When I began to read William Considine’s new book, Continent of Fire, I was immediately drawn to a poem early on called “Library and Book Sale.” It made me want to read more. It is about falling in love with books, discovering that all you […]
Category Archives: American Poets
Amy Barone reads from Defying Extinction
Travel, a trip somewhere new, or a return to a land you love, always restores body and soul. Poetry, like travel, can do that too. In fact, I was recently inspired reading Defying Extinction, a new book of poems by Amy Barone, while I was […]
Alicia Ostriker reads from The Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog
Alicia Ostriker’s The Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog begins with a quote by Gertrude Stein: A very important thing is not to make up your mind that you are any one thing. The Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog reminds me of […]
Pathetic Literature at Karma Books, a reading with Eileen Myles, 11/30/22
I attended the reading for the anthology, Pathetic Literature, that had been organized by its editor, Eileen Myles at Karma Books on East Third Street near Avenue A. The place was packed. Besides Eileen, Jerome Sala, Sparrow, and Morgan Bassichis were scheduled to read, and […]
Jeff Wright reads from his Top Ten
Last month, I saw Jeff Wright read at the Tompkins Square Library and really enjoyed the poems. He read from several of his books, and also a poem he had recently written. I asked him if I could come over to his place and record […]
A Reading at the Jefferson Market Library
Last Saturday, when I attended a poetry reading at the Jefferson Market Library, I recorded the whole thing. My friend, the teacher and poet, Scott Hightower, had curated it and did the introductions as well. The poets, Skye Jackson, author of A Faster Grave, […]
Anthony Cappo reads from When You’re Deep In A Thing
I asked Anthony Cappo if I could record him reading from his new book, When You’re Deep In A Thing. Anthony is a born storyteller whose stories crystalize into poems that are personal and universal because they draw you in wanting to know what […]
Elliot, Cole & Gordon at Unnameable
Lunar Chandelier Press put together a reading at Unnameable Books in early November. I brought my camcorder intent on recording the whole thing, which I did, and as you can see below. I’m afraid I was a little late in getting set up when […]
Maureen Owen reads from let the heart hold down the breakage Or the caregiver’s log
When I arrived in NYC in the fall of 1979, one of the first things I did was to go to Saint Mark’s Church and join a poetry workshop at the Poetry Project. After all, poetry was why I’d come. I am not a taker […]
William Leo Coakley reads seven poems
On Thursday, I took the subway to the Upper West Side to record the poet and publisher, William Leo Coakley—you can call him Willie—at his apartment on 71st Street where he has lived (and loved) since 1961. As I set up the camcorder, we both […]
Scott Hightower reads three poems from his upcoming Sutra
“One of the marvels of the world is the sight of a soul in prison holding the keys in its hand.” Rumi The poet Scott Hightower learned that Life goes on after his partner of forty-one years suddenly died of a heart attack in […]
Jaime Manrique reads from Tarzan My Body Christopher Columbus
I began reading Jaime Manrique’s Tarzan My Body Christopher Columbus over the summer, but because of some eye trouble, my watery itching eyes made it difficult to read. I persevered, however, because the poems valen la pena. As the title suggests, Tarzan My Body […]
