Author Archives: Don Yorty

Claudi in Tompkins Square

… After the gym, I walked into Tompkins Square to sit on a bench and write and read. It is the end of September so the chirring of insects has died away, but there are dogs and children on … Continue reading →

The First Week of September, Beginning August 31

9 Sep ’25

… CHATGPT Well, I’ve met my ChatGPT. Last week, a friend who teaches 9th Graders about Computer Etiquette introduced me to him. I say him because when I downloaded the App and first talked, a man with a British accent … Continue reading →

Ching Ho Cheng: Tracing Infinity

31 Aug ’25

,,, I was happy to attend the panel discussion of Ching Ho Cheng’s work at Bank’s Elizabeth Street Gallery on May 13, 2005. Ching was a friend of mine. My friend Patricia Kelly introduced me to him. She and Ching … Continue reading →

Cornelius Eady reads and sings at Poets House

30 Aug ’25

… Last August in 2025, Cornelius Eady was going to read at Poets House, but it was too damned hot and the date was changed to September the 7th. On the 7th, as I walked to the reading, it began … Continue reading →

This Morning

24 Aug ’25

… This morning when I went up on the roof to practice guitar and singing, a bird appeared and began to accompany me. I wish I knew my birds better, perhaps one day I will, but for now I … Continue reading →

Aliah Rosenthal reads from Kiss My Assteroid

13 Aug ’25

… Aliah Rosenthal, the son of poets, grew up in the East Village with the Poetry Project at Saint Mark’s Church a few blocks away. Contrary to what may be a popular opinion, being the child of a poet is … Continue reading →

Morgan Võ reads from The Selkie

9 Aug ’25

I’ve read The Selkie by Morgan Võ several times now. I enjoy it, but I’ve also been trying to figure it out. Võ says, “Writing The Selkie was trying to describe a world and discern certain factors or dimensions of … Continue reading →

13 Summer Sonnets

31 Jul ’25

… For many years I spent parts of my summers in the South Mountain in Pennsylvania where I was raised and my parents still lived. There was a pond and hiking trails all around and I’d often trek into the … Continue reading →

13 by Arup Datta

30 Jul ’25

… I love Arup Datta’s drawings and paintings. One day, hopefully, I will meet up with him in Kolkata. Until then, here is some of his most recent work. Enjoy. … the girls, July 30 the night, July 9 … Continue reading →

Melinda Wilson reads from What It Was Like To Be A Woman

29 Jul ’25

… The poems of Melinda Wilson have a hard won sense of self that I trust. The poet’s love of nature and every living creature in it allow her poems to appear as they are on the page. Empathy and … Continue reading →

Catullus 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 13 & 51: Lesbia poems

8 Jul ’25

II Passer, deliciae meae puellaequicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,cui primum digitum dare appetentiet acris solet incitare morsuscum desiderio meo nitenticarum nescio quid lubet iocare,et solaciolum sui doloris,credo, ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:tecum ludere sicut ipsa possemet tristis animi levare … Continue reading →

Christian Gullette reads from Coachella Elegy

23 Jun ’25

… A friend of mine was very moved by a book of poems called Coachella Elegy by Christian Gullette. His partner had died unexpectedly of a heart attack, and Gullette’s husband, who appears throughout the book, was being treated for … Continue reading →