your start-of-summer annogram
Dear annogrammers, Summer is here, at least our Memorial Day weekend signals as much. How great to be outdoors! And, as Vonnegut suggests, why not enjoy lemonade under an apple tree? annogram plans on that and more, so have a fabulous summer and send news in August for September.
Marilyn Applies LitBalm
Join me this Saturday, June 4 at 5pm, as one of the poets reading from the award-winning
I Wanna Be Loved by You: Poems on Marilyn Monroe
(Milk+Cake Press). LitBalm, a respected Zoom-Facebook reading, is hosted by international poets Marc Vincenz, Cassandra Atherton, and Jonathan Penton. Cindy Hochman is a regular so that should tell you how great it is! Hope to see you there, via Zoom.
Young French Painting
Few people know about art critic, journalist and poet André Salmon (1881-1969) who was there in Paris as pals Picasso and Braque turned the art world upside down. Travel back to that moment through
Pablo Picasso, André Salmon and “Young French Painting
” (Za Mir Press), a new translation of Salmon's first book on Picasso, Cubism and early 20th century modern art, by Salmon scholar Jacqueline Gojard and art historian Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, PhD. A must for artists and art aficionados! Order here.
The Fabricator Sparkles at Brooklyn Film Festival
Loren "Dink" StalterFrank Vitale, whose award-winning films include
Montreal Main
and
The Erotic Fire of the Unattainable
, will debut
The Fabricator
at the Brooklyn Film Festival on June 12 at 2pm. This masterful short documentary, a meditation on the life of craftsman Loren “Dink” Stalter, is resplendent with images evocative of Hudson River School artists more than a century ago. View online with six other fantastic shorts for $10 or attend live by registering here. A stunning jewel of a film that speaks to a life’s calling.
Cecily Spitzer at Upstream
"Sunset Hill" by Cecily SpitzerSpitzer's work, in the tradition of the Ninth Street Women—ground-breaking Abstract Expressionists of the 20th century—challenges male counterparts in its vigorous language of gesture and color. Like those artists, Spitzer's work concentrates on the physicality of nature; but, unlike them, her compositions are more formal and elegant. With a solo show by Paul Greco, through June 19 at the Upstream Gallery.
Creative Opportunities
Kevin PilkingtonEssays, Letters, and Poems on Yusef Komunyakaa; send submissions to dearyusefanthology@gmail.com, by August 1 The Lauria/Fasca Poetry Prize for poets of Italian descent, by July 1, $20
Line-by-Line, a Poetry Workshop with Kevin Pilkington
Madville Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology, by June 30
Suzanne ClearyThe Poet, submit on “the family,” by June 22
Poetry Anthology for the Ukraine, send to jbradley5@niu.edu by September 30
“The Power of Not Knowing: The Role of Surprise in Creating a Poem,” workshop with Suzanne Cleary, June 17, 9-11am, register here
Pure Slush and Truth Serum Press, prose, poetry, fiction on marriage, by July 31
Rhino, fiction, nonfiction, poetry by June 30
Slaping Hol Chapbook Contest, by June 22
Women in Their 80s, octogenarian poetry and prose anthology; detaylor@cabrillo.edu, by September 30
New and Recent Releases
Will Alexander and Heller Levinson, Dialogics 2 (Anvil Tongue)
Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Selected Poems (Chax Press)
Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, PhD, and Jacqueline Gojard, translators, Pablo Picasso, André Salmon and “Young French Painting” by André Salmon (Za Mir Press)
Adrian Lürssen,
Neowise
(Trainwreck Press)
Hilary Sideris, Liberty Laundry (Dos Madres Press)
Work! Lifespan Volume #5 (Pure Slush)
Creative Workshops
“The Power of Not Knowing: The Role of Surprise in Creating a Poem,” workshop with Suzanne Cleary, June 17, 9-11am, register here
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 PoetryWorkshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register
The Peekskill Writing Table, serious critique for writers, second and third Tuesdays via Zoom; email tpwritingtable@gmail.com
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
June Readings and Events – ET
Jenny XieThrough June 19, Cecily Spitzer and Paul Greco solo shows at Upstream Gallery
June 2 and June 9, 6pm, Scarsdale Library Writing Critique Group participants read poetry, fiction, and prose
June 4, 5pm, LitBalm, Ann and more poets read from I Wanna Be Loved by You: Poems on Marilyn Monroe (Milk+Cake Press)
June 5, 1:30pm, Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club; Myra Malkin, Susana H. Case, Mervyn Taylor, Margo Taft Stever (LIVE)
June 5, 4pm, Katonah Library, Jennie Xie, $15
June 6, 7pm, Oradell Library, Monroe reading: John J. Trause, Joel Allegretti, Tina Kelley, Anna Limontas-Salisbury, Cindy Fouhy, Susana H. Case, Margo Taft Stever (LIVE)
Mark S. BurrowsJune 9, 9pm, Parkland Poets, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Susana H. Case, Margo Taft Stever via Zoom
June 19-26, Mercy by the Sea Retreat Center, “Poetry as Prayer” with Mark S. Burrows; see pricing
June 24, 7pm, Bureau of General Services - Queer Division, Monroe reading: Bruce E.Whitacre, Patrica Carragon, Alexander Cavaluzzo, Elaine Sexton, Robert Anthony Gibbons, Matthew Hittinger, Lynn McGee, Joel Allegretti (LIVE)
June 25, 5pm, Lit Balm, Suzanne Cleary, Ann Lauinger, Margo Taft Stever, Mervyn Taylor, via Zoom
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
Frequent Saturdays (check Facebook), 5pm, LitBalm
Maple-Marinade Salmon
This delicious recipe comes to us via the Yankee Chef:
4 (6 oz) boneless salmon fillets
nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup cup apple juice
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place parchment paper in bottom of 8-inch square baking pan and liberally coat with nonstick cooking spray. Put fillets in pan without overlapping; set aside. In a bowl, whisk together apple juice, chili sauce, maple syrup, brown sugar, mustard, lemon juice, and seasonings. Pour over fish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until fish flakes when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven; serve hot with baked beans if desired.
ʼ Round the Net
Jamaica BaldwinPoet Jamaica Baldwin on winning a Pushcart Prize for “Father Weaver”
Astrophotographer Rick Bria for an amazing photo of last month’s lunar eclipse, and for the cover photo on Laurel Peterson’s Daughter of the Sky (Futurecycle Press)
Poet Suzanne Cleary on being invited to give a workshop at the Tunbridge Wells Poetry Festival (UK)
May 2022 Lunar Eclipse by Rick BriaTranslators Chen Du and Xisheng Chentranslated a Yan An poem and another in DefunctSite
Art Historian Beth S. Gersh-Nesic published a review of the exhibitThe Hare with Amber Eyes at The Jewish Museum in Bonjour Paris
John McMullenYorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for this video of the Yorktown Poetry Group featuring guest poet Patricia Carragon
The New York Public Library for encouraging us to read banned books
Poet translator Anthony Seidman on appearing on the UCLA panel, “Traducir, editar y publicar poesía Latinomamericana” last month
Music archivist, producer, and cellist Jay Shulman on another rave review of his CD Laura Newell: The Philharmonia Recordings (Artek Records)
What’s Nice
More from Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007):
I had a good uncle, my late Uncle Alex. He was my father's kid brother, a childless graduate of Harvard who was an honest life-insurance salesman in Indianapolis. He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy. So when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is." SO I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."
Until September,
