the exhibit were:

Mimi Moriarty (“Empty”); Tim Maloney (“The Claw Machine”); Pam Jacobson (“Tree Snag”); David Gonsalves (“Page 22”); Andy Fogle (“The House Up the Hill”); Jil Hanifan (“The Mad Lark”); and John Savoie (“Nitzotzok”) read by Dan Wilcox.

Those not in the show who read in the open mic were Susan Morse, Brad Quan Copeland (from a chapbook), Sxr Gripp, S.L. Maurice (from his poetry collection Vibrant Sounds, Colors in Motion), Thom Francis, & Poetic Visionz (who performed from memory & with audience participation).

There were also those magic moments where artist & poet met in person, not just in the world of imagination.

You can see a gallery of photos of all the readers on the website of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild, as well as the art in the show on the website for Poetic License.

The exhibit has moved to the Honest Weight Food Co-op, 100 Watervliet Ave., Albany, NY & will be on display until November 16, 2025.

Book Launch:Burning the Ghost Light, September 21

What could be better? Poetry on a Sunday afternoon, at a brewery, & hanging out with other poetry friends: a redhead (Carolee), a blond (Jill), & Avery (the mushroom man) — a most pleasant afternoon. 

The book launch was for poet Caitlin Conlon’s book Burning the Ghost Light (Central Avenue Poetry, 2025) with a reading & reception at Warbler’s Brewery in Delmar, NY. The place was filled with the author’s friends & family, as well as surprised bar customers, & a nice spread of snacks to soak up the beer. I had seen Caitlin read at open mics in Albany sometime ago, enjoyed what I heard, & was curious about her book.

The book is structured as a play in 4 acts, with an intermission. Each of the acts is focused on a specific character, the Mother, the Father, the Lover, & the Self. And yet, it is a very personal series of poems.

Caitlin described Act II as the most “true” with poems written about her father after he died, while Act IV she described as “the most personal.” However, in her reading selections, she got the most emotional in reading “The Lover’s Finale” in Act III. In the poem “The Moveable Future” in Act IV there is the bittersweet line, “All you can do with a memory/ is remember it.”

Caitlin has put together a impressive book tour taking her out to Ohio & Michigan, but if you miss her on the road you can order her book online, or perhaps get one from her if you catch her at a local open mic. As my button says, “Support Your Local Poet!”

Pine Hollow Arboretum Poetry, September 19

Back among the trees, our host Mark O’Brien started us off with invoking the Muse with a poem, “The Phoenix,” by William Golding, better known as a novelist. 

The featured poet, Charlie Rossiter, was back in in town after years in Chicago, & now in Bennington, Vermont, announcing a forthcoming books from Foothills Publishing, & began, as he always does at his readings, with a performance of “Reading Black Snake Solos Listening to Haydn” from his chapbook Evening Stones (Ye Olde Font Shoppe, 1999); then on to a humorous piece about a mail-order catalog, “The Day I Discovered Church Merch.”  Knowing Charlie, as I do, there had to be a few road trip poems, “Modigliani, Me & the Good Vibes Waitress …,” “On the High Road to Taos,” & “Bison Turd in a Peanut Butter Jar at Teddy Roosevelt National Park;” & dead poets poems, “Listening to William Carlos Williams,” & “At the Poetry Party” reading their work. “Memorial Day” was from his years in Chicago; “Remembering Toodles” was about drawing lessons from the children’s books; & a love poem, “Rough Times.” He ended with a poem on death, a new piece, “Morning Thoughts.”

Paul Amidon was first up on the long sign-up list with a poem about a visit to the Emergency Room, “Compassion Optional,” followed by a piece about the difference way of acting between boys & girls, “Adolescence.” The co-founder & host emeritus of this series, Alan Casline, read from his astounding collection of poems based on the I Ching, 64 Changes (FootHills Publishing, 2015), 3 pieces, “When Flexibility Is In the Balance” (#37), “Deliverance On The Day For It” (#40) & “Devotion” (#13). 

Tom Nicotera, who had been a co-feature last month, returned to support his friend Charlie Rossiter, & read a poem for his daughter “June Poppies,” then one about sighting a broad-wing hawk, “Buteo Out the Window.” Our host, Mark O’Brien, read a piece from his series titled “Correspondences” a sonnet based on a newspaper article from 1892, “Maples.”

The linguist Dennis Sullivan read a piece of cunning spiritual advice, “Adios in Any Language Means Adios.” Frank Robinson read a love poem to his wife Therese as a supernova, then a cutting commentary on Donald Trump’s mispronouncing the name of the National Park, “Yo Semite.”

Scott Ogelsby read here for the first time last month, returned tonight with a short prose memoir of 5th grade & a fight with a friend. He was followed by his sister, Rhonda Coullet, who read from her book of poems (whose title I did not note), read “New Year’s Day,” “Animal Justice” (on the January 6 rioters), & “No Children in Church.” Ann Stoney was also here for the first time last month, tonight read a prose poem based on quotes from COVID patients, “We the People - Delirium.” 

Ingrid said that she was a wildlife “rehabilitator” & read a poems based on her experience, “Pelicans,” & “Great Blue Heron.” Frequent flyer here, Edie Abrams, read a piece that might have been titled “Wight” meaning ghost, follows its flight, asks about the next world, then a poem about 2 trees, “Secret Love.” 

The remaining readers were all also “frequent flyers” here. David Gonsalves’ poem “Heading for Home” conflated being on a plane with baseball. Tom Corrado, Master of the Screen Dump, read his first from September 27, 2013, then his most recent, #826(!). Sally Rhoades began with a poem from her book Taking Time (The Troy Book Makers, 2025) “Thistle,” then a new poem written this week, “Mercy Song.”

The poets gather among the trees each 3rd Friday of the month at the Pine Hollow Arboretum in Slingerlands, NY at 6:30PM (signup starts at 6:00PM) for a featured reader (or 2), & an open mic for the rest of us — at least until the snow flies.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, September 18

It’s not like I’m trying to fill the MVP Arena, but to have an intense, poetic gang gathered at the storefront of the Social Justice Center is as gratifying as having an overflow crowd. I invoked the Muse, tonight Louise Glück (1943 - 2023) & read her poem “Theory of Memory” from Faithful and Virtuous Night (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014).

First up on the sign-up sheet was Sylvia Barnard who read a descriptive memoir poem about the old family farm in Shelburne, MA. Joe Krausman showed the cover of a book of poems, Late Blossoms by his friend, Barnett Zumoff, then read one of his own poems, “At the Dollar Bargain Store,” a conversation with another customer buying a can of nuts.

David Gonsalves read 2 short poems, descriptive with a dash of humor “Heart Throb,” then “Slipknot.” This was Ian Mack’s first time here reading, which surprised me I guess because I’ve seen him read at other venues around Albany; he read from his book Identity Crises (Recto y Verso, 2024) “Temptation Island” then “Red Eye,” a rant against being an object of a woman’s interracial fantasy.

Valerie Temple said that “life intervened” so that she hadn’t been here in awhile, but here she was; she sang a little ditty about abuse, then a “fairy tale” as she called it, written on her birthday about God & Man & the mess Man made. I finished off the open mic I read a new poem, an accidental sonnet, “The Sound of the Tides,” then, honoring our featured poet, a baseball poem “Dusty Baker.”

I met tonight’s featured poet, Karen Elizabeth Sharpe, at the 1st National Baseball Poetry Festival in Worcester, MA; she is one of the folks who organizes the event & spent a few minutes talking about this year’s festival & the plans for next year. She has been working on a new poetry manuscript, & began with a piece responding to the 90th anniversary of the Loch Ness monster, “Monsters Among Us,” followed by “Safe as Houses, a Duplex” (which is the name of the form of the poem). She read one poem, “Reflections on Sex Lessons,” from her 2023 book from Prayer Can Be Anything, a poem which she described as a palindrome, or a mirror/reflection, as was “Forgiveness” that she read later. “Casino of Love” played with images of gambling & of love; the word “worry” was a repeated refrain in “Lines Written During Another Something or Other” a poem on climate change & stress; “St. Christopher Patron Saint of Travelers Punches Out” was a persona poem; & she brought her well-wrought reading to a close with a tender poem of morning “Autumn Aubade.”

This series continues each third Thursday of the month at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:30PM, with a local or regional writer as the feature & an open mic for the rest of us. Your donation supports poetry events in Albany & the work of the SJC.