your memorial day annogram

With Elizabeth Primamore at Press Fest

Hey now! It’s sum-sum-summertime! At least in the United States, the unofficial start. I look forward to late June when Chax Press will debut my translation of Hélène Sanguinetti’s The Hero, and July when Zoomorphic will publish my poem, “Dogspel.” Additional thanks to CLMP for including me in its Press Fest coverage.

Pulitzer winner Peter Balakian in Katonah

Peter Balakian, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in poetry, will read at the Katonah Village Library, June 3rd, at 4pm ($10). Balakian has authored seven volumes of poetry, four nonfiction books and two translations. What I admire also? He’s the annual judge for the Lakota Children’s Enrichment writing contest for young people on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Now that’s giving back!

French Movie Night

What a delight to discover French Movie Nights at the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck! French translator and art historian Beth Gersh-Nešić joined me for The Royal Exchange (L’Échange des princesses). The evening included a glass of French wine, macarons, and chance to mingle afterwards with the mostly French audience. The next film is The Return of the Hero (Le Retour du Héros) on June 7 at 8pm.

 Trans Fran Sisco

Fran Sisco

Writer, chanteuse and comic Fran Sisco has supported Westchester’s creative community for years by leading and filming readings. Now, as host of the Crisis Help Radio Show on WVOX 1460AM, second Tuesdays each month, 7pm-8pm, Fran and her co-hosts help callers (914-636-0110) sort through everyday crises, stresses, and financial issues. Thank you, Fran, for your continued outreach and caring!

Origins of ‘poetry voice’

Thomas Lux (1947-2017)

How do you read in public? Like Katherine Hepburn, or you’re perusing the phone book? At Sarah Lawrence, Thomas Lux read as if he held an invisible baton in his right hand to punctuate the beat, and made quote signs in the air for certain words. Thanks to Terry Dugan for this thought-provoking article, Linda Simone for this funny one, and Mary McCray for Andrew Nurkin’s “The Noise Poetry Makes.”

Poetry explosion in Westchester

The Hudson Valley Writers Center is adding a second open mic (OM) night each month. The OM has been “so successful that a second night became necessary,” explains poet and host Bill Buschel. Next ones: Fridays, June 15 and 22; July 20 and 27. Doors open at 7pm; reading starts at 7:30pm; $5.

New releases

Charles Alexander, At the Edge of the Sea: Pushing Water II (Singing Horse Press, 2018)

AMP, issue 3, the literary journal of Hostra University

Patricia Carragon, ed., Brownstone Poets 2018 Anthology (CreateSpace, 2018)

Frieda Hughes, Out of the Ashes (Bloodaxe Books, 2018)

Kristin Prevallet, Visualize Comfort: Healing and the Unconscious Mind (CreateSpace, 2018)

Elizabeth Primamore, Shady Women: Three Short Plays (Upper Hand Press, 2018)

Susan Richardson, Words the Turtle Taught Me (Cinnamon Press, 2018)

Creative opportunities

Donna Zucker

How to Write and Create a Family History Book with Donna Zucker, Sarah Lawrence Writers Institute, June 9, 10am-3pm, $200

Stealing from the Poet's Tool Box: A Workshop for Fiction Writers with Estha Weiner, Sarah Lawrence Writers Institute, June 16, 10am-3pm, $200

Chakra Writing with Kristin Prevallet, June 23-24, Hastings-on-Hudson, $175

OFF THE GRID Poetry Prize accepting book-length manuscripts, by poets over age 60, May 1-August 31, $25 submission fee

VerbalArt: A Global Journal Devoted to Poets & Poetry open to submissions through July 31

Burger that can’t be beet

This may be the be-all and end-all veggie burger. Thanks to The Great American Burger Book that I gifted my carnivore husband Michael, I found it.  Author George Motz, like Michael, is married to a vegetarian. This recipe takes a lot of time but worth it. Halved as here, it makes about six burgers.

1 small beet, peeled for roasting

1 15-oz can of organic black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

2 cups walnuts, soaked for several hours, ideally overnight, and drained

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated fine

1 small raw beet, peeled and shredded fine

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

½ tablespoon grainy mustard

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper hot sauce

½ cup panko bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon butter

3 Kaiser rolls, sliced lengthwise into quarter-slices

6 slices organic cheddar cheese

sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions (optional)

Rub beet with olive oil, wrap in two layers of foil, and roast in 400- degree oven 1 ½ hours. Cool, chop into cubes, set aside. Turn oven to 375 degrees. Coarsely chop black-eyed peas in blender or processor, and put in large bowl; repeat with walnuts and add to peas. Add carrot, roasted beet cubes, raw beet, garlic, mustard, hot sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper; mix by hand until thick and pasty. Form patties with hamburger mold; place on nonstick baking sheet. Roast 45 minutes. Once they’re done, melt butter in cast-iron skillet over medium heat, and brown each patty on both sides. They crumble easily; handle with care. Original recipe calls for topping each burger with sautéed mushrooms, cheddar cheese slice, and caramelized onions. The sautéed mushroom and caramelized onion recipes are yummy and I may include next month—today you’re on your own! Pre-roasted patties may be refrigerated or frozen for later use. I cut each Kaiser roll carefully to create four thin layers for two thin rolls.

ʼRound the Net

Charles Alexander

Poet Ed Ahern on poems, “Being Ignored” and “Chance Encounters,” in Sea Foam Magazine

Poet and publisher Charles Alexander on the May 15th launch of At the Edge of the Sea: Pushing Water II, at the Torn Page

The American Literary Translators Association on receiving an NEA grant of $15,000

Poet Bill Buschel on narrating ViVi Makka’s first student film, “Shadows”

Poet Llyn Clague on having his poem “Sir” appear in The Main Street Rag

Sandra Cisneros

Poet Terry Dugan for this great interview with Sandra Cisneros

Art historian Beth Gersh-Nešić on the May 22nd launch of Transatlantic Conversation About Poetry and Art at the Alliance Française of Greenwich

Poet Gary Glauber for poems in Cultural Weekly and Outlaw Poetry

Poet John McMullen on the May 18th launch of Live at the Freight House and radio program featuring Terry Dugan and other contributors

The Rev. Al Miles

The Reverend Al Miles on receiving the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) Loretta “Deliana” Fuddy Lifetime Achievement Award

Novelist Laura Morelli on the Honorable Mention from the Eric Hoffer Foundation for The Painter’s Apprentice

Playwright Elizabeth Primamore for urging us to vote our fav book on the PBS Great American Read

Poet Christina Rau on having “Kepler’s Laws” selected for the Visible Poetry Project – see April 5, 2018

Poet and artist Linda Simone for sharing tweets of famous poets

Poetry events

Peter Balakian

HVWC, May 30, 7pm, Deborah Paredez, BK Fischer, and Lynn Schmeidler

Bryant Park Reading Room, June 5, Kathleen Ossip, Terrance Hayes, Reginald Dwayne Betts, David Baker

HVWC, June 15 and 22, 7pm doors open, 7:30pm start, Open Mic hosted by Bill Buschel, $5

Poets House, June 28, 6pm, Annual Showcase Opening, Kaveh Akbar, Tarfia Faizullah, Brenda Hillman

Katonah Public Library, June 3, 4pm, Peter Balakian, $10

Poetry Diva Jackie Sheeler

New York’s vibrant poetry community owes much to Jackie Sheeler. In the 90s, she produced the New York Poetry Calendar, which listed nearly every poetry event—first a slender brochure, then a double-sided 8 ½ x 11 page, and finally a tiny-fonted legal sheet. Printed on bright colors, it was a deep-dive into the extraordinary opportunities our poetry-loving city afforded.

Jackie included a poem of mine in her anthology, Off the Cuffs: Poetry by and about the Police (Soft Skull Press, 2003). Her father had been a cop so the book was a brave if charged exploration. That anthology launched my publishing career. Jackie also invited me to read at her Pink Pony Series at Cornelia Street Café. The first night, I felt like an ingénue at Hollywood and Vine—awed by the beatnik-like, intimate atmosphere.

Jackie had a wry wit—when planning to read at a militant feminist bookstore, I was unsure whether to bring my husband Michael and I emailed her, “What should he do?” She shot back, “Wear a skirt.” As Pink Pony host, she would ease one poet, going on too long, off-stage by slowly chanting his name into the back-of-room mic until audience laughter overcame his ability to read.

Her own award-winning work included Earthquake Came to Harlem (NYQ Books, 2010), The Memory Factory (Buttonwood Press, 2002) and CDs of her wordrock group Talk Engine. I am deeply indebted to Jackie, who passed away recently. Jackie, thank you for passionately pursuing your poetry and bringing so many of us along with you!

Until next time,

Ann