So happy today, October 7, is Random Acts of Poetry Day. According to Jennifer at Highland Park Poetry, we should be pinning poems on grocery bulletin boards and scrawling verse in chalk in the street. Sounds good! My random acts have included three poems recently accepted by Zoomorphic, and one by Main Street Rag Publishing for its ghosts anthology.
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| Photo by Jeff Pang |
Women Poets of the Hudson River
Ruth Handel, Natalie
Safir, Meredith Trede, and I will read at the Warner Library in Tarrytown on
October 24 at 2 pm. Ruth’s most recent
book is No Border is Perennial (Dos Madres,
2015), Natalie’s Love Like Snow (2011),
Meredith’s Field Theory (SFA Press,
2011) and mine, Face Painting in the Dark
(Dos Madres, 2014). Hope to see you there!
Writing & War
Bellevue Literary Review presents “Embattled,” a
performance of poetry and prose on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at 6 pm. Two
actors will read select poems by BLR
poets, featuring work by my dear friend Terry Dugan. Free and open to the public at NYU Langone
Medical Center, 550 First Avenue (30th-33rd Streets),
Schwartz Hall E.
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| Dietrich Bonhoeffer |
Commemorating Bonhoeffer
“For Conduct
and Innocents,” a multimedia drama in verse written by J. Chester
Johnson, will take place Sunday, October
18 at 2 pm at Trinity Church (Wall Street). Directed
by Alan Baxter, the performance portrays significant moments leading to Dietrich
Bonhoeffer’s death, with choreography by the Trinity Movement Choir, and Paul
Knopf’s original score for an upcoming film on Bonhoeffer (1906-1945).
Collaborations in
Dance
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| Racoco |
This Brooklyn festival, on Sunday, October
18, at 8 pm, celebrates movement-based performance developed in collaboration
with artists in film, sound, costuming, visual art, and more. Racoco, featuring Rachel Cohen, Remi Harris,
Masumi Kishimoto, and Meghan Schardt, with live music by Lynn Wright and guests, rejoins visual artist Stephanie
Beck on a shared program. At TRISKELION
ARTS, tickets $16.
October Poetry Readings
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| Ai |
Tuesday,
October 13, 7 pm: Robyn Creswell, Dunya
Mikhail, Nat’l Sept. 11 Museum; register 911memorial.org
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| Edwin Torres |
Saturday, October 24, 4:30 pm: Rodney Koeneke, Edwin Torres,
Zinc Bar
Chocolate
Walnut Scones
Thanks to my dear friend and translator, Ligia Yamazaki, I
learned about eating “Clean” and
later discovered this
delicious recipe.
1/2
cup coconut oil + 1 teaspoon for greasing baking sheet
1/4 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 cup pitted and mashed-up dates (soak until soft)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mills) +1 tablespoon gluten free flour
1/4 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 cup pitted and mashed-up dates (soak until soft)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mills) +1 tablespoon gluten free flour
Pinch
sea salt
2 oz organic dark chocolate (preferably sugar/dairy free, like Gnosis or Green & Black), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup raw, organic walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 oz organic dark chocolate (preferably sugar/dairy free, like Gnosis or Green & Black), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup raw, organic walnuts, coarsely chopped
Preheat
oven to 350. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. In separate bowl,
mash dates until you have a thick paste and set aside. Warm coconut oil until
it's liquid and add to date paste with vanilla and water. Add wet to dry.
Then add chocolate and walnut pieces and mix until just combined. Dough should
hold together; adjust water and flour if too dry or sticky. Form dough
into a round and place on lightly floured (leftover gluten-free flour) surface
and cut in half. Roll each half into another round. Cut one round
in half and then cut each half into thirds and repeat so you have 12
wedges. Lightly grease baking or cookie sheet with coconut oil and place
wedges in oven for 16 minutes (rotating pan after 8 minutes).
’Round the Net
Thanks
and/or congratulations to the following people:
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| J. Chester Johnson |
Publisher Guy Bennett on debut of Piotr Macierzyński’s If father dies first (Mindmade Books, 2015) translated
from Polish by Aleksandra Małecka and Piotr Marecki
Poet
Terry Dugan on having her poetry
selected for Writing & War (see above)
Poet
Ruth Handel on her upcoming book No Border is Perennial (Dos Madres,
2015) and 10th year teaching Enjoying Poetry at Scarsdale Adult
School
Poet J. Chester Johnson on his upcoming drama in verse on Bonhoeffer (see above)
Novelist
Petra E. Lewis on appearing in the Daily News, speaking at the National
Action Network, and hosting an anti-violence
panel at the New School
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| Robert Murphy |
Translator
James Manteith for pointing out the
new Iris
DeMent album is based on Babette Deutsch and Lyn Coffin translations of
Akhmatova
Poet
Don McIver and the 2015 ABQ Slam
Team for appearing in a
TED talk
Art
expert Laura Morelli on her latest
book on vacation treasure-shopping, Naples & the Almafi Coast
Poet
Robert Murphy on his recent NYC
reading at the Swift Hibernian Lounge
PBS
for Jim Henson documentary
sharing his early
coffee ads (PS: If asked if you want Wilkins Coffee, the answer is yes)
Sports
broadcaster Steve Overmyer for
highlighting the New York
Sharks—a women’s professional football team
Poet
Kevin Pilkington on his master poetry
class, starting October 20, at the Sarah Lawrence Writing
Institute
Music
archivist Jay Shulman for this book review
of Chrissie Hynde’s memoir
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| Sarah Bracey White and winning plant |
Poet
Linda Simone on having “Rara Avis”
accepted in Grabbing the Apple: An Anthology of New York Women Poets
Memoirist
Sarah Bracey White on winning the
First and Growers' Choice Awards at the Parkway Gardens/Parkway Homes Fall
Flower Show
Poet
Neal Whitman on having “When Dusk
Falls” appear in this Italian
journal and for recommending this video of poet Alice Oswald
Before
we leave off, I want to remember Ann McGovern,
author of the children’s classic, Stone Soup. When I was little, that story often inspired
me to pretend my lunchtime soup was the savory one described in her tale.
Later, when pursuing my dream of being a writer, I heard her speak at a writers’
conference. She was warm-hearted and approachable, and led an amazing life. Here’s to making delicious soup out of stones!
Until
next time,
