 |
| Ann reads at Cornelia Street Cafe |
Kattywompus at Cornelia Street Cafe
What a pleasure to
read with Kattywompus poets Susana Case,
Cornelius Eady,
Robin Messing,
and Margo Stever at the Hudson Valley Writers Center last month! We also
enjoyed music by Cornelius's band, Rough Magic. We took the
show to Cornelia Street Café this
week. Hosting was poet and Kattywompus
publisher Sammy Greenspan, and poet Leah
Umansky, both of whom also shared their gifted work for a spectacular
evening (photos courtesy Michael Holstein).
 |
| Cornelius Eady |
Cornelius Eady and Rough Magic
Commissioned by the Poetry Society of America, Cornelius
set poems by Sterling
A. Brown (1901-1989) to music—and Rough Magic was born. Fronted
by Cornelius and Robin Messing
on vocals, the band features Charlie Rauh
on guitar, Emma
Alabaster on bass, Leo Ferguson on
drums, and Lisa Liu on keyboards
and electric guitar.
 |
| Charlie Rauh |
A mesmerizing mix of lyric and sound, the poems contrast Cornelius's
own tributes to Sandra
Bland, Trayvon
Martin and John
Snowden. Note: Rauh’s own haunting debut EP Innocent Speller
also blends ethereal chords with whimsical hints reminiscent of "Somewhere
Over the Rainbow."
The Wanderlust: A South Carolina Folktale
Congratulations to
memoirist Sarah Bracey White and
illustrator Linda Simone on the debut
of The Wanderlust: A South Carolina Folktale. This wonderful,
beautifully illustrated tale is great for all ages, so be sure to get
your hands on a copy. To order, email the author at bracey0114@aol.com. Here's
a delicious sample:
Walter Morgan had a
bad case of the wanderlust. Way befo’ he ever finished grade school, he’d been
to visit more parts of the state of South Carolina than the post office had
ever heard tell about. Once, when his ma whipped him for wanderin’ off, Walter
told her, ‘Sometimes my feels git real itchy and the only way to ease the itch
is to walk down the road a piece. After a while, the walkin’ feel so good I
just can’t stop.’ After Walter married Mae Witherspoon, the preacher’s
daughter, everybody expected him to settle down. And for near ‘bout two years,
Walter did. He worked real steady in the saw mill and went no further than the
Santee River. But many’s the time I seen him sittin’ on that river bank,
pluckin’ on his guitar and starin’ off to’ards where the river flowed.
Santa Clops for Christmas
Scratching your head
for perfect gifts for little ones in your life? Look no further than A Visit from Santa Clops or the Fright Before Christmas
and The Cave of Santa Clops by Gig Wailgum, available in
paperback from Amazon. Visit has received glowing reviews from The Picture Book Review, Dial
for Books, and I'd So Rather Be Reading; and Cave from Dial for
Books, I'd So Rather Be Reading, and Best Sellers World.
More poetry
Kevin Pilkington's
new and selected Where You Want to Be (Black Lawrence, 2015) is back in
Amazon stock. Ciara Miller's Silver Bullet (Mindmade
Books, 2015) meditates on the film industry's use of entertainment to mask race
and racial injustice. In Quit
(Burning Deck, 2015), Lissa Mclaughlin gives voice
to a grief worker within the hospice landscape. And consider these fine
chapbooks: Gary Glauber's Memory
Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press, 2016), and Jessica Lynn Dotson's Time Trials
(L&S, 2015).
Highland Park Poetry Challenge
Highland Park’s 2016 Poetry Challenge
honors the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s
death by offering poets one of the following prompts: Shakespeare’s life,
identity, plays, character; a sonnet, or subject of "night." Poets of
all ages may submit. Deadline: Monday, February 29, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. Send
poem(s) as text in an e-mail to Jennifer@highlandparkpoetry.org
and write “2016
Poetry Challenge” in subject line.
Poetry Readings
Sunday, December 20, 1:30 p.m. –
Natalie Safir, Geri Rosenzweig, JCC on
the Hudson, $5
Sunday, December 20, 6 p. m. – Kevin Pilkington , Le Poisson Rouge, free
Sunday January 10, 4:30 p.m. – Jonathan Galassi, Hudson Valley Writers Center, $10
Wanderlust Sweet Potato Waffles
Let's
celebrate the debut of The Wanderlust with yummy southern sweet potato
waffles! Gluten-free options below–delicious either way
and great for a lazy New Year's day spent in your PJs:
1
cup mashed sweet potatoes (instructions below)
juice
from an orange or lime
3
eggs, separated
1
cup milk or almond milk
1/4
cup melted butter or sunflower oil
1
1/2 cups flour or gluten-free flour such as Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose
Gluten-Free Flour
2
tsp baking powder
1
tsp salt
Cut
sweet potato into even chunks, and boil or steam until tender. Remove skin. Put
in a bowl with juice from lime or orange, and, if too tart, a drop or two of
maple syrup. Beat with hand-held blender. Add to the sweet potatoes: 3 egg yolks,
milk and butter or sunflower oil. Stir in flour which has been mixed with
baking powder and salt. Beat three egg whites to soft peaks and fold into sweet
potato mixture. Cook in an oiled waffle iron until crisp.
’Round the Net
Thanks and/or
congratulations to the following:
Editor Joel
Allegretti on recent launch of Rabbit Ears (NYQ Press, 2015), Boston Globe review, Pittsburgh
Post-Gazettte review, and book marketer blog interview
Poet Terry Dugan
on high praise for her work in Bellevue Literary Review's
Embattled Issue, and for sharing this great interview with poet Rowan Ricardo Phillips
Food Democracy Now! for promoting a new thriller on GMOs
called "Consumed"
Poet Gary Glauber on his first
chapbook and being nominated for a Pushcart Prize
Translator Daniel
Hahn for his new Asymptote Fortnightly Airmail column,
"Ask a Translator"
Poet Ruth Handel
on having her work in the Hudson Valley Center
of Contemporary Art's "Writing the Walls" Exhibit this month
Editor Cindy
Hochman on the latest issue of First Literary Review East
Poet J. Chester Johnson for this video of his highly successful play on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, For Conduct and Innocents
Editor Karin
Miller on this moving short film based on a poem from The Cancer
Poetry Project 2
Poets House on PBS featuring Bill Murray explaining why he recites poetry
Poet Linda Simone
on having her poem, "Teahouse of the Texas Moon," accepted in the new Dos Gatos Press anthology of Southwestern Persona Poems; and for sharing yoga for writers
Music archivist Jay
Shulman for alerting us to Rubber Soul's 50th
anniversary this month, and remembering Cynthia Robinson of Sly and the Family Stone
Poet Elaine
Whitman on winning the first prize in the 40th annual Yuki
Teikei Haiku Society Haiku Contest
Wishing
you peace and joy in this season of lights, and a very Merry Christmas to all!
Until
next time,
