your october annogram

Daisy and me

Face Painting in the Dark

October is my birthday month, and my gift was a box full of books—Face Painting in the Dark, my first poetry book!  Thanks to Robert and Elizabeth Murphy, publishers at Dos Madres Press for their kindness, good humor and editorial care.  I am also grateful to artist Gig Wailgum for designing the vivid and playful cover.  Hope you enjoy the book, which you can pre-order.



'Furious Startdust' in Greenwich
I will be presenting "Furious Stardust: Poems of the Night Sky" at the November 12 meeting of the Astronomical Society of Greenwich.  The reading, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Bruce Museum, will combine dramatic astrophotography by Doug Baum and Hubble among others.  Come enjoy a poetic space exploration!

More good news

My poem, “For a Coyote Crossing Route 10,” appears in Lummox Press 3, and you can read “Haunted,” at Highland Park Poetry.   I’m also thrilled to be reading at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Spotlight on Women: Poets, Panelists and Performers.  This event, part of a new initiative, Peekskill: The Power of Women Artists, will take place December 7 at 2 p.m.

Guitarist Michael Cefola

Little Games at Foley’s in Pleasantville

Don’t miss the driving blues-rock of Little Games at Foley’s in Pleasantville on November 8 at 10 p.m. The band plays early Yardbirds, Animals and Who as well as Eric Clapton, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and Gary Moore. Fronted by my husband, guitarist Michael Cefola, the band features drummer Tommy Vinton, keyboardist Anthony Nisi and bassist Larry Schwartzman.  C’mon and see what a little live music can do for you.

Dancer Wendy Whelan

Wendy Whelan on NYC-Arts

On NYC-Arts this weekend, I caught Wendy Whelan who retired from the New York City Ballet two weeks ago.  She spoke about pursuing a dream to collaborate with choreographers.  For a classically trained ballerina, moving to barefoot modern dance was a “leap” that led to the suite “Restless Creature.”  Looking back, she says

I needed some hydration, some inspiration.  I wanted to fight for something.  I wanted to feel what it feels like to climb again. And I did. When [choreographer] Brian Brooks and I started two years ago, it was like I wanted to go to the other side. I opened the door and he was standing there like this, C’mon.  Yeah, it’s fun over here.  C’mon over. And that was hugely emotional to have welcoming from somebody like that, that it was okay, and you’re going to be artistically satisfied over here too.

Doesn’t this apply to all of us artists—literary, visual, performing?  That desire to climb. To walk through the open door.  Here’s the interview.

Boo at the Zoo

Gigi (right) and Lend Me A Hand Band

It’s not too late to see Gigi and the Lend Me A Hand Band at the Bronx Zoo for one more weekend!  Bring the kids and grandkids for a fun, interactive show on Saturday or Sunday at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m.  One attendee, Kate Kwon, loved the Gigi fest so much that she drew this portrait of the band:

Original drawing by Kate Kwon

Poetry at CUNY Graduate Center

November 4, 6:30 p.m., Turnstyle: After the MFA with David Lynn, November 5, all day, ; November 6, 7 p.m., Voices of Women in American Poetry; November 13-14, all day, Abiding Cities, Remnant Sites; November 13, 7 p.m., Drowned Blackbird: Paul Muldoon on Translating Gaelic.

 

Toadlily Press at Poets House

Toadlily Press celebrates its tenth anniversary with its latest chapbook quartet, A Good Wall, by Katie Hartsock, George Bishop, Linda Tomol Pennisi and Jennifer Kearns.  You are cordially invited to the launch party on November 1, at 6 p.m., at Poets House.  Congratulations to Toadlily cofounders Myrna Goodman and Meredith Trede!

Small works for a big cause

The Greenburgh Arts and Culture Committee’s one-day art sale of pieces no larger than 9 x 12 inches will be this Saturday, November 1, 2-4 p.m., at the Greenburgh Town Hall.  The fundraiser will benefit Matters of the Heart, an annual exhibit of Westchester senior artists.

St. Peter’s B-List in Midtown

Enjoy contemporary poems inspired by the saints this Sunday, November 2, 1:00-3:00 p.m., in the main sanctuary of St. Malachy’s Catholic Church in New York.  Sandra Duguid, Dean Kostos, Jamison Lee, Susan L. Miller, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, Christine Redman-Waldeyer and Maria Terrone will read from Mary Ann B. Miller's new anthology, St. Peter’s B-list (Ave Maria, 2014). Free event. Light refreshments. Open to the public.

Joan Ganz Cooney

Conversations with Great Women

The National Women’s Hall of Fame will host Lesley Stahl, of CBS News 60 Minutes, in a conversation with Joan Ganz Cooney, originator of Sesame Street, on November 12, 6-8 p.m., at the Gilbane Building in New York.  Tickets, $50, can be purchased by calling 315-568-8060.

Vermont art destinations

Baba-à-Louis Bakery

It’s a great time of year to drive to Vermont—chill in air, clear roads, amazing baked goods at places like Baba-à-Louis in Chester.  Two other reasons: “Fibrations,” an exhibit of New England fiber artists at the Great Hall, One Hundred River Street, in Springfield, VT; and “World Leaders and Global Citizens,” photos by Senator Patrick Leahy at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

Pecan Snowballs

As soon as fall sets in, I crave something buttery and sweet.  Think Christmas cookie way before the holidays.  This perfect solution is courtesy You Can Trust a Skinny Cook (Wiley, 2011) by Allison Fishman.

6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In medium bowl, combine butter and 1/4 cup sugar. Using electric beater at medium speed, beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Put pecans and 1 tbsp. sugar in food processor. Chop until nuts are very fine, about 30 seconds. Add flour, cinnamon, salt and pulse to combine. Using electric beater on low, beat flour mixture into butter mixture until combined. Dough will be crumbly.

To form cookies, press dough into the bowl of a teaspoon, packing it firmly. To get dough out of spoon, tap spoon on baking sheet. Place shaped dough on prepared sheets, flat side down, at 1-inch intervals. Bake until golden on bottom, about 15 minutes. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in shallow bowl. Toss warm cookies with sugar, no more than 5 cookies at a time. Remove coated cookies to a plate and let cool.  Makes 16.

̛ Round the Net

Thanks and/or congratulations to the following for sharing great links:

The Brown Sisters 1975

Asymptote, literary translation journal, for its latest issue

Jeanette Briggs, writer and artist, for “Forty Portraits in Forty Years” of the Brown Sisters (right)

Florence Camace, Deaf activist, for this fun video of a marionette in New York

Terry Dugan, poet and filmmaker, for Claudia Rankine’s reflection on Ferguson

Gary Glauber, poet, for work published in Bicycle Review, Stone Path Review, and 3Elements Review

Ruth Handel, poet, for teaching two poetry courses this month at the Scarsdale Adult School

Amy King, poet, for interviewing John Grisham on Goodreads

Anne Milano-Appel and Jason Grunebaum, translators, respectively for this ode to the typewriter and musical salute by the Boston Typewriter Orchestra

Yvette Neiser Moreno, poet and translator, for this Jeffrey Green article on translating Hebrew fiction

Ellen Peckham, poet and artist, for her interview of Blog Talk Radio

Poets and Writers for this great interview with Jeff Shotts of Graywolf Press

Jay Shulman, cellist and music archivist, for Frank Rich’s reflection on 1964

Linda Simone, poet and watercolorist, for this Billy Collins interview on “Life and Death Poetry” and how coloring can help grown-ups too

Neal Whitman, poet, on receiving an Honorable Mention in Italy’s Il Meleto di Guido Gozzano contest

Challenging you to walk through your open door….

Until next time,

Ann