your june in bloom annogram

The Collagist and Lines+Stars

Thanks to Alice Maglio for her outstanding review in The Collagist of The Hero (Chax Press, 2018), my translation of Hélène Sanguinetti’s fourth book. Alice takes a deep and remarkable dive into “this collection [that] vibrates, slithers, and undulates—the language itself echoing various natural elements with which it is so obsessed.”

I am equally grateful to James Lee Lord Parker, who reviewed Free Ferry, for also rendering such an evocative take on The Hero in Lines+Stars.  “The Hero will leave you worn down and breathless,” he writes. “More importantly, it will leave you wanting more.” My gratitude to both Alice and James for engaging so intelligently with this book.

Faire Vivre La Poésie

Jean--Luc Pouliquen

French poet Jean-Luc Pouliquen kindly includes me in his new book of interviews, Faire Vivre La Poésie (2019). The chapter is taken from his book co-authored with Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Conversation Transatlantique (2018). He also mentions me in an interview on French TV. Merci, Jean-Luc! We’re working hard to make poetry live on both sides of the Atlantic!

Words in Concert

Thanks to poet Michael Baldwin for compiling Words in Concert (2019), a poetry anthology which benefits the Fort Worth Symphony. I am proud my poem “Boléro” found a home in this book as well as a poem by longtime friend Meg Lindsay. You’ll support poetry and music by purchasing this fine volume.

More Publications

Poet Janet Kaplan’s tasty literary journal,  AMP, includes my translation from Hélène Sanguinetti’s And Here’s the Song; and nice to see work by poetry pal Meredith Trede. Soon you’ll see another translation from same Sanguinetti book in Columbia Journal. I am equally honored that “Early Thunder, Atlanta” appears in the “Family Bed” issue of Tamara Sellman’s VitaminZZZ.

Johnny A at the Turning Point

Johnny A
Photo by Michael Cefola

Johnny A, who has performed with bands such as the Yardbirds and J. Geils, brought his solo act to The Turning Point in Piermont this spring. What was extraordinary is his live Fractal FX2 recording and mixing of multiple tracks which he then seamlessly incorporates with his own exquisite finger work. The transcendent set included the Hollies’ “Bus Stop,” Stones’ “Play with Fire,” Bad Finger’s “Day after Day,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after Time,” Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home,” and Beatle melodies. A must-see for guitar and classic rock aficionados.

National Poetry Month

A whirlwind…talking about life as a poet at Edgewood School, appearing on the JohnMac Radio Show and One-on-One with Vin Dacquino, inaugurating the Hudson Highlands Poetry Series, and sharing the podium with Kristin Prevallet, Margo Taft Stever, and George Kraus at the last spring Sundays with George Poetry Reading. Wow! Thank you everyone.

Free Ferry Ferries On

My gratitude to Dr. George Kraus for reading with me from Free Ferry (Upper Hand Press, 2017) at the Shames JCC in Tarrytown. Most people read Free Ferry more than once, as did one of my blurbistas, Sarah Lawrence Professor Emeritus Ray Peckaukus:

Rereading Free Ferry, I’d forgotten Eurydice was the daughter of the sun god Apollo. Crucial words appear on page 55 in the scientific undercurrent running along the bottom of each page: fission bombs delivered destruction rated in thousands of tons of TNT; fusion weapons in millions of tons. Yet this power is the source of the sun's energy ("sustained reaction") which sustains life on this planet. So far we’ve had the wisdom not to use this understanding to eliminate our kind. May it always be so! Keep writing.

Westport Library Grand Re-Opening

So honored to open the new writers room at the Westport Library on June 23^rd!  I will help lead a poetry workshop 2-3pm, and there will be a fiction workshop 3-4pm. Many thanks to Alison McBain and Ed Ahern of the Fairfield Scribes for inviting me to this special event.

Maureen Pilkington’s This Side of Water

Maureen Pilkington

Congratulations to Maureen Pilkington on her first short story collection, This Side of Water (Regal House, 2019). Catch Maureen reading with her brother, award-winning poet Kevin Pilkington, at Bank Square Books in Mystic on June 6, at 6:30pm. She will also sign books at Elm Street Booksin New Canaan on July 11 at 6pm. Can’t make any dates? Read this Antioch Review interview with Maureen.

Happy Birthday, Walt

Walt Whitman
(1819-1892)

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 and his birthplace in Huntington, Long Island, is celebrating with multiple events.  For starters, you can purchase Poets to Come: The Whitman 200th Birthday (Local Gems Press, 2019), which features annogram poets Ed Ahern, John McMullen, and Linda Simone. Or listen to New Yorkers do homage to the Old Gray Poet by their reciting of “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.”

Cabaret Night at St. James the Less

On June 8, 7-10pm, enjoy mezzo-soprano Dakota Martin and pianist Keiji Ishiguri in "Bewitched, Bothered, & Bewildered” at St. James the Less Church. Classic jazz and Broadway standards illustrate how love often leaves us in one of these states, if not all at the once. Hors d'oeuvres, light dinner, dessert, wine, and soft drinks will be served. Seniors (65) and juniors (35 and under): $50; all others $75.

Marjorie Tesser

Hudson Highlands Poetry Series

Thanks to poet Mary Newell for drumming up a new poetry community in Putnam County. In April, I was honored to launch a new reading series with Mary and a dozen exceptional poets. This month, Kathleen Ossip, Kristin Prevallet, and Marjorie Tesser will read June 15 at 1:30pm at the Desmond Fish Library in Garrison.

Chill Bucket Stages You Can’t Take It With You

James Stewart and Jean Arthur in the
movie You Can't Take It With You (1937)

Westchester’s new theater troupe, Chill Bucket Productions, will stage a reading of Kaufman and Hart’s classic 1936 comedy, You Can’t Take It With You, on June 22nd at 8pm. The performance, which will take place in the 100-seat chapel of St. James the Less Church, features more than a dozen area actors. Parking is limited and donations are requested to support the fledgling theater company. For advance tickets, go here.

New Releases

Adrian Silbernagel, Transitional Object (The Operating System, 2019)

Edward Ahern, Irregular Images (Fairfield Scribes, 2019)

Lynn Clague, Up Close and Nuclear (2019)

Jacqueline Gojard, Pablo Picasso and André Salmon : The Painter, the Poet and the Portraits, translated and edited by Beth S. Gersh-Nesic and Jacqueline Gojard (Za Mir Press, 2019)

Cindy Hochman and Bob Heman, The Number 5 is Always Suspect (Presa Press, 2019)

Mary Newell, Tilt/ Hover/ Veer (Codhill Press, 2019)

Trace Peterson, Since I Moved In – new and revised (Chax Press, 2019) 

Jean-Luc Pouliquen, Faire vivre la poésie (2019)

Presence 2019

Creative Opportunities

Kevin Pilkington

Colosseum Books open reading, June-August, for poetry manuscripts “formally sophisticated and spiritually and intellectually serious”

One-on-One Workshop with Poet Arthur Vogelsang, ongoing

Norwalk Poetry Workshop, Norwalk Belden Avenue Library, June 3 and 17, 6:30-8:30pm

Westport Library, poetry workshop 2-3pm, fiction workshop 3-4pm, June 23

Ex Ophidia Press Poetry Book Contest, see guidelines and submit by July 1

Laura Morelli

Hudson Valley Anthology – send as attachment three poems, one-page flash fiction, or essay/story under five pages, 125w bio, and recent publication history to johnmac13@gmail.com by July 15

Hudson Valley Writers Center – Summer Workshops and One-Day Intensives

Women in Etruscan Art online class with art historian Laura Morelli; free

Writing Poetry for Publication with Kevin Pilkington, Maine Media Workshops, August 4-10

Strawberry Granola Crisp

Thanks to poet and watercolor artist Linda Simone for this spring-fresh recipe. It looks like a wholesome dish for an early summer picnic or backyard party. And strawberries! This is their season.

2 lb strawberries, hulled, halved or quartered if large

3 Tablespoons raw or turbinado sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

Kosher salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut

¼ cup all-purpose flour

Plain yogurt, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°; place rack in lower third. Toss strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and pinch salt in large bowl; transfer to 9-inch pie dish or 1-quart casserole. Stir oil and maple syrup in  medium bowl. Add oats, almonds, coconut, flour, and 2 pinches salt; combine until loose clumps; scatter over filling. Place crisp on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until topping is golden and filling bubbles, 35–45 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. Serve with yogurt, whipped cream, or ice cream. Can be baked 1 day ahead: let cool completely; cover and chill.

Poetry / literary / art events

Dagmar Stansova

Poetry Luncheon, Bernard’s Inn, June 6, 12-2pm benefiting Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund; reserve at 203-438-8282

The New American Theatre, June 8, 15, 22, 29, 3:30pm, Loose Underwear, solo play by Dagmar Stansova

Byram Shubert Library, June 11, 5pm, art historian Beth S. Gersh-Nesic discusses MoMA’s current 17^th century Dutch art exhibit; free

Bill Hayden

Desmond Fish Library, June 15, 1:30pm, Kathleen Ossip, Kristin Prevallet, Marjorie Tesser

Phoenix Reading Series, 27 Bethune Street, NYC, June 9, 6pm, Mary Newell, Ruth Danon, Andrew Levy

The Parkside Lounge, 317 East Houston Street, NYC, June 16, 4pm, Mary Newell 

Norwalk Arts Festival, Poets, Writers and Storytellers Stage, June 29 and June 30, 11am-1pm and 3-5pm each day, Norwalk Poet Laureate Bill Hayden, poet Jerry T. Johnson, and multiple local authors

J. Chester Johnson (left) at the
Troubadour in London last year

Washington National Cathedral, June 30, 12:30pm, J. Chester Johnson on his book, Auden, the Psalms and Me (Church Publishing, 2017) 

HVWC, June 19, 7pm, Kelsey Miller, Sarah Bracey White; July 17, 7pm, David Baker, TR Hummer, Page Starzinger; July 27, 7pm, Herbert Hadad; August 7, 7pm, HVWC published student reading, $10 all

Canaan Meetinghouse Reading Series, 7:30pm, July 11: Wyn Cooper, Hernan Diaz; July 18: Christopher Benfey, Walter Wetherell; July 25: Gregory Pardlo, Alice Mattison; August 1: Christopher Castellani, Peter Orner

ʼRound the Net

Joy Harjo
Photo by Karen Kreun

The American Literary Translators Association on its $10K National Endowment for the Arts grant

Watercolor artist Randy Briggs on winning third place for his painting, “Old Farm,” in the Art Society of Greenwich Spring Exhibition

Poet Christopher Brisson for this article on authors’ one-word book titles

The Brooklyn Public Library for this video of people reading “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”

Poet and translator Chen Du on poems published in Levitate, an essay in Dead Mule, and translations in The Bare Life Review and Lunch Ticket

Poet and filmmaker Terry Dugan on acceptance of Fordham SDS into the Oaxaca

Mary McCray

FilmFest, and for sharing this article on best prose poetry

History teacher Neil Ginsberg for this article on ways to cultivate joy

Author Herb Hadad on reading at the Sleepy Hollow Lit Fest; and for his anticipated second book, Tender and Tough

Poet Bill Hayden on being named Poet Laureate of Norwalk (CT)

Poets Cindy Hochman and Bob Heman on the release of The Number 5 is Always Suspect (Presa Press, 2019)

Artist Kathe Gregory on participating in another Somerville Open Studio last month

Poet Joy Harjo on winning the $65K Jackson Poetry Prize

Writer Lisa Krohn for this article on virtue in the workplace and her latest Thrive Global column

Poet Rolf Maurer for this profile of poet Ed Ahern

Lucia LaVilla-Havelin

Poet Mary McCray on winning a Nautilus Award for The Cowboy Meditation Primer (Trementina Books, 2017)

Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen for this on an NYC bookshop that can print titles in minutes

Novelist and art historian Laura Morelli for discount code, “INSIDER,” at her store; click “Buy directly from the author”

Retailer Orvis for promoting the idea of bringing dogs to work

Poet and watercolor artist Linda Simone on her fantastic interview with award-winning fiber artist Lucia La Villa-Havelin, and for AI-created poem portraits

Sony Pictures Classics for All is True, a biopic about the last three years of Shakespeare’s life

Neal Whitman

Poet Neal Whitman on having work published in the May issue of Chronogram

World Literature Today for this article on the role of intuition in translation

Wishing you a summer of good friends, good food, and good literature! Annogram will be back in September, so send me your news by early August. A warm welcome to new subscribers, and may this green season inspire our best creativity.

Until next time,

Ann

your april foolish annogram

So much to share. First, thanks to translator Chen Du, my poetry appears this month in the Chinese journal Yan He (“Yan River”). The Books Movie also features my reading from Free Ferry (Upper Hand Press, 2017); on Wednesday, writer Vinny Dacquino interviews me on his TV program One on One; and on Sunday, Yorktown Poet Laureate John McMullen and I kick off National Poetry Month on his radio show. But wait! There’s more….

A Gathering of Regional Poets

Come hear a dozen poets inaugurate the Hudson Highlands Poetry Reading Series, April 13 at 2pm, at the Desmond-Fish Library in Garrison. I am delighted to read with Sallie Bliumis-Dunn, Suzanne Cleary, Ann Lauinger, Jo Pitkin, and Margo Taft Stever; and to meet T.R. Hummer, Heller Levinson, Mary Newell, Kathleen Ossip, Sean Singer, and Edwin Torres. Thanks to Mary Newell for organizing this special event!

Dr. George Kraus

Sundays with George

I am equally honored to read with poet Kristin Prevallet and share the podium again with Margo Taft Stever at the Sundays with George Series at the Shames JCC on the Hudson, April 28 at 1:30pm. Hosted by poet Dr. George Kraus, the readings are always lively. Hope to see you there!

Enchantment of the Ordinary

So thrilled to be in the anthology, Enchantment of the Ordinary (Mutabilis Press). Isn't that what poets routinely do, find enchantment in the ordinary? Thanks to editor John Gorman for welcoming a Yankee into this celebration of Texas poets. I am honored to be in such a delightful volume with wonderful poets Michael Baldwin, Jim Lavilla-Havelin, and Linda Simone. Read it and you will be enchanted too.

The Hero

Thanks to poet and publisher Eric Greinke, one of the first reviewers of my Sanguinetti translation Hence this cradle (Seismicity Editions, 2007), who commented on the latest, The Hero (Chax Press, 2018): The Hero coaxes the reader on as it resists him. One searches for something to ground it, but it keeps us on the border between narrative and free association. The reference points brought up a vague idea of a story about a day after I finished it, kind of a ghost story. A combination of Finnegans Wake and the poetry of Artaud. The hero is the reader.

NEA Fellow Kerrin McCadden on John Mac Radio

Kerrin McCadden

Thanks to John McMullen for allowing me to crash his interview with this gifted poet. I loved learning how a French Symbolist, Celtic grandparents, and liturgy helped shape McCadden's poetry. She is the author of Landscape with Plywood Silhouettes (New Issues, 2014), which received the 2013 New Issues Poetry Prize as well as the 2015 Vermont Book Award. I can’t wait for her follow-up book!

Jeanette Briggs Spins Favorites

Jeanette Briggs

Great to hear Jeanette Briggs’s selections featured last month on the RetroRadio Friday 
Drive with Host Kenny O'Boyle on WFDU. Jeanette played It's a Beautiful Day’s "White Bird"; Tommy James and the Shondells’ "Crystal Blue Persuasion"; the Win-
stons’ "Color Him Father" ; and surprised Michael and me by dedicating Cream’s "White Room” to us!

New Releases

Ned Balbo, 3 Nights of the Perseids (University of Evansville Press)

Vincent Dacquino, Patriot Hero of the Hudson Valley (The History Press)

Pauletta Hansel, Coal Town Photograph (Dos Madres Press)

Katherine M. Hedeen and Víctor Rodríguez Núñez, editors, In The Drying Shed Of Souls: Poetry From Cuba's Generation Zero (The Operating System)

Heller Levinson, Un- (Black Widow Press) 

C.M. Mayo, Meteor (Gival Press)

Pedestal Magazine

Margo Taft Stever, Cracked Piano (CavanKerry Press) and Ghost Moose (Kattywompus Press)

Estha Weiner, at the last minute (Salmon Poetry)

Marta Zelwan, trans. Victoria Miluch, Śnienie / Dreaming (The Operating System)

Rosemary Potatoes

It’s spring, and you may be eating a lot of asparagus and artichokes, or at least that’s my wish for you. Here’s something delicious to accompany them from Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners (Lotus Press, 1995) by Amadea Morningstar:

6 cups boiling water

6 medium red boiling potatoes or 8 new potatoes

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh onion or leek

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

white or black pepper

Wash potatoes, and pare out any eyes. Put in boiling water and cook until done, about 30 minutes. In large skillet, sauté onion or leek in olive oil. Drain and slice potatoes, keeping the peel on. Put them in skillet with onion or leek, and cook for 5-10 minutes. Add rosemary, salt, and pepper. Important: Cook until “a tad crispy.” You can also mash all the ingredients to make patties, place on a cooking sheet, and bake 10-15 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

Creative Opportunities

Edwin Torres

Edwin Torres writing workshop, four Saturday mornings in April, email brainlingo@yahoo.com

Hudson Valley Writers Center spring workshops

Pedestal is accepting poetry submissions from May 6 – May 26

Poetry Readings / Literary Events

Vijay Seshadri

Curley’s Diner, April 2, 7:30pm, Zilka Joseph

Bernard’s Inn, April 4, 12 noon, Pamela Hart, author of Mothers Over Nangarhar (Sarabande, 2019), three-course luncheon and reading, $35

Esther Raushenbush Library, April 5, 10:30am, Vijay Seshadri

Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library, April 6, 3pm, poets Jo Pitkin, Lucia Cherciu, and Raphael Kosek

Westchester Poetry Festival, April 6, 1-4:30pm, Victoria Chang and others

Sarah Bracey White

Ossie Davis Theater, April 7, 3pm, Sarah Bracey White is one of a dozen writers performing original pieces on the subject of "My Library” for Read 650, $10

Katonah Library, April 7, 4pm, Major Jackson, $10

Mahopac Library, April 8, 6:30pm, Mahopac Poetry Workshop members read and open mic

Nyack Library, April 10, 7pm, the River Writers Circle members read

Heller Levinson

Barat House, April 11, 7pm, Terry Dugan, Katherine Flannery Dering, and Alex Lindquist

Desmond-Fish Library, April 13, 2-4pm, Ann Cefola, Suzanne Cleary, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, T.R. Hummer, Ann Lauinger, Heller Levinson, Mary Newell, Kathleen Ossip, Jo Pitkin, Sean Singer, Margo Taft-Stever, and Edwin Torres inaugurate the Hudson Highlands Poetry Reading Series

John C. Hart Library, April 13, 2pm, Yorktown Poetry Workshop members read

Hudson Valley Writers Center, April 19, 7pm, open mic

Chappaqua Station, April 26, 7pm, Jerry T. Johnson and guests celebrate National Poetry Month

Maureen Pilkington

Split Rock Books, April 26, 7pm, Heller Levinson launch of Un- (Black Widow Press)

Sarah Lawrence Poetry Festival, April 26-28

Shames JCC on the Hudson, April 28, 1:30pm, Ann Cefola, Kristin Prevallet, and Margo Taft-Stever read in the Sundays with George Poetry Series; hosted by Dr. George Kraus

McNally Jackson, May 1, 7pm, Maureen Pilkington and Kevin Pilkington

ʼRound the Net

Racoco Productions Director Rachel Cohen on the debut of the Times-endorsed TILT, a live performance/construction swirling movement, wood, live music, tap dance, pinball, and Don Quixote

Poet Kwame Dawes on winning the $165K Windham-Campbell Prize

Poet Terry Dugan on work accepted into Cut Poems from Air: Poetry Inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks (Atrocious Poets)

Poet and YA author Pamela Laskin on winning the Leapfrog International's 2019 Contest for her YA novel Why No Bhine-Or Why No Good-Bye, forthcoming this fall from Leapfrog Press

 

Asturias Public Television News

Poet and artist Meg Lindsay on her poem, “What They Don’t Tell You” appearing in Pulse; and her work being featured in the upcoming RiverArts Studio Tour on April 27-28

 

Books Movie Producer María Luisa López on La Fonoteca de Poesía being highlighted on Public Television News in Asturias, Spain

 

Poet Mary McCray for this podcast on digital lit with indigenous sci-fi writer Brian Hudson

Art historian and translator Beth Gersh-Nešić on the launch of the André Salmon blog and for this fantastic interview with New Wave director Agnès Varda

Richard Wright (1908-1960)

HBO Films for a new version of Richard Wright’s Native Son

Photographer and poet Michael Holstein on this video of his reminiscences of mid-century Miami

Poet and translator C.M. Mayo on winning the Gival Poetry Prize for Meteor (Gival Press, 2019)

Cellist and music archivist Jay Shulman for this Times article on Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Poet and artist Linda Simone for this blog on secrets of book promotion and this MoMA map of connections between abstract artists

Filmmaker Fran Sisco on winning Best LGBT Documentary for “Happy Trans Girl Like Me,” at the Cutting Room International Short Film Festival

Many people are surprised to find a recipe here. I think of annogram as a physical space, and I want to welcome readers with something good to eat as well as to read. So get out your fork, and after you’ve had your fill, as Virginia Woolf suggests, you are ready for pen and paper. 

Until next time,

Ann