Showing posts with label contemporary poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contemporary poetry. Show all posts

Taking a shot of ink: Prose in Pubs

Posted by Unknown | Posted in , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Posted on Monday, August 01, 2011

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Jack's Draft House FB page.
It's a Sunday night and all of the parking spots on the corner of Gibson and Prescott are filled. Cruising up the block, I find a space sufficient enough to harbor my pickup. Jack's Draft House sits on the corner. Unmarked, save for a neon sign and a small chalkboard in the doorway. Walking through the glass-paneled door, I see people standing about. Sitting everywhere. They're all intently listening. Some sipping dark stouts. Some with gin and tonics or a bourbon.

Mischelle Anthony is standing near the exposed brick archway which leads to the back room of Jack's reciting one of her pieces. Her words illicit laughter as she smiles behind her glasses, reading on about an unfortunate sounding love interest. Already, I'm a bit upset with myself leaving late and missing the majority of her reading. However, my lack of punctuality aside, I become immediately wrapped up in the aura of the night and the second Prose in Pubs is well under way.

Jack's Draft House FB


Prose in Pubs is the creation of local poet/writer/memoirist Amye Archer. Joined by Jim Warner, another area writer who has been involved in readings and the lit scene for some time, they plan the monthly Prose in Pubs, choosing from some of the best talents the area has to offer.

Last night's roster included the aforementioned Mischelle Anthony, Jennifer Diskin, Matthew Hinton and Brian Fanelli. The atmosphere of Jack's lends itself beautifully to the dynamics of poetry and lit readings. So much so that Amye holds the events sans microphone, a portion of readings that I myself have had a difficult time adjusting to. With the comforting glow of soft lights and the warming architecture and aura amidst the crowd, each reader seemed comfortable. In their element. It seemed to me as if we were all long-time friends joining together to share a few drinks and words slightly tinged with hops and warmed by the sound of genuine laughter.

Each of the readers impressed me last night and left me with a hopeful feeling about the growth of the arts in and around the Northeast PA region. Without events such as Prose in Pubs, the arts and talent present in your own back yard becomes hidden. Glowing treasures only unearthed by chance.

Here's to Amy Archer, Jim Warner, Prose in Pubs and all of the amazing talent showcased last night and in the months to come. Bottoms up, my fellow ink-bleeders.


Jack's Draft House FB


-Follow Prose in Pubs and Jack's Draft House on Facebook.

-Read the interview with Amye Archer about Prose in Pubs at the570.com.

-Be sure to visit Amye Archer and Brian Fanelli at their blogs located in my "Less Frustrated Folk" section.

-The next Prose in Pubs is scheduled for Sept. 25th. Stay tuned for details.





Boston Literary Magazine

Posted by Unknown | Posted in , , , , , , , , , | Posted on Monday, June 27, 2011

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This summer marks the 5th anniversary of the Boston Literary Magazine and the 2011 Summer issue is now available for purchase from Big Table Publishing. Two of my poems, "It's Raining Outside This Neon Brothel" and "Fear of Heights", are included among a jam-packed issue.

The issue is $12 plus shipping. Big Table also offers other chapbooks available for the same price or less. I ordered four copies myself, but I'm hoping I wont be the only one reading it. Grab a copy today and get your hands on some great contemporary poetry.

Many thanks to Robin Stratton, editor of the Boston Literary Magazine, for accepting my work and the many kind words she's offered.

Check out Robin's new book "On Air", available at Amazon. It's a great summer read. Watch for a review here.

Sifting through my family's moments

Posted by Unknown | Posted in , , , , , , , | Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

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Names and places elude myself and my immediate family,
but this moment in time belongs to my bloodline. 
It falls somewhere between the late 30's and early 40's,
though I'm too late to remember either of these times.

Yet, I can still imagine bouncing around off camera as a young boy
marveling at the delicate white folds of satin and lace.
Pretending to be a cowboy roaming on horseback, pistol at my side,
happening upon some fair-skinned farm girl running from everything
her family wants her to be.

I can't help wondering where this yard may be.
If that Oak still stands.
And if I can view this moment of time
recorded in its branches.

Give me a saddle to ride upon and a stallion with
sweating shanks that gallops across sunsets
and over miles of ticking clocks 
to bring me to this
moment.

..

Ada Limón's "Sharks in the Rivers"

Posted by Unknown | Posted in , , , , , , , | Posted on Sunday, February 13, 2011

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Recently, I stumbled across the work of Ada Limón online. After reading her poem "Sharks in the Rivers", her book of poetry under the same title was on its way to my mailbox. It has proved itself to be the best find this year thus far and it's going to be a hard one to top.

Poem after poem is soaked with imagery and sounds of flora and fauna, rolling hills and riverbanks. Even her pieces constructed in the realm of a bustling, rushing city return to the comfort and at-home peace of California countrysides. Streets turn to rivers and her entire being takes flight, refusing to let the steel and concrete of a metropolis dam up that which flows so freely from her. She is a native soul in a contemporary world.

Her style of writing is refreshing. In tune with the natural world, but able to draw parallels between nature and a world seemingly detached from it. The joy of sex and womanhood is swallowing a live bird. Worries can be carried away by grains of sand on the shoulders of ants, unless your burdens are too heavy to bear. Her work is a trickling, peaceful spring at points and a rushing torrent of feeling and life running down pavement at others. 

At no point do her words seemed forced or pretentious (like so many contemporaries today). They grow from the pages as naturally as prairie grass and take root in the readers mind. Ada's world immerses you and makes you feel both her joys and sorrows, doubts and hopes. You become attached, like she's grabbed your hand and said, "Come, I'll show you," before stepping out the door and into her world. It's honest and true writing found here.

This is the first collection of Ada's poems I've had the pleasure of reading and is her third book so far, being preceded by Lucky Wreck and This Big Fake World. Currently, she is working on a novel, which I'm sure I'll be waiting in anticipation for after reading the rest of her published work.


Sharks in the Rivers is available from Milkweed Editions. Her other poetry collections, This Big Fake World and Lucky Wreck, can be found on Amazon. She also maintains a personal blog and her official website can be found at AdaLimon.com. 

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