Author Archives: Don Yorty

The Watersnake

… In the South Mountain along a road that goes from an ocean to a great lake not far from my parents’ home I walked up to a water snake whose lower end a car had crushed revealing in blood … Continue reading →

New Year 1980: Remembering AIDS

1 Dec ’16

… I moved to NYC in September of 1979 with the artist Patricia Kelly. My first job was at the Empire Diner, the evening shift as a sous chef and I got off at eleven. The cook who worked the … Continue reading →

Murat Nemet-Nejat reads Animals of Dawn: To Be Or Not To Be

13 Nov ’16

… I went to Hoboken two weeks ago to record Murat Nemet-Nejat reading from his new book, Animals of Dawn. It’s a great title, right? One sees things slowly appearing, dark becoming light, moving—Animals—Alive. Murat lives about a twenty minute … Continue reading →

Alfred Corn reads at Poets House

2 Nov ’16

… On October 8, 2016 in the late afternoon Alfred Corn read some poems at a celebration for his work at Poets House. The first poem Alfred reads here, The Bridge, Palm Sunday, 1973, I have added below. … … … Continue reading →

Uncle, part of Fucking and Sonnet 149

26 Oct ’16

… On Saturday at Freddy’s Bar, which is a very nice bar by the way, I participated in a poetry reading that was a celebration for a new book of poems by Kryssa Schemmerling, Iris In. The other guest poet … Continue reading →

Lynn McGee reads from Sober Cooking

22 Oct ’16

… “I don’t mean “sober cooking” in the 12 step way,” Lynn says. “It’s really about going through a hard time and staying focused on the little tasks of life like cooking and chopping vegetables. Sober Cooking has a lot … Continue reading →

Janet Hamill reads from Knock

18 Oct ’16

… I read Knock by Janet Hamill in one sitting; it took me by surprise and I just went with it remembering my youth and traveling when life spread out before me with decades ahead. I got in touch with … Continue reading →

Lynn McGee reads from Heirloom Bulldog

11 Oct ’16

… Beautiful poems often praise repulsive things like Baudelaire’s rotting carcass. Lynn McGee’s poetry also makes the ugly beautiful. This partly has to do with her poetic sense of empathy. When she writes about the rat, we know the rat … Continue reading →

The Night Becomes Thick and Comfortable by Joel Colten and Randal Rupert: read by Peter Bushyeager

9 Oct ’16

… Joel Colten (1950 – 1980) was a poet and photographer who lived in Philadelphia and Manhattan. From 1976 to 1980, he was also coeditor of the literary magazine Hot Water Review. During his brief career, Colten’s poetry appeared widely … Continue reading →

Bernadette Mayer reads from Scarlet Tanager

11 Sep ’16

… Scarlet Tanager is a favorite book of mine because it was the first book Bernadette Mayer published after her stroke, and as I read it I knew that she could still write a poem. I went upstate to visit … Continue reading →

Philip Good reads Coffee Poems

10 Sep ’16

… I was upstate over Labor Day visiting Philip Good and Bernadette Mayer at their beautiful home. It’s been freshly painted red and continues to await guests along a quiet meandering road on the edge of some woods, Bernadette’s Poetry … Continue reading →

Ron Kolm reads from Suburban Ambush

31 Aug ’16

… Ron Kolm and I are both Pennsylvanians who moved to New York City. During his time here, he’s edited magazines and published the work of other poets; The Ass’s Tale by John Farris is a great example of his … Continue reading →