your may annogram

Reading "Andromeda at Midlife"

Slant of Light reading

I loved reading last month with friends from A Slant of Light: Contemporary Women Poets of the Hudson Valley (Codhill Press, 2013).  This Hudson Valley Writers Center (HVWC) event featured really fine Westchester poets, and an insightful talk by editors Larry Carr and Jan Schmidt, who announced that the anthology had received a Beverly Hills Book Award.



Proud poets and anthology editors

I caught up with Dos Madres Press author Ruth Handel; NEA recipient Pamela Hart; Against Butterflies (Little Red Tree Publishing, 2013) author Ann Lauinger, and HVWC founder and poet Margo Stever, among many other friends.  When Mervyn Taylor read his tribute to Brenda Connor-Bey, I knew she must have been there.  It was too magical an evening!  Thanks to Meredith Trede for organizing a great event and Sarah Bracey White for taking wonderful photos.

St. Peter’s B-List at Cornelia Street Café

My favorite place to read in New York is Cornelia Street Café, whose underground venue could encourage people to break out black berets and snap their fingers.  Last month, I had the honor of reading alongside the lovely Mary Ann B. Miller, editor of St. Peter’s B-List (Ave Maria Press, 2014), and contributor poets Dean Kostos, Susan L. Miller, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, Christine Redman-Waldeyer and Susanna Rich.  St. Peter’s B-List makes a great gift for any spiritually attuned friends.

Sarah Lawrence Poetry Festival

What a pleasure to read at my alma mater with MFA alum and Red Glass Press Publisher Janet Kaplan, current undergraduates and MFA graduate poets!  Festival organizer and Dancing Girl Press poet Katie Longofono kept us to one or two poems, which created fun, speed-dating exposure to nearly 20 poets.  Our reading was followed by Kim Addonizio and Eileen Myles.

Scarsdale Inquirer interview

Thanks to Debra Banerjee, arts editor at The Scarsdale Inquirer, for recently interviewing me.  Debra and I had a great conversation about poetry, and she managed to capture all the important points in a fabulous Arts Section cover story.  Enjoy the interview here.

The Burden of Light

Congratulations to editor Tanya Chernov (right) on the release of The Burden of Light: Poems on Illness and Loss (Smashwords, 2014).  This multimedia project, which includes three of my poems, weaves together a tapestry of inspiration, support, and hope.  You set the price for the book, which will directly benefit the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. 

More good news



Regi Claire

My translation of Chapter 8 of Le Héros by Hélène Sanguinetti is in Exchanges, the University of Iowa’s translation journal.  My poems, “Wildlife” and “Vermont: Midnight,” go live May 15 at Sugar Mule.  Lummox Press has accepted one of my poems for its 2014 anthology, and my Small Print Magazine interview with Scottish novelist Regi Claire is now online.  

Seshadri wins Pulitzer

Congratulations to Vijay Seshadri on winning the Pulitzer for his poetry collection3 Sections (Graywolf, 2013).  Vijay began his education in the sciences, and, as a result, brings startling clarity to all things literary as both poet and critic.  In engaging talks, he has the gift for making a complex poet like Wallace Stevens simple, and a seemingly simple Robert Frost complex.  Annogram rejoices in this much-deserved Pulitzer Prize!

Iaconetti watercolors

Joan Iaconetti’s first solo exhibit imagines post-graffiti subways in dark, deliciously sinister angles, platforms, and riders.  Called “evocative neo-noir” by the Curbed NY, her work is on view Monday through Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm, at the Bridge Gallery through June 2.    The gallery is on the fourth floor of The New School, 66 West 12^th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

Translate in the City

The City University of London is offering a translation program, June 23-27, 2014. A week of translation workshops will cover a range of literary genres guided by leading literary translators, plus guest speakers and events. Languages: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Polish and Portuguese into English.  To register, email s.hall@city.ac.uk  or call +44 (0)20 7040 0123.

Reid Castle at Manhattanville

Poetry readings

Come hear novelist Terry Dugan, one of 15 Manhattanville MFA graduates reading on May 13, at 7 pm, in the East Library at Reid Castle at Manhattanville College.

Also on May 13, at 6:30 pm, the Go Cat Go Poetry Series welcomes Evie Ivey and Cynthia Toronto at Gracie’s Corner Diner, 352 E 86th St (between 1^st and 2^nd Avenues), New York.



E. J. Antonio

The 12th Annual New York City Independent Publishers Book Party will take place 6-8pm, Thursday, May 15, 6-8 pm, at the ZieherSmith Gallery, 516 W. 20th Street, in New York.

The Hot Poets Collective, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, E.J. Antonio, Sabrina Hayeem-Ladani, Elizabeth Lara, Anton Nimblett, Jayne Pierce, and Ed Toney will read on May 16 at a private Woodside, Queens home.  To attend, RSVP by May 12 to jgex@Hotmail.com.

The Saturn Series Open Mike will feature Juanita Torrence-Thompson, Ellaraine Lockie and E.J. Antonio on May 19, at 8-10 pm at Revival, 129 E. 15^th Street, New York.

Calls for submissions

Ruth Handel of the Poetry Caravan

If you’re a poet in Westchester County, you can bring poetry to people who might not be able to hear it otherwise.  Contact Ruth Handel (RuthHandel@verizon.net) to learn more about the Poetry Caravan.



Calling all poems on “desire” or “road kill” for the Lummox Poetry Anthology to be published in November.  Donate $15 and your submission will also be considered for the 2014 Lummox Poetry Prize, $100 and chapbook publication.  Send 2-3 poems to poetraindog@gmail.com.

Poets for Living Waters is a poetry project which responded to the 2010 Gulf Oil Disaster.  In light of the highly contested Keystone Pipeline, please send 1-3 poems, brief statement of ecopoetics, and short bio to poetsforlivingwaters@yahoo.com before July 20, 2014. 

Asparagus Soufflé

How I love fresh spring vegetables, like artichokes and asparagus!  Here’s a favorite recipe from The Ayurvedic Cookbook (Lotus Press, 2004) by Amadea Morningstar with Urmilla Desai.

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter you can purchase at Trader Joe’s or Mrs. Greens)

3 tablespoons barley or whole wheat flour

1 pound fresh asparagus (about 1 cup cooked)

1 egg yolk

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Paprika as garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash asparagus and chop into 1-inch pieces.  Steam until tender, about 8 minutes.  Melt ghee in medium saucepan; slowly stir in flour. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly over medium heat.  The sauce will thicken as it cooks.  Bring mixture to a boil and stir in cooked asparagus.  Reduce heat to low and stir in egg yolk.  The mixture will thicken a bit more as you continue to cook it for another 1-2 minutes.  Stir in salt and pepper; remove from heat and let mixture cool.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in a clean glass, enamel or stainless steel blow (plastic will slow down the process).  When egg whites are stiff enough to peak, fold them gently into the cooled asparagus sauce.  Place whole mixture in an ungreased soufflé or baking dish (one about half as deep as it is wide).  Sprinkle top with paprika. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until soufflé is firm.  The soufflé will keep for a few minutes after taking it out of the oven before it falls, but it is best eaten immediately.  Goes well with salad and bread or rice.  Serves 2-4.

Round the Net

Congratulations to Jeanette Briggs on winning the President’s Award from Purchase College, selected by the faculty for outstanding and dedicated studies.

Congratulations to Ruth Handel on four poems published in Eclectica; on reading from her Tugboat Warrior (Dos Madres Press, 2013) at Dobbs Ferry Public Library, and for Poetry Caravan readings at Armonk, Greenburgh and Scarsdale Libraries.

Congratulations to NEA recipient Pamela Hart, who will be teaching a summer course on ekphrasis at the Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute—register by May 29.



Amy King

Poet Amy King for The Boston Review’s online collection of poetry on surveillance.



Congratulations to Jacqueline Lapidus and Lise Menn, editors of The Widows Handbook (Kent State University Press, 2014), which has gone into its second printing!

Thanks to Poets & Writers for this literary map of New York’s Upper East Side.

Congrats again to Pulitzer -winner Vijay Seshardi, here talking about his poetry on NPR.

“Oh no, me gotta go!  Ai yie yie yie,” writes music archivist Jay Shulman who let us know that April 11 was International Louie Louie Day.

Congratulations to Linda Simone, whose poetry collection, Archeology, will be published by Flutter Press.

Congratulations to Widows Handbook (Kent State University Press, 2014) contributor Chris Thiele on her essay, “Trusting the Process,” which appears in The Best American Poetry Blog.

Thanks to the Times Literary Supplement for this discovery from the poet Sappho.

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day and successful soufflés,

Ann