Category Archives: Odds and Ends

April 10

… My father died 9 years ago today at the age of 92. I wrote this sonnet toward evening. Dad died around noon. If I remember correctly, I noticed the barn swallows had returned around that time, and would remain … Continue reading →

An OVERHEAR reading with Ahmad Almallah, Jeffrey Joe Nelson, Trace Peterson, and Michael Ruby

2 Mar ’26

… On February 12, 2026, I had the pleasure of attending the OVERHEAR reading hosted by Joe Elliot and Brendan Lorber at its new location in Brooklyn at 1016 Beverly Road. It’s easy for me to get to. I jump … Continue reading →

Bowery Poetry with Sharon Mesmer and Cecelia Vicuña

24 Jan ’26

Douglas Rothschild reads at Lofty Pigeon Books, 10/16/25

14 Jan ’26

… It was a pleasure to read with Douglas Rothschild last October. And he was inspiring. In the Vimeo that follows, Douglas reads recent work including a Declaration of Independence denouncing Donald Trump and his corrupt administration. It is a … Continue reading →

Pamela Sneed reads Speaking Tongue at Dashwood Projects

15 Feb ’25

… In early December of last year, Pamela Sneed was scheduled to read from her new book Speaking Tongue at 7 PM at Dashwood Projects in the East Village. The book is a vivid series of water colors done while … Continue reading →

216

25 Dec ’24

… I’ll take this bottle with me when I go. Not now. Some hiker dropped it passing on Impossible Hill, a mountainside of stone made visible by human heels and hooves Sharp and steep. Don’t fall! Below is Walnut … Continue reading →

Yesterday Morning I Fed My Cat

4 Nov ’24

What follows is a lesson plan introducing High Beginner ESL students to the Past Tense, the simple past and the past progressive. The activities are for both group and individual work. And the answers are given for the exercises. … Continue reading →

Jiwon Choi, Joan Larkin, & Alicia Ostriker at Bryant Park

18 Sep ’24

The penultimate event at the Bryant Park Reading Room on September 3 featured three poets, Jiwon Choi, Joan Larkin, and Alicia Ostriker. I know and enjoy the work of Joan Larkin and Alicia Ostriker and I partly came to the … Continue reading →

David Groff reads from Live in Suspense

29 May ’24

… A few months ago, I heard David Groff read from Live in Suspense, his most recent book, at the Jefferson Market Library. The poems were very visual, and philosophical, a bit like parables, with existence itself as the theme; … Continue reading →

My Girl, My Girl

21 May ’24

… The song I sing in the video is from Leadbelly. He called it “Black Girl.” I’ve changed some of the lyrics and added the end from another song, “Prettiest Train,” which Odetta sang on her Carnegie Hall record album. … Continue reading →

words are birds

29 Jan ’24

… … words are birds eye is sky … … … … …

Sonnet 44

30 Nov ’23

… I hear Dad’s chainsaw echo down the fieldcutting firewood for December’s stove. Herknife in hand Mom chops the cabbage she’ll sealin jars pouring boiling water overit first with a tablespoon of sea salt.Come November she’ll have her sauerkraut.Summer yet, … Continue reading →