your november annogram

St. Agnes book launch a big success
Thanks to Trinity-St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for hosting the October book launch of St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped (Kattywompus Press, 2011) in the newly restored library. The Reverend Robert Gahler gave an inspiring introduction, sharing the church’s history as the birthplace of the French protestant movement in the then colonies. Ever-gracious, he also arranged a lovely afternoon buffet, poured tea for guests and provided an informal sanctuary walk-through.
I am equally grateful to the literary community that showed to support me—especially Meredith Trede, author of Field Theory (Stephen Austin University Press, 2011), Myrna Goodman, poet and cofounder of Toadlily Press; and Sarah Bracey White, whose memoir Primary Lessons won the CavanKerry Press New Voices Award and will be published next year. Thanks to Sarah and poet Michael Holstein for taking photos, to friends, parishioners and poetry lovers who appeared out of nowhere to buy my books in record numbers, and to those of you who sent such warm wishes in e-mail notes and cards.

Wait a minute, I have to take off my bra!
That’s the saucy title of the new breast-themed anthology by InkSpotter publisher Betty Dobson. Thanks to Betty for including my poem, “Breast Imaging,” in Wait a minute which you can find on amazon.com. And now that I have your attention, you can also read my poem, “For My Mother-in-Law Recently Passed” in Radius Poetry: From the Center to the Edge.

Women of a Certain Page
Does a something unknown beckon in your life? Come to Women of a Certain Page, an afternoon tea, poetry reading and creative exploration presented by the New York Arts Exchange tomorrow, Sunday, November 6, from 2 PM to 4 PM in New Rochelle. Poets Meredith Trede, Cathy Wald and I will read and lead a lively discussion and a few creative exercises. The cost is $30, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Hope’s Door, formerly the Northern Westchester Shelter. To reserve a spot, e-mail nyarts.exchange@verizon.net as soon as possible!

Toadlily launch at Poets House
Tonight at Poets House, at 5pm, Toadlily Press will celebrate the book launch of The Best of Toadlily Press (Toadlily Press, 2011), a wonderful compilation of Toadlily contributors and the high-profile poets, such as Thomas Lux and Jean Valentine, who have written introductions to the poetry books over the years. This delicious selection features a whimsical cover by artist and Toadlily cofounder Myrna Goodman. Annogram salutes Toadlily for increasing the publishing opportunities for emerging poets over the years in its much-praised quartet chapbook series.

‘Round the Net
Thanks to these people or periodicals for providing these fascinating links:
· The ALTA List-Serv for this article on Angela’s Ashes finally getting translated into Irish
· Jeanette Briggs for this article on Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer winning the Nobel Prize
· Lisa Guidarini for Why Creative Writing is Better with a Pen
· The New York Times for this article on Amazon’s entry into the publishing world
· The Times again for this article on Julian Barnes winning the Man Booker Prize
· And this book review on the influence of Keats’s brother’s travels in America on the poet’s work
· Poet Charles Simic for this article in his blog, Take Care of Your Little Notebook
· Poet Margo Stever for news of her upcoming chapbook, The Hudson Line (Main Street Rag, 2012)
· Alyson Waters for this review on David Bellos’s book on translation
· Kim Wells for this amazing YouTube video on the effects of domestic violence on children

Today, on my wedding anniversary, I am especially grateful to Michael Cefola for being my husband and partner in our amazing life journey together. I am truly blessed.

Wishing you and yours much to be thankful for this month!

Until next time,
Ann

St. Agnes is ‘Hot’

According to my publisher Sammy Greenspan, St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped (Kattywompus Press) is “hot”! Sammy is doing a second print run to meet high demand. In addition, New Pages, an online literary review, lists St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped as New and Noteworthy. Many thanks to all of you who are ordering my new chapbook. I will also be reading this Sunday, October 2, at the Nyack Library, at 2 p.m., joined by poets Meredith Trede, Daryl Brownlee and Sally Lipton Derringer.

Tea with St. Agnes

You are cordially invited to my book launch celebration, Tea with St. Agnes, on Saturday, October 15, 3-5p.m., in the newly restored library at Trinity St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in New Rochelle. Enjoy a poetry reading and refreshments. A free-will offering will be requested to benefit the church’s Building Repair Fund. Come see this church designed by famed Gothic Revivalist Richard Upjohn (1802-1878), as well as the two breath-taking stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933)!

Inkspotting interview

Please see Betty Dobson’s interview of me in Inkspotting: Writing, life and the writing life. In addition to Inkspotting, Betty also has superb blogs on poetry, genealogy and comics. Look for my work in Betty’s forthcoming anthology, Wait a minute, I have to take off my bra.
More good news
I am thrilled that my poem “Breast Imaging” appears in the current issue of Hospital Drive, the literary journal of the University of Virginia Medical School. In addition, my poem “Saffron” will appear in the 2012 Alhambra Poetry Calendar. “Aurora” and “Amphibious” will also help inaugurate the 2012 Alhambra Young Reader’s Poetry Calendar. Thanks to editor Shafiq Naz for selecting my work four years in a row!

Book launches galore

What a great time at Catherine Wald’s Distant, Burned-Out Stars (Finishing Line Press) book launch! Set in the intimate Amawalk Quaker Meeting House, the September event featured cake, champagne and a perfect reading by Cathy. Cathy will also be at Meet the Authors at the Mahopac Public Library, Thursday, October 6, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wonderful to see memoirist Sarah Bracey White, whose book Primary Lessons is forthcoming from CavanKerry Press. That's Sarah Bracey White and I (upper right) enjoying the late afternoon event in our finest summer hats, and (lower left) me, Cathy Wald, Sarah and Meredith Trede, whose launch for Field Theory (Stephen F. Austin University Press) will take place Sunday, October 23 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the JCC on the Hudson in Tarrytown. And Saturday, November 5 at 5 p.m., another launch at Poets House in lower Manhattan will celebrate Toadlily Press's latest book, The Best of Toadlily Press. Book-party on!

Randy Briggs gets framed

Be sure to stop by Scarsdale Art and Frame Shop, 46 Christie Place, Scarsdale, during October to see watercolors by Randy Briggs. Trained as both architect and artist, Randy brings amazing detail and color to landscapes and house portraits. His work can often be mistaken for photographs. Scarsdale Art and Frame is open 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and on Saturdays you can also enjoy the Scarsdale Farmer’s Market, down the street by the train station.

’Round the Net

Thanks to the following people for sending me these great links:

- American Literary Translators Association’s list-serve for why some languages sound so fast

- Poet Brenda Connor-Bey for Notes on the State of Southern Poetry

- Brenda also for recommending the Aldo Tambellini exhibit at the Chelsea Art Museum
- Art Historian Beth Gersh-Nesic for her meditation on The High Price of High Art

- Award-winning author Herbert Hadad for his thoughtful 9/11 Reflection

- Translator Lucas Klein for this gathering of thirty translations of Basho’s frog poem
- Poet Kevin Pilkington for the head’s up on his October 6 reading at Susquehanna University

- Poet and filmmaker Jackie Sheeler for this New York take on Hurricane Irene

- Translator Russell Valentino for this hilarious story featuring President Jimmy Carter

One of the reasons I love writing and sending out annograms is the chance to stay connected with friends, family and colleagues. Next week is my birthday—if you enjoy your annograms, let me know! I appreciate the highly creative community we have built together over the years.

Wishing you a glorious autumn,

Ann

New York before the storm

If you’re in the tri-state, you’re probably home—waiting for it. In Manhatttan today, many commuters stayed away, the late afternoon rush toward Grand Central noticeably thin. On the train, people pensive, the word “noon” slipping in conversation—the time tomorrow when NYC will, in an unprecedented move, shut down all transportation systems. In the suburbs tonight, it’s eerily quiet except for August cicadas. Hurricane Irene, the size of Europe, swirls like the plot of a bad sci-fi film. Enjoy this special hurricane edition while you still have electricity! Postscript: We survived without too much damage--kudos to our elected officials for handling Irene so well!

St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped available online
After my last newsletter, many annogrammers asked where to purchase my poetry chapbook, St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped. It’s easy – order it online at the Kattywompus Press Book Store. I’m also grateful to Sarah Lawrence College for announcing the publication on the alumni website (scroll down). In addition, I’m thrilled that The Widows' Handbook, an anthology that received more than 500 submissions, has accepted my poems, "Irradiation" and "What Yields to Winter.”

CavanKerry to publish Sarah Bracey White

Congratulations to Sarah Bracey White, who has been selected by CavanKerry as one of its “New Voices” for 2012. Her memoir, Primary Lessons, recalls her mother’s wisdom that safely guided Sarah through her first 12 years in the Jim Crow south. Publisher Florenz Eisman says, “It’s a delight to welcome Sarah as a new CavanKerry writer.”

Poet Cindy Hochman

I am lucky that Jackie Sheeler introduced me to Cindy Hochman, a versatile literary artist if ever I met one! Her new chapbook, The Carcinogenic Bride, is as riveting as the best Ginsberg or Sexton poems you know. She is also co-host of cable TV’s Poetry Thin Air, where she interviews poets such as Pedestal Magazine founder and editor John Amen. In addition, she is editor-in-chief of First Literary Review East, and welcomes poetry submissions under 16 lines.

Free Word for Word Poetry Reading

Poets E.J. Antonio, Michael Cirelli, Marie-Elizabeth Mali, and Patricia Spears Jones will read at the outdoor Bryant Park Reading Room on Tuesday, August 30, 7-8:30 p.m. In the event of rain, please go to The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen, 20 West 44th Street (between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas).

Wald and Trede book launch bonanza

I am so happy for Catherine Wald, who will launch Distant, burned out stars (Finishing Line Press) on Saturday, September 9 at 4 p.m. at the Amawalk Friends Meeting House, 2467 Quaker Church Road, in Yorktown. Equally exciting—the launch of Field Theory (Texas A&M University Press) by poet and Toad Lily Press publisher Meredith Trede on Sunday, October 23 at 2 p.m. at the JCC on the Hudson in Tarrytown. I’ve read both books and they are worthy of much celebration!

Resurrecting Greenburgh’s 9/11 wall
The Town of Greenburgh will unveil the newly restored 9/11 Memorial Wall on Sunday, September 11, at 10:00 a.m. at Presser Park, Hartsdale. Composed of tiles designed by school children and county residents, the wall had fallen into disrepair in recent years. Thanks to a donation from Sam’s Club and the tireless efforts of Greenburgh Arts & Culture Director Sarah Bracey White, the wall will once again honor the memory of Greenburgh residents who died that September day 10 years ago.

Ten for Ten: Commemorating 9/11

On September 11 at 4 p.m., The Nyuorican Poets Cafe, 236 East 3rd Street, will debut Murphy's Law, a brief play about 9/11 through the eyes of two homeless black men in Washington Square Park, by two-time Tony nominee reg e gaines. Afterwards will be storytelling, poetry and dance by dancer Jennifer Cedanas Armas, activist Annie Day, songwriter Shelly Gaines, and poets E.J. Antonio, Carlos Andres Gomez, Joseph Washington and Daniel Wilson. Admission is $10.

'Round the Net

Thanks to the following people who have sent or inspired these fun and fantastic links:

· Jamie Appel for the wry Moxy Fruvous song,"My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors."

· Jim Cunningham for reminding us how wonderful his Vermont hardwood pens are.

· Poet and novelist Terry Dugan for this call for personal essays and stories on late-bloomer artists (latebloomeranthology@gmail.com).

· Romance novelist Diane Gaston for the release of Valiant Soldier, Beautiful Enemy. final installment in the Three Soldiers Series, which can be ordered through an online vendor.

· Art Historian Beth Gersh-Nesic for her new blog, BethNewYork, the updated New York Arts Exchange website; and this great review of Chasing Aphrodite in Venice Magazine.

· Poet and now publisher Janet Kaplan who suggests we “drink up” Red Glass Books' debut collection, Swimming to America, by Patricia Spears Jones.

Philip Levine on becoming our new Poet Laureate.

Kevin Pilkington on winning the 2011 New York Book Festival Award in Poetry for In the Eyes of a Dog (New York Quarterly Books).

· Novelist-screenwriter David Ring for letting me know what happened to the Ruth Lily $21 million.

· Poet Terry Dugan for this hilarious news item on National Bad Poetry Day.

· Workplace violence expert Kim Wells for the wonderful jewelry at that donates 10 percent of proceeds to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

· White Pine Press for the head’s up on its discounted translation collection for sale.

Philip Levine’s poem below, circulated recently by Knopf, seems particularly fitting tonight:

so go ahead, worship the mountains as they dissolve in dust,
wait on the wind, catch a scent of salt, call it our life.

Until next time,

Ann

Our Valley

We don’t see the ocean, not ever, but in July and August
when the worst heat seems to rise from the hard clay
of this valley, you could be walking through a fig orchard
when suddenly the wind cools and for a moment
you get a whiff of salt, and in that moment you can almost
believe something is waiting beyond the Pacheco Pass,
something massive, irrational, and so powerful even
the mountains that rise east of here have no word for it.

You probably think I’m nuts saying the mountains
have no word for ocean, but if you live here
you begin to believe they know everything.
They maintain that huge silence we think of as divine,
a silence that grows in autumn when snow falls
slowly between the pines and the wind dies
to less than a whisper and you can barely catch
your breath because you’re thrilled and terrified.

You have to remember this isn’t your land.
It belongs to no one, like the sea you once lived beside
and thought was yours. Remember the small boats
that bobbed out as the waves rode in, and the men
who carved a living from it only to find themselves
carved down to nothing. Now you say this is home,
so go ahead, worship the mountains as they dissolve in dust,
wait on the wind, catch a scent of salt, call it our life.

- Philip Levine

your hot summer annogram

Speaking of which, my new chapbook, St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped, is hot off the press—Kattywompus Press. Thanks to Sammy Greenspan for producing such a beautiful book. When I first opened it, I was awed by the Publisher’s Position Statement on the Value of the Poetry Arts:

This chapbook is a work of fine art from the poet Ann Cefola whose work you support for a few cents per page. You are not buying paper and printer’s ink by weight. You selected language art that took as long to create as paintings for other fine art. On behalf of a large community of contemporary poets, this poet in particular, independent and small press publishing, and Kattywompus Press, thank you for supporting this project.

Isn’t that amazing? For more on Sammy Greenspan’s take on the state of the art, including book publishing, see this thoughtful interview at Meet the Press in Best American Poetry's blog series.

More good news

Jacar Press has accepted my poem, “Having No Children,” for its love anthology and Alimentum will publish my poem, “Nocturnal,” in winter 2012. And WomenArts Quarterly Journal has accepted Beth Gersh-Nesic’s interview with me, on the transformative effects of translation, for an upcoming issue.

Summer reading

Thanks to Sarah Lawrence Alumni President Rona Carr for suggesting that I offer a summer reading list. I have been plowing through, delightedly, fiction and novel Pulitzer Prize winners. My favorites to date have been March by Geraldine Brooks and Tinkers by Paul Harding. Dipping into Pulitzer history, I was blown away by The Grapes of Wrath and The Yearling—books as informative about the Depression as any Walker Evans photo. If you’re unsure about what it means to be American, these books speak a plain if painful truth.

Deborah Coulter at the Pelham Arts Center

What a pleasure to see Deborah Coulter’s work at the Pelham Art Center! Evoking Warhol and Dine, Deborah’s collage on board, “Song of Love and Peace,” is mesmerizing with all its whimsical images. Her charcoal on paper, “The Space Between (Triptych),” is equally intriguing with its wave-like movement. You can see these works now through August 13.

Tribute to Louis Reyes Rivera

Sonia Sanchez will present poet/activist Louis Reyes Rivera with the Richard Bartee Award at the Harlem Book Fair this Saturday, July 23, 3-4:30 p.m. Poets paying tribute include E.J. Antonio, Brenda Conner-Bey, Carolyn A. Butts, Americo Casiano, Erica DeLaRosa, Sandra Maria Esteves, CD Grant, Layding Kaliba, Paul McIntosh, Tom Mitchelson, Tony Mitchelson, Ngoma, Lora Rene Tucker, Nikki Williams, Atiba Wilson and Ted Wilson. The event will take place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy, 200 West 135th Street (corner of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.), in New York City.

Poet/performer Jackie Sheeler

Jackie will be at Cornelia Street Café tomorrow night, Monday, July 18 at 6 p.m., as feature poet. On July 25, you can find her doing a benefit in Oceanside, Long Island, at 7 p.m. On August 13, she will be performing around 7:30 p.m. at the Dissident Arts Festival at the Brecht Forum, 451 West Street between Bank and Bethune; and back at the Cornelia Street Café on August 22 at 6 p.m. Whew! Hard to keep up with her—and that’s not even including all her September dates.

Vintage, signed poetry works

White Pine Press founder Dennis Maloney is selling off his 40-year collection of signed and first editions of poetry and more to raise funds to support White Pine Press. The sale includes significant collections of several poets including Gary Snyder, Robert Bly, Tomas Transtromer, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Pablo Neruda, Wendell Berry, a selection of early work by Native American poets and smaller selections of many other authors.

Springfield Movie Theatre reopens

To end on an uplifting note: After a deliberately set fire destroyed the town’s one movie theatre in 2008, Springfield (VT) began to rebuild the block-length building. Springfield had just won the contest which proclaimed it Homer Simpson’s hometown. Its small cinema, the only one around for miles, provided a focal point for the economically struggling town. This past Friday night, however, the theater reopened with a midnight showing of the latest Harry Potter film. An excited line of movie goers stretched into the street an hour ahead of time.

Springfield’s other claim to fame? The birthplace of amateur astronomy, and host to Stellafane, a yearly convention of amateur telescope makers from around the world. Ah, but that is another story! Stories nourish us—in film, books or through telescopes

Wishing you breath-taking ones,

Ann

your almost summer annogram

Summer is nearly here and my poetry is blooming: My second chapbook, St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped, is about to appear from Kattywompus Press. I read the title poem two weeks ago at the Sarah Lawrence College Alum Citation Awards Luncheon (right), thanks to the kind invitation of SLC Alum President Rona Carr. In addition, the literary journal on food, Alimentum, has accepted my poem, “Nocturnal,” for its winter issue.

Mapping Lyric Narrative

Thanks also to Black Hawk Literary Agent Jan Kardys for inviting me to give another workshop, Mapping Lyric Narrative, at the second annual Unicorn Writers Conference last April. Wondering what Mapping is all about? Buy the workshop DVD online and see! It’s an expertly filmed view of the workshop.

Knocking at the Door

This unusual anthology, which includes my poem, “Beloved Corporate Retirees,” is getting rave reviews in Poetix and Bookslut.

Night of Rock

The Offbeats once again helped raise top dollar for The Scarsdale Teen Center in May. Reuniting at the Wicked Wolf Tavern in White Plains, the band gave a fantastic performance led by lead singer Jay Shulman (third from left), guitarist John Moses (far right), singer and mean harp-player Thom Pernice (foreground, right), bass Andy Kreeger, drummer Ted Spencer and my personal favorite, rhythm guitarist Michael Cefola (foreground left).

Calling All Teen Artists

S+Art, a new summer art program for teens June 12-August 11, offers mentoring by a professional artist, exploring creativity individually and in small groups, developing skills needed to create an art portfolio, and getting the inside scoop on and touring art schools. S+Art takes place at the Dream Bigger Center, 120 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, CT. Sign up at portfolioprep.org, info@portfolioprep.org or by calling 203-746-0100.

MAYDAY! MAYDAY!

Did you know this comes from the French M’Aidez? It’s also the title of a fantastic new play, set in 1915, by Dale Walkonen. Nothing like a ride in a Pierce Arrow to thrill Clarence and shock Anita! See the play on June 20, 2pm, at the Gene Frankel Theater, 24 Bond Street, off Lafayette, in New York City. No charge but space is limited so please reserve at www.planetconnections.org or by calling 866-811-4111.

‘Round the Net

Thanks to the following people for sending me a fascinating array of links:

· Translator Juliet Carp for this interesting interview with reknowned literary editor Robert Gottlieb.

· Sculptor Jillian Conrad for alerting us that she has work in Vista, a summer art show, at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, NY, through August 7.

· KJ Denhert, jazz singer/guitarist/composer extraordinaire, for this preview of her new video.

· My sister-in-law, Elaine Gregory, for discovering that my turn-of-the century artist-grandmother (see above) was also a cartoonist, and for this witty look at peep culture.

· Otis Books’ Stephen Hotchkiss for the new Seismicity Editions blog

· Poet Janet Kaplan for this review of her new book, Dreamlife of a Philanthropist (University of Notre Dame Press).

· The New York Times for setting up a hawk cam outside the office of NYU’s president to watch Pip, the eyas of red-tail parents Bobby and Violet, hatch, grow up and…one day soon…fledge. Update: Pip fledged at 11:55 a.m. on June 23rd--go Pip! Fly high!

· Poet Kevin Pilkington for his new book, The Unemployed Man Who Became a Tree (Black Lawrence Press).

· Screenwriter David Ring for this WSJ thought-provoking piece on electronic publishing.

· Poet Jackie Sheeler for this amazing video she created about the Fukushima meltdown.

· Poet Linda Simone for her poem, “I’ve Never Been Much Good at It,” in Assisi.

· Poet Meredith Trede for her upcoming book, Field Theory (SFA Press).

Wishing you creativity that sizzles like the summer heat!

Until next time,

Ann

the ides of annogram

Kattywompus to publish my second chapbook

March seems more like Poetry Month to me! Kattywompus Press accepted my second chapbook, St. Agnes, Pink-Slipped, for publication. I am thrilled to be working with editor Sammy Greenspan, a Pushcart-nominated poet. More details to come.

How I came to translate

My essay, “Learning to Translate Headache Poetry,” appears in the latest Source. This piece recalls how professional translator Ligia Yamazaki guided my first efforts translating the magical poetry of Hélène Sanguinetti. Once again, my appreciation to editor Michele Aynesworth….

Anomalous Press debuts

Thanks to Anomalous Press, you can sample Hélène’s work in this fresh new journal that features recorded as well as print work. Hélène’s fable, although written years ago, seems to anticipate the calls for justice erupting all over the globe. Read or listen and see if you agree.

Not for poets only: Mapping Lyric Narrative

I can’t wait to give this workshop at the second annual Unicorn Writers Conference April 9. Other topics that day include writing the graphic novel, screenplays and comedy, as well as using social media to market one’s work. After attending last year, a friend completed a manuscript which is now in the hands of an agent. Need some traction? This is where you want to be.

How to warm up a winter eve

My husband Michael and I headed out one cold Sunday night to hear The Moses Brothers (Mo’ Bros) at 12 Grapes in Peekskill. Michael’s high school classmate, John Moses, and his brother Bill, created some welcome heat through skillful guitar—from Chicago blues to down-home gospel. Hope to see them again at 12 Grapes, a fantastic venue with big comfortable couches, atmospheric brick walls and excellent menu.

The Metropolis Organism launches

Congratulations to Frank Vitale for the successful book launch of his ground-breaking work, The Metropolis Organism. More than 100 people attended the party at the Garnerville Arts & Industrial Center, heard Frank give a presentation and then purchased his work in CD form. Frank, an outrageously creative filmmaker, interviewed me on the creative process in prior annograms (below).

If the shoe fits…

Racoco Productions will perform If The Shoe Fits at the Emelin Theater on Saturday, March 19 at 3 p.m. The New York Times calls this piece “like being lost in a fun-house mirror, sweet and innocent and threatening all at once.” Tickets $40, $20 for children. Don’t miss this inventive performance troupe!

'Round the Net

Thanks to the following who shared these great links:

· ADA activist and writer Jim Barry for this mind-boggling video on the power of the Internet, supposedly created for SONY executives.

· The ALTA listserv for this NPR interview with translator Lydia Davis.

· Filmmaker extraordinaires Patrick Schechter and Matthew Fernandez who created this hilarious “Journey Through the 20^th Century (With Clay)” as their high school senior options project.

· My niece, Elizabeth Gregory, for leading me to www.DonorsChoose.org, a fantastic site that helps great teachers like Elizabeth fund their school projects.

· Thom Pernice for the updated Scarsdale Rocks site.

· Jay Shulman for new music available by his late father, the composer Alan Shulman.

· Poet Linda Simone for “Cardinal Musings” in Moon Dance and this video of Billy Collins on The Truth About Poetry.

· Artist Angela Virsinger for this “beautiful eye candy” and more.

· And congratulations to Catherine Wald, whose new poetry book, Distant burned out stars, received a Gurfein Family Foundation Honorable Mention Award.

What a winter in New York! Snow piled up like sleeping dinosaurs. We’ve moved the clock forward, and the new season arrives — at least on the calendar — next week. Wishing you creativity that springs ahead too.

Until next time,

Ann