your may annogram

Reading "Andromeda at Midlife"

Slant of Light reading

I loved reading last month with friends from A Slant of Light: Contemporary Women Poets of the Hudson Valley (Codhill Press, 2013).  This Hudson Valley Writers Center (HVWC) event featured really fine Westchester poets, and an insightful talk by editors Larry Carr and Jan Schmidt, who announced that the anthology had received a Beverly Hills Book Award.



Proud poets and anthology editors

I caught up with Dos Madres Press author Ruth Handel; NEA recipient Pamela Hart; Against Butterflies (Little Red Tree Publishing, 2013) author Ann Lauinger, and HVWC founder and poet Margo Stever, among many other friends.  When Mervyn Taylor read his tribute to Brenda Connor-Bey, I knew she must have been there.  It was too magical an evening!  Thanks to Meredith Trede for organizing a great event and Sarah Bracey White for taking wonderful photos.

St. Peter’s B-List at Cornelia Street Café

My favorite place to read in New York is Cornelia Street Café, whose underground venue could encourage people to break out black berets and snap their fingers.  Last month, I had the honor of reading alongside the lovely Mary Ann B. Miller, editor of St. Peter’s B-List (Ave Maria Press, 2014), and contributor poets Dean Kostos, Susan L. Miller, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, Christine Redman-Waldeyer and Susanna Rich.  St. Peter’s B-List makes a great gift for any spiritually attuned friends.

Sarah Lawrence Poetry Festival

What a pleasure to read at my alma mater with MFA alum and Red Glass Press Publisher Janet Kaplan, current undergraduates and MFA graduate poets!  Festival organizer and Dancing Girl Press poet Katie Longofono kept us to one or two poems, which created fun, speed-dating exposure to nearly 20 poets.  Our reading was followed by Kim Addonizio and Eileen Myles.

Scarsdale Inquirer interview

Thanks to Debra Banerjee, arts editor at The Scarsdale Inquirer, for recently interviewing me.  Debra and I had a great conversation about poetry, and she managed to capture all the important points in a fabulous Arts Section cover story.  Enjoy the interview here.

The Burden of Light

Congratulations to editor Tanya Chernov (right) on the release of The Burden of Light: Poems on Illness and Loss (Smashwords, 2014).  This multimedia project, which includes three of my poems, weaves together a tapestry of inspiration, support, and hope.  You set the price for the book, which will directly benefit the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. 

More good news



Regi Claire

My translation of Chapter 8 of Le Héros by Hélène Sanguinetti is in Exchanges, the University of Iowa’s translation journal.  My poems, “Wildlife” and “Vermont: Midnight,” go live May 15 at Sugar Mule.  Lummox Press has accepted one of my poems for its 2014 anthology, and my Small Print Magazine interview with Scottish novelist Regi Claire is now online.  

Seshadri wins Pulitzer

Congratulations to Vijay Seshadri on winning the Pulitzer for his poetry collection3 Sections (Graywolf, 2013).  Vijay began his education in the sciences, and, as a result, brings startling clarity to all things literary as both poet and critic.  In engaging talks, he has the gift for making a complex poet like Wallace Stevens simple, and a seemingly simple Robert Frost complex.  Annogram rejoices in this much-deserved Pulitzer Prize!

Iaconetti watercolors

Joan Iaconetti’s first solo exhibit imagines post-graffiti subways in dark, deliciously sinister angles, platforms, and riders.  Called “evocative neo-noir” by the Curbed NY, her work is on view Monday through Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm, at the Bridge Gallery through June 2.    The gallery is on the fourth floor of The New School, 66 West 12^th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

Translate in the City

The City University of London is offering a translation program, June 23-27, 2014. A week of translation workshops will cover a range of literary genres guided by leading literary translators, plus guest speakers and events. Languages: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Polish and Portuguese into English.  To register, email s.hall@city.ac.uk  or call +44 (0)20 7040 0123.

Reid Castle at Manhattanville

Poetry readings

Come hear novelist Terry Dugan, one of 15 Manhattanville MFA graduates reading on May 13, at 7 pm, in the East Library at Reid Castle at Manhattanville College.

Also on May 13, at 6:30 pm, the Go Cat Go Poetry Series welcomes Evie Ivey and Cynthia Toronto at Gracie’s Corner Diner, 352 E 86th St (between 1^st and 2^nd Avenues), New York.



E. J. Antonio

The 12th Annual New York City Independent Publishers Book Party will take place 6-8pm, Thursday, May 15, 6-8 pm, at the ZieherSmith Gallery, 516 W. 20th Street, in New York.

The Hot Poets Collective, Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, E.J. Antonio, Sabrina Hayeem-Ladani, Elizabeth Lara, Anton Nimblett, Jayne Pierce, and Ed Toney will read on May 16 at a private Woodside, Queens home.  To attend, RSVP by May 12 to jgex@Hotmail.com.

The Saturn Series Open Mike will feature Juanita Torrence-Thompson, Ellaraine Lockie and E.J. Antonio on May 19, at 8-10 pm at Revival, 129 E. 15^th Street, New York.

Calls for submissions

Ruth Handel of the Poetry Caravan

If you’re a poet in Westchester County, you can bring poetry to people who might not be able to hear it otherwise.  Contact Ruth Handel (RuthHandel@verizon.net) to learn more about the Poetry Caravan.



Calling all poems on “desire” or “road kill” for the Lummox Poetry Anthology to be published in November.  Donate $15 and your submission will also be considered for the 2014 Lummox Poetry Prize, $100 and chapbook publication.  Send 2-3 poems to poetraindog@gmail.com.

Poets for Living Waters is a poetry project which responded to the 2010 Gulf Oil Disaster.  In light of the highly contested Keystone Pipeline, please send 1-3 poems, brief statement of ecopoetics, and short bio to poetsforlivingwaters@yahoo.com before July 20, 2014. 

Asparagus Soufflé

How I love fresh spring vegetables, like artichokes and asparagus!  Here’s a favorite recipe from The Ayurvedic Cookbook (Lotus Press, 2004) by Amadea Morningstar with Urmilla Desai.

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter you can purchase at Trader Joe’s or Mrs. Greens)

3 tablespoons barley or whole wheat flour

1 pound fresh asparagus (about 1 cup cooked)

1 egg yolk

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Paprika as garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash asparagus and chop into 1-inch pieces.  Steam until tender, about 8 minutes.  Melt ghee in medium saucepan; slowly stir in flour. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly over medium heat.  The sauce will thicken as it cooks.  Bring mixture to a boil and stir in cooked asparagus.  Reduce heat to low and stir in egg yolk.  The mixture will thicken a bit more as you continue to cook it for another 1-2 minutes.  Stir in salt and pepper; remove from heat and let mixture cool.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in a clean glass, enamel or stainless steel blow (plastic will slow down the process).  When egg whites are stiff enough to peak, fold them gently into the cooled asparagus sauce.  Place whole mixture in an ungreased soufflé or baking dish (one about half as deep as it is wide).  Sprinkle top with paprika. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until soufflé is firm.  The soufflé will keep for a few minutes after taking it out of the oven before it falls, but it is best eaten immediately.  Goes well with salad and bread or rice.  Serves 2-4.

Round the Net

Congratulations to Jeanette Briggs on winning the President’s Award from Purchase College, selected by the faculty for outstanding and dedicated studies.

Congratulations to Ruth Handel on four poems published in Eclectica; on reading from her Tugboat Warrior (Dos Madres Press, 2013) at Dobbs Ferry Public Library, and for Poetry Caravan readings at Armonk, Greenburgh and Scarsdale Libraries.

Congratulations to NEA recipient Pamela Hart, who will be teaching a summer course on ekphrasis at the Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute—register by May 29.



Amy King

Poet Amy King for The Boston Review’s online collection of poetry on surveillance.



Congratulations to Jacqueline Lapidus and Lise Menn, editors of The Widows Handbook (Kent State University Press, 2014), which has gone into its second printing!

Thanks to Poets & Writers for this literary map of New York’s Upper East Side.

Congrats again to Pulitzer -winner Vijay Seshardi, here talking about his poetry on NPR.

“Oh no, me gotta go!  Ai yie yie yie,” writes music archivist Jay Shulman who let us know that April 11 was International Louie Louie Day.

Congratulations to Linda Simone, whose poetry collection, Archeology, will be published by Flutter Press.

Congratulations to Widows Handbook (Kent State University Press, 2014) contributor Chris Thiele on her essay, “Trusting the Process,” which appears in The Best American Poetry Blog.

Thanks to the Times Literary Supplement for this discovery from the poet Sappho.

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day and successful soufflés,

Ann

your april annogram

National Poetry Month starts out with a bang—the news that Dos Madres Press will publish my first poetry collection, Face Painting in the Dark, this year.  But wait—there’s more! Dancing Girl Press poet Alyse Knorr, guest editor of Sugar Mule, has accepted my poems, “Wildlife” and “Vermont: Midnight,” for the next issue.  Could I be any happier?

St. Peter’s B-List at Cornelia Street Café

Come hear me read with poets from St. Peter’s B-List (Ave Maria Press, 2014), at Cornelia Street Café on Tuesday, April 1, at 6 pm. Mary Ann Miller, the book’s editor, will host Dean Kostos, Susan L. Miller, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, Christine Redman-Waldeyer, Susanna Rich and me for this fun and not-so-holy reading.  Hope to see you there—and, remember, GoodReads  is giving away 20 copies of the anthology through April 10!

Slant of Light at Hudson Valley Writers Center

I will also be at the Slant of Light (Codhill Press, 2013) reading at the HVWC on Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m.  Come hear me read with poets Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Lisa Fleck-Dondiego, Ruth D. Handel, Pamela Hart, Adrienne Hernandez, Ann Lauinger, Jo Pitkin, Natalie Safir, Margo Stever and Meredith Trede. In addition, Mervyn Taylor will read his beautiful elegy to the late Brenda Connor-Bey, one of the anthologized poets. 

Cake, prose and poetry

Kevin Pilkington

Enjoy an evening of prose and poetry with novelist Lucy Rosenthal and poet Kevin Pilkington on April 3 at 6:00pm at Cake Shop in New York. 

Poet Pamela Laskin, organizer and host of the NYC Poetry Festival (see below), will read at the CUNY Graduate Center, April 9, at 6:30 as part of the Turnstyle Reading Series. 

Hear local poets read from The Widow’s Handbook (Kent State University Press, 2014) at Poets House on April 19, from 1:30-4:30 pm; and at Cornelia Street Café on May 25, 3-5 pm.

NYC/CUNY Chapbook Festival

The NYC/CUNY Chapbook Festival runs April 1 through April 3, celebrating the chapbook as a work of art and a medium for alternative and emerging writers and publishers.  Here’s the festival schedule at the CUNY Graduate Center.  The book fair, 10 am – 8 pm on Thursday, will feature these publishers.

NYC Poetry Festival and Contest

Poets Elana Bell and Aracelis Girmay will be featured at the Annual NYC Poetry Festival and Contest.  The festival will take place at City College, in Theater B of Aaron Davis Hall, 135th St. and Convent Avenue in New York, on May 9, 9 am - 5 pm.

Closing look at Lovrien

When I mentioned my grandmother, Lovrien Price Gregory (1888-1972), was one of the first female cartoonists at the turn of the 20th century, annogram readers were hooked.  You loved her story, and I thank you for honoring her achievements this way.  This Philadelphia Quaker-turned-Christian Scientist may be best remembered for this one comic strip.  

What no one knows is that the cartoon’s writer would become her brother-in-law.  Lester Lear (1897-1987) eventually married Lovrien’s half sister, Isadora Schmidt (1904-2000).  In addition, “The Pioneers” narrative was most likely inspired by Lovrien’s husband.  Julius Gregory’s (1875-1955) French grandparents crossed the country by Conestoga wagon to arrive in California at the height of the Gold Rush.

Commenting on the cartoon, artist Jim Rowe says it reminds him of the comic strip “Little Nemo” by Winsor McCay.  “Little Nemo,” which debuted 10 years earlier, ran about the same time as “The Pioneers.”  Ah, but now we must say adieu to Lovrien, cartoonist, muralist, portrait maker and abstract expressionist, saluting her ability to stretch her artistic talent in surprising ways.

Linda Simone

Writing Prompts

Thanks to Pushcart-nominated poet Linda Simone for sharing these prompts from Writer’s Digest:

Day 1:  Write 10 potential book titles of books you’d like to write.

Day 2:  Create a character with personality traits of someone you love, but the physical characteristics of someone you don’t care for.

Day 3:  Write a setting based on the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen.

Day 4:  Write a letter to an agent telling her how wonderful you are.

Day 5:  Write a 20-line poem about a memorable moment in your life.

Day 6:  Select a book on your shelf and pick two chapters at random. Take the first line of one chapter and the last line of the other chapter and write a short story (no more than 1000 words) using those as bookends to your story.

Day 7:  Write a letter to yourself telling you what you need to improve in the coming 6 months.

Day 8:  Rewrite a fairy tale from the bad guy’s point of view.

Day 9:  Turn on your TV. Write down the first line that you hear and write a story based on it.

Day 10:  Go sit in a public place and eavesdrop on a conversation. Turn what you hear into a short love story (no matter how much you have to twist what they say).

Day 11:  Write the acknowledgments page that will be placed in your first (next?) published book, thanking all the people who have helped you along the way.

Day 12:  Gather everything you’ve written over the previous 11 days. Pick your favorite. Edit it, polish it and either try to get it published or post it on the Web to share with the world. Be proud of yourself and your work.

Chocolate Pavlova

 

Celebrate spring with this gluten-free recipe from Cook Yourself Thin (Voice, 2009).  This incredibly rich, exquisite tasting dessert is only 337 calories a serving, perfect for Easter or any special occasion.

For the pavlova
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

For the topping
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/4 cup shaved dark chocolate
1/4 cup melted chocolate for drizzling

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites and salt on high speed until they hold their shape. Add sugar gradually until mixture stands in firm peaks. Add lemon juice and whisk just to incorporate. Sift cocoa powder into a small corner of the bowl and lightly fold it into the meringue using a plastic spatula. Do not overmix or you will lose the rippled effect.

Pour meringue onto parchment-lined sheet pan in an oval shape, roughly 3 by 5 inches and 2 inches high. Switch off oven without opening door and leave pavlova in turned-off oven for one hour. Remove and set aside.  Topping: Whisk whipping cream into semi-stiff peaks and spoon on top of pavlova. Sprinkle with raspberries and shaved chocolate before serving. Finish with drizzled chocolate.

Round the Net

Thanks to the following people for these links and/or announcements:

Clobberhead and grateful owner

Congrats to Sarah Bracey White on the third printing of her memoir, Primary Lessons (Cavan-Kerry, 2013)

Guitarist and songwriter Michael Cefola for the inspiring story of Clobberhead

Translator Roger Greenwald for this list of best translated fiction

Poet and civil rights essayists J. Chester Johnson for his four-part article on the little-known Elaine race riots

Translator Lucas Klein for his wonderful interview in Asymptote

Congrats to Anomalous Press on its first anniversary

Congrats to poet Maxine Silverman, on second printing of Transport of the Aim (Parallel Press, 2014)

Poet Linda Simone for this article on the disappearance of New York bookstores

Translator Willard Wood for these jokes translated from around the world

Filmmaker Frank Vitale for sharing Episode 4 of The Metropolis Organism

Wishing you a joyous Easter, Passover and poetry filled spring.

Until next time,

Ann