Happy May! Finally warm and full of dogwood blossoms. Also blooming: poetry—my second book, Free Ferry, forthcoming from Upper Hand Press in January; poems on Brian Wilson and Johnny Cash for Opossum’s music issue; work accepted for Our Last Walk, anthology on pet loss; and my translation of Section 9 from Le Héros (Flammarion, 2008) by Hélène Sanguinetti in St. Petersburg Review.
Sunday @ the J with
George—and Ann
Come hear me read on Sunday, May 22, at
1:30 pm, with poet and translator Dr. George Kraus. George is the affable host of Sundays
@ the J with George and Friends at the JCC
on the Hudson in Tarrytown. This popular poetry series features the best local
talent, and I am honored to join George for the reading. Hope to see you there!
 |
| Rabbit Ears editor Joel Allegretti |
What a pleasure to meet poet Joel Allegretti, charming editor of Rabbit Ears: TV Poems (NYQ Books, 2015) last month at
the Hudson
Valley Writers Center! Joel read
with Austin Alexis, Jeanne Marie Beaumont, Susana H. Case, Suzanne Cleary, Amy Holman, Lynn McGee, Mervyn Taylor, Estha
Weiner, and me from
this anthology which has received high praise in The Huffington
Post, Rain Taxi, and the Independent
Tower.
 |
| Meredith Trede |
Meredith Trede’s TenementThrenody (Main Street Rag Press, 2016), debuted at a recent Sundays
@ the J with George and Friends event. Her
innovative sonnets capture the voices and landscape of mid-century Inwood; Meredith’s
husband Brad, daughter Nicole, grandson Lucas, and good friend Judith Lane brought them to life. You can
see Meredith this Sunday, May 15, at 2 pm at the Warner
Library. Don’t miss her!
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| Linda Moot directs altos, including dear friend Carol Booth (far right) |
Mindful of immigrants, Temple Beth Shalom Choir Director Linda Moot and her choir took us on a global
musical journey earlier this month. Covering medieval Judeo-Spanish songs to
tangos, the event featured guitarist Steve Bloom, pianists Jonathan Faiman and Cheryl Seltzer, and the mesmerizing drumming of Youssif Sheronik. Even the audience danced like
Miriam—led by composer Elliot Z. Levine.
 |
| John and Bill Moses |
More joy, more music, hearing John and Bill, the
intrepid Moses Brothers, play Tavern 489 recently. A
blend of folk, blues, and Everly-like close harmonics, the Mo’ Bros also lay
out fine guitar and fiddle. Always a pleasure to hear this talented duo.
 |
| Landscape with Rocks (1892) |
When Degas discovered monotype—drawing in
ink on a metal plate that is then run through a press—he was captivated. This
exhibition includes 120 rarely seen monotypes and 60 related paintings,
drawings, pastels, sketchbooks, and prints—that show Degas at his most modern. Through July 24. Fee: $23
Impressionism: American Gardens on Canvas
This New York Botanical Garden exhibit, May 14-September 11, honors iconic artists such as Childe Hassam and John Singer Sargent who captured the ephemeral quality of light observed in the natural world. The garden-wide exhibit is further complemented by 20 impressionist paintings and sculptures in the Art Gallery. Fees: $20 weekdays, $25 weekends.
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| Meg Lindsay |
Congratulations to poet-artist Meg Lindsay, whose
chapbook, A Painter’s Night Journal, will be published in August
by Finishing Line Press. NEA
recipient Cortney Davis calls her language
“inventive and playful” and her images and metaphors “vivid and precise” in
“this compelling debut.” This is a limited edition collection, so please order
your copy by June 17.
Writing workshops
Poet Estha
Weiner
invites you to join her poetry workshop, Let’s
Lose the Muse. Cut through myths to get the tools you need
to sculpt poems. Open to all at the West Side YMCA, Saturdays, 10:30
am-12:30 pm, through June 26. Register
online. Fees:
$252 Member, $410 Non-member.
 |
| Art by Bjorn Braun |
The Katonah Museum of Art exhibit, The Nest, will springboard the May 15 workshop,
When
Artists Are Birds, 1-4 pm, with artist Sheila Hale and writer-in-residence Pamela
Hart. Participants
will begin in museum galleries then travel to Hale’s studio. Register online or call 914-232-9555
ext. 0. Fee: $60.
Poetry and
other readings
May 25, 6
pm – Salgado Maranhao, Alex Levatin, Poets
House, $10
May 25, 7
pm -- Constance Renfrow, Tiffany Ferentini, Jared Shaffer, Carolyn
Drake, Angus McLinn, Angela Sloan, Katherine Sloan, KGB
May 31, 7
pm – Joe Okonkwo, Book Culture
June 10,
6:30 pm – Stephen Motika, Jill Magi, Center
for Book Arts
June 26, 4
pm – Vicki Iorio, Susan Lewis, Katie Longofono, Janeen Rastall, Christina Rau, BookMark Shoppe
Golden
Vegan Ice Cream
This
comes from my poetry pal, Linda Simone of San Antonio, who found it on the
Internet. An ice cream machine is required and I have not tried this recipe
yet—so be brave and let me know how it goes!
2
14-ounce (414 ml) cans full fat coconut milk
4
quarter-size slices fresh ginger
1/4 cup
(60 ml) maple syrup, plus more to taste
Pinch sea
salt
2 tsp
ground turmeric
1/2 tsp
ground cinnamon
1/8th tsp
black pepper
optional: 1/8th tsp cardamom, 1 tsp
pure vanilla extract, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
Day
before, chill ice cream churning bowl in freezer. Whisk and simmer coconut
milk, fresh ginger, maple syrup, salt, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, and cardamom
in large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Adjust flavor.
Transfer to mixing bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover and chill in
refrigerator overnight, or 4-6 hours. The next day remove ginger. Add olive oil
for extra creaminess.
Add to
ice cream maker and churn per manufacturer instructions – 20-30 minutes until
like soft serve. In last minutes, add optional candied ginger. Once churned,
transfer to large freezer-safe container (or parchment-lined loaf pan) and
smooth top. Cover securely and freeze
4-6 hours or until firm. Soften 10 minutes before serving, and use a scoop
warmed in hot water. Best eaten within seven days.
’Round the Net
 |
| Sarah Bracey White (lst row, far left) |
Memoirist Sarah Bracey White, keynote at the Greenburgh
Library’s Women and Culture event, reading from her new book, The Wanderlust
Poet Llyn Clague on having six poems in Bindweed
Magazine
 |
| Masako Inkyo's opening reception |
Poet Gary Glauber on having poems appear in Two Cities
and Verse-Virtual
Author Herb Hadad for attending the May 5 Latino Victory Project Gala in Washington, D.C.,
dedicated to registering Latinos and supporting Latino candidates
 |
| Diane Guerrero, Herb Hadad, Eva Longorio at Latino Victory Gala |
Music
archivist Jay Shulman for honoring
late music greats Merle
Haggard, Sonny
James, Lonnie
Mack, Sir
George Martin; New
Yorker cartoonist William Hamilton, poet-violinist
Kate Light, and the loss of the Long
Island Philharmonic
 |
| Prince's Yellow Cloud Guitar |
Jay once again for this article on Walt Whitman’s Paleo-eating
habits
Poet Linda Simone on having “Walking
the River’s Edge” appear in the San
Antonio Express News
The Smithsonian for preserving Prince’s
guitar and other personal items
In this
season of budding beauty and new life, may you be massively creative and
joyful!
Until next
time,
.