Manic Frustration “If I do not write to empty my mind, I go mad.” ~Lord Byron

There's been an absence of words here, but they're spilling out all over my desk. The floor. Pages and scraps of paper. I've begun work on a poetry manuscript. I've been revising old work and starting new. The season is new. The weather is new. My energy and mind are refreshed.

Busy days. Incredible nights. Weekends are always full of something. This weekend, Prose in Pubs swings back around to Jack's Draft House in Scranton on Sunday. Open mic. The first time it has gone non-invitation. It should be an interesting lineup. I'll be reading some new work. Stop on by.


The manuscript is coming along slowly but surely. It will be some time before I have a rough draft completed and probably some time after that until it is finalized and ready to send out. Then I'll find out that it is not yet finalized. Edit, submit, edit, submit. These are the hurdles of writing.

I've picked up my guitar again. Bought a glass slide to try and mimic Bukka White. It's coming along even slower than the manuscript, but it's a release of energy and creativity. It's needed when I cannot form the words. What better way to clear the mind by making music. Or noise. Sometimes I just like to strum and croon along with the old blues masters.

I've been tumbling some ideas for blog entries around my mind, so bare with me. Be patient. Not that you've been sitting on the edge of your seat waiting in anticipation for me. Maybe you have. I'd like to think you have.

Time to fill the apartment with music and the scent of whatever I feel like cooking. Until next time...

Laura E.J. Moran @ Prose in Pubs Photo from Amye Archer

It was another exciting night at Prose in Pubs this past weekend. Not only was I able to be part of it, but, as always, the people I met, writers I listened to and good vibes I received were incredible. Friends from the Endless Mountain Writer's group, who meet every Thursday at the Dietrich theater in Tunkhannock, came out for moral support. New friends, who I'd met at the last reading in Hawley, PA, made a trip out as well.

My reading went well. Like the last, I shared new works with the crowd. They were received well and, at the end of the night, I was approached by someone telling me that some of my words had hit a connection him. For that alone, I am grateful for that night. For that moment where someone within the crowd caught my words and felt them as I did.

Dawn Leas, who I had heard read a few times before, was incredible. The way she frames her world within a poem, the imagery she paints for the reader or, in this case, the listener is vivid. Close your eyes, and you can see.

Gale Martin, one of the only novelists to read at Prose in Pubs as far as I can remember, read from her new book Don Juan in Hankey, PA. Hysterical. Her humor brings a whole new side to opera. Don Juan is the story of a small-town opera company who decide to stage a performance of Mozart's famous work to save their opera house from foreclosure. Just the idea of Don Juan performed in some rural, dirt road community is hilarious in itself but, the way Gale writes, brings a whole new level to the hilarity of the idea. Look for a review here as soon as I finish the book. If you cannot wait, check it out on Amazon. Link below.

The feature, Laura E.J. Moran, brought an excellent performance to Jack's Draft House with a mixture of laughs, heartache and, simply put, life.  Laura comes from the same poetic camp as past reader Jason Carney, who's work you can see in an earlier post. Her words are raw. Dusty in that real, worked way of hard work. Words chiseled using a sledgehammer and a bit of whiskey. Or, as Laura mentioned, lots of Pabst.

If you missed this Prose in Pubs or if you haven't attended one yet, you best get a move on. You're missing out on one of the most incredible nights in north east Pennsylvania. This isn't simply poems and prose. It's a night of connections. Of finding a corner of life that may be missing in your own. At the very least, come and have a drink. You've got nothing to lose.

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Please check out these links to learn more about the readers:
-Gale Martin's Don Juan in Hankey, PA
-Dawn Leas's site & her chapbook I Know When to Keep Quiet
-Laura E.J. Moran's site

hawleysilkmill.com

A quick post about what's going on in the next few weeks. As mentioned in prior posts, I'll be taking part in January's Prose in Pubs event with fellow writers and poets Gale Martin, Dawn Leas and featured reader Laura Moran. Prose in Pubs takes place on the 22nd at Jack's Draft House in Scranton, PA. It officially begins at 7 p.m., but come early and enjoy Jack's menu and good drinks. Stay late to mingle with the local writer's scene.

Also, this upcoming Saturday, I'll be reading with good friend and writer Alexis Czencz Belluzzi at the Hawley Silk Mill. This reading will begin at 7 p.m. as well. Visit the Mill's website at www.hawleysilkmill.com for directions, history and photos of the venue.

Also happening on Saturday the 14th is the second Writers Showcase at New Visions studio in Scranton, PA. Hosted by Jason Lucarelli and Brian Fanelli, this reading will feature work by Dawn Leas, Rich Howells, Bridget McIntyre, Frank Sabina, Beth Burke, Tricia Kinney and Jen Bokal. The reading begins at 7 p.m. and New Visions is located at 201 Vine Street.

My photography gallery, currently up at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock, will be coming down early this upcoming Saturday as well. Some of my work will be moving across the street to Seasons restaurant where it will remain on display for a time.

Come on out to one of the readings and enjoy some great prose and good company. If you're in the Tunkhannock area, stop by Seasons for a bite to eat and to check out my photography work beginning the 14th.

It's been quiet for me as far as writing goes. Publicly, anyway. Between long work hours and various other projects, I haven't taken part in a reading since summer. But the pen keeps moving. Fingers keep clacking away. I've been working on new poetry and tackling bigger projects as well as diving back into photography.

Winter always seems to get me writing more, though. While the molasses slows, my words quicken. I've got to do something with my time cooped up indoors. Something tells me I'd more than likely begin emulating Jack Torrance without writing. Then again, he was a writer. Maybe it's innevitable.

This winter I've been invited to trudge from the confines of my home and release my words before an audience.

Prose in Pubs, brainstormed and created by fellow writer Amye Archer, has been, in my opinion, the best ongoing literary event in the northeast Pennsylvania region for the better part of a year. Amye has consistently showcased local writers from around the NEPA region who's talent never ceases to amaze me. And, for the last handful of Prose in Pubs, she has begun adding one national act to the mix.

Prose in Pubs is a no frills event. Sans-microphone, even. Couple that with the incredible venue which is Jack's Draft House and you end up with a laid-back, thought-provoking beautiful night.

In January, I'll be joining Gale Martin, Dawn Colangelo Leas and Laura E.J. Moran for 2012's first Prose in Pubs. It promises to be an incredible night, as every PiP tends to be. So, when you've got nothing to do on a cold (if the weather ever decides to match the season) January night, come out to Jack's on the 22nd to join us for a drink and some words.

- You can find more information about Prose in Pubs by visiting the Facebook page here.
- Visit Dawn Leas's site here.
- Visit Gale Martin's blog here.
- Visit Laura E.J. Moran's site here.

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.

Jack's Draft House FB

Jack's Draft House FB