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Pen World Voices Press Fest

What an afternoon at the Pen World Voices Press Fest in Washington Mews! I met Ann Starr, publisher of Upper Hand Press, glorious in person; Elizabeth Primamore, whose Shady Women debuts next month and who read with me from Free Ferry; Louise Farmer Smith of the sleeper hit One Hundred Years of Marriage; Herta Feely of the important Saving Phoebe Murrow; and Libby Hodges, editor of The St. Petersburg Review, where one of my translations now appears. See our books at upperhandpress.com.

National Poetry Month @ Chappaqua Station

Thanks to poet Jerry T. Johnson for hosting an SRO April event! After open-mic readings by such writers as Terry Dugan, Sarah Bracey White, and John McMullen, I was thrilled to kick off featured poets Van Hartmann, Manhattanville professor; Laurel S. Peterson, Poet Laureate of Norwalk; Bill Bushel, HVWC Open Mic Night host and Jane Ormerod, Great Weather for Media founder. Another fine event, Jerry!

National Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith in Norwalk

Tracy K. Smith

Tracy K. Smith will read from her poetry, participate in a community conversation, book signing and reception on May 3 at 6pm in the PepsiCo Theater at Norwalk Community College. The recipient of the 2014 Academy of American Poets fellowship, she directs Princeton University’s creative writing program.

Live at the Freight House Gala

John McMullen

Yorktown Heights Poet Laureate John McMullen will read from his new book, Live at the Freight House, May 18 at 7pm, at New York’s historic Freight House Café in Mahopac. Robert Milby, Poet Laureate of Orange County, and Ralph Nazareth, host of Tuesdays At Curley’s, will also read, joined by contributors Carole Amato, LC, Terry Dugan, John Kaprielian, Tony Pena, and Bob Zaslow. Congratulations to John whose book can be found on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions.

Sundays at the J with George, Cortney Davis and Meg Lindsay

"Turtles All the Way" by Meg Lindsay

Cortney Davis and Meg Lindsay read recently at the poetry series hosted by Dr. George Kraus at the JCC on the Hudson. Cortney, a pioneer of poetry on nursing, read from Taking Care of Time (Wheelbarrow Books, 2018), while Meg read from A Painter’s Night Journal (Finishing Line Press, 2016) against a backdrop of her canvases. After excellent readings, both offered candid insight into their craft.

Sarah Bracey White photos on exhibit

Sarah Bracey White

Writer Sarah Bracey White has compiled 45 of her photos for an exhibit at Greenburgh Town Hall. The framed photos are for sale as a fundraiser for the Greenburgh Arts and Culture Committee. Sarah invites you to stop by and buy one or two that strike your fancy. Prices are affordable, and tax deductible. The exhibit will be on display through June.

Earth Day on the Hudson

What a privilege to hear the Temple Beth Shalom Choir perform “Back to the Garden.”  Choir director Linda Moot features soloists of all ages, from Noa Hart chanting the Blessing of Noah to lovely Shirley Altman singing “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.”  Especially appreciated: selections by Emily Dickinson and Ogden Nash, and contemporaries Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Marvin Gaye, and Joni Mitchell. Thanks to  talented alto Carol Booth for inviting me each year!

New releases

Cortney Davis, Taking Care of Time (Wheelbarrow Books, 2018)

John McMullen, ed. Live at the Freight House (Kindle, 2018)

Natasha Nesic, The Miracle on 98th Street (Kindle, 2018)

Presence 2018: A Journal of Catholic Poetry

The St. Petersburg Review

Arthur Russell, Unbent Trumpet (Nutley Arts Press, 2018)

Nancy Vericker, Unchained: Our Family’s Addiction Mess is Our Message (Clear Faith Publishing, 2018)

Creative opportunities

Robert Olen Butler

2018 Amy Award applications for promising women poets, age 30 and under, in the New York City metropolitan area or Long Island, through June 1

Burning Deck sale, buy one book, get another 50 percent off

Gris-Gris: An Online Journal of Literature, Culture and the Arts flash fiction contest, judged by Robert Olen Butler, $500, publication; apply May 15 - July 30; $10 submission fee

One-on-One Workshop with Arthur Vogelsang; email Arthur before May 7 for next session

Open Write, HVWC, May 11, 7:30pm, $10 nonmembers, free to members

Pedestal Magazine’s open reading period for science fiction, fantasy, supernatural horror, science, surrealism and experiment poetry goes through May 27

Presa Press, three chapbooks for $15

Monthly Submission Sunday for HVWC Members, May 6, 12:30pm

Seventh Heaven Writing Retreat, Red Mountain Resort, Utah, July 18-22, email carolyn@carolynflynn.com for details and costs

Spicy Cauliflower Rice

Thanks to poet and trouble maker Terry Dugan for this great recipe, just in time for Cinco de Mayo! You can purchase cauliflower rice in Trader Joe’s produce department.

4 cups cauliflower “rice” (grated or processed into very small pieces)

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

3/4 cup tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon Himalayan salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and jalapenos; sauté until tender, about two to three minutes. Add garlic and cauliflower, sauté until cauliflower is tender, approximately two minutes. Add tomato sauce, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir to evenly coat the vegetables. Cook for three to four minutes, or until tender and heated through. Serves six.

Poetry readings / events

June Jordan (1936-2002)

Teatown Preserve, May 4, 7:30pm, Alex Shoumatoff, $10

Bronx Library Center in Fordham Manor, Bronx Book Fair, May 5, 11am-7pm, Willie Perdomon, Sokunthary Svay, Tiffany Pagageorge

Curley’s Diner in Stamford, May 8, 7:30pm, Robert Masterson, Doug Mathewson

Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, May 9, 7:30pm, Rachel Kushner

James Cohan Gallery, Annual New York City Independent Publishers Book Party, May 10, 6-8pm

The Jewish Museum, May 10, 6:30pm, Dorothea Lasky poetry in response to paintings by Eliza Douglas

St. Joseph's College in Clinton Hill, May 23, 7:30pm, Michael Chabon

Evie Shockley

Graduate Center Proshansky Auditorium, June Jordan Tribute, May 18, 10:30am-8pm, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Christoph Keller, Jan Heller Levi, Jennifer Benka, Dr. Joshua Bennett, Hafizah Geter, Aracelis Girmay, Erica Hunt, Tyehimba Jess, Patricia Spears Jones, Jacqueline Jones LaMon, Joseph Legaspi, Evie Shockley, Christopher Soto, Conor Tomas Reed, Makeba Lavan, Talia Shalev, Dorothy Wang, Deborah Paredez, Donna Masini, E. Ethelbert Miller, Carey Salerno

Lockwood Matthews Mansion in Norwalk, May 27, 5pm, Stephanie Kunkel’s dancers perform in response to poems

ʼRound the Net

Gary Glauber

Poet Terry Dugan for letting us know that books by women are often priced less

Poet Gary Glauber for poems in New Verse News, Our Poetry Archive, and Whispers

Artist Kathe Gregory for  participating again in the Somerville Open Studios, May 5-6, 12-6 pm, 76 Berkeley Street, Somerville, MA

Author Herb Hadad for his upcoming book, An Arm Around the Shoulder: Sixty Years of Essay Writing, which excerpted on the front page of the March Silurian News

Herb Hadad

Poet Cindy Hochman for reviews of Tyree Daye’s River Hymns and Beth Copeland’s Blue Honey in The Pedestal 81

Poet Janet Kaplan on her upcoming book Ecotones from Eyewear Ltd in 2019

Editor Mary Ann B. Miller for publishing my translation in the latest Presence 2018: A Journal of Catholic Poetry

Art Historian Laura Morelli for the secret behind Our Lady of the Ferry Station in Venice

Poet John McMullen for reading at Barnes & Noble in Stamford last month

New York Public Library for its Staff Picks for May

Poet Linda Simone on her poem in the San Antonio Express-News

Ann and Ann Starr

I close with gratitude to my publisher, Ann Starr, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last month. There are so many people who contribute to the success of a poet, and much begins with a brave publisher, and continues with everyone who has purchased Free Ferry, wrote reviews on Amazon, or read with me in public. As I told Ann Starr (right), it's not a book but a journey. Thank you, dear readers and poet colleagues, for your support!

Until next time,

Ann