Friday 27 June Poetry Reading at Madison Rose
For a couple of days I've been wanting to write about the poetry reading my wife and I attended the evening of Friday 27 June at the relatively new Madison Rose Bookstore in Lakewood. Now I'm a little tired from a busy weekend with four grandchildren aged 3, 4, 5 and 6 - as well as lots of house and yard work. But I at least want to give you a quick rundown of that event.
Featured reader and local legend Jack McGuane defied his recent stroke to read some excellent work from his recently published book Sleeping with My Socks and other poems (click the title to read more about it). I was bummed that a budgeting snafu this week meant that we couldn't buy Jack's book that night - but you can bet I'll do so very soon.
The open mic session, emceed by Dan Smith, featured a broad and bold assortment of readers - some of the cream of the Cleveland scene. Several were folks I've met (and whose work I've very much enjoyed) at previous readings (like Terry Provost, T.M. Göttl, Dianne Borsenik, and J.E. Stanley). Several others were folks I'd only known from books, zines, and tales from other poets - folks whose work I very much respected despite never having met them before (they included Jim Lang, Christopher Franke, and Miles Budimir). Very cool to meet them.... Then there were a couple of impressive newbies and some other apparent veterans whose names I did not catch. Great work abounded. And my favorite moment was probably Terry Provost
's brilliant recitation of a humorous but dead serious poem about how by degrading others we degrade ourselves. I don't know the title, but... wow!
The venue was packed and I couldn't see all of the readers from where I sat. But we enjoyed ourselves immensely - and the location was closer to home than the previous four readings I've attended. Can't wait to go back with money! Oh - and for poetry night there were free cookies and coffee.
The lady who appeared to be the bookstore's owner said they're going to hold these readings every month (the last Friday, I'm assuming), and I encourage you to check one out. They're also having a July 4th sale beginning Tuesday 1 July. Call them at (216) 226-BOOK for more information.
Madison Rose Bookstore
13705 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44017
website: http://www.madisonrosebookstore.com
e-mail: madisonrosebooks@att.net
Jack McGuane's fine new book Sleeping with My Socks and other poems is available though Deep Cleveland Books.
To read an article entitled "20 Questions with Jack McGuane, Lakewood's Poet Laureate," click this link:
http://lakewoodbuzz.com/Poets/Lakewood_Poet_Laureate_Jack_McGuane_20Q_Ohio_04-27-06.html
Other recommendations, available through my Amazon bookstore, include:
Oh... and I read three poems during the open mic. I tried out two new ones, Lobal Warman and At Mass, before reciting Allen Ginsberg Sucks! I think they went pretty well... especially Ginsberg.
Featured reader and local legend Jack McGuane defied his recent stroke to read some excellent work from his recently published book Sleeping with My Socks and other poems (click the title to read more about it). I was bummed that a budgeting snafu this week meant that we couldn't buy Jack's book that night - but you can bet I'll do so very soon.
The open mic session, emceed by Dan Smith, featured a broad and bold assortment of readers - some of the cream of the Cleveland scene. Several were folks I've met (and whose work I've very much enjoyed) at previous readings (like Terry Provost, T.M. Göttl, Dianne Borsenik, and J.E. Stanley). Several others were folks I'd only known from books, zines, and tales from other poets - folks whose work I very much respected despite never having met them before (they included Jim Lang, Christopher Franke, and Miles Budimir). Very cool to meet them.... Then there were a couple of impressive newbies and some other apparent veterans whose names I did not catch. Great work abounded. And my favorite moment was probably Terry Provost
's brilliant recitation of a humorous but dead serious poem about how by degrading others we degrade ourselves. I don't know the title, but... wow!The venue was packed and I couldn't see all of the readers from where I sat. But we enjoyed ourselves immensely - and the location was closer to home than the previous four readings I've attended. Can't wait to go back with money! Oh - and for poetry night there were free cookies and coffee.
The lady who appeared to be the bookstore's owner said they're going to hold these readings every month (the last Friday, I'm assuming), and I encourage you to check one out. They're also having a July 4th sale beginning Tuesday 1 July. Call them at (216) 226-BOOK for more information.
Madison Rose Bookstore
13705 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44017
website: http://www.madisonrosebookstore.com
e-mail: madisonrosebooks@att.net
Jack McGuane's fine new book Sleeping with My Socks and other poems is available though Deep Cleveland Books.
To read an article entitled "20 Questions with Jack McGuane, Lakewood's Poet Laureate," click this link:
http://lakewoodbuzz.com/Poets/Lakewood_Poet_Laureate_Jack_McGuane_20Q_Ohio_04-27-06.html
Other recommendations, available through my Amazon bookstore, include:
Oh... and I read three poems during the open mic. I tried out two new ones, Lobal Warman and At Mass, before reciting Allen Ginsberg Sucks! I think they went pretty well... especially Ginsberg.
thank GOD you got the cookies and coffee WOW hahhahahahaah
eye just started a new life form of poem the TITLE poem as soon as possible visit the new website and here is the last entry just the URL
http://poetrypoem.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?poemnumber=926119&sitename=charlaxici&poemoffset=0&displaypoem=t&item=poetry
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Thanks, Charlax! But this time I only drank half a small cup... lol.
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http://www.bigsnap.com/billy.html
http://www.bigsnap.com/linklibrary.html
http://www.bigsnap.com/linklibrary.html#poembypoem
BC BILLY COLLINS eye have a three million dollar dell at least eye can get links for you JC CX hahahah
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How about planning something here at my house with some poet friends and writers I know? Don't be so squeamish. They will love you and your work. And we could also invite a few of your poetic friends. Remember I have hosted a whole lot of people here over the years, including Edouard Rodidi, the famous Surrealist poet and art critic, Bruce Weigl, the prize winning poet of the Vietnam War, who is a special friend, his wife, Jean who is a painter and illustrated my husband's book on Shem Tov, and there is the head of the Oberlin Library who now knows you because he helped you set up your video at Spectrum in March, and there is Robert Taylor who has won prizes for his gay romances, his friend Ted who lives with him at Kendall, and there is even Genelli Gunn who wrote a novel "On the Road to Bagdad" that was made into a play produced in London. Also your old professor friends, that had dinner a while back here with you and still think of you as a great writer. These are just a few of my friends here. I used to see you a lot but almost never any more and still want to see you succeed in getting back into society and it doesn't just have to be in Cleveland. Do you really think you can plan a poetry reading in your BASEMENT??
I have posted a couple more blogs and will be doing more. So get with it.
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Yes, I can.
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TEE HEE HEE, ha ha ha.
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as soon as yew said the D word
http://books.google.com/books?id=vsA68kW0fdAC&dq=Fyodor+M+Dostoevsky&pg=PP1&ots=THFFIJYMuX&sig=ZcBnc08Nkik6mOhq6mtAjBY3Tm4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPR1,M1
this is not complete but it is an online freebe eye remember reading this book in school just because it made everyone some water*a nice way of saying it pissed them all off
because HE was a Russian, Dostoevsky
eye am sorry to HERE that he was in prison ThankZX again JC
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He may be my favorite novelist.
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I've never been to a poetry reading, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Every literature teacher I ever had emphasized that poetry is meant to be read aloud. I'm sure you get a lot more understanding of the work when the author presents it with his/her own inflections.
I also think that it is great that these independent bookstores are supporting local talent and in return the local talent is drawing a crowd that might otherwise be lost to the vast and impersonal Barnes and Noble and Borders conglomerates.
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Thanks, Tara! One of the things that sucked most when I came home from prison was discovering that every single book and record store I'd looked forward to revisiting no longer existed. Thank goodness someone's supporting someone local besides Wal-Mart these days!
Go to a reading, Tara!
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way to go. glad you met jim lang.
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Thanks, Smith! I'd been wanting to meet him... have read alot about him and by him in Cleveland Poetry Scenes, in your ArtCrimes, and elsewhere - and I've seen much of his photography. Was planning to check out the readings he leads at the Bookstore on W. 25th in July - but then learned that they're going out of business this week. Merde! Loved that store....
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Wow, thank you for the mention! I'm truly honored to be mentioned in the same blog with such heavyweights as Dan Smith, Jack McGuane, Christopher Franke, Jim Lang, T.M.Gottl, Terry Provost, Miles Budimir, and Jim Stanley-- all, as you say, the cream of the crop in the Cleveland poetry scene. It was a wonderful reading, and I enjoyed your poems very much. I look forward to hearing you read more of your poems in the future. Again, thank you for including me in your blog!
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Thank you, Dianne! And welcome to my blog. I especially liked your "Muse" poem, the one you read in response to Jack's "bitch."
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Sounds like it was a fantastic night. Poetry is what I miss most about Cleveland.
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Thanks, Lady! It was.
I only wish I lived closer to Cleveland. Being 25 miles away and not-so-gainfully-employed while gasoline is over 4 dollars a gallon and the environment is going to hell stand in the way of me from attending these as often as I'd like (nightly... lol). I'm thinking about starting a regular reading here in Elyria - in my basement, if necessary (I've begun cleaning it up for that purpose). I suspect there are readings already in Lorain County somewhere (though I don't know of any yet) - and I feel there is a particular need in my city (even if it is only my own personal need... lol). So far I've hit two readings in May and three in June. And I'm aiming to at least hit one Cleveland area reading a week from here on out, in addition to any I can find/start in my own county.
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Asking to set one up at the local library would be a start you know. If you tell them you will be in charge they may let you do it.
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I thought about that. But these are the same libraries that in the past have been squeamish about hiring me because of my conviction (and I've applied at all of them within a 20-mile radius since my release four years ago). Everyone's afraid of the public backlash that could come with being too closely affiliated with a certain class of "felon." I think if I establish myself first - and people see there is nothing to fear, and much to gain - I will have an easier time finding a more public place to host readings. Plus at home, with an all adult audience, I'll feel more at ease and censorship won't be an issue.
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Very cool.. I wondered if Diane was going to the same reading as you on Friday.... because I know she was going to one as well from a message. Neat to have two people I know reading their stuff at the same place. How cool.
The store must have been packed to the gills... LOL.
Glad you are making the rounds and reading and getting know by the other poets... very good.
Supporting your local independents is a must....
By the way what did you read.. ? you didn't say...
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No need to answer the last question about what you read... I now see you tucked that info in in that funny little aside at the end...
But no one can see it there.. You need to move that up to the main part of the blog....
Bravo on reading new material...
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Thanks, Chris!
I didn't realize I hadn't mentioned what I read until the last second. Then I figured it wasn't really the most important part of the night, so I left it at the bottom. I swear I wasn't trying to, as they say, "save the best for last"... lol.
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I like what Jack McGuane says in 20 Questions. By the way I heard Billy Collins read here at Oberlin. He was at that time Poet Laureate of the U.S. A lot of his poetry was wonderfully humorous and had the audience laughing. Jack McGuane is no romantic, nor beat nor surrealist. But he has the qualities of simplicity and never pretends to be subtle or intellectually superior to his readers. I find the answers to the 20 questions excellent advice for potential poets.
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I'm glad you like it, Elena.
Sadly, I must admit I've never read anything by Billy Collins.
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you're doing it.
i think in one of your first blogs here i said "yes you're gonna be a star"
you've got your true words back. reminds me a line from my favorite hendrix somg "message to love":
"find your tool."
you've done that. you're spreading your wings and going for it.
since i'm not there to see and hear it happen, i'm very happy that you blog about it. i'd love to read the work you aren't posting here.
i'm smiling.
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There have been readings here in the Oberlin Public Library and other places.
Also there are a group of poets at LCCC.
I'll let you know if I hear of anything of interest.
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Thank you, Meribeth!
And thanks, Elena! I figured there must be something... especially with Oberlin College in our county. I just haven't had (or made) time to fully explore.... LCCC, as you know, is only a mile or two down the street from me. And I'm an alumnus.
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Yes.. I guess that was my other thought was LCCC. Since you went there as a student .. how could they have issues with you volunteering to run a Poetry or open mic event... I think you just need to ask around..
I think they'd be happy to have someone step in and run something or volunteer to help.
Even the group I went to at Barnes & Noble last week was mostly just the writers themselves doing most of the organizing with the supervision of the events coordinator for the store...
So stuff can be done.You don't know if you don't ask..
Also can't imagine a local coffee house in Elyria or Lorain wouldn't be interested.
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LCCC wouldn't give me a job as an office serf, library aide. or even janitor. I've explored all that. Neither would any of the local bookstores or coffee shops. Money wasn't the issue - and most of them are more than happy to support the arts. They are not, however, as enthusiastic about having a "registered sex offender" affiliated with their businesses. That's why I'm sitting here doing what work I can from home. Not from a lack of trying.... Places are afraid they will lose business. Maybe once they know me that will change. People are usually most fearful of the unknown.
But I think this has ultimately been good for me. I have begun to find or re-find myself. I have begun to believe in (and breathe, to some degree) poetry again. Even McDonald's and Wal-Mart wouldn't hire me, despite my best efforts. But do I want to work for them for the rest of my life anyway?...
When I'm known and respected more as a poet than by some other, less desirable label (fair or unfair), the doors that are meant to open will open. No one today gives a fuck that Dostoevsky was incarcerated. They judge him on his work. Like him, I must lay groundwork and pay dues to earn respect. And if I never earn it, I will still be happy to keep poetry alive in Elyria, whether in my basement, in the park, or on a street corner.
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Well.. didn't realize you'd already ran all the options.
I wasn't even thinking a paid position... more volunteer effort was my thought. But I didn't realize that was a blocked avenue as well. That sucks... sorry for saying so.
But I like the street corner idea... it has a cool feel about it. Or your home...
I am glad you've dedicated yourself to pursuing poetry and writing full tilt .... A talent that comes naturally for you... you've already had years of practice... and your good besides.
I think doors will open the better known you are.
How can they not?
I'm at least routing for you... from 200 miles away... not that that is much help...
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Thanks, Chris!
The past seven months or so, I've kinda given up on pursuing those types of job avenues - I've wasted hundreds of hours on that seemingly futile quest. My resignation has led to a determination that I need to do my own thing, use my gifts, develop them further, finish my book.... And right now, the website is paying for itself, thanks to folks clicking on the Google ads and ordering items through my Amazon store links. With more effort and more content, it might even be profitable.... lol.
The support of a good friend like you, 200 miles away or not, is more help than you might think. I'm extremely grateful.
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Dear J.C.
I realize your position and wish you all the best. If there are any further contacts I can make for you or help I can give you, just let me know. In the meantime I wish you the best and hope you keep in touch with me. Elena
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Thank you, Elena! I am grateful for your support and friendship.
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Here are some recent comments from my blog on MySpace:
You have been busy. Well done with the poetry. I have posted four new poems on my blog. Thank you again for the comments you have made in the past.
Cheers,
Lally
Posted by Eulalie Cholmondeley ©™ on June 17, 2008
Thanks, Lally! I enjoy your poetry and look forward to checking out your latest work.
Posted by Jesus Crisis on June 17, 2008
as always you rock!
Posted by ~ Dawn Henderson ~ on June 24, 2008
Just like you, Dawn!
Posted by Jesus Crisis on June 24, 2008
Hey! Good seeing you at Madison Rose last night! (Sorry I couldn't hang around much for socializing after the reading...) Once again, great job. I really enjoy the passion you channel while you're reading!
All the best!
TMG
Posted by T.M. Göttl, Poet on June 28, 2008
Thank you, TM! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hang around either.
I was happy to see you there. Your work digs into a person... in a good way, of course.
Posted by Jesus Crisis on June 28, 2008
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