Don Yorty

Jason Schneiderman reads from Self Portrait of Icarus as a Country on Fire

In August at Bryant Park’s Reading Room, Jason Schneiderman read from his new book, Self Portrait of Icarus as a Country on Fire. I had already read and enjoyed the book and wanted to record it and share the poems … 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 →

Larry Fagin read by John Godfrey, art by Ken Angel Davis

13 Sep ’24

Larry Fagin, John Godfrey, and Ken Angel Davis in an eternal momentary triumphant triumvirate of art and poetry. Enjoy. .. … John Godfrey at KGB 11/21/16 … …

Steve Turtell reads from Heroes and Householders

13 Sep ’24

When I read Steve Turtell’s poems, I enjoyed them so much I asked Steve to come over so I could record him reading some. He brought Heroes and Householders and read from that book. Steve is a poet and … Continue reading →

A walk and some thoughts in a September woods

12 Sep ’24

Written September the 9th, 2015 with the accompanying photos taken along the way. Walking in the woods today I remembered back in the 1950s when my grandfather’s cousin Charles from Philadelphia would come to visit. It was a … Continue reading →

Steve Levine reads some poems

29 Aug ’24

…. Some poets spend time with the language and know its foundations, its rhythms and its gifts of color and sense, and in the act of writing a poem, like a stone mason who works each stone, put words where … Continue reading →

Come Here, Roberta

28 Aug ’24

“Come Here, Roberta” is one of the beautiful songs. I first heard Leadbelly singing it when I was a teenager, and I’ve changed a few of the words in passing it along. The words Old Time Used-to-be are mournful and … Continue reading →

Two Floors in August

25 Aug ’24

… Mountain floor, city floor. What grows and where it grows is interesting and has to do with time and place and what you see and what you don’t. Look. Epiphanies are like those snakes that could have bitten you. … Continue reading →

Anne Waldman and Ken Angel Davis at MacDougal Street

25 Aug ’24

Ken Angel Davis likes to make art out of a poet’s poem. He did this with Anne Waldman, a short poem that you will hear with delight below. Ken did it and it happened. Enjoy. … Continue reading →

Tess Taylor reads at KGB

23 Aug ’24

… I read Tess Taylor’s Work & Days on a subway ride from Manhattan to Brooklyn. There was a delay, but I wasn’t in a hurry, and actually welcomed the time to finish the book because the quality and rhythm … Continue reading →

Horace, Odes, 1.11

19 Jul ’24

… The phrase “Carpe diem” comes from Horace, Book I, poem 11. I found a humble translation that I did years ago in a totally forgotten archive, and liked it well enough to post it on my Facebook page: … Continue reading →

Wuhan Poets 2010

15 Jul ’24

Time contains memories that are a pleasure to remember, memories that also bring pleasure to others. From 2006 to 2010, I taught English during the summer at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China. In the evening for an extracurricular activity, I … Continue reading →