From Dennis

DEAR POE-ETTES,

Just a reminder about upcoming two gigs, one a wee bit closer than the other.

First, the Bird is featuring at Café Lena, the first Wednesday of July, the 7th to be exact.

Those of us who have decided to go to support the Bird are planning to meet at the Parting Glass in Saratoga 4:30 or so for pre-prandials, wackles (that’s drinks), and some food. The PG is located at 40-42 Lake Avenue ~ Saratoga Springs, NY, Tel: (518) 583 - 1916

The CL gig starts at 7:30 I believe and sign-up begins circa 7. I think there is a three-dollar charge to get in. There are lots of readers in the summer and it sometimes gets hot in the queue but it all works (sweats) out. Great cookies for a buck and the coffee in the heat is aok too; during the break two of us head out and around the corner for a beverage.

Everybody is invited to the warm-up gig at the Parting Glass; we went last year and some of us had fun.
Let’s see the hands!!

Secondly, even though a further away, some of us are going to the Poets Forum run by the Academy of American Poets—see http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20218—on October 30th, of this year.

It is an all-day workshop beginning at 10 am where interested attendees can see, hear, interact with 15 or so of the very best poets in these United States. If you are interested in improving your work: (1) how to start a poem; (2) last lines; (3) the self in the poem, etc. etc. etc.

We take the train down in the morning, the 6 am I think it is ,and walk down to NYU or the New School, wherever it is held. Some of the members of the Third Saturday Poesy Café are planning to go.

Others in the Café are planning to go that morning to the city and have expressed interest in the Poets House in Battery Park, the area I used to go to to work in the great Washington Market as a 14-year old kid, from midnight until 7 in the morning with my grandfather. Then back on the SI Ferry. More than true. Here is the URL for that fine place: http://www.poetshouse.org/

In the afternoon—I think I have the schedule right and sit corrected in any case—we are going to the famed White Horse Tavern, a review of which can be found at this URL in New York Nightlife http://nymag.com/listings/bar/white_horse_tavern/ and a description of which can be found in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Horse_Tavern_(New_York_City).

We are planning to hit the Tavern circa 3 pm for the early shift. Noted writers and poets such as Dylan Thomas, Jimmy Baldwin, Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac inter alios.

All poets in the Thursday group are invited. We have fun, nice train ride, good conversation (mostly), some exercise from the train to the forum, exercise to the tavern, exercise IN the tavern, exercise back to the train. We have gotten the past two years the 6:30 or so train back. Maybe this year the 8 pm or so. That TBD.

Thought some folks might be interested.

La paz,

Dennis

ars vocatus moriendi

Alan opened the meeting with a number poem called The Beauty Way which he had dedicated to Jim, the Math Guy. The theme was "beauty equates to math and harmony of nature" (per Larry). It began with some Navajo references to their way of life - mystic trails to another world, which Tim picked up on. Jim began to be a trifled riled over the unanswerable(?) question of which came first, math or science.

Jim then impressed us with The Suicide Note as Text: The Discourse of Last Recourse. "One does not perform a suicide, as one performs, say...a poetry reading." It was entertaining and clever and we learned one gross thing about suicide bombers which I will not repeat here. You can ask him.

Larry asked if his poem was a groaner. I didn't think so. The title Almost a Grand Union set the stage for his never-failing word play, with food and sex. Tim totally could hardly control himself and the rest of us chuckled.

Dan and Paul both brought us back to the sweeter side of life with Paul's recital of a School Concert and Dan's perfectly rhymed Christopher Robin's Prayer. Old Norman Rockwell raised his head - I've heard enough of this comparison, folks - again with regard to Paul's re-creation of a time and place. Alan deftly pointed out the emerging gang mentality, authority issues and ego submergence in Winnie the Pooh's crew. "Beware the Giants who linger here...Their waiting shadows, there and there..."

We got to vote on two versions of Mark's Seasoning poem. Picked the first person version with the second title. Another rhymer, perfect cadence and a lovely message. Larry asked what "salt of the earth" really meant and Mark looked it up on his IPad. Meaning: thoroughly good type of person.

Timmy's Questions provoked the most discussion of the evening, whether or not it successfully addressed the social conventions regarding mourning and why do people care so much what others think. It had several great verses, but to me, it missed the transition between the thoughts. Maybe too streamlined. Tim is committed to the poem and vowed to rework it.

The Purple Suit was an apt title for Ann's commentary on her relationship with her dad, which changed dramatically after her mother's death. I suggested portraying the change as happening more gradually and Ann seemed to agree. We talked at length and to no resolution about the role of the teeter totter. First, we had to describe a teeter totter for Larry.

I wrote a really stupid poem about my toe, which I am throwing away.

Alan will be performing at Cafe Lena on July 11 - sorry, July 7 at 7:30, preceded by group dinner at the Parting Glass, two great incentives for a Saratoga trip.

Afterthought - I just noticed a note I made regarding toilet seats having fewer germs than handles. You gotta watch those handles. And those automatic flushers.