Category Archives: Books That Come My Way

Val Vinokur reads from Isaac Babel, The Essential Fictions

… When I heard Val Vinokur read from Isaac Babel, The Essential Fictions it was an epiphany. I’d heard of Isaac Babel, but I’d never read him, and always associated him with Sholem Aleicham on Broadway in Fiddler on the … Continue reading →

Susana H. Case reads from Dead Shark on the N Train

14 May ’20

… Years ago a friend, Lynn McGee, said that she wanted me to meet a friend of hers, Susana Case, whom she thought was a wonderful poet, and not only that, but a favorite of hers. “You have to read … Continue reading →

Collaborations with Greg Masters

10 May ’20

… Something important arrived in the mail last week: an advanced copy of Collaborations, which is edited by Greg Masters, and will be released by the end of May. I came to New York City in 1979 around the time … Continue reading →

Lonely Christopher reads from In a January Would

21 Mar ’20

… Right before the coronavirus drove us all indoors without jobs or places to attend poetry readings, Lonely Christopher had a launch for his new book, In a January Would, at Torn Page in Chelsea. None of us knew that … Continue reading →

Trace Peterson Reads at Zinc Bar

2 Mar ’20

… I started to know Trace Peterson about two years ago when she was finishing up her PhD, but she was so busy that we hardly talked or were able to correspond or get anything done. What I wanted to … Continue reading →

Greg Masters reads new work

27 Feb ’20

… In a world that is getting crazier, the writer Greg Masters is important because he continues to make sense. On a ship that is sinking, he is one of those life savers who gives directions. I recorded him reading … Continue reading →

Linda Quinlan reads from Chelsea Creek

13 Feb ’20

… At the Bureau of General Services, Queer Division in November in New York City, Linda Quinlan read from her most recent book of poems, Chelsea Creek. I had gone to hear Vittoria Repetto read, so Linda Quinlan was an … Continue reading →

I DON’T WRITE ABOUT RACE: June Gehringer reads at Zinc Bar

29 Jan ’20

… A few Saturdays ago was a miserable snowy afternoon, more wet than snow, and I wanted to get to a poetry reading crosstown so I checked online for the M8 bus schedule (not many on a Saturday) and caught … Continue reading →

Bob Holman at Howl reads from Life Poem and The Unspoken

25 Jan ’20

… Friday, December 6 was a jam packed night. Life was as full as it can get. I had been teaching English all day midtown and then made it down to the Bowery for some fun at Howl for the … Continue reading →

Rae Armantrout reads 19 Unpublished Poems

24 Jan ’20

… I went to hear Fanny Howe read at Zinc Bar last year on a Sunday in December and had the added pleasure of hearing the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Rae Armantrout, read unpublished poems that will soon appear in … Continue reading →

Fanny Howe reads from Love and I

23 Jan ’20

… … On December 15, a Sunday afternoon, a great crowd gathered at Zinc Bar to listen to Fanny Howe and Rae Armantrout read. There had been a reading of Fanny Howe’s work the night before at Poets House, but … Continue reading →

Burt Kimmelman reads from Wings Apart

12 Jan ’20

… Burt Kimmelman’s new book has a wonderful title, Wings Apart, and what is especially wonderful about this new book is that you can read it in one sitting, which—and this is not redundant—is a wonderful thing to do. You … Continue reading →