This is the Rochester Poets blog. Members can submit material for posting to RP Pressident, Frank Judge. Comments to entries may be posted by anyone as long as the entry is not restricted.

Upcoming Rochester Poets Events

Rochester Poets Picnic: Saturday, July 28, 1:30pm - 5pm. See the RP website and the online invitation for details.

Peace Storefront Reading Series: Friday, August 3, 7-9 pm, 658 Monroe Avenue. Featured readaer, Ed Scutt, followed by open mic.

August reading: Monday, August 13, 7-9 pm, Hughes Rotunda, St. John Fisher College. Featured readers, Elaine Heveron & Lou Faber, followed by open mic.

MARK THE DATES
RP Events Calendar

Pure Kona Open Mic Series
Daily Perks Coffee House
(Gregory & Cayuga Streets)
Thursday nights, 7:30 - 10 pm
Hosted by Norm Davis and Rick Petrie

Upcoming featured readers:

2004

Mike Rae, August 19
Bob Maville, August 26
Lisa Feinstein & Alicia Hoffman, September 2
Tony Leuzzi, September 9
Nancy Caronia, September 16
Bob Carroll, September 23
Ron Bailey, September 30
Deb Maisha & Laura Catracchia, October 7
Pat Schwartz, October 14
Joy Messinger, October 21
Lynn Cuthbertson hosts
  the annual Halloween Reading, October 28
Christine Shelton, November 4
Barb Jonston, November 11
Ed Downey, November 16
Nick DiChario, December 2
Jessi Perez, December 9
Jeff Taylor, December 16
Erknee & Bjurton Russell, December 23
Dan Boucher, December 30

2005

Thom Metzger, January 6
Harmony Button, January 13
C.H. Appell,, January 20
Michael Ketchek, January 27
Hassan, February 3
D.M. Marbach, February 10
Chris Hammond, February 17
LefField, February 24
Bill Pruitt, March 3
Ed Downey, March 10
Shannon Tober, March 17
Kate Silverman, March 31
Colleen Powderly, April 14
Matt Shackleford, April 21
Soulstice w/Morning Star SisterLink, April 28
Ernknee & Bjuurton Roussel, May 5
Sheila Woodin, May 12
Al Marenco, May 26
Todd Vail, June 2
Spencer Hughes, June 9
Christopher Robin, June 23
Bob Maville, June 30
Larry Berger, July 7
Evelyn Sinclair, July 14
360 Degrees, July 21
Tearz, July 28
Talia Paul, August 4
Todd Whitman, August 11
Arthur Carter, August 18
Bartles, August 25
Ryan Cupp, September 1
Laura Cat & Deb Maisha AKA Acustic Soul, September 8
Elaine Heveron, September 15
Lori Hirtelen, September 22
Tony Leuzzi, September 29

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RP Meetings
Center at High Falls Gallery*
2nd Floor
All meetings, Saturday, 1:30 - 4 pm unless
otherwise noted

August 14
September 11
October 9
November 13
December 11, 1 pm - 4 pm, Annual Christmas Party**
January 8
February 12
March 12
April 9b
May 14
June 18, 1-5 pm, Annual Picnic
July 9
August 18
September 10
October 8
November 12
December 10, Annual Christmas Party

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*Online map to Center at High Falls Gallery
Free parking on Brown's Race in the small lot directly across from the High
Falls Center for most RP meetings (unless some other event makes use of the lot).

**Online Map to Party

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Rochester Poets Reading Series
Featured readers followed by an Open Mic

Harmony Button

Poet, novelist, playwright.
Graduate of Middlebury College &
Bread Loaf Writer's Conference
Member of the Summer School faculty,
Phillips Exeter Academy
Tuesday, September 14, 7 pm
Writers & Books

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Ed Scutt

Poet, actor playright, and
director. Faculty member at
RIT's Athenaeum and W&B.

Tuesday, October 12, 7 pm
Writers & Books

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Jennifer Kehoe

Associate Professor of English,
Roberts Wesleyan College; Director,
Center for Academic Excellence.

Wednesday, November 10, 7 pm
Writers & Books

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Ruth Kennedy

Member of the Five in the Afternoon Group
Wednesday, December 8, 7 pm
Writers & Books

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Paradigm Cafe
3118 E. Henrietta Road
Henrietta NY 14467
334-9520
www.paradigmcafe.com
Open Mic every Thursday, 8-10 pm
music, poetry, comedy...
whatever interests you

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Liftbridge Book Shop
Local Authors Day
Sunday, December 12, 2 pm - 4 pm

29 local authors:
Bill Andrews, Lynn Barry, Ralph Black,
Margaret Blackman, Sarah Brinklow, Marcos Donnelly,
Mike Doolin, Paul Ferguson, Sondra Fraleigh,
Sue and Rich Freeman, Lee Frisbee,
Frank Judge, Nancy Kress, Michael Leavy,
Lori Marra, Wynne McClure, Karla Merrifield,
Martin Naparsteck, Margaret Osborne, James Phillips,
Andrew Saul, Shirley Schooler, Stu Smith,
Bruce Sweet, Tom Taber, Kathryn Vullo,
Robert Westbrook, Norman Wolfe

Readings, music, refreshments
45 Main St, Brockport

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Poetry Reading at
Lift Bridge Book Shop

Readings By Western New York Poets
Published by FootHills Publishing

Participants
Steven Huff, Bruce Sweet, Peter Conners,
Michael Czarnecki, Wynne McClure, Karla Merrifield

Friday, October 1, 6:30 pm
45 Main St, Brockport

The reading will be followed by an
Open Mic, Book Signing & Reception

Free and Open to the Public

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Brockport Writers' Forum
41st Year - Fall 2004

Unless otherwise noted,
all Events are at 8:00 pm
New York Room, Cooper Hall
SUNY College at Brockport
Free Admission
Reception & Book Signing

Steve Fellner, Fiction Writer & Essayist
New Brockport English Faculty
Wednesday, September 8

Galway Kinnell

Author of The Book of Nightmares and
A New Selected Poems, winner of the
Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award,
the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award,
etc. comes to the Rochester area for two
evenings as part of The Writer's Voice, a
new literary program sponsored by M&T Bank.

A Conversation with
Galway Kinnell
Wednesday, September 22, 6:00 pm
New York Room, Cooper Hall
SUNY Brockport
Reception Follows
AND

A Poetry Reading
Thursday, September 23, 7 pm
SUNY Brockport Metro Center
55 St. Paul Street
Reception Follows
Both events are FREE
and open to the public

Henri Cole
Author of Middle Earth, The Visible Man,
The Zoo Wheel of Knowledge. Winner of
The Kingsley Tufts Award, Pulitzer Prize Finalist.

Wednesday, October 6, 8 pm
SUNY Brockport, Cooper Hall
New York Room

Alan Michael Parker, Poet
The Vandals and Love Song With Motor Vehicles
Pushcart Prize Winner
Wednesday, October 27

Courtney Angela Brkic, Fiction Writer/Essayist
Stillness and The Stone Fields
2003 Whiting Award Winner
Wednesday, November 10

For further information contact
Ralph Black or Anne Panning
Writers Forum
SUNY Brockport
Brockport, NY 14420
395-5713

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Dial A Poem
For those of you who weren't able to find the
low-watt FM station on which Joel Swartz was
broadcasting Rochester area poets, you'll be
happy to know that Joel now has a dial-up line
where you can listen to a different poets
each day, 24/7.

Recent featured poets have included Ron Bailey,
Dee Hogan, Jennifer Kehoe, and Frank Judge.
Upcoming poets
Dave Tilley, 9/15-16
John Roche, 9/17-18
Wynn McClure, 9/19-20
Suzanne Slack, 9/21-22
Omani Abdulah, 9/23-24

To listen, call
546-6515

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Poetry MeetUp

Can't get enough of poetry get-togethers?
We stumbled on a free organization (yes,
they do offer a "Premium" membership
for a fee!) called MeetUp that facilitates
meetings around the world on just about
any topic imaginable.

Poetry meetings take place on the 3rd
Wednesday of every month at locations
voted on by members.

The August meeting didn't produce enough
RSVPs to warrant an official meeting.
MeetUp encourages members to get together
anyway, so I stopped in at Cibon's in August
and met with other Meetup members....from the
French group! As the new Organizer
for the Rochester Poetry Meetup, when enough
RSVPs failed to materialize for September,
I cancelled the meeting.

We've got 43 members at the moment. Check out
Poetry MeetUp at:

Next meeting, Wednesday, December 15, 7 pm
Panera Bread, Hylan Drive, Henrietta

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Women Celebrating Women

A reading from
the chapbook anthology

The Woman in the Mirror

25 participants, including Rochester Poets members
Anita J. Augesen, Louise Bennett, Angela Krueger,
Dee Hogan, Pat Janus, Wynne McClure, Wanda Schubmehl,
Patricia Roth Schwartz, Suzanne Slack, Paula Weld-Cary,
Ruth M. Wright

Hosted by Donna M. Marbach & Wanda Schubmehl

Wednesday, September 22, 7-9 pm
Writers & Books

Free & Open to the Public

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Poetry Reading at
Lift Bridge Book Shop

Poetry Reading By
Western New York Poets
Published by FootHills Publishing

Participants

Steven Huff
Bruce Sweet
Peter Conners
Michael Czarnecki
Karla Merrifield

Friday, October 1, 6:30 pm
45 Main Street, Brockport

The reading will be followed
by an Open Mic, Book Signing
& Reception

Free and Open to the Public

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Missing stanzas

Thanks to Alexis and Agnes for the
wonderful cabin party on Thursday,
September 2nd.

For those of you who wondered what
the missing 2 stanzas of my poem were,
here's the complete poem:

Indigo

In the diamond blue night
blue words tumble
from her blue lips.
It will be a gothic story
I can’t stand to hear.

We sit across the table
set with royal blue china
on navy blue cloth,
between a cobalt blue blue bottle
of untouched wine,
hands no longer touching.

Nearby new lovers
undress each
other and make love
with sapphire eyes,
making every sentence
an excuse to touch.
The blue tablecloths
rustle silently from
the winds of passion.

Her lavender eyes ask
me to read her
coal blue mind
to understand
to make it easy – for her.

Instead I comment
the blue jazz the trio
in a far corner has been
playing for what seems
like hours. Have
they really played
our old song four times?

Tomorrow I’ll board the
aqua-striped plane and
race through the blue lights
into the violet sky
headed for the azure waters
of the Caribbean and
an island of forgetfulness.

                     — Frank Judge

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Writer's Block

It is afternoon
and I am
at a coffeeshop
down the street

I sit outside
watching the
passers by
trying to
deconstruct
discover
the elements of
a perfect rhyme
deconstruct
discover
the elements of
a perfect rhyme
and over
and over again

But I can’t
for the
writer’s block
has taken hold

And so
I look up
to the sky
at the sun
shining bright
like it shone
through my window
at sunrise
this morning
and reflected off your
long dark hair
as you lay sleeping
I couldn’t help
but watch you there
so peacefully

My writer’s block wins
as I sit at that table
too distracted
to write
I stare blankly
into space
and think only
of last night

Beautiful

You were so
beautiful

You are so
beautiful

and

I am lost in a
daydream of you

The touch of
your fingers
brushing my thigh
moving higher
and higher
now you’re inside
my mouth
with your tongue
and kisses so soft

I am lost
I am lost
I am lost
inside you

Inside this
big love
that has
swallowed
me whole

The page
stares back
blank and
my thoughts
do not flow
except
back and forth
back and forth
back and forth
in this space
between us
in this space
we call our own
in this space
that feels like home
to you
to me
to our entangled bodies

I pick up my pen
to write but
I find that
I can only
contemplate
the curves of
your body and
how they felt
next to mine

So as I descend
back to Earth
I open my eyes
and slowly
I realize
my poem
will not come
today

I cannot
make it come
so easily

Because all that is
on my mind is
your body and
my body
intertwined

Not deconstructing
discovering
the elements of
a perfect rhyme
deconstructing
discovering
the elements of
a perfect rhyme

So I let my
writer’s block be

For our bodies
are like poetry

Dancing words on
blank satin sheets

And right now
for me
that’s all I need

— Joy Lynne Messinger

I met Joy at a student-faculty-staff reading at
Nazareth College in April and was immmediatly
impressed by the fact that she not only knew
her work by heart but performed it.

Joy decribes herself as an "political poet;" if you
ask her, she'll give your a calling card, on which
she identifies herself as "..Poet..Dancer..Activist.."

Catch her live at an open mic at one of the local
poetry spots -- Daily Perks, W&B, Starry Nites,
Spot Coffee....

Hemp Bracelet

I can still smell that moment,
waft of patchouli, so wanna-be hippy.
Walking up the dark hallway,
so glad to be nearing you.

I caress the blanched wood of your door,
each one the same: industrial, sparse.
Then I turn the cold handle, and smile;
it's unlocked, as always when you know I'm coming.

The light and warmth and incense and music
flood my face and quicken my pulse with delight
as I push open the door and cross
into the comfort of your room and your company.

There you are at your computer,
chestnut ringlets tousled, wearing your sleep shorts.
Your hazel eyes flash and your body clenches
as I pass the threshold into your chamber.

My cheery "Hey, you!" dies on my lips,
as I look past you to your bed.
I don't know who he is, shirtless and languid,
dangerously at ease between your familiar sheets.

"I didn't think you were coming 'til ten," you stammer.
You cringe when your watch beeps; the hour just changed.
I turn back to the dim hallway, the stark steel staircase,
down and out into the brittle December night.

Under your window, out on the street,
I let my — your — hemp bracelet fall from my wrist
with a plop and a ripple,
into the brackish, half-frozen gutter.

As it floats through the grate, I pull out a smoke,
and spark it with a blinding flash
(my first one that night; you detested the smell),
sucking the heat and filth deep into my chest.

I exhale with a sigh,
then drop my smoke in after it.

                           — Matt Testa-Wojteczko


I met Matt at the Spot Coffee open mic this Monday. I thought
he was joking when said he'd only been writing poems for 4
weeks! The 4 weeks were a course from Dan Donaghy he'd just
completed. Keep up the great work Matt!

Cape Horn

We haven’t picked out
our special earrings,
haven’t designed
our own tattoos yet.

The days have grown calm,
the surface as flat
as glass reflecting the
slate sky. We go
to sleeep in that
unnatural stillness,
night after night, the
warmth and stillness.

But soon an electric
voice echoes off
the bulkheads, advising
we secure ourselves.

What security is there,
where can we run
as we round The Horn,
thunder rumbling,
shaking us as the seas
threaten to swamp us?

What feels like years
may just be hours.
We struggle to reach
the deck, to find
the lifeboats but
soon find there are none,
not even a deck we
can find to pass for land.

The air grows steadily
colder, snow peaks
arrive from the horizon.
We know we’ll never round
The Horn, never reach land again.
The decks are empty. We
have each other but
that will not be enough.

                       — Frank Judge

MARK THE DATES
RP Events Calendar

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Summer RP Meetings
Saturday, July 17
1:30 pm - 4 pm

Center at High Falls Gallery*
2nd Floor

*Online map to Center at High Falls Gallery
Free parking on Brown's Race for RP meetings --
use the lot directly across from the High Falls Center.

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Rochester Poets Reading Series

Wynne McClure

Author of The Hidden Self
will be the featured reader
for our July reading
Followed by an open mike

Writers & Books
Wednesday July 14, 7 pm

Wynne will also be reading at
Starry Nites Café
Sunday, July 18, 7 pm

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John Roche

Author of Ground Effects
will be the featured reader
for our August reading.

Followed by an open mike

Writers & Books
Wednesday, August 25, 7 pm

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Pure Kona Open Mic Series

Daily Perks Coffee House
(Gregory & Cayuga Streets)
Thursday nights, 7:30 - 10 pm
Hosted by Norm Davis and Rick Petrie

Upcoming featured readers:

Phil Minor, July1
Kathy Francis, July 8
Colleen Powderly, July 15
Jessi Perez, July 22
Christa Chatfield, July 29
Matthew Berliant, August 5
Greg Slater, August 12

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3rd Annual Poetry Festival

Saturday, July 10

Gell Center in Naples*
29 featured poets,
including 17 RP members
11 am - 5 pm, Featured readers
Followed by Open Mic, 6 pm - 'til

FREE Admission
(donations accepted)

Several participating poets will
have books, broadsides and chapbooks
available for purchase, as will
publister & author Mike Czarnecki,
who will have a selection of titles
from his FootHills Press.

Light refreshments available.
Pack a lunch and/or dinner.

*Online map to Gell Center

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