Ann Cefola's Blog, page 3

your good-lovin' annogram

 

"Sweet Love" by Linda SimoneDear annogrammers, welcome new subscribers: pull up a chair, meet some new poets and artists, and maybe get your hands a little sugary making some almond amaretti. We love what we do here, and encourage you to pursue your big-hearted dreams this Valentine’s and throughout 2022; then write me when they come true.

 

 

Trainwreck Poets to Read

 

Thanks to everyone for continuing to purchase my chapbook, When the Pilotless Plane Arrives (Trainwreck Press). On March 5, 4pm ET, I will read with outstanding Trainwreck poets: eco-poet Mary Newell, Hinge Theory founder Heller Levinson, poet and translator Anthony Seidman, and poet and visual artist Giorgia Pavlidou. Please register on Zoom here for a fun and lively hour of poetry!

 

 

Bridezillas, Marilyn Monroe, What Georgians Should Read, and More

 

It could not be more perfect this Valentine’s month to have work in They Call Us Bridezillas , I Wanna Be Loved by You: Poems on Marilyn Monroe (Milk+Cake Press), and Poets Speaking to Poets: Tributes and Echoes (Ars Omnia Press). Thrilled that Mother Mary Comes to Me (Madville Publishing) was named a 2022 Book All Georgians Should Read by Georgia Center for the Book. Finally, roses and bon-bons to Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for welcoming me to his poetry workshop last month, and for the gifted poets in attendance.

 

 

Et Voici La Chanson reviewed by Tristan Hord é

 

Congratulations to Hélène Sanguinetti on Tristan Hordé’s glowing review of Et Voici La Chanson (Éditions Lurlure):

 

What an excellent idea to republish the book, published by Éditions de l'Amandier in 2012, for new readers! Start with the back cover, which sheds light on two of the book's main characters: Yokeand Joke. They are day and night, moon and sun, water and thirst, Eros and Thanatos, but also the classic villain and hero, sorrow and happiness, bad luck and good fortune, pain and pleasure; sometimes him, sometimes her, everyone, no one. Discover others firmly rooted in a world where the best and worst characters sit side by side.

 

My translation of this fantastic book is available—publishers, what are you waiting for? This iconic poet mesmerizes US audiences every time I read from this work. It’s timely and timeless at once.

 

 

Holding Up the Sky

 

Ed Jordan at workEd Jordan, a former felon, tells his transformational story in the documentary Holding Up the Sky . Through the project, filmmaker Bob Nesson hopes to “foster greater access to education inside prison and stimulating change [to help] a ‘returning citizen’ gain a stable life.” See a rough-cut (password “Ed Jordan”), and consider a donation to help this important film get over the finish line this year.

 

 

Black History Month

 

Some wonderful events this month: poet David Mills will read, February 15 at 7pm, from Boneyarn (The Ashland Poetry Press), the first poetry book about slavery in New York City (register on Zoom here); Faith Ringgold: American People at the New Museum starts February 17; poet Linda Simone alerted us to MoMA artist Joseph E. Yoakum, and the new quarter honoring Maya Angelou, her fav poet whom she met years ago; and Mattel’s debut of the Ida B. Wells Barbie, honoring the early civil rights pioneer.

 

 

Creative Opportunities

 

Letter addressed by
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Furious Flower Poetry Prize, $1000 and publication in Obsidian for a group of poems; by February 15

 

Omnidawn Publishing, $3000 and publication of first or second poetry book; submit by February 28

 

Open Door Magazine poetry on “footsteps” by February 15

 

Pedestal open reading, submit up to five poems by March 4

 

Sarabande Books, $2000 and publication for a poetry and fiction book; submit by February 15

 

Terrapin Books, submit poetry manuscripts by February 28

 

 

New and Recent Releases

Susana H. Case and Margo Taft Stever, eds. I Wanna Be Loved by You: Poems on Marilyn Monroe (Milk+Cake Press)

David Mills, Boneyarn (The Ashland Poetry Press)

David A. Petreman, trans. Between Good-Byes and Nostalgia & Distances and Solitudes by Marino Muñoz Lagos (Dos Madres Press)

 

Jan Zlotnick Schmidt, Over the Moon Gone: The Vanishing Act of Bess Houdini (Palooka Press)

 

Edwin Torres, Quanundrum: i will be your many angled thing (Roof Books)

Linda Marie Walker, Thresholds (Trainwreck Press)

 

 

Creative Workshops

 

"Lunch" by Kathy BradfordStealing from the Poet’s Toolbox: A Fiction Writers Workshop with Estha Weiner, March 19, 10am-2pm, Sarah Lawrence College, $175

 

All-Genre Writers Group, 6:30pm, Thursdays

 

John McMullen Poetry Workshop, 6pm, fourth Wednesdays

 

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, second Wednesdays

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

Writers and Artists Lunch Conversation, second Fridays, noon

 

 

February+ Readings and Events – ET

 

David MillsFebruary, Kapej Gallery & Cafe – San Antonio, Valentine teabag-art cards by watercolorist Linda Simone

 

February 3, Comedy Film Festival, Best of 2022 Shorts, free for one day, register here

 

February 4, 7pm, Syracuse Downtown Writers' Center, Suzanne Cleary, to register for this free Zoom reading, click on Suzanne’s photo: https://ymcacny.org/blog/category/downtown-writers-center

 

February 10, 7pm, Byram Shubert Library, Beth Gersh-Nesic on “Romantic Love through the Ages in Art” via Zoom; register here

 

February 12-21, Lowell Observatory, I Heart Pluto Festival, buy tickets here

 

February 14, 7pm, KGBBAR, I Wanna Be Loved By You: Poems on Marilyn Monroe book launch (LIVE), vax card required

Marilyn Monroe
(1926-1962)February 15, 7pm, Scarsdale Library, David Mills; register here

 

February 21, 7pm, Oceanside Library, Christina Rau and Nathan Brown via Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88391662640?pwd=WEp6TVIraGQySzh6cjNUeHZFRWFEZz09

 

 

February 24, 7pm, Red-Headed Stepchild, poets from I Wanna Be Loved By You: Poems on Marilyn Monroevia Zoom; email marilynmonroepoems@gmail.com for link

 

February 26, 6pm, Italian American Writers Association New York and Boston Literary Series, Mary Lou Buschi and Chloe Miller via Zoom, register here

Giorgia Pavlidou

 

March 2, 6pm, Norwalk Public Library, Poets Vincent Bell and Ginny Lowe-Connors in Conversation with Laurel S. Peterson via Zoom, register here

March 5, 4pm, Trainwreck Poetry Reading with Ann, Heller Levinson, Mary Newell, Anthony Seidman and Giorgia Pavlidou via Zoom, register here

 

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click third Friday for details

 

Every Saturday, 5pm, Lit Balm

 

 

Amaretti

 

Some gluten-free sweets to celebrate Valentine’s, or your afternoon cup of tea….

 

2 1/2 cups almond flour or 3 cups blanched slivered almonds, finely ground1 1/4 cups baker's (superfine) sugar

3 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Extra sugar for dusting

 

Preheat oven to 300°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In food processor, pulse together almond flour and sugar. Add vanilla and almond extract and pulse a few seconds. Add egg clears one at a time and continue until dough is smooth. Place teaspoons of dough on parchment-lined baking sheet and dust with sugar. Bake 24-30 (20-24 for chewy cookies) minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving. They will be chewy at first, but crisp up after a day or two. Store in a cool, dry place.

 

 

ʼ Round the Net

 

B. K. FischerMemoirist Sarah Bracey White for the Hollywood-directed “sizzle reel” of Transcendence, the musical based on her enormously popular memoir Primary Lessons (Cavan Kerry Press)

 

Translators Chen Du and Xisheng Cheng on translations of contemporary Chinese poet Yan An in Life and Legends , and Tilted House Review

 

Poet and filmmaker Terry Dugan for sharing a fiction contest that “Honors the Worst of the Worst”

 

Westchester Poet Laureate B. K. Fischer on being short-listed for the National Book Critics Circle Award

 

Michael HolsteinPhotographer Michael Holstein on the ArtsWestchester spotlight for his role as an Arts Ambassador

 

Civil rights historian and poet J. Chester Johnson on sharing this 18-minute Johnson House video featuring Sheila Walker discussing Damaged Heritage (Pegasus Books)

 

LitHub for this personal catalog of the world’s best bookstores

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for always inviting new subscribers to annogram

 

The New York Public Library for its reads to help support mental health in the new year

 

Poet Christina Rau on having work in Nine Cloud Journal, on the Alien Buddha Press Twitter Space Reading, and Destinies Radio Show (at 12:30)

 

Poet and artist Linda Simone on having work in Prolific Press’s Haiku Journal #68

 

Fiction writer Ron Tanner on having Far West (Elixir Press) featured in last month’s SPD Recommends

 

Poets Estha Weiner and Alan Walowitz on why people hate poetry in podcast Poetry! What Is It Good For?

 

 

Gratitude, Love, and Writing

 

Once again, thanks to poet and artist Linda Simone for this quote from neurologist Oliver Sacks (1933-2015) plucked from an Austin Kleon newsletter:

 

I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and travelled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.

 

Until next time,

Ann

your fresh-start annogram

 

Dear annogrammers, Happy New Year! January is a great time to ponder creative projects and listen to what your heart is telling you. Instead of weighty and broken resolutions, how about wishes? More on that below. Use each day wisely and gratefully, and watch your fondest dreams unfold.

 

 

Snowflakes in a Blizzard

 

Thanks to Darrell Laurant for featuring my chapbook, When the Pilotless Plane Arrives  (Trainwreck Press) on his blog, Snowflakes in a Blizzard . Purchases continue to increase, according to publisher John C. Goodman. If you’re a poet, Pilotless can help you navigate the twists and turns of the poetry path; or if a sci-fi film aficionado, this book is for you. Order your copy here.

 

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate Workshop

 

Join me on January 26 at 6pm as I guest-host John McMullen’s monthly Zoom poetry workshop sponsored by the John C Hart Memorial Library. Simply click https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83176155376. John facilitated a delightful conversation between NEA recipient Kerrin McCadden and me a while back. While she is reading at the HVWC the same evening, stop by our workshop first!

 

 

Lost and Found

 

Congratulations to sculptor Kathe Gregory, poet Pat Whitney, and photographer Bob Nesson on the delightfully collaborative book, Lost and Found (Independently published). Pat, inspired by the compelling originality of Kathe’s work, has given voice to each piece—and Bob’s immaculate photos enable readers to share that awe. Sure, Kathe is my cousin; while biased, I am still discriminating. Great debut!

 

 

Five Joys and Three Wants

 

Margie Herrick (c)That’s what wish-magnet Margie Herrick suggests—writing them down each Sunday this new year. Margie and co-conspirator Barbara Dickinson tell all in their blog, Margie and Barbara's Wishing Wisdom. For this dynamic duo, it’s not about slaving to soul-grinding “goals” but naming our fondest wishes and watching what happens. Could it be that simple? Try it and find out.

 

 

Creative Opportunities

 

Open Door Magazine poetry on “adoration” by January 15, and “footsteps” by February 15

 

The Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize, by January 15

 

The Big Moose Prize for an unpublished novel, 

by January 31

 

Ethos Literacy 3rdAnnual Short Short Story Contest, by January 31

 

 

New and Recent Releases

 

Susana Case, The Damage Done (Broadstone Books) (pre-order)

 

David Giannini, The Dawn of Nothing Important (Dos Madres Press)

 

Keriann Gilson, places I never want to see again (Gnashing Teeth Press) (pre-order)

 

Michael Gottlieb, Selected Poems of Michael Gottlieb (Chax Press)

 

Ceridwen Hall, Excursions (Trainwreck Press)

 

Lis McLoughlin, ed., Writing the Land: Northeast (Human Error Publishing)

 

Pedestal 89

 

Christina Rau, What We Do to Make Us Whole (Alien Buddha Press)

 

Pat Whitney et al, Lost and Found (Independently published)

 

 

Creative Workshops

 

All-Genre Writers Group, 6:30pm, Thursdays

 

John McMullen Poetry Workshop, 6pm, fourth Wednesdays

 

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, second Wednesdays

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

Writers and Artists Lunch Conversation, second Fridays, noon

 

 

January Readings and Events – ET

 

Jan Victors (1619-1676)
"The Banquet of Estherand Ahasuerus," c. 1640

January 10, 10am, Shames JCC, “The Book of Esther in Art: Racism, Religion and Resistance,” art historian Beth Gersh-Nesic; (LIVE), $5, vax certification and mask required; or register here for Zoom

 

January 12, 5:30pm, Betheny Arts Community, “This Far and No Further,” exhibit and tour with photographer William Abranowicz (LIVE); register by emailing thecapaspace@gmail.com, $300

 

Christina RauJanuary 16, 2pm, Ground Central Coffee Company, What We Do to Make Us Whole by Christina Rau book launch (LIVE)

January 19, 7pm, HVWC, A Reading & Discussion with Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar—Still Mad: American Women Writers and the Feminist Imagination; register here

 
January 22, 4pm, The Damage Done by Susana Case book launch via Zoom; to register, email broadstonemediakentucky@gmail.com

 

January 26, 6pm, John C. Hart Memorial Library, Ann guest-hosts Yorktown Poet Laureate Workshop; join here

 

Kerrin McCadden

January 26, 7pm, HVWC, Kerrin McCadden, Angela Narciso Torres, & Jennifer Sperry Steinorth; register here

 

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click third Friday for details

 

Every Saturday, 5pm, Lit Balm

 

 

Turkish Red Lentil Soup

 

Our annogram resident chef Linda Simone went wild for this recipe, perfect to warm up a damp winter day—go for it and let me know!

 

3 tablespoons salted butter

1 medium yellow onion, diced ½ inch (1 cup)

1 medium garlic clove, grated

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup red lentils

2 tablespoons long-grain clear rice

5 cups water

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper

fresh mint leaves, chopped

lemon wedges

 

In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion, sauté 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste, paprika, and cumin; sauté 1 minute. Add lentils, rice, water, and 2 teaspoons salt; bring to boil. Simmer, cover, and cook until lentils and rice break down, about 30 minutes. Adjust salt. In small skillet, heat olive oil and coat pan. Add Aleppo pepper and cook until bubbles appear and oil is bright red. Remove from heat. Drizzle each soup serving with Aleppo pepper oil, and serve with mint and lemon wedges.

 

 

ʼ Round the Net

 

Regi ClairePoet and novelist Regi Claire on poetry and fiction in Ambit , Acumen , Under the Radar , Rialto97, and the Scottish anthology Thi Wurd

 

Poet, essayist, and translator Chen Du on her essay, "Walk in the Right Shoes," being longlisted by the CNF Flash Contest of Invisible City

 

Poet, essayist, and filmmaker Terry Dugan for introducing us to Ossining’s Betheny Arts Community

 

Poet and collage artist Bob Heman on having three poems in Poetrybay

Sterling K. Brown
Civil rights historian and poet J. Chester Johnson on reporting Sterling K. Brown will play pioneering attorney Scipio Africanus Jones (1863-1943) in the Searchlight film “The Defender”

 

Poet Jerry T. Johnson on being nominated for a Pushcart Prize

 

Jerry T. Johnson

Author Leslie McCollom on the renewed popularity of the New Year lemon pig

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for this insightful review of a Johnny Cash bio

The New York Public Library for its Most Checked-Out Books of 2021

Joan Didion (1934-2021)Cellist and music archivist Jay Shulman for remembering California essayist Joan Didion (1934-2021)

 

Poet and performer Patty Smith on receiving the key to New York City

 

 

What makes great art?

 

Artist Helen Honig and I were happily emailing about good vs. bad painting, when she sent me this astonishing observation:

 

And it’s not the subject of the painting, it’s what you have to say about the subject. It’s like a piece of music. The notes are there, the timing, the playing instructions, slow down here, speed up there, soft here, loud there. How can you bring your own self, and your own sense of beauty and uniqueness to that piece of work? That is more important than getting every note right. Those who judge the big piano competitions, like the Van Cliburn, know that, and judge accordingly. It’s tough to judge those competitions, because everyone is so skilled and so flawless. You need to look for that certain something.

 

Until next time,

Ann

 

 

 

 

your merry annogram

 

Dyker Heights, NYDear annogrammers, Merry Happy Joy! This season of lights and feasts is a celebration of family and friends, and the spiritual communities and traditions we enjoy. Wishing you time away from work, deep winter solace, and refreshing times spent with those you love best.

 

 

When the Pilotless Plane Arrives

 

Thanks to so many of you who have ordered When the Pilotless Plane Arrives (Trainwreck Press). Publisher John C. Goodman reports increased sales after last month’s newsletter. Pilotless, which taps into 1950s sci-fi/horror film narratives as metaphors for the perils of writing poetry, makes a great gift for poets or film aficionados. You can order your copy here.

 

 

The Christmas Owl

 

Remember the little owl that workers found tucked inside the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree last year? A new children’s book follows the story of Rocky, the northern saw-whet, one of the smallest owls in the U.S., who unexpectedly traveled downstate in the 75-foot tall tree. This beautifully illustrated story is co-written by Ellen Kalish who rehabilitated and freed Rocky back into the wild. I gifted myself with a copy and can’t wait to read it!

 

 

Lost Stories of Looted Art

 

Thanks to Beth Gersh-Nesicfor recommending Edmund De Waal’s The Hare with the Amber Eyes (Picador, 2011), the story of art collector Charles Ephrussi(1849-1905), said to have inspired Proust’s character, Charles Swann; and Letters to Camondo (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021) on collector Moïses de Camondo (1860-1935). “Both explore the rise of two Jewish families in the 20th century art world,” says Beth. The Jewish Museum’s exhibit, “After Lives: Recovering the Lost Stories of Looted Art,” and “The Hare with the Amber Eyes,” featuring Ephrussi’s former netsuke collection, bring these intriguing tales to life.

 

Soul Train World Record

 

Photo Credit: CBS2Last month 526 dancers, in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, created the largest Soul Train line—breaking the Guinness World Record. Each pair of participants had to boogie down a 40-foot path. With the last-minute help of local passers-by, police, and children, the BET Network claimed victory. Little Steven, in a recent podcast, also evoked the musically-rich Soul Train era by featuring iconic soundtracks from Black action films.

 

Creative Opportunities

 

The Big Moose Prize for an unpublished novel, by January 31

 

The Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize, by January 15

 

Ethos Literacy 3rdAnnual Short Short Story Contest, by January 31

 

Guggenheim Poet-in-Residence, deadline December 5

 

MindFULL Magazine, call for poetry on mental health

 

The National Park Arts Foundation, writer residencies

The Poet, call for “Cultural Identity” theme, translated works in original language and English

 

Pure Slush accepting submissions for its Work Lifespan Vol. 5, deadline December 31

 

Upstream Gallery call for small works, deadline December 3

 

 

New and Recent Releases

The Disasters of War (Moonstone Press)

First Literary Review-East Norman Finkelstein, Thirty-Six / Two Lives (Dos Madres)Paul Dickenson Russell, The Will of the Magi (Lulu)

Creative Workshops

 

Workshop for Writers of Nonfictionwith Lia Purpura, December 11, 11am-4pm (LIVE),
Reisterstown, MD

 

All-Genre Writers Group, 6:30pm, Thursdays

 

John McMullen Poetry Workshop, 6pm, fourth Wednesdays

 

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, second Wednesdays

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

Writers and Artists Lunch Conversation, second Fridays, noon

 

 

December Readings and Events – ET

 

Original teabag art by
Linda SimoneDecember, all month, San Antonio’s Kapej Gallery, new watercolors and teabag cards by Linda Simone with artwork by Vera Smith and Laura Gomez, @teabagartsa @kapej.satx

December through January 16, Lathrop Community Gallery, Meg Lindsay oils and acrylics from juried shows and museum exhibits

December 4, 11am, Fat Moose Comics (New Jersey), The Will of the Magi book launch with Paul Dickinson Russell

December 4, 4pm, Desmond-Fish Library, “Eco-Poetry in the Afternoon” with A. Anupama, Laurel Anderson, Rebecca A. Durham, Stephanie Heit, Petra Kuppers, Karen Neuberg, Mary Newell, and Jennifer Spector; register here

December 11, 7pm, Pieces Club, “12 Drags of Christmas,” an Imperial Court of New York charity show, featuring Fran Sisco singing her parody, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Mrs. Claus”

December 16, 7pm, “Holiday Celebrations in Art” with Beth Gersh-Nesic, PhD; the Byram Shubert Library; register here

Chax Poetry Series with Michael Gottlieb, Rachel Blau Duplessis, Tom Mandel (YouTube)

 

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click third Friday for details

 

Every Saturday, 5pm, Lit Balm

 

 

Veggie Onion Gravy

 

At last, a gravy recipe for vegetarians and vegans alike! This one is a keeper.

 

5 tablespoons butter (can sub Earth Balance)

1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce (optional)

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

 

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add onion and pinch of salt. Sweat the onions, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8-10 minutes. If they start to turn brown, turn down heat -- you're looking for translucent and tender, not golden. Increase heat to medium. Stir in flour and cook, stirring frequently, for three minutes. Gradually stir in vegetable broth and continue stirring, over medium heat, until thickened to a gravy consistency, 3 - 4 minutes. Stir in Tamari or soy sauce. Add salt and pepper and serve.

 

 

ʼ Round the Net

 

The Book Movie’s María Luisa López for producing “The Beauty of Confrontation,”by Chinese poet Yan An, translated by Chen Du and Xisheng Chen, and read by yours truly

 

Greenburgh Arts and Culture Council Executive Director Sarah Bracey White on receiving a $1,000 ArtsWestchester grant for "Let the Poets Speak," a "Restart the Arts" spring 2022 live event

Poet, essayist and filmmaker Terry Dugan for alerting us to the new bookstore, Hudson Valley Books for Humanity, opened last week in Ossining’s historic Opera House

Jeff KwitnyBibliophile Elyse Faltz for sharing The Kwitny Report , a delightful literary newsletter

 

Translator and art historian Beth Gersh-Nesic for this panel discussion on Jewish art dealers and the European art market

 

Poet Cindy Hochman on being both nominated for a Pushcart Prize and a featured reader at this great weather for MEDIA event

 

Big Blue / Still Life
by Meg LindsayPoet and artist Meg Lindsay on showing 16 paintings in the gallery at the Lathrop Community in Northampton, MA where she and her husband moved a year ago; and on her recent book, Notes from a Caregiver (Poetry Box); see her website for more info

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for being featured at Spoken Word World last month, and for this wonderful article on William Shatner’s experience in space, and what we can learn from it

 

The New York Public Library for its list of Best Books of 2021

 

Poet Christina Rau on What We Do to Make Us Whole, her second poetry collection forthcoming from Alien Buddha Press

William Blake (1757-1827)
Endangered CottageCellist and music archivist Jay Shulman for this article on the endangered cottage where Blake wrote “Jerusalem”

 

Playwright and poet Joseph Simone on having his poem, “The Elysian Fields,” appear in The Disasters of War (Moonstone Press)

 

Kapej, San Antonio

Poet and artist Linda Simone on having watercolors on exhibit at the Kapej Gallery in San Antonio

Performer Fran Sisco on singing for Mike Marino’s podcast, Live from My Mother’s Basement; acting at the historic WOW Café; performing comedy in the "First Annual Anthony J. Ribustello Memorial Night of Entertainment" fundraiser at Marina del Rey; reciting original poems at the Transgender Memorial and Celebration at St. Paul’s Church; and reading a selection from Quentin Crisp at the Gene Frankel Theatre

 

 

Herb Hadad, a Writer’s Writer

 

Herb Hadad (1936-2021)To know Herb Hadad, who was both Jewish and Arab, was to know someone with a heart for the world. He would often joke that we met in a closet of the Episcopal Church in Briarcliff Manor. True! In a windowless supply closet, he headed a table with eight students for his essay class. An award-wining journalist born in the grit of a Boston Globe newsroom, he could have easily been wearing a turn-of-the-century visor and armband, saying “Take out the third sentence and it’s gold. Good job, kid. Now get back to work.” In that room, laughter ruled as much as his gently suggested revisions.

 

Not long after that, he put in a good word when I wanted to write for a Fortune 10 where I was a proofreader and he a staff writer. We participated on the National Writers Union’s local board with my soon-to-be indispensable writing pals, Sarah Bracey White, Linda Simone, and Terry Dugan. We immediately adopted him as our unofficial coach and mentor.

 

And when my first book was published, he came to celebrate. I said, “Herb, I can’t believe I’m doing this launch. My mother died two weeks ago.” Without missing a beat, he replied, “This is good, to keep your mind occupied.” That fatherly encouragement was just what I needed to hear.

For nearly two decades, Herb thrived in his role as press officer at the Department of Justice in New York. After retiring, he would email some of the Arabic he was learning. In a daring move that rattled the State Department, he took his entire family to Syria a year or two before that country imploded. It was vital to him that his adult children connect with the culture of his forebears. Tapping into his nomadic roots, he would often end emails with a playful “I am returning to my tent.” On a more reflective note, he once confided he knelt in prayer toward the east each morning.

 

Now the sun has set in the west, and you have returned to the tent of your Syrian ancestors. Shukran, Herb Hadad.

 

Until next time,

Ann

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

your grateful annogram

Dear annogrammers, In this month that closes on a note of gratitude, I am grateful for your amazing literary and artistic talents, our creative journey together, and the collegial friendship we enjoy. Speaking of journeys, this issue gives you ways to feel like you’re traveling—even back in time! Enjoy….

When the Pilotless Plane Arrives

 

When the Pilotless Plane Arrives (Trainwreck Press) is now available! Thanks to editor John C. Goodman for publishing my chapbook, and all of you purchasing it and going back for more copies for friends who are sci-fi films buffs. Pilotless taps into 1950s sci-fi/horror film narratives as metaphors for the perils of writing poetry—and makes a great holiday gift. You can order your copy here.

 

 

The TWA Hotel at JFK

 

With the Connie

Keeping with our airplane theme, the TWA Hotel is a total 1960s time capsule! A Chrysler Newport convertible and two-color VW van sit outside, and inside, an upbeat songs like “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” immerse travelers in that cultural period.

 

Hmm...a new career?

The renovated Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) building, one of the “first space age” designs, features an exhibit of TWA stewardess uniforms, and access to the 1958 Lockheed Constellation plane, parked outside the airy lobby. The “Connie,” a bar lounge, once the jumbo jet of its time, requires climbing steps much like you see celebrities do—a fun photo op.

 

Demanding more royalties

I got nostalgic seeing banks of dial pay phones. The site also features Saarinen’s “office” with blueprints, the “Pope Room”; several scenic designer bars, and iconic photos of stars such as Monroe and the Beatles exiting TWA planes. Go, and you too will be humming “Up, Up, and Away” when you leave.

 

 

Travels with Roger

 

Roger Weatherburn-Wells BakerThanks to dear friend Claudia Hammon for alerting me to the Luxe Travel Writer, a website by Roger Weatherburn-Wells Baker. You can pick just about any country, click on an image, and be immersed in a specific place—complemented by Roger’s literary narrative. Missing your home country? Planning an upcoming trip? Scroll and click your way through this beautiful website by an authoritative globetrotter.

 

 

Yan An Read by Chen Du and Xisheng Chen

 

When it’s 9pm in New York, it’s 9am the next day in Xi’ang Province, China. That’s the time my Chinese translator, Chen Du, read work via Zoom by Yan An, one of China’s premier contemporary poets. Chax Press recently released his book, A Naturalist’s Manor , a translation by Chen and Xisheng Chen. We enjoyed hearing Chen, Xisheng, and US poet Norman Fischer read, followed by a fascinating conversation on Chinese poetry. Thanks to Chax publisher Charles Alexander for hosting this global event!

 

 

It’s an Italian Thing. No, It’s a Black Thing.

Playwright Fran Sisco’s It’s an Italian Thing. No, It’s a Black Thing , which tests and circles cultural boundaries, debuted last month at Manhattan’s historic Guild Hall. The plot centers around Frankie, an Italian-American trans woman, played by Fran Sisco, who must meet Winnie, African-American mother of Frankie’s girlfriend, Tanasia. “[The dramedy] shows how much more alike we are than different,” said director Dakota Martin of Chill Bucket Productions. Congratulations to Fran, Dakota, producer Joe Rocco, and the cast!

 

 

Where Sonny Rollins Found His Muse

 

Sometimes you don’t have to go far for inspiration, only “up.” In 1959, sax virtuoso Sonny Rollins left the music scene to play in the clouds—atop the Williamsburg Bridge. High above the East River, Sonny answered tugboat horns, seagull cries, and rhythmic clacks of subway cars. Two years later, he recorded The Bridge, one of his most beloved albums. In Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge, Gary Golio tells this remarkable story—complemented by James Ransome’s illustrations—for the young and young-at-heart.

 

 

Creative Opportunities

 

Guggenheim Poet-in-Residence, deadline December 5

 

Hooking the Reader: Polishing Your First Line and First Page, a workshop with Laurel S. Peterson, November 4, 6pm

Moonstone Chapbook Contest, deadline November 5

 

The National Park Arts Foundation, writer residencies – thanks to Christina Rau for this!

The Pedestal open call for submissions, deadline November 28

 

Poetry group forming at Scarsdale Public Library, email splwriterscenter@wlsmail.org

 

Pure Slush accepting submissions for its Work Lifespan Vol. 5, deadline December 31

 

Upstream Gallery call for small works, deadline December 3

 

 

New and Recent Releases

 

Laura Bass,  The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story
(Girl Friday Books)

Gary Golio, Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin)

Gary Metras, Vanishing Points (Dos Madres Press)

John McMullen, Collected Poems 2008-2010 (Independently published)

 

Paul Dickenson Russell, The Will of the Magi (Lulu)

 

 

Creative Workshops

 

Laurel Peterson

Hooking the Reader: Polishing Your First Line and First Page, a workshop with Laurel S. Peterson, November 4, 6pm

 

All-Genre Writers Group, 6:30pm, Thursdays

 

John McMullen Poetry Workshop, 6pm, fourth Wednesdays

 

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, second Wednesdays

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email 

poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

Writers and Artists Lunch Conversation, second Fridays, noon

 

 

November+ Readings and Events – ET

 

Hock E Aye VI Edgar Heap of Birds

November 4, 8pm, Mutabilis Press’s Mutable Hour reading, register here

 

November 6, 1pm, Oceanside (NY) Library, Grief and Gratitude Panel and Performance with Poet-in-Residence Christina Rau; via Zoom meeting ID: 865 1903 1421; passcode: 186896; also a Facebook Event

 

November 11, 2pm, John McMullen Veteran’s Day Reading

 

November Saturdays, 5pm, Segue Reading Series, November 6, Rachel Levitsky, Anna Gurton-Wachter; November 13, Kamden Hilliard, Laura Elrick; November 20, Charles Bernstein; Geoffrey Olsen; December 4, Lila Zemborain, Justin Allen

 

November 4-28, Upstream Gallery, TB Ward and Luis Perelman Solo Exhibitions; artists’ reception, November 7, 2-6pm

 

Paul Dickinson Russell

November, all month, Studio Theater in Exile, Truth-telling: Voices of First People Exhibit featuring contemporary Indigenous artists Christi Belcourt, the late T. C. Cannon, Nicholas Galanin Yéil Ya-Tseen, Hock E Aye VI Edgar Heap of Birds, Margaret Jacobs, Rose B. Simpson, Duane Slick and Benjamin West

December 4, 11am, Fat Moose Comics (New Jersey), The Will of the Magi book launch with Paul Dickinson Russell

 

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click third Friday for details

 

Every Saturday, 5pm, Lit Balm

 

 

Pumpkin Hummus

 

Thanks to Linda Simone for another yummy and nutritious recipe—Linda, a poet and artist both in and out of the kitchen!

 

2 cloves garlic
15-oz can chickpeas, skins removed (optional, but makes hummus creamier)
15-oz can pumpkin
½-1 tsp salt, per preference
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp olive oil
Optional: pumpkin seeds for garnish

 

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse on high until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve with pita bread slices, whole grain crackers, and/or sliced fresh vegetables. To store, place hummus in a sealable container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

 

 

ʼ Round the Net

 

Sarah Bracey White Bewildering Stories for its one thousandth issue last month

 

Memoirist Sarah Bracey White on her Morgan State University Soulful Centennial Literati interview

 

Translators Chen Du and Xisheng Chen on winning the Zachary Doss Friends in Letters Fellowship

 

Marcel Proust
Translator and art historian Beth Gersh-Nesic for this French test of Proust savvy

 

Poet Cindy Hochman for sharing a LitBalm reading where she, Bob Heman, and Patricia Carragon read

Poet Heller Levinson for five new poems in No Materialism

 

The International Dark Sky Association for free event on limiting the growing problem of light pollution, “Under One Sky”

 

Author J. Chester Johnson for the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art blogon the Elaine Race Massacre, and his article on publishing during a pandemic for the Best American Poetry blog

Tony Bennett

Poet 

John McMullen for his new Medium newsletter

 

Poet Ralph Nazareth for sharing this clip of Tony Bennett performing at 95 despite the singer's Alzheimer’s diagnosis

 

Poets and Writers for its new series of online classes, “Five Things I’ve Learned”

Fran Sisco

 

Poet and artist Linda Simone for this list of venues for hybrid and experimental work

 

Poet, playwright, actor, and artist Fran Sisco for hosting an Open Studio of her sculpture and paintings in last month’s New Rochelle (NY) Art Fest

 

 

Until next time,

Ann

 

 

 

 

 

 

your october annogram

 

Dear annogrammers, Happy October! Hope you get outdoors to sip some hot cider as you pick out a pumpkin or a farm-stand apple pie. The cooler weather makes me hungry for good things, and I hope you find a few here.

When the Pilotless Plane Arrives

 

My chapbook, When the Pilotless Plane Arrives (Trainwreck Press) debuts this month. Pilotless taps into 1950s sci-fi/horror film narratives as metaphors for the perils of writing poetry—you will recognize sometimes cringe-worthy scenarios that publisher John C. Goodman calls “great fun.” You can order your copy here.

 

 

Et voici la chanson in print

 

Congratulations to Hélène Sanguinetti, whose amazing book, Et voici la chanson [And here’s the song] (Lurlure) is once again in print:

 

In this “song” the ear sees and the eye hears. [Its characters] Joug and Joui are day and night, moon and sun, water and thirst, Eros and Thanatos, but also the Evil and Mercy of narrative. And here's the song is their story, where writing leads the dance and sings in a broken voice. Stay alive, exist in the here and now in these volts, entanglements, momentum, and fractures.

 

Wow! And I have a completed translation of this book. Hello, publishers? What are you waiting for?

 

 

Cousin Brucie and ‘Come and Get Your Love’

 

I was mind-blown when Cousin Bruce called out “Cousin Ann Cefola” and played “Come and Get Your Love”–agreeing “a great song”– on his Saturday Night Rock & Roll Party (09-18-21, 95:07). That song, on many of your playlists, is helping drive this petition to get the Native-American Redbone into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

 

 

How to Up Your Poetry Game

 

I loved, loved, loved John C. Goodman’s Poetry Tools and Techniques: Writing Engaging Poetr y (Gneiss Press). This slender volume covers everything in a tone worthy of an etiquette manual, giving the reader confidence to develop his or her own poetic. It’s a compassionate response from an online journal editor who witnessed the missing knowledge which could afford new poets more deliberate and powerful writing.

 

 

Lit Balm Reading

 

Such a pleasure to attend Lit Balm last month featuring Ralph Culver, Bob Heman, DeWitt Henry, Cindy Hochman, and Jon Wesick. The 5pm ET Zoom/Facebook global reading is hosted by poets Marc Vincenz, Cassandra Atherton, and Jonathan Penton. Tune in this week for Hannah Sullivan, Kathleen Ossip, Julia Story and Peter Campion with guest MC David Blair.

 

 

Video Reactions

 

You’ve likely seen The Twins review Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight,” which boosted Collins’s music sales a whopping 1100 percent last year. Michael and I spent a Saturday night binging reactions, such as DramaSydETV on the Zombies’ “Time of the Season.”  Rolling Stone says this trend bridges cultural divides, as young reviewers encounter metal, country, and classic rock songs for the first time.

 

 

New and Recent Releases

 

Clara Mae Barnhart, Susie Susequehana and The River Valley Blues (Main Street Rag)

John Bradley, Hotel Montparnasse, Letters to César Vallejo (Dos Madres Press)

Pamela Laskin, The Lost Language of Crazy (Atmosphere Press)

 

First Literary Review – East, September issue

 

Laurel Peterson, The Fallen (Woodhall Press)

Hélène Sanguinetti, Et voici la chanson (Lurlure)

 

Anthony Seidman, trans., Contra Natura by Rodolfo Hinostroza (Cardboard House Press)

Joann Smith, A Heaven of Their Choosing (7.13 Books)

 

Pedestal 88.5

 

 

Creative Workshops

 

All-Genre Writers Group, 6:30pm, Thursdays

 

John McMullen Poetry Workshop, 6pm, fourth Wednesdays

 

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, second Wednesdays

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

Stealing from the Poet’s Toolbox: A Fiction Writers Workshop with Estha Weiner (LIVE), October 22, 10am-4pm

 

Writers and Artists Lunch Conversation, second Fridays, noon

 

 

October Readings and Events – ET

 

Laurel PetersonOctober 2, 3pm, Norwalk Public Library, Laurel Peterson book launch, The Fallen; email clahey@norwalkpl.org for Zoom link

October 3-4, 10am-5pm, The Brooklyn Book Festival

 

October 3, 3pm, A Conversation with Naomi Shihab Nye & Pádraig Ó’Tuama; register here

 

Jerry T. JohnsonOctober 6, 6:30pm, Norwalk Public Library, Laurel Peterson hosts Writers in Conversation: Brian Cordell and Jerry Johnson;email clahey@norwalkpl.org for Zoom link 

October 17, 4pm, Katonah Poetry Series, Forrest Gander, $15, register

 

Pamela Laskin

October 24, 9pm, Chax Press reading series: Yan An, poet; and Chen Du, and Xisheng Chen, translators

November 3, 7pm, Wordup Books, Pamela Laskin book launch, The Lost Language of Crazy

 

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click third Friday for details

 

Every Saturday, 5pm, Lit Balm

 

 

Zucchini Patties

 

When grabbing last tomatoes and corn at your local farm, get some zukes for this easy recipe—a mainstay chez Cefola and often seen here:

 

2 cups coarsely grated zucchini

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

¼ cup minced onion

¼ to ½ cup all-purpose flour, as needed

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and black pepper

Vegetable oil

One lemon

 

Place zucchini in strainer and press out as much moisture as possible. Mix zucchini with eggs and onion in a large mixing bowl. Combine flour, cheese, baking powder, and seasonings and add to the zucchini mixture. Shape into four or more patties. Heat oil over medium heat, and fry patties until lightly browned on both sides. Drain the cooked patties and drizzle with lemon juice. Serve immediately.

 

 

ʼ Round the Net

 

Chard DeniordPoet Susanna Case on her new book, The Damage Done, forthcoming from Broadstone Books

 

Poet Chard Deniord for producing Nora Jacobson's film on Vermont poet Ruth Stone (1915-2011)

 

Poet Bob Heman on sharing the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death

Kathleen Jamie

Poet Kathleen Jamie on becoming Scotland’s new Makar (Poet Laureate)

Poet Heller Levinson for this wonderful review of his book Lurk (Black Widow Press)Author Laurel Peterson for her guest post, “Writing Race” on the It’s Not Always a Mysteryblog

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for his September 24th letter to the New York Daily News, “Psst — poems don’t have to rhyme, and The News should not be furthering a misconception that turns young readers away from poetry” (Bravo, John!)

Tom (1937-2014) and Ray Magliozzi
of "Car Talk"

 

WBUR on the end of “Car Talk”

 

 

Send Me Your News

 

About a month in advance. Add any pertinent links to books, publishers, and reading or exhibit venues—and extra brownie points if you attach them to book titles and/or events, etc. Your success inspires and helps others, so sharing is an act of generosity. Be creative, be productive, be heard and seen!

 

Until next time,

Ann

 

 

your see-you-in-september annogram

 

Dear annogrammers, Welcome to fall, although not officially here…we all feel the promising coolness in the air! Hope you had a great summer. I spent it editing the Spanish translation of my first book, Face Painting in the Dark , gorgeously rendered by Ligia Yamazaki. There’s more good news to read and savor as always.

 

 

New Chapbook from Trainwreck Press

 

Trainwreck Press will publish my chapbook, When the Pilotless Plane Arrives, next month. The Canadian press, which has published Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons , Christopher Smart’s Jubilato Agno , and most recently Mary Newell’s Re-SURGE , celebrates “the innovative, the non-conforming, the radical, the alternative, the avant-garde, the non-linear, the abstract, the surreal, the visual, the concrete, the experimental.”  I am deeply honored to be a Trainwreck author!

 

 

New from Chen Du and Chax Press

 

The work of Yan An, one of China’s premier poets, is readable in English thanks to Chen Du and co-translator Xisheng Chen. They have translated his A Naturalist’s Manor (Chax Press), and the John Dryden Translation Competitionhas longlisted another Yan An translation. Chen Du’s poetry also appears in Art in the Time of COVID-19 (San Fedele Press) and Rappahannock Review , and a wonderful interview in the latter. Hear Yan, Chen, and Xisheng read October 24 at 9pm in the Chax Press reading series. Congratulations to all!

 

 

Newell and Chernicoff Reading

 

Last month, Mary Newelldebuted Re-SURGE (Trainwreck Press) at the Desmond-Fish Library—poetry that tracks a delightful friendship between a mermaid and gardener/poet, and their issues of awkward embodiment and ecological distress. ably read the mermaid's part. In a perfect complement, Billie Chernicoff whose Amoretti (Lunar Chandelier Collective) explores a mermaid theme, also read. A wonderful outdoor and Crowdcast event!

 

 

‘Come and Get Your Love’

 

RedboneThis 1974 song hit No. 5 on the pop charts. Written and performed by Redbone, “one of the first Native-American rock bands in the album era” (WSJ), the song begins with tribal chanting and dancing. Michael, who saw Redbone at Fillmore East, said additional teepees and smoke drove the audience wild. The drum-driven tune anticipates disco’s arrival a few years later and its message—to a girlfriend—is “you are fine just as you are.” Sign this petition to help get them into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

 

 

New and Recent Releases

 

Yan An, A Naturalist’s Manor translated by Chen Du and Xisheng Chen (Chax Press)

 

Big Bang Poetry Summer 2021 Newsletter

 

Chax Press Fall 2021 Newsletter

Jim Daniels, Gun/Shy (Wayne State University Press)

 

Kaleidoscope Summer/Fall 2021

 

Mary K. O’Melveny, Dispatches from the Memory Care Museum(Kelsay Books)

 

Natalie Safir, In the Guesthouse of My Body (Dos Madres Press)

 

 

Creative Calls

 

Mid-Atlantic Poetry Chapbook Series – for first-time poets from District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, or Pennsylvania– by October 1

 

The Poet – open call on adversity – by Sept. 30

 

Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry – open submissions until October 1

 

Pure Slush – call for anthology Appointment at 10:30

 

Rhino Founders’ Prize Poetry Contest – by September 30

 

 

Creative Workshops

 

Estha WeinerAll-Genre Writers Group, 6:30pm, Thursdays

 

John McMullen Poetry Workshop, 6pm, fourth Wednesdays 

 

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, second Wednesdays

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Navigating the Literary Journal Submission Process with Katy Carl – September 27, 8pm (7pm CT)

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

One-on-One Poetry Workshop with Arthur Vogelsang, register by September 20

 

Poetry Pollinator Workshop with Mary Newell and A. Anupama, September 25, 10am-1pm

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

Stealing from the Poet’s Toolbox: A Fiction Writers Workshop with Estha Weiner(LIVE), October 22, 10am-4pm

 

Writers and Artists Lunch Conversation, second Fridays, noon

 

 

September Readings and Events – ET

 

September 11, 5pm, Lit Balm: DeWitt Henry, Bob Heman, Cindy Hochman, Ralph Culver, Jon Wesick; via Zoom or Facebook

  September 26, 2pm, Chax Press: Habib Tengour with translations by Pierre Joris and Cole Swensen;  Sarah Riggs with translations of Marie Borel and Jérémy Robert; register here

 

Pamela HartKeeler Tavern Museum Gardens, Ridgefield, CT, 6:30pm outside, bring lawn chair or blanket; also streamed via Facebook: September 14, Joan Kwon Glass, James Diaz, Barb Jennes; September 21, Philip F. Clark, Benjamin Grossberg: September 28, Margaret Gibson, Pamela Hart

 

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click third Friday for details

 

 

No-Knead Bread

 

One of the best cooks I know, Linda Simone, says this is easy and delicious. Give it a try!

 

2 2/3 cups bread flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon “rapid rise” yeast

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm water

⅛ teaspoon clear vinegar

Extra bread flour, for dusting

 

Mix flour, salt and yeast in large bowl with your hands. Combine water and vinegar; add to bowl. Stir with hand until sticky, shaggy ball forms. Roll ball around bowl 30-45 seconds until most dough is part of the same large ball. Scrape your dough-covered hand to get dough into bowl, then invert a deep medium metal or glass bowl and place large bowl on top, tapping to ensure a tight seal. Let dough rest 12-18 hours at room temperature until it appears bubbly and wet.

 

Wipe out moisture inside medium bowl. Dust dish towel on one side with bread flour, then line medium bowl with towel, floured-side up. Generously flour your work surface. Sprinkle flour around dough edges in large bowl, then tilt bowl over floured work surface, using fingertips to ease dough out.

 

Using one hand, work gently to avoid deflating dough. Reach with fingertips, stretch dough, and fold to center. Repeat more three times until each side has been folded over top. Using sides of your hands, not fingertips, and extra flour to prevent sticking, flip dough over. Gently tuck dough underneath until top is smooth and taut. Place smooth-side up into towel-lined bowl, and dust lightly with bread flour. Cover bowl with large baking sheet and let rise 2 hours until doubled in size and it doesn’t spring back when poked. Meanwhile, wash out large bowl and have it ready.

 

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle and preheat oven to 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Invert bowl and baking sheet so dough is lying on the sheet. Lift off bowl and towel. If it sticks, be gentle to minimize loss of gases trapped inside. Splash water inside the larger bowl, then invert onto baking sheet over dough. Transfer whole thing to oven, reduce temperature to 450 degrees; bake 25 minutes. Using mitts, remove bowl and bake 15-25 minutes longer until loaf is as dark as you’d like. Remove bread, transfer to cooling rack, and cool completely before cutting.

 

 

ʼ Round the Net

 

Ed AhernPoet Ed Ahern on being interviewed by The Poet Magazine

 

Poet and memoirist Sarah Bracey White on her reading in the Westchester Poet Laureate’s Emergence Poetry Project, interview on Poetry Spoken Here podcast, and Read650 September 9, 2021 podcast

 

Poet Lynn Clague on his poem, “A Reach,”appearing in Grey Sparrow Journal

 

Wish Mavens Barbara Dickinson and Margie Herrick for generous insights on their Wishing Wisdom blog

 

"Chin Support" by 
Margaret FoxPhotographer Margaret Fox on winning the LaRuth Gray, Vanessa Smith and Anonymous KMAA Award at the Cladogram: 2ND KMA International Juried Biennial, at the Katonah Museum through September 19

 

Art historian and translator Beth Gersh-Nesic  for her insightful article on Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon in Bonjour Paris

 

Poet Cindy Hochman for her poetry in the great weather for MEDIA anthology Paper Teller Diorama

 

Author J. Chester Johnson on being interviewed on LitHub’s Keen podcast about his book, Damaged Heritage; and his Bar Crawl Radio podcast, “Poetry: What Is It Good For?” with Cornelius Eady on 9-11 poetry

 

Writer Lisa Krohn on her new article in Ageist on eight steps to move forward after failure

Maria Lisella
Queens Poet Laureate Maria Lisella for this lovely tribute to her late partner, poet Gil Fagiani

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for this video of Benedict Cumberbatch reading Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to 2088, Ralph Nazareth videos (below), and this remembrance of journalist Pete Hamill

 

Ralph NazarethPoet Ralph Nazareth for his poems, “Centerpiece,”  “Sunday Morning with Walt,”“Victor Jara’s Hands,”and “On Missing My Brother in Nazareth”

 

The New York Public Library for this list of contemporary retelling of cherished classics and 15 books to celebrate disability pride

 

Poet Christina Rau on being named a full professor of English at Nassau Community College

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University for screening this great Frida Kahlo documentary

 

Music archivist and cellist Jay Shulman on the MusicWeb International review of his father’s film score CD, “Alan Shulman - The Tattooed Stranger” (Bridge Records, 2021)

 

Poet and artist Linda Simone on her essay which will appear in Diane Lockward’s The Strategic Poet: Honing the Craft(Terrapin Books) next month—already an Amazon #1 poetry book in pre-order!

 

Poet Margo Taft Stever on her third book, The End of Horses, forthcoming from Broadstone Books

 

Translator Judy Tsai on the launch of her new website

 

Neal WhitmanPoet Neal Whitman on his poem, “Marc Antony and Me,” in Open Door Poetry Magazine ’s August issue on war

 

 

Remembering Stephen Dunn

 

Stephen Dunn (1939-2021)My first significant commitment to poetry was attending the Mt. Holyoke Summer Writers Conference as a thirty-something; registrars suggested a workshop with the future Pulitzer Prize winner. Dunngot into poetry a little late too, so he understood my self-consciousness. When I shared I was clueless about the canon, he slid his copy of Poulin’s Contemporary American Poetry across the table to me.

 

Some memorable teachings: Don’t be a dilettante—a “sometime” poet; don’t write the expected, i.e., pity for a homeless person—turn that upside down by suggesting maybe the person deserves the worst; and combine sensorial detail with the abstract, i.e., “cinnamon and despair.” He comically called on the “the poetry police” to arrest overused words. 

 

A former basketball player, he shared his friend Larry Levis’s “The Poem You Asked For” to show how poems can have their own physicality and willfulness. Forever grateful to this wonderful poet and teacher, I see Dunn slam-dunking golden spheres—and lyric.

Until next time,Ann

your firecracker annogram

Dear annogrammers, Happy Fourth of July! I hope you are able to celebrate with joy, barbecue, and some fireworks for a memorable post-Covid holiday.

 

annogram Anniversary

 

Thanks to Darrell Laurant for “The annogram Keeps Growing,” (scroll down) on the phenomenon of this newsletter. It’s been 15 years, and if you would like to promote your events, publications, or readings, email me the month before we go live. I’m honored to share the stellar recognition the following writers have received—each has been personally generous to the creative community, including me among many, and that may be one vital secret behind their success.

 

Charles Alexander Wins Coveted CLMP Award

 

Publisher of my translation, The Hero (Chax Press, 2018), Charles Alexander received the Lord Nose Award for lifetime achievement in literary publishing at the CLMP Firecracker Awards Ceremony. The extraordinary Charles—book designer, poet, and poetry advocate—is also a kind person who has brought dignity and grace to our field for more than 40 years. Upon receiving the award, Charles thanked his family, and Chax authors and supporters, adding “I'm feeling very fortunate today.” So are we, Charles!

 

Sarah Bracey White’s Stage Debut in “Transcendence”

 

Sarah Bracey WhiteLast month, in two sold-out performances, Sarah Bracey White starred in “Transcendence” based on her much-loved memoir, Primary Lessons (Cavan Kerry, 2013), at Peekskill’s Paramount Theatre. Sarah wow’d her audience in this premiere featuring classical/rock violinist Daisy Jopling, the Peekskill High School City Singers, and a gospel choir. The musical, produced by a well-known Hollywood director, may be developed into much more. Stay tuned, and congratulations to our radiant Sarah!

 

“Camp Cook” Premiere in Voices of Color Festival

 

If that wasn’t wonderful enough, Sarah’s play, “Camp Cook,” also taken from Primary Lessons (Cavan Kerry, 2013), made its debut the same weekend as “Transcendence.” Directed by Misha T. Sinclair, “Camp Cook” featured a sensitive and vulnerable performance by Maiysha Reilly as Sarah—alert for someone to “discover” her! The ensemble cast worked seamlessly to tell Sarah’s compelling story of racial divisions at a New England summer camp in the 1960s.

 

Darrell Laurant and We Who Create

 

Darrell LaurantA 30-year veteran journalist, Darrell designed We Who Create to counteract creative isolation
and increase our promotional opportunities. Curated from 100+ newsletters, WWC combines stories about creatives with event listings. In this space, creatives may converse, local art galleries and bookstores will be featured, and—if Darrell’s dream comes true—an annual convention. Help his generous mission by clicking the website’s “follow” button—which simply quantifies how many of us visit.

A Happy Trans Girl

 

Fran SiscoCongratulations to filmmaker Fran Sisco on these festival selections: “It’s an Italian Thing. No, It’s a Black Thing!”, Miami Indie Film Awards; “Carousel Girl”, New York Lift-Off Film and International Film Festivals; “Stonewall Thanks”International World Film Award and Paris International Short Festival finalists; and “Our Friend Wendy, It’s Her Birthday!” and “Happy Trans Girl Like Me”, 4thDimension Independent Film Festival finalists. In June, Fran also performed “Happy Trans Girl,” with Baron Raymonde on sax, at The Stonewall Inn (NYC) in an Imperial Court of NY show benefiting Hudson Pride (NJ).  

New and Recent Releases

Leah Johnson, Bindweed (Cherry Grove Collections)

 

John F. McMullen, My Life in 26 Poems (Independently published)

 

Laura Morelli, The Stolen Lady (William Morrow) (pre-order)

 

Pedestal 88

 

Jay Shulman, producer, “Alan Shulman - The Tattooed Stranger” (Bridge Records, 2021)

Frank Vitale, “The Erotic Fire of the Unattainable” (Amazon Prime, Google Play, You Tube Movies)

 

Creative Calls

  

Bordighera Press Lauria Frasca Poetry Prize – by July 11

 

Mom Egg Review open call on “mother figures” – poetry, fiction, prose, hybrid – by July 15

 

Open Door Poetry Magazine – call for poems on war – by July 11

 

Pure Slush Press – call for poetry, fiction, and essays on love – by August 31

 

VIA: Voices in Italian Americana – open for submissions

 

Creative Workshops

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, every second Wednesday

 

Mini Tutorial on Poetic Meter thanks to Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

Under The Microscope: A Poetry Workshop at Maine Media College featuring Kevin Pilkington, July 19-23

 

July Readings and Events – ET

 

"Dragonfly" by  Meg LindsayJuly 1-31, Irvington Public Library, virtual gallery exhibit, “Painting and Poetics” by Meg Lindsay

 

July 1-31, Upstream Gallery, 2021 Juried Paperworks Show

 

July 8, 8pm (7pm Central), Mutabilis Press poets Chip Dameron, Patricia McMahon, Gregory Maguire, Scott Chalupa, Michael Baldwin, Carla Hagen, Leroy Sorenson, Gabrielle Langley, Maria King Illic; register here

 

July 8, 7pm, Andrew Delbanco, Rebecca Makkai; July 15, Cleopatra Mathis, Matthew Olzemann, Sue Miller; July 22, Benjamin Garcia, Tom Barbash; July 29, Jeff Sharlet, Ivy Pochoda; Canaan (NH) Meetinghouse, LIVE

 

Michael BaldwinJuly 10, 7pm, Poetry Box, Meg Lindsay; click here 5 mins before show (id: 915 5122 5053, code: 643061)

 

July 10, 5pm, Lit Balm: Timothy Donnelly, Valzhyna Mort, Danielle Blau, Chase Twitchell; register here

 

July 14, 7pm, Ellen Bass, Arthur Sze; register here

 

July 18, 6pm, The Industry Bar, The Imperial Court of New York Christmas in July Show featuring Fran and Kelly Sisco to benefit Bailey House

 

July 21, 7pm, Katie Farris, Emily Lee Luan, and Isabella DeSendi; register here

Mary Newell

July 28, 7pm, Silvina López Medin, Jennifer Militello, and Jennifer Stewart Miller; register
here

 

August 31, 3:30pm, Garrison Public Library, Mary Newell book launch Re-Surge(Trainwreck Press)

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click on third Friday for details

Beth’s Gluten-Free Hurricane Sandy Cake

Art historian and translator Beth Gersh-Nesic shares the recipe she created to use up eggs and butter when she lost power during Hurricane Sandy but still had her gas oven working. This dense chocolate cake is perfect for a picnic—it slices like pound cake and tastes even better. So yummy. Thanks, Beth!

1 stick (1/4 lb) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup clear sugar

6 eggs

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups (1/2 lb) Trader Joe’s Almond Flour

½ or 1 whole package chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a microwave-safe glass bowl: Melt butter in microwave oven. Stir in sugar. Mix in whole eggs. Add cocoa, vanilla and almond extracts, cinnamon, and salt. Add almond flour. Add chocolate chips to taste. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and then line with parchment paper. Pour batter into pan. Bake 40-45 minutes. Check with knife for doneness. Bon Appétit!  

 

̓Round the Net

Poet and novelist Regi Claire on having work in The New European , The Best New British and Irish Poets 2019-2021  (Black Spring Press), and issue 96 of The Rialto .

 

Writer Barbara Dickinsonand photographer Margie Herrick on the debut of their Wishing Wisdom blog

 

Last month's eclipse

Translators Chen Du and Xisheng Chen on translations of poet Yan An in Interim Poetics and The Momentist

 

Poet Terry M. Dugan for this article on punctuation as a tool in Black activism

 

Editor Larry Faltz for the best amateur astronomy newsletter this side of the Ort Cloud

 

Art Historian Beth Gersh-Nesic on discovering artist Wan-Ting Chiu, who taps her own anxiety as inspiration for “bold, beautiful and poignant” work

 

Artwork by
Wan-Ting Chiu

Poet and memoirist J. Chester Johnson for this Guardian article on the Elaine Race Massacre and gifting Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation to Johnson House Juneteenth celebrants

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for sharing this post on framing experience in poems

 

The New York Public Library on restoring full service to all of its branches on July 6

 

Cellist and musical archivist Jay Shulman on the release of “Alan Shulman - The Tattooed Stranger” (Bridge Records, 2021), a CD he produced of his father’s 1940s R.K.O. film scores

James Baldwin (1924-1987)Poet and artist Linda Simone on San Antonio’s new poet laureate, this beautiful reflection by poet Naomi Shihab Nye on her home, and this 1979 interview with James Baldwin that never aired

 

Studio Theater in Exile for Artist Recognition Month

 

Filmmaker Frank Vitaleon his award-winning film, “The Erotic Fire of the Unattainable,” now available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime, Google Play, and You Tube Movies

  

I will be taking off August, so send me your news for September, and enjoy your summer!

 

Until next time,

Ann

your june-in-bloom annogram

Dear annogrammers, is it finally summer? Can we really go outside and see friends? Warm weather, soaking showers nourishing soil, and decreased Covid. Writers and artists making creative dreams bloom…read on and rejoice!

 

Gratitude to Editors and Publishers

 

Thanks to Raya Morrison of Blood & Bourbon (Canada) for publishing “Grace,” “Profile,” and “Cape Revival;” my Face Painting in the Dark publisher Robert Murphy, for highlighting on the Dos Madres blog poems translated into Spanish by Ligia M. Yamazaki and read by us both on the Book Movie (Madrid); and novelist Darrell Laurant for posting the May annogram on the We Who Create Facebook page.

 

 

Sarah Bracey White in “Transcendence”

 

Sarah Bracey White will star in “Transcendence” based on her much-loved memoir, Primary Lessons (Cavan Kerry, 2013), LIVEat Peekskill’s Paramount Theatre, June 18 and 20, at 7:30pm. Directed by a Hollywood director, this world premiere features classical/rock violinist Daisy Jopling, the Peekskill High School City Singers, and a gospel choir performing original and familiar tunes. Social distancing will be observed at this Daisy Jopling Music Mentorship Foundation fundraiser. Tickets going fast: book soon!

 

Wini McQueen and the Story of Cotton

 

Wini McQueen

Contemporary textile artist Wini McQueen draws on the African tradition of dyed and hand-sewn cloth to depict the history of slaves in the early cotton industry. “I want my work to speak of the beauty and horror of learning where I came from,” she says. Hear more reflections on her gorgeous work here in a recent museum exhibit. Thanks to poet and artist Linda Simone for sharing McQueen’s work and the “find” below.

 

 

The Lost Poems of Emily Brontë

 

Emily Brontë (1818-1848)Rare manuscripts from the Brontë family are up for grabs at an upcoming Sotheby’s auction. The jewel in the crown is a manuscript of 31 handwritten poems by Emily Brontë (1818-1848) in February 1844. Discovered by her sister Charlotte (1816-1855) who thought the poems extraordinary, the manuscript played a key role in inspiring the sisters’ literary careers—including that of novelist Anne (1820-1849).

 

 

Cousin Brucie Back on 77 WABC

 

Cousin Brucie MorrowDo you remember clutching your new transistor radio to your ear when your parents thought you were asleep or studying? Cousin Brucie Morrow, king of the airwaves, introduced New Yorkers to amazing music from the Beatles and Dave Clark Five to the Supremes and Temptations during the 60s. Brucie is back on WABC Saturdays 6-10pm, also streamed nationwide. Da do run run! Ah, my 10-year-old heart!

 

New and Recent Releases

 

Catherine Arra, Deer Love (Dos Madres Press, 2021)

 

James Cummins, Recalcitrant Actors (Dos Madres Press, 2021)

Jennifer Franklin, No Small Gift  (Four Way Books, 2018)

 

First Literary Review - East May-June

 

purifying wind (Moon Shadow Sanctuary Press, 2020)

 

What Remains (Gelles-Cole Literary Enterprises, 2019)

 

 

Creative Calls

 

American Literary Translators Association call for seminar and roundtable proposals for its fall conference – by June 21

 

Bull City Press Open Chapbook Reading Period – by June 15

 

Mom Egg Review open call on “mother figures” – poetry, fiction, prose, hybrid – by July 15

 

The Poet call for work on friendship – by June 30

 

 

Creative Workshops

 

Bill Hayden, host
Norwalk Poetry WorkshopMahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, every second Wednesday

 

Mini Tutorial on Poetic Meter thanks to Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

 

June Readings and Events – ET

 

Laurel PetersonJune 5, 7pm, Lit Balm, Gary Snyder, Wang Ping, John Kinsella, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Tracy Ryan; register here

 

June 6, 6pm, Pequot Library, Meet the Author featuring Laurel Peterson; register here

 

June 6, 4pm, Katonah Poetry Series, Roseanna Warren; register here; $5 donation

 

June 12, 1-5pm, SISTAAH Open Studio (NYC) featuring the work of Wilhelmina Grant-Cooper (LIVE and in-person); register here

 

June 14-19, The Schomburg Center Literary Festival; register here

 

Jerry T. Johnson, host
Poets and Writers Stage
at the Norwalk Art FestivalJune 17, 7pm, Byram Shubert Library, Art Historian Beth Gersh-Nesic on Fathers in Art; register here

Wednesdays - Sundays, through June 21, 12:30-5:30pm, Upstream Gallery, photographer Jo
Zalon Meer and painter Daniel van Benthuysen (LIVE; walk-in gallery)

 

June 26 and 27, 12 noon and 3:30pm, Poets, Writers, Storytellers Stage at the Norwalk Art Festival, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Park, Norwalk, Connecticut (LIVE and in person)

 

 

Monthly Readings – ET

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click on third Friday for details

 

Southwest Salad

 

Homage to McDonald’s salad of yore once good for a fast-food grab. While missing it recently, I decided to duplicate it:

 

½ 15-oz can organic black beans, drained

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

2 cups nacho chips, crumbled

1 organic carrot, grated

1 bag organic romaine lettuce

3-4 tablespoons Drew’s Chipotle Ranch dressing

 

Tear up lettuce into bite-size pieces into a large salad bowl. Add all other ingredients, toss with dressing, and serve immediately.

 

 

̓Round the Net

 

The Astronomical Society of Greenwich for this rover-view of Mars

 

Translator Chen Du on this Pilgrimage Press reading, and for work, with co-translator Xisheng Chen, in Delos and Exchanges

 

Poet Terry M. Dugan on her reading at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY

 

Poet Jennifer Franklin on her book, No Small Gift (Four Way Books, 2018) reviewed in Women’s Voices for Change

 

Art History Professor Beth Gersh-Nesic for sharing the online exhibit by her Global Honor students at Mercy College, Human Revolution: Reworking the Soul for Justice

 

PoetCindy Hochman on her poem, “Of Course, Of Course,” appearing in the LIPStribute to Lyn Lifshin

 

Psychologist and annogram-fan Steve Guggenheim for this amazing project featuring an animated poem, “The Man in the Mangroves”

 

Poet and memoirist J. Chester Johnson for noting new jazz compositions performed at Lincoln Center focusing on Ida B. Wells’s work and the Elaine Race Massacre explored in Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation (Pegasus, 2019)

 

Jim LaVilla-HavelinPoets Jim LaVilla-Havelin and Linda Simoneon having poems in purifying wind (Moon Shadow Sanctuary Press, 2020), first-place winner in the Texas National Federation of Press Women contest

Poet Heller Levinsonon having six poems appear in Sulfur Surrealist Jungle

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for this revision quick reference guide and this article on paying for poetry submissions

 

Carl Phillips
Photo by Reston AllenPresence Editor Mary Ann B. Miller for Presence 2021 poets John Hodgen, K. T. Landon, and Martha Silano whose work appeared in Verse Daily last month

 

Poet Carl Phillipson winning the $75K Jackson Prize

Poet Jean-Luc Pouliquen on this excellent review of his book, Vu du Parc (Independently published, 2021)

 

Poet Christina Rau for these first-ever virtual museum tours, “Pioneers of Poetry and Paint: Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Walt Whitman” followed by her poetry workshop

Poet and playwright Joe Simone on his poem, “Catching Mr. Crandall,” in Bardball

Del Crandall (1930-2021)

Poet Linda Simone, whose essay “Triptych,” is in What Remains (Gelles-Cole Literary Enterprises, 2019), awarded honorable mention and shortlisted for the 2021 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Book Award

 

Memoirist Mary Wasaczon her first, incredibly poignant publication, “Hello and Goodbye,” in MomentsBetween

 

Until next time,

Ann

 

 

 

your cinco de mayo annogram

Dear annogrammers, Happy Cinco de Mayo! Party on, in this month of wild hot/cold weather, gorgeous blooms, gratitude for vaccines, and hopes for a good summer. So much to celebrate, and cook and eat, as you will read.

 

The New York Society Library 30 Days of Poetry

Linda SimonePoet Linda Simone and I participated in this online event to celebrate National Poetry Month. Linda offers us “Breakfast” while I consider the “Trackside Commissary.” Our gratitude to the New York Society Library for this lovely venue.

 

Ligia YamazakiFonoteca Española de Poesía

Thanks to Ligia M. Yamazaki for translating Face Painting in the Dark (Dos Madres Press, 2014) into Spanish. You can hear three poems read in English and Spanish from Fonoteca Española de Poesía(Madrid). Gracias to María Luisa Lopez for this great translation debut!

 

Amazon Best Seller

So excited to be in Brought to Sight and Swept Away: A Poetry Anthology About Time (Vita Brevis Press). Editor Brian Geiger reports this book ranked no. 2 in Amazon’s new release poetry anthology category upon its April debut. Purchase and help nudge it to no. 1!

 

Kevin Pilkington Book Launch

Kevin PilkingtonCongratulations to Kevin on the publication of Playing Poker With Tennessee Williams (Black Lawrence Press). The launch, a lively salute to his latest volume, demonstrates his award-winning poetic mastery and wit. Family and friends showed up to make the conversation lively, intelligent, and fun—and you can experience it all here.

 

Star Basketball Player Reimagines Quilting

Michael ThorpeMichael Thorpe traded artistry on the court for a breakout career as a quilter. His exhibition at the LaiSun Keane Gallery (Boston) through May 29, “Meandering Thoughts,” precedes his October Museum of Fine Art debut, “Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories.” While his influences are Matisse, Hockney, and Basquiat, he describes his “Black artist aesthetic” as a way to convey thoughts on contemporary societal issues.

 

Ode to Toad Lily Press

See this fine retrospective on Toadlily Press, founded by poets Myrna Goodman, Meredith Trede, Maxine Silverman, and Jennifer Wallace. This video celebrates NEA recipient Pamela Hart, former Washington Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen, and Pushcart winning poet Heidi Hart. We miss Toad Lily and its beloved quartet chapbook series!

 

New and Recent Releases

Pierre Fuller, Famine Relief in Warlord China (Harvard University Press)

 

Brian Geiger, Ed. Brought to Sight and Swept Away: A Poetry Anthology About Time (Vita Brevis Press)

 

Growing Up (Pure Slush + Truth Serum Press)

 

Mikhail Iossel, Love Like Water, Love Like Fire (Bellevue Literary) pre-order

 

George Kalamaras, We Slept the Animal (Dos Madres Press)

 

Pedestal 87.5 20th anniversary issue

 

The Poet Magazine on Faith, Spring 2021

 

Jean-Luc Pouliquen, Vu de Parc(Independently published)

 

Gail Reitano, Italian Love Cake (Bordighera Press)

 

Creative Calls

The London Reader open call for poetry and writing on the moon by May 9

 

Pedestal 88 open for submissions May 3-30

 

Poetry Institute of New York open call for poetry and photography

 

The Poet open call on friends and friendship

 

Pure Slush + Truth Serum Press (Australia) open call on friendship and “25 miles from here”

 

Slapering Hol Chapbook Competition, deadline June 15

 

Writing Off the Walls open call for poet and writer responses to art exhibit

 

Creative Workshops

Drawing by AK
"Poetic Meters Are Interesting"
medium.comMahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, every second Wednesday

 

Mini Tutorial on Poetic Meter thanks to Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, every second Saturday

 

May Readings and Events – ET

Myung Mi KimMay 3-23, Upstream Gallery, Eleanor Goldstein sculpture and Mia de Bethune pastels

May 7, 7pm, Poetry With District Leader Cory Provost, Patricia Carragon, Roxanne Hoffman, Pauline Findlay, Jerry Johnson, Stephanie Laterza, Martina McGowan, Carrie Magness Radna, James Rivera, Ameerah Shabazz-Bilal, Megha Sood; register here

 

May 9, 4pm, Enclave Series (1pm Tucson), Myung Mi Kim; register here

 

May 12, 7pm, HVWC, January Gill O’Neil, Tina Kelley, Pattiann Rogers; register here

 

Donika KellyMay 18, 7:30pm, Scarsdale Writers Center, “Family Stories”

 

May 19, 7pm, HVWC, Alex Dimitrov, Donika Kelly; register here

 

May 22-23, 8am-8am, International Focusing Institute, Focus-A-Thon; free

 

Monthly Readings – ET

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

 

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click on third Friday for details

 

Can’t Be Beet Salad

It’s going to be hot soon, and we’ll be craving cool and healthy salads—here’s one that fits the bill.

 

2 medium organic beets, roasted*, peeled, diced into bite-sized pieces

2 .5 oz fresh organic baby arugula

1.5 oz goat cheese

1/4 cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp organic lemon juice

1/4 tsp dry powdered mustard

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

*To roast beets, scrub raw beets clean, coat with a little olive oil, double-wrap in aluminum foil, and roast in 400°F oven 90 minutes. Make vinaigrette: Place dressing ingredients in a jar and shake. Adjust to taste. Assemble salad: Compose each plate with a handful of arugula, cooked chopped beets, crumbled goat cheese, and chopped toasted walnuts. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Enjoy!

 

ʼ Round the Net

Sarah Bracey WhiteMemoirist Sarah Bracey White on reading last month at this Daisy Jopling event, and making her online debut at Carnegie Hall

Translators Chen Du and Xisheng Chen on their upcoming book, A Naturalist’s Manor (Chax Press) by Yan An

 

Gary GlauberPoet Gary Glauber (happy birthday!) for work in The Piker Press , MacQ , and Kalopsia , and for sharing his Amazon author page

 

Writer Claudia Hammon for sharing this NYT article on the importance of poets

 

Budding artist and grand nephew Oliver Hulse for helping color-in the global All Togther Now video

 

J. Chester Johnson
Author J. Chester Johnson for his article on racial forgiveness and Lit Hub excerpt from his book

 

Poet Heller Levinson for being listed on the Big Other’s Most Anticipated Press Releases , and work, or rather LURKs , in Alligator Zine

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for his poem, “Solitaire,” at The Raven’s Perch , this article on Whitman and democracy ,  and how to market your poetry online

 

Jean-Luc PouliquenPoet Jean-Luc Pouliquen for this reflection on the life and work of French Beat poet Serge Bec

 

Poet and artist Linda Simonefor sharing 50 new streamed poetry recordings

 

Fran SiscoPoet and performer Fran Sisco on participating in last month’s Poetry Caravan, Chill Bucket Production of An Evening of Shakespeare, and Imperial Court of New York’s Latin Explosion; and being nominated for original songs, “Carousel Girl,” “Our Friend Wendy, It’s Her Birthday,” and “Happy Trans Girl Like Me”

LinkedIn Editor Carrington York on the need for our brains to do nothing

Until next time,

Ann

 

your bloomin' annogram

Dear annogrammers, April’s warmer temperatures and promise of a post-vaccine life seem especially precious this year. Shakespeare’s birthday arrives this month, and why not celebrate with a delicious zucchini cake with strawberries? Above all, pick up your instrument of choice and get creative—spring is blooming with possibility.

 

National Poetry Month

 

The Lions masked this year

You’ll see lots of local festivals and online readings below, and two creative offerings as part of San Antonio’s robust poetry program. Closer to home, the New York Public Library is also sponsoring free poetry events and online workshops. While we welcome these, remember—it’s always National Poetry Month chez annogram.

 

Authors Are Dangerous People

 

Write it how you feel it. All that is necessary for evil to flourish is that good people publish nothing. Viva la revolución! That’s the manifesto of Blood and Bourbon (Canada), where my three poems, "Grace," "Profile," and "Cape Revival,” will appear. Equally thrilled for upcoming publications of “Roofers” in Ancient Paths  and “Trackside Commissary” in Brought to Sight & Swept Away: A Poetry Anthology About Time (Vita Brevis Press).

Ekphrastic Poetry in San Antonio

National Poetry Month San Antonio 

Linda Simone poem at Culinary 
Institute in San Antonio

(NPMSA) sponsored an Ekphrastic Poetry Contest for youths and adults to write on specific artwork at four local museums. First, NPMSA offered mini workshops before selecting 20 winners from 125 applicants. San Antonio always has great poetry events (see below). Kudos to judges Jim LaVilla-Havelin, Octavio Quintanilla, and Linda Simone!

 

National Haiku Day – April 17

"Nesting Pair" by the Boxes
Poets Jim La Villa-Havelin, Linda Simone, Eddie Vega, and Mobi Warren will read their haiku, and some Basho and Issa, at the San Antonio Botanical Garden at 10 am. Attendees may also compose haiku in response to origami sculptures, by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box and others, placed throughout the garden.

 

Immersive Van Gogh

                             The Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit will debut at a super-secret location in the heart of NYC on June 10th. Wander through 500,000 cubic feet of monumental projections animating van Gogh’s oeuvre. Social distancing circles and strict sanitizing policies will keep you safe as you experience art like never before. Buy tickets here.

 

Community Read

 

This poetry month, some of us will be reading other life-changing work. The Scarsdale Safe Coalition is sponsoring a community read of Chanel Miller’s Know My Name: A Memoir (Viking). A 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award winner, the memoir confronts sexual assault and its aftermath. A Zoom discussion will follow April 21st, 7-8pm. For Zoom link, call 914-723-3281.

 

New and Recent Releases

 

Jerry T. JohnsonJerry T. Johnson, Poets Should Not Write about Politics (Evening Street Press) pre-order

 

Janet Kuypers, Eternal Never Ending Now (Cyberwit.net)

 

John McMullen, 2020 – The Year of the Coronavirus (Independently Published)

No Season for Silence (Kallisto Gaia Press) pre-order

 

Kevin Pilkington, Playing Poker With Tennessee Williams (Black Lawrence
Press)

Remembering Lawrence Ferlinghetti(Moonstone Press)

 

Lori Soderlind, The Change: My Great American, Postindustrial, Midlife Crisis Tour (University of Wisconsin Press)

 

Creative Opportunities

 

Gnashing Teeth call for poetry, artwork, essays, and stories from female-identifying youth 8-18 for anthology, SHE: Seen. Heard. Engaged; deadline April 30

 

Darrell Laurant’s We Who Create website, and Bridge to New Facebook page to connect with others on the creative journey

Darrell Laurant

 

Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, every second Wednesday

 

ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s free poetry course and global community

 

Alison McBainNorwalk Poetry Workshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register

 

The Poets Salon, led by Ed Ahern and Alison McBain of Fairfield Scribes Press, 10am, second Saturdays

 

Poets and Writers’ new Poets and Writer Groups that offer open writing groups nationwide

Ed Ahern

Pure Slush call for poetry and prose on conversations by April 6; and on friendship, starting April 15

Writers, Artists, Actors, etc. Luncheon, noon, every second Friday

 

April Readings and Events – ET

Vijay SeshadriFridays in April, Connecticut Poet Laureates Read, 7pm, YouTube link here

 

April 1-25, Upstream Gallery Celebrates 30 Years, anniversary exhibit

April 1-30, The New Orleans Literary Festival and Press Fair

 

April 5-9, Little Grassy Literary Festival

 

April 7, 7pm, HVWC, Indran Amirthanayagam, Rebecca Morgan Frank, and Vijay Seshadri, $10

April 8-11, Sarah Lawrence College Poetry Festival

 

April 9, 7pm, Moonstone Arts Center, Terry M. Dugan, Isabella Piacentino, Rob Wright; Zoom reading; meeting ID 827 6872 9107, passcode 896169

 

Reginald Dwayne BettsApril 10, 3pm, Hudson Valley Annual Westchester Poetry Festival featuring Reginald Dwayne Betts

 

April 12-30, New York Public Library World Literature Festival

 

April 14, 7pm, HVWC, Russell Banks and Sigrid Nunez, $10

April 17, 4pm, Kevin Pilkington Zoom launch for Playing Poker With Tennessee Williams (Black Lawrence Press)

Walt Whitman birthplace 

April 18, 3pm, Aaron Caycedo-Kimura, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Jennifer Franklin, Margo Taft Stever; register here

 

April 28, 3:30pm, virtual tour of Walt Whitman’s Birthplace and the Pollock-Krasner House on Long Island, followed by 20-minute poetry writing session with poet Christina Rau; register here

 

April 30, 1pm, New York Public Library, Celebrating Indigenous Languages of the Americas

 

Monthly Readings – ET

 

First Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)

 

Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)

Every Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner

 

Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers Center Open Mic – click on third Friday for details

 

Zucchini Cake with Strawberries

 

Modeled after a classic strawberry sponge cake, this healthier version features hidden zukes, almonds, and a minimal yet perfect vanilla buttercream icing.

 

Cake:

1 ½ cups self-rising flour

1 cup finely ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

Zest of ½ lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large zucchinis, peeled and finely grated

 

Icing:

10 sliced organic strawberries

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons heavy cream

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, ground almonds, and baking soda in small bowl. Using an electric mixer, combine eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until a creamy pale yellow. Add zucchini. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Divide between two nonstick 7-inch cake pans; bake 30 minutes. Cool fifteen minutes, remove from pans, and place on wire racks until cool. For icing: beat butter with spoonfuls of sugar, then add cream and vanilla until smooth. Spread thin layer on top of one cake; top with half the strawberries. Ice bottom of other cake, place icing-side down to sandwich strawberries;  ice top of cake, and arrange remaining strawberries on top. Enjoy!

 

ʼ Round the Net

 

Llyn ClagueMemoirist Sarah Bracey White for this mesmerizing line animationtimed to Beethoven’s Fifth

 

Poet Llyn Clague on having work accepted by The Poetry Porch

 

Poets Terry Dugan and Linda Simone on having poems in Remembering Lawrence Ferlinghetti(Moonstone Press)

 

Poet Suzanne Cleary on being a finalist for The Moth Poetry Prize

Lawrence Ferlinghetti
(1919-2021)

Artist Kathe Gregory for this fascinating recreation of a Frank Lloyd Wright lost work

 

Poet and artist Bob Heman on three collages and four poems in Home Planet News

 

Poet Cindy Hochman on work accepted by great weather for MEDIA , the LIPS tribute to Lyn Lifshin, and recent LIVE MAG! reading with Andrei Codrescu and other poets

Author J. Chester Johnson on sharing the passing of Sheila T. Walker, a prominent figure in his memoir on racial reconciliation, Damaged Heritage (Pegasus Books)

 

Poet Jerry T. Johnson on winning the Sinclair Prize for Poets Should Not Write about Politics (Evening Street Press)

 

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for Maine Poet Laureate Stuart

Edith Wharton (1862-1937)
by Debra Styer

Kestenbaum’s podcast on why you should read poetry, this arresting article on plagiarism, and useful piece on chapbook presses

 

Poet Jean-Luc Pouliquen for his research on Edith Wharton’s former home in Hyères, France

 

Cellist and classical music archivist Jay Shulman for advising on the passing of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Hanging Loose Press founder Robert Hershon

The Verrazano from Brooklyn
(2020) by Michael HolsteinPoet and artist Linda Simone for free, public domain images from museums and libraries

 

Journalist Gerald Smith on pandemic-inspired panic buying

 

Poet Margo Stever for Laurence Carr’s article on Slapering Hol Press

 

Lori SoderlindAuthor Lori Soderlindon being a 2021 Lambda Literary Award finalist for
The Change: My Great American, Postindustrial, Midlife Crisis Tour (University of Wisconsin Press)

 

Filmmaker Angela Virsinger for this video of brain expert Jim Kwik on optimal reading

 

A Master Architect Vindicated

 

Julius Gregory (1875-1955) and wife, artist
Mary Lovrien Price Gregory (1888-1972)

Last month my grandfather, architect Julius Gregory (1875-1955), won a victory. After a petition to destroy one of his homes had been denied, the applicants appealed. While one out of five criteria must be met for preservation, our town’s Board of Trustees came out swinging and affirmed three: the house contributes to broad patterns of history; embodies distinctive characteristics that possess high artistic value, and is the work of a master. Thanks to Columbia Professor Andrew Dolkart who, defending Julius, called him “among the most talented architects in the United States.”

 

Until next time,

Ann