your april annogram
Good Contrivance FarmReisterstown, MarylandDear annogrammers,Welcome to sun-inspiring spring, National Poetry Month, your news, my news, andcreative opportunities for all. Lots of books, great events, amemory of the New York poetry scene, and, yes, quiche—so call on your appetite and get out your fork, if not pen andnotebook.
Hélène Sanguinettiand Domaine des englu é s
Hélène Sanguinetti Congratulations to Hélène
on giving two workshops, “Dans les courants de lafleuve” (In the currents ofthe river), last month at the Museon Arlaten (France). Once again I’m totally intrigued intranslating her latest book,
Domaine des englués
(La Lettre Volée, 2017), which includes afascinating Q&A with Jean-Baptiste Para, former editor-in-chief of
Europe
, France’s leadingliterary review.
ModPo Creator Answers OurQuestions
Al FilreisEverwonder if MFA programs are just cash cows for universities? What would awriting program director, in contact with some of the most innovative poets onthe planet, say about poets’ use of social media? Get these answers and morefrom ModPo’s Al Filreis in my interview with him in themost recent
Fast Flesh Literary Journal
—agorgeous online journal calling for work (see Creative Opportunities).
JupiterHammon Project
Joseph Lloyd ManorThanks to Terry Dugan for alerting us to this Preservation Long Island project. Poet Jupiter Hammon (1711- ca.1806), enslaved at the JosephLloyd Manor, wasone of the first African American authors published during his lifetime. His writingsoffer powerful insight into slavery and freedom before and after the AmericanRevolution. His legacy is preserved at the manor, today a NationalLiterary Landmark.
Poetry X Hunger
Takudzwa ChikepeFounded to bring poets to theanti-hunger cause, Poetry X Hunger has partnered with the United Nations,foodbanks, and arts councils to fight against hunger. Founded by poet Hiram Larew, the initiative recently collaboratedwith ThePoartry Project toraise funds for Feed the Children. One collaboration includes
HowFar Are We from Food
by Zimbabwean poet Takudzwa Chikepe.
The DogWe Fell In Love With
Sawyer depressed in the TV adAmong all the Super Bowl ads, was your heart won over by the rescue dog whotook apart his family’s house? His name is Sawyer and, in real life, he wasrescued from the streets at eight months by his trainer. We hope he is gettingroyalties as Amazon shows its charming ad nightly! Here is his story,his owner’s story, and the auditions that took place for his starring role.
CreativeOpportunities
Fast Flesh Literary Journal
call for flash fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews,interviews, craft essays, and hybrid or cross-genre work
Open Door Magazine, call for poems on envy, by April 30
The Pedestal Magazine, call for poems May 8-June 4
The Poet anthologies, call for poems on addiction, by April 30
Chartres Rosette North
Politics and Prose online class on Garcia Lorca, $130, April 12, 19, 26, May 3, 6-8pm ET
Catholic Literary ArtsSacred Poetry Contest, see artwork onsite to prompt poems, $25 fee, by
April 30
Wildhouse Poetry Chapbook Contest, $25 fee, by April 15
New and RecentReleases
Mary Calvi,
Ifa Poem Could Live and Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt’s First Love
(St. Martin’s Press)
Dennis Daly, PsalmsComposed in Utter Darkness (DosMadres Press)
Michael Gottlieb, Collected Essays (Chax Press)
Jerry T. Johnson,
A Coldness
(Finishing Line Press) pre-order
Hiram Larew, Patchy Ways (CyberWit Press, 2023)
OpenDoor Magazine
Rachel Louise Snyder, No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know AboutDomestic Violence Can Kill Us (BloomsburyPublishing)
Sam Taylor, translator,
Picasso the Foreigner
(Macmillan) by Annie Cohen-Solal
Meredith Trede, BringingBack the House (BroadstoneBooks)
Joseph Zaccardi, Songbirdsof the Nine Rivers(Sixteen Rivers Press)
CreativeWorkshops
Ethelbert MillerSteve Almond, Writinginto Deep Truth, May4, 10am-4pm, $200; Craft talk How to Create an Irresistable Narrator, June 3, 5pm, $20; Good ContrivanceFarm (Maryland), email Ron@historicfarm.org to register
Ethelbert Miller, Catching One’s Breath: Reading and RememberingBefore Writing the Memoir, May 6, 10am-4pm,$200; Craft talk The WritingLife and How to Write the Political Poem, May 13, 5pm, $20; Good Contrivance Farm (Maryland), email Ron@historicfarm.org to register
All-Genre Writers Group, 6:30pm, Thursdays
John McMullenJohn McMullen Poetry Workshop, 6pm, fourth Wednesdays
Mahopac Poetry Workshop, 6pm, second Wednesdays
ModPo, University of Pennsylvania’s freepoetry course and global community
NorwalkPoetryWorkshop, first and third Mondays, 6:30pm; email poet_laureate@norwalkpl.org to register
Alison McBain, P.C. Keeler, and Ed AhernThe Peekskill Writing Table, serious critique for writers, secondand 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, secondFridays, noon
April+ Events –ET
Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery,Meg Lindsay’s painting,“Friends on Their Devices in the MoMASculpture Garden,” one of 49 art pieces at the juried show until April 1
Beyond VanGogh (Long Island) andyoga with Christina Rau, April 1 or April 15, 9am; yoga routine that matchesthe animation and music, and then includes access afterward to the show; $72;register here
Joe ZaccardiBook Passage (Corte Madera, CA), April 2, 4pm, (LIVE) poetsBarbara Swift Brauer, Matt Monte, Joe Zaccardi
The Albertine BookstoreThe Albertine Bookstore, April 3, 6pm, Jonathan Galassi discusses Picasso the Foreigner (Macmillan) with author Annie Cohen-Solal (LIVE);register here
Centre for Poetic Innovation (Scotland), April 3, 12:15pm, poet Alexander Dickow; to register for Zoom link, email el40@st-andrews.ac.uk
Christina RauChristinaRau-led chats, April10, 6:30pm, Let’s Write Some Poems, to register: info@babylonarts.org; April 13, 7pm, PoetLaureate Poems, Facebook or Zoom(Meeting 851 8927 9519 PW: 319193); April 27, 7pm, National Poetry Month PromptParty, Facebook or Zoom(Meeting: 890 5692 9134 PW: 670375)
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, April 18, 7pm, BethGersh-Nesic, PhD on “Impressionism’s Women,” such as Marie Braquemond and her painting at left, “On the Terrace at Sèvres” (1880); Zoom event; register here, $25Scarsdale Public Library, April 18, 7pm, No Visible Bruises: A Community Read with author Rachel Louise Snyder, Zoomevent; register here
NorwalkPublic Library, April 22, 6:30pm, Writers in Conversation hosted by LaurelPetersen; Victoria Buitron and Ronit Plank (LIVE)
Victoria BuitronSketchbook Brewing Company (Evanston), April 22, 3pm, Rhino Reads: KatieHartsock and Dara Yen Elerath (LIVE)
Federation ofAlliances Françaises USA, May 31, 4pm, Beth Gersh-Nesic, PhD on “Cubism and theTrompe L’Oeil,” Zoom event; register here, $10
Monthly Readings– ET
Ralph Nazareth hosts Curley's DinerFirst Sunday, 4pm, Poetic License (Austin)
Every Tuesday, 2pm, Spoken Word World (Paris)
Marc Vincenz, a LitBalm hostEvery Tuesday, 7pm, Curley’s Diner
Third Fridays, 7pm, Hudson Valley Writers CenterOpen Mic – clickthird Friday for details
Frequent Saturdays (check Facebook), 5pm,LitBalm
Sweet Potato Crust Quiche
Leave it to superb cook Linda Simone to share this recipe! Paleo, dairy free if you like, and Linda advisesyou can switch out the spinach for sliced steamed zucchini.
Crust:
Photo by Linda Simone2 sweet potatoes, peeled,finely sliced1 tablespoon extra-virgin oliveoil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Quiche:
14 ounces frozen spinach
4 eggs
¾ cup unsweetened coconut or othermilk
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter orcoconut-oil a 9-inch pie plate. In fry pan, warm olive oil, add garlic andonion, and fry, stirring, until golden brown. Add spinach, cover, and reduce tolow heat. Cook 15 minutes until spinach is tender. Salt and pepper. Peelpotatoes, then use a mandolin slicer to finely slice. Arrange slices, carefulto cover entire bottom. Cut slices in half for a flat bottom and crust border. Prebakepotato crust 15 minutes. Spread cooked spinach over pre-baked potato crust. Setaside. In mixing bowl, beat eggs, coconut milk, and nutmeg. Salt and pepper. Pouregg mixture onto crust. Top with grated cheese or almond meal. Bake 25-30minutes or until potatoes are soft and cheese is grilled. Serve immediately.
ʼ Round the Net
The Frame (1983) by Frida KahloGuitarist andsongwriter Michael Cefola on discovering shuffle dancer extraordinaire Sven Otten
Writer and editor Larry Faltz on sharing this flash fiction byFrederic Brown--read especially if you are nervous about AI taking over
Art historianand translator BethGersh-Nesic on her eye-opening article in Bonjour Paris, “Frida in Paris: The Clothes, theExhibition, the Affair”
Joy HarjoPoet JoyHarjo on winning the 2023 Yale Bollingen Prize for AmericanPoetry
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Cindy HochmanPoet CindyHochman on The Compulsive Reader’s review of
Telling You Everything
(Unleash Press); latest
FirstLiterary Review-East
featuring Heath Brougher,Marge Piercy and Marc Vincenz; poems in SurVision Magazine (Ireland), which also includes KarenNeuberg poems; and in the upcoming anthology Play (Australia) with work by Bob Heman
J. Chester JohnsonCivil rightshistorian and racial justice advocate J.Chester Johnson, on being interviewed by Tavis Smiley, and for his recommended reading list for black-clear healing and reconciliation
Poet Hiram Larew on his interview on the Linda K. Sienkiewicz blog
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Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)Poet HellerLevinson for this video of William Buckley interviewing Jack Kerouac and others on the “hippiephenomena”
Poet and artist Meg Lindsay on juried work at the Thorne-SagendorphArt Gallery
Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for Steve Jobs’s advice on living your best life and this article celebrating more women published for the first time
Bassist LarrySchwartzman for this video of DavidBowie and Jeff Beck in 1973
Cellist and music archivist Jay Shulman on Peter Aaron’s Chronogram review of AlanShulman: The Tattooed Stranger (Bridge Recordings)
Poet and watercolorist Linda Simone on having her artwork highlighted in San Antonio Report
Writer and disability rights advocate Jim Sinocchi for this candid andinsightful podcast interview
Playwright, performer, and artist Fran Sisco on winning Best Music Videofor Carousel Girl at the Cutting Room International Short Film Festival, and for the Zoom debut of her play, It’s An Italian Thing! No,It’s A Black Thing
Playwright, poet, and memorist Sarah Bracey White on having her play
An Adventure in Greenswamp
debut in the latest Westchester Review
YourAAA Today for this article, “8 Great Small Bookstoresin the Northeast”
The New York Scene and Peter Chelnik
Bob Heman and Cindy Hochman at Cornelia Street Café
New York inthe early 2000s was a Golden Age of Poetry. There was the Gotham Book Mart, there was CorneliaStreet Café—which, as a poet reading there, felt like being aningénue turning Hollywood and Vine; and in the mail Jackie Sheeler’s NYC Poetry Calendar on bright-colored paper, amenu of readings from elite university events to beloved hole-in-the-wallfestivals. I would circle astonishing opportunities—such as hearing JohnAshbury (1927-2017), Seamus Heaney (1939-2013), Galway Kinnnell (1927-2014), orSharon Olds.
As part of thisscene, Peter Chelnik arranged his Prairie Fire readings everywhere fromoff-Broadway theaters with broken seats to delis where you had to pause whenthe meat slicer was in use. He featured musicians including my husband, guitarist Michael Cefola, doing a Delta Blues set with his best friend from childhood, bassist Larry Schwartzman, or a cello solo by our longtime friend JayShulman—a reunion of sorts as we all had attended high school with Peter. Iloved reading alongside poets such as Austin Alexis and Evie Ivy. A Beat poet, Peter collected his work in
HeyGirl
(Little SkyPress, 2016). This year, we said goodbye to this relentless impresario,big-bear-of-a-poet who promoted so many—and I add my warmest gratitude too.
Until next time,
