Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed/Let it be that great strong land of love

January 20, 2017Leave a comment

Happy Inauguration/day/week/month, whatever you want to call it. As I write this, some citizens have their TVs turned on at home or at work, or maybe they’re scrolling through their smart phones, eager to see Donald Trump sworn in as the next president of the U.S. Others, meanwhile, may still be in mourning, or maybe they’re in DC, at one of the many protests, or maybe they’re choosing to tune out the news.

I’ve been involved in various progressive causes for a long time; I will say, however, that i don’t wish any ill will on this new administration. I hope upon hope that Trump and the GOP Congress realize they have to represent ALL Americans, including the number of groups that Trump attacked during his campaign and even post-victory. I don’t like to see this country as sharply divided as it is, to the point where some of us have stopped speaking to long-term friends or relatives. Even I have cut communication with a few relatives, and the election results are too fresh for me to try to heal that division right now.

That said, there is one good thing that has some from this election. People are engaged. They are getting involved in their local Democratic Party, pondering running for school board or city council, attending meet-ups, planning rallies, making phone calls to their Senators and Congressman/woman, even their state reps. There is a level of political/civic engagement that we haven’t seen since maybe the 1960s. I do believe that Americans don’t want this divide, and I do believe a lot of Americans are fearful about what comes next. How will Trump govern? Well, we already have some indications of that. His cabinet appointments are a right-wingers dream team, everyone from Betsy DeVos to Jeff Sessions to Rick Perry to Tom Price to Rex Tillerson. Then, we received news yesterday that the budget Trump is leaning towards would abolish the National Endowment for the Arts and drastically cut funding to violence against women organizations, environmental research, and civil rights organizations. According to reports, the budget is essentially a Heritage Foundation “skinny” budget.” Cuts, cuts, cuts. The nomination of DeVos as Education Secretary and Tom Price as Health and Human Services Secretary are also clear signs that the GOP will try hard to fully privatize education and health care, something they’ve wanted to do for a long time.

My hope, moving forward, is that citizens will remain engaged and question statements from this administration, especially when they are not fact-based. I hope Americans urge the press to do the job it needs to do, and I hope, most of all, that people continue to organize rallies, contact their representatives, and unplug from social media to attend a meet-up, realize they are not alone, and you know, actually talk to people face to face.

I will be at the Women’s March in DC tomorrow. I am attending for a number of reasons, but most of all because I believe in women’s right. Period. Following the march, I will continue teaching, writing, and co-leading a local chapter of a new grassroots organization, Action Together. We hope to keep people involved and get them to run for local political office.

There is work to be done. Since I titled my blog post after a Langston Hughes poem, let me end the post with a stanza from his “Let America Be America Again.”

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

President O’s Farewell

January 10, 2017January 10, 2017Leave a comment

Tonight, President Obama will give a final prime time speech before the nation, this time, not from the Oval Office, but rather in Chicago, where his political career and run for the White house started. I will be watching, especially as someone who served as a canvass director for the 2008 and 2012 campaigns. The man has consumed eight years of our lives, so the least we can do is watch him bid us farewell. For me, the campaign and presidency of the Barack Obama is mixed with my personal history.

I got into grassroots community work and activism when I was a freshman in college at West Chester University, just outside of Philly.This was during the early years of the Bush Administration. More specifically, what moved me was the lead-up to the Iraq War. Though I was not enlisted, I had a number of friends from high school who were enlisted, and prior to 9/11, they never thought they’d see much action. They joined the military because they had few opportunities, born in northeastern, Pennsylvania, a struggling coal-mining region. Furious that my friends could be shipped off to Iraq, with no sound reason, I became engaged in anti-war activism around West Chester and the Philly area, quickly learning about the rich Quaker history that was part of the area I then called home. I marched in Washington, Philly, and NYC. For years, even after the war started, we had vigils and protests on campus and downtown. By 2004, I worked on Howard Dean’s campaign and then John Kerry’s, registering voters, knocking on doors, making phone calls. I was struck by President Obama’s keynote address at the DNC and immediately penned an editorial for the college newspaper at the start of the fall semester, telling folks to pay attention to Sen. Obama because it was likely he’d run for president. He was young, charismatic and spoke with a unifying message about uniting red states and blue states. On Election Night 2004, I muttered numerous curses to the state of Ohio for swinging for George W. Bush and costing Kerry the election. We’d have to wait another four years. I was befuddled that a man who could start a war based on false evidence could be re-elected.

That said, I remained engaged, and by the time I graduated college and returned back to NEPA for graduate school and various jobs, I knew that I would side with Obama over Hillary in the 2007/2008 primarily, simply because of the Obama’s early opposition to the war in Iraq. Besides, as a young man, Obama’s optimism, coupled with the energy of his crowds, the ecstatic shouts of “Yes, we can,” that I witnessed when he came to the Dunmore Community Center, was unheralded in politics, at least for my generation. The potential of an Obama presidency was SUCH a stark contrast to the Bush years, to stupid wars, tax cuts for the rich, etc, etc. Obama had the energy to get people out to vote and remake the Democratic Party. So, I signed up to be a canvass director on both campaigns.

That said, I wasn’t afraid to criticize Obama over the years. I thought the Affordable Care Act should have included a public option, pushing the country even closer to a single-payer, universal system. I thought he should have been more forceful in trying to close Gitmo, one of his biggest campaign promise from 2008. His administration should have gone after the banksters and really regulated Wall Street. It’s a sin no one was arrested for the crash and great recession of 2007, and Eric Holder refused to prosecute anyone. Too many times, especially during the first term, Obama was too willing to reach out to Republicans. As a result, he lost major political points, including two crushing mid-terms for his party. The GOP succeeded at making government seem dysfunctional. Yet, his presidency gave health to over 20 million people. He made economic inequality part of the national dialogue. He has also done more to combat the serious threats of climate change than any other president, mostly through executive action. Beyond that, he has a poise and intelligence that will be deeply missed,especially in contrast to the Trump administration.

Leaving office, Obama’s party lacks clear leadership. It is not even certain who the new DNC chair will be. The Dems control only 17 governorships and the GOP has full dominance over 30 plus state legislature. The Dems are also in the minority in the House and Senate. This, too, is part of the Obama legacy, but it’s much more complicated than that and perhaps speak to some of the backlash of having the first black president and what it cost his party politically. Obama has promised to help reshape the party when he leaves office and support the next generation of leaders. That’s good. That is sorely needed. History will also not forget the absurd obstruction he faced, especially following the 2010 mid-term elections. That, too, will be part of history.

During these remaining days of the Obama years, I can proudly say that I worked for both of his campaigns. For a lot of Americans, especially during that 2008 campaign, he made us believe that anything was possible. If we remember the chants of “Yes, we can!” then maybe we’ll remember that this country always functions best at the grassroots level. Obama always understood that. That belief will need to be sustained over the next four years and channeled into communities coming together, being vigilant, and most importantly, being active.

New Year, New Readings

January 8, 2017January 8, 2017Leave a comment

I hope that everyone is having a safe, happy, and healthy 2017 so far! This January, I’m doing a few poetry readings around the tri-state area. If you’re in northeastern, PA, NYC, or Lancaster, perhaps I’ll see you at one of these events:

Thursday, January 12 2017 7-9 p.m.

Wilkes University M.F.A. Alumni Reading/Maslow Foundation Salon Reading Series

Dorothy Dickson Darte Center Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Saturday, January 14 2017 5:45-7:45 p.m.

Italian American Writers Association Reading

Corneila St. Cafe, New York, New York

I will be reading with Phillip Giambri.

Wednesday, January 25 2017 7-9 p.m.

Lancaster Poetry Exchange

Red Rose Commons, 1700 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, PA

I will be reading with Dawn Leas. There will be a short open mic, too.

For more info about the Maslow Foundation Series, click here.

For more information about the Italian American Writers Association reading, click here.

May everyone’s new year be creative and productive.

2016 Recap/Best Of

December 21, 2016December 21, 2016Leave a comment

Since it is the Winter Solstice, a time for reflection and contemplation, I thought I would write about the past year, just like every other writer is doing right now! On a personal level, 2016 was a successful year for me. Waiting for the Dead to Speak was published with NYQ Books and earned a lot of reviews. I am especially grateful that the book is out there. I got to read in different pockets of Pennsylvania and NYC, Jersey, Boston, Philly, and elsewhere. Connecting to the larger poetry community maintained my spirit post-election, especially after spending months canvassing and phone banking for the Hillary campaign. For me, the election also changed the urgency of some of the poems. I’ve already commented plenty on the state of world affairs, and I don’t want to do that much with this post. I will say, however, that I have been inspired by the mobilization I’ve seen post-election. Even yesterday, I attended a rally in downtown Scranton, in front of Sen. Pat Toomey’s local office, urging him not to repeal the Affordable Care Act or vote to privatize Medicare and Medicaid. For a rally that was put together in about a week, it drew 50 or so people, many with personal stories about how the ACA or Medicare have impacted them personally. I predict a lot more direct actions taking place nationwide in the coming new year.

Shortly into 2016, I met Daryl, and we’ve had a wonderful relationship since. We also adopted a cat last March, Giselle. The cat photos have been endless!

Following in the tradition of other end-of-the-year posts, here is my list of my favorite films and books of the year. Last year, I included music on this list. However, I made fewer trips to the record shop this year than last, and, unfortunately, I didn’t listen to a lot of new music. I plan to change that in the new year.

Favorite Books:

non-fiction

An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz: Okay, so this book came out last year, but I just read it last month. It is the most comprehensive book of Native American history that I’ve read. It begins with the early European encounters and concludes with the present. It is a must read for anyone interested in American history, specifically Native American history. In light of the Standing Rock protests, now is the time to check this out.

White Trash: A 400 Year History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg: This is also quite comprehensive, and it primarily begins with the Puritan era and ends shortly after the Bill Clinton era. My only real gripe with this book is that it only focuses on the white-working class, more specifically the Southern white working-class. Like An Indigenous People’s History, White Trash is a book that should be required reading for the times that we live in, especially if one wants to understand some of the anger that drove the Trump campaign.

Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance: Vance was a poster boy for the white working-class during the election cycle, with frequent appearances on CNN and columns published in major newspapers. Vance’s book doesn’t cover the broad history class because Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir centered solely around Vance’s experience growing up poor in the Appalachian states. Vance gives sound insight into why people he grew up with often vote against their best interests.

The Philosophy of Horror: Edited by Thomas Fahy: Okay, so this book came out about four years ago, but I didn’t read it until this month, in preparation for a Horror Literature and Film class I am putting together for next fall. This is one of the strongest collections of academic writing that I’ve read on the horror genre. It is, in large part, a reaction to Noel Carroll’s writing on the horror genre, mostly his theories that horror stems from the supernatural, such as ghosts and demons, thus it is easier for us to return to our everyday world after the horror ends. The essays in this book, however, address the idea of horror in the every day and focus on the gritter, realistic horror films, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostel, and Psycho. The writers find Carroll’s definition of horror too limiting. There is also a fascinating essay on Kubrick’s The Shining that sees the film as commentary on white imperial power and genocide against Native Americans and African Americans.

Fiction

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: Winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction, this novel follows two runaway slaves as they visit different states in the South and encounter various forms of slavery. It is a book I am seriously considering incorporating into my African American Lit class, and I consider it a must-read for the year.

Wild Things by Jaimee Wriston Colbert: This linked story collection is devastating in that it focuses on towns where industry has dried up, its residents are down on their luck, and on top of all that, the stories address the perilous state of our planet.

Everybody’s Fool by Richard Russo: Richard Russo remains one of my favorite contemporary American fiction writers. Everybody’s Fool is a sequel to his breakout novel, Nobody’s Fool. It again follows the plight of Sully, who is ten years older as the novel opens. Like the rest of Russo’s work, Everybody’s Fool brilliantly captures the struggles of the working-class who are stuck in crummy situations. This book, however, also depicts the crushing power that the wealthy and corporations can have on a community, a new aspect of Russo’s work.

Poetry:

What Blooms in Winter (NYQ Books) by Maria Mazziotti Gillan: Maria’s work is always beautiful and moving, and in this book, she sticks to one of her most-familiar themes, the immigrant experience. Fewer books felt more poignant for me this year, juxtaposed with Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Night Sky with Exit Wounds (Cooper Canyon Press) by Ocean Voung: Believe the hype surrounding Ocean Voung. This is a wonderful debut collection, and the young poet deserves all of the credit he is getting. The heart of this collection centers around the immigrant experiences, Vietnam, and family history.

The Performance of Becoming Human (Brooklyn Arts Press) by Daniel Borzutky: I don’t think any collection of poetry better captures this current autocratic moment than this one.

Favorite Films:

Manchester by the Sea: This is my favorite film of the year. Casey Afflect deserves an Oscar for his role as a janitor who is emotionally disconnected after losing his children and divorcing his wife. The film is textured, layered, emotionally complex, and heart-wrenching. It is not without its humor, however.

Moonlight: I have never seen a movie that deals with black masculinity as well as this one.

Captain Fantastic: This movie follows the story of Ben Cash, played by Viggo Mortensen, who raises six kids off the grid in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, making them endure rigorous physical and intellectual tests. The film isn’t afraid to make fun of leftist purists, but it also has a lot of heart and laughs, while critiquing some aspects of 21st Century America, namely rampant consumerism. Check it out. It’s uplifting.

What am I looking forward to in 2017? I am hoping that world will break from its drift towards authoritarianism and nationalism that we saw in Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere in 2016. I hope that we are kinder to each other and don’t treat those different from us as parasites who don’t belong in this country. I also feel optimistic that we will continue to see mobilization to counter some of the nasty geopolitical uprisings that occurred in 2016, fueled by a dangerous nationalism.

So, that is it, farewell, 2016. Be safe everyone. Take care of each other, and enjoy the holiday!

New Review

December 16, 2016Leave a comment

I wanted to share a review written by Dante Di Stefano for Waiting to the Dead to Speak, published by Arcadia Press. I am grateful for this thoughtful review and the context Dante places the book in, post-election, namely the class issues. You can check it out here. Here is an exert:

The Scranton, Pennsylvania of Waiting for the Dead to Speak, a place freighted with pasts and vanishings, could be anywhere in Middle America; Fanelli’s poetry mainlines anthracite and coal dust, caked in creosote and lye, in order to deliver a rustbelt bucolic in which empathy outflanks hate.

Next post, I’ll reflect on 2016, and share some of my favorite films and books of the year.

Some Political Predictions for 2017

December 8, 2016December 8, 2016Leave a comment

With 2016 winding down, I thought I would take some time to share some political predictions for 2017. There is no doubt that 2016 was a historic year, with a lurch to the right globally, resulting in Brexit, the resignation of Italy’s left-leaning PM, president-elect Donald Trump, and anti-immigrant populism reshaping the globe.

To those on the left, myself included, 2017 is not likely going to be any easier to deal with because we’ll start to see the result of some of the right-wing, populist governance, especially in the U.S. Here are my predictions for the U.S. and other parts of the globe.

Europe: All eyes will be on two countries in Europe in the first quarter of 2017, Italy and France. It is likely that right-wing, anti-immigrant Marine Le Pen will be one of the final contenders for the presidency in France. Right now, she is not predicted to win, but pundits and poll watchers said the same thing about Brexit and Donald Trump. Keep your eyes on France. The other country to pay attention to is Italy. There, it is more likely that a right-wing populist, Beppe Grillo, a former comedian/celebrity turned politician and leader of the internet-born, anti-EU Five Star Movement, will rise to power. Last weekend, Italy’s left-learning prime minister, Matteo Renzi, resigned after his party suffered a stinging defeat in terms of a referendum that would have changed the make-up of Italy’s government. For a better understanding of Europe’s growing right-wing populism, including France and Italy’s situations, check out this article by the NYT. Keep in mind that this was published before the referendum vote in Italy last weekend. For more info on the Five Star Movement, click here.

There is some hope for Europe, however. Last weekend, while Italy lurched to the right, pro-EU, left-leaning Alexander van der Bellen defeated right-wing populist Norbert Hofer in Austria. In Germany, meanwhile, Angela Merkel announced that she will seek a fourth term. It is unclear, however, whether or not she will survive the right-wing populist tide heading into the new year.

The U.S.

I broke these predictions into separate issues.

Abortion rights: You don’t really need to overturn Roe V. Wade at the Supreme Court to restrict abortion rights or even obliterate them at the state level. Republicans started to learn this after they won a slew of state legislatures in 2010 and 2014. The Democrats lost even more state legislatures after the most recent election, and already, you are starting to see GOP-controlled state legislatures really go after abortion rights. Just this week, Ohio passed one of the most extreme anti-choice laws in the country, which would ban abortions after six weeks. To put this into context, think of how many women don’t even know they are pregnant at that point. Gov. John Kasich has 10 days to decide whether or not to sign the bill. No matter Kasich’s decision, what Ohio did is probably a preview of what other states will do. They will also most likely try to pass laws that regulate medical facilities, which, in turn, will cause a lot of abortion providers to shut down because they can’t meet the requirements. So really, the Supreme Court or GOP-controlled federal government doesn’t need to go after Roe V. Wade. They can just restrict abortion rights at the state level. Meanwhile, expect the GOP Congress to totally cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood. In fact, I would say, expect that soon. They already tried it numerous times with spending bills over the last few years, and if President Obama was not in office, it would have happened.

Gay rights: I am not one who believes that gay marriage will be overturned. Even recently, during a “60 Minutes” interview, Trump said he has no interest in seeing gay marriage overturned. (I will note that in that same interview, he said he is going to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will overturn Roe V. Wade and it will go back to the states). That said, I do think there is a real possibility that workplace protections/anti-discrimination laws that Obama put in place via executive action can be overturned, through Trump’s own executive orders, or through the Justice Department, which is going to be led by Sen. Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, whose record on civil rights and gay rights is dismal, to say the least. I’ll talk about him more when I get to voting rights.

The Environment: During the campaign, Trump said many times he wants the U.S. to exit the Paris Climate Agreement, which is a commitment for major countries to cut down on their green house gas emissions. This is one of the most important parts of Obama’s legacy, along with the numerous executive orders he signed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. This week, environmental activists saw some hope when Trump and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, met with Al Gore to discuss climate change. Hopes were dashed a few hours later, however, when Trump announced that climate change denier Scott Pruitt will head the EPA. Pruitt also has very close ties to the fossil fuel industry. I predict that the progress President Obama made on combating climate change is going to be rolled back. It’s unclear if Trump even believes in the science, since he said during the campaign that climate change is a hoax developed by the Chinese! I assume that Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress will really gut environmental regulations. The environmental movement needs to put Trump’s administration on watch and not stand for deregulating everything.

Voting rights: Things aren’t looking too good here, either. Voting rights have already suffered over the last few years, after the Supreme Court gutted parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and GOP-controlled states passed restrictive voter ID laws. Now, expect more of that stuff to pass at the state level, because, like gerrymandering, it is one way for the GOP to maintain power. Meanwhile, Jeff Sessions, as attorney general, will do very little to protect voting rights. I am saying this based on his past comments on race. Sessions was deemed so extreme in the 1980s, when Reagan tried to appoint him as a federal judge, that a GOP-led Senate denied his appointment.

Immigration: I am not sure that I can make a prediction on this issue, but DREAMers certainly have the right to be worried that they will be deported. Trump ran a campaign where this was his central issue, and he successfully pitted the white-working class against minorities. This political move goes back to what rich, white property owners did shortly after the Civil War. They pitted the white working-class against black Americans as a way to maintain power and launch terrible Jim Crow laws across the South. Du Bois talks about this political maneuvering in the Souls of Black Folk, and Trump exercised the same move brilliantly. Whether or not he will be able to deliver, it has yet to be seen, but his cabinet appointments are an alarming sign.

The Economy: Trump is fortunate that he will inherit the Obama recovery. Unemployment is now below 5 percent. However, I predict the GOP will pass massive tax cuts for the rich, run up the deficit, and defang Dodd-Frank, meaning Wall Street will go back to being unregulated, which in turn, can lead to another economic meltdown a la 2007/2008, if not in 2017, then maybe in 2018.

Foreign Policy: This may be the hardest thing to predict. Trump has already rattled China by talking to Taiwan last week, and he has praised Putin. Putin wants these right-wing, isolationist populists to win so he can be more aggressive towards the Baltic states. The Trump win, coupled with a possible Marine Le Pen win in France, could serve to embolden Putin and lead to more Russian aggression, similar to what Russia did in Ukraine a few years ago. We shall see, but pay attention to Russia in 2017.

The Democratic Party: Boy, oh boy, does this party need to rebuild. Unfortunately, part of President Obama’s legacy will be the fact that he oversaw the loss of dozens of state legislatures, the House, and the Senate, after winning in 2008 with massive majorities in the House and Senate. His party is in the wilderness as he leaves office, at every level of government. The DNC needs a grassroots remaking, from the bottom up. The party would be wise not to ditch identity politics, which is really a term for civil rights. You can’t halt the shifting demographics in this country, and if the party was smart, they would panic less about the loss of the rust belt states and focus more on flipping Texas, Arizona, and Georgia. Yes, those states are trending purple and even BLUE long-term! In fact, the margin Clinton lost in Georgia was less than she lost in Ohio and Iowa, so it befuddles me why the party is not investing in flipping Arizona, Texas, and Georgia. They need to build infrastructure there and start at the local level, just as Republicans have done for years across the country.

At the same time, the party needs to return to its roots and formulate a populist economic message. The challenge going forward will be to incorporate civil rights issues and economic populism. How they do that remains to be seen, but the DNC chair will be the first real sign of which direction the party is going. I still believe that Keith Ellison can unite the working-class part of the party with the wing that cares about civil rights issues. He also said he would give up his House seat to run the DNC full-time. That also needs to happen. The Dems need to stop appointing people to the DNC who are full-time membesr of Congress. The DNC chair MUST be a full-time job, just like the RNC chair is full-time.

There is some hope going forward. The Dems are poised to capture more governorship in 2018 and probably flip a few House seats, too. Winning those types of races will help build the party and build its bench for presidential elections moving forward. The bad news, however, is that the Senate map for Democrats in 2018 is awful! They have to defend over 20 seats, including some in red states. Right now, I am predicting the Democrats will work to rebuild the party in 2017, win some state elections in 2018, but lose more Senate seats.

For those that are left-leaning, 2017 is poised to be another tough year. The tide of right-wing populism is probably not slowing down, but since Trump’s election, I have seen a type of mobilization happening that is even greater than what I witnessed during the Bush years. There is hope, but it is going to take movement-building to counter what’s coming. I feel like the left globally resembles the rebels in Rogue One, a group of scrappy fighters opposed to the Empire. You know, going into Rogue One, that the rebels aren’t going to win the battles against the Empire in that movie, but you also know that they are laying the groundwork for A New Hope, so there’s reason to keep fighting and resisting.

What are your predictions for the new year? Where is the world going?

One Carries On, Another Closes

December 7, 2016Leave a comment

If you’re a lover of indie bookstores and live in the tri-state area, then you may have heard of Farley’s Bookstore in New Hope, one of the most well-known shops in the Philly area.. Farley’s is unique not only for its rows and rows of fiction and nonfiction books, but also because it has one of the strongest poetry sections around, one which showcases small publishers and independent presses. The shop owners and workers even take the time to write thoughtful reviews on note cards about some of their favorite books from showcased presses.

I have been fortunate to read at Farley’s three or four times over the years, at least once with each book, as recent as last week for Waiting for the Dead to Speak. Each time I have read there, I’ve encountered an engaged audience not only willing to spend money and support writers, but also talk to you about their favorite poets.

I bring up Farley’s because this week, it got some national attention, this nice article in The Guardian. The shop has been operating since the late 1960s, and this attention is much-deserved.

While Farley’s received this recognition, it was also announced this week that RiverReads Books in Binghamton, NY is closing. A staple of the community since the early 2000s, RiverReads has been a hub for literary activity in the college town. The store will shut its doors by Jan. 31, 2017, according to this announcement published on the website by the owners. The owners write, “Our plan was to offer a gathering place for all things literary and artsy, a place to share ideas and converse with the community. Well, we did just that … in eight years we held almost 900 events. Planning those events was important because we wanted to offer something for everyone. We wanted to highlight the very talented local authors, to give them a chance to share their words with those who might never have known about their books. ”

I’m grateful I had the chance to read at RiverReads a few times over the years, first, back in 2011, a few months after my chapbook Front Man was published, and then for a launch party of Harpur Palate, and lastly, a few weeks ago for Waiting for the Dead to Speak. Like Farley’s, RiverReads always managed to draw an engaged crowd interested in poetry. Beyond that, the store stocked a wide array of books.

Let’s hope that Farley’s can keep doing what it’s been doing for the last several decades. Meanwhile, let’s mourn the closing of RiverReads, a much-needed indie bookstore in a city that is still trying to recover economically.If you have an indie bookstore in your community, please, make sure to support it. These places not only are important for authors, but they are a lifeblood and cultural center point for their communities.

Something Worth Celebratin

December 3, 2016December 3, 20163 Comments

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Tonight, we’re celebrating five years of the Writers’ Showcase Reading Series in Scranton. I hear that there will be cupcakes. There will also be featured readers taking the stage to share their work. I’m going to get a little sentimental for a moment. The Writers’ Showcase has undergone three different venue locations. Yes, three! We started out at New Visions Studio and Gallery, a wonderful space in downtown Scranton that closed its doors about two years after we started the reading series. Then, we moved to the Vintage Theater, also downtown. Unfortunately, that venue closed a few months after we relocated. Last year, we found a new venue, the Olde Brick Theatre. They have been incredibly supportive of everything we do.

Since the series started, we’ve mixed local writers with regional and national writers. We’ve had features come from as far away as Boston and Chicago, yes Chicago, to take part in a reading series in Scranton, of all places. My original co-host and co-organizer, Jason Lucarelli, wanted to start this series with me because there were few reading series in Scranton back in 2011. The city was also in MUCH worse financial condition than it is now. At the time, Scranton made national headlines because the mayor had to temporarily pay city workers minimum wage, due to the city’s debt and distressed status. Now, five years later, the city is almost out of distressed status, in part, because it sold off a lot of its assets, including the Parking Authority and Sewer Authority. There are no more headlines on NPR or Fox News about the city’s crisis, thank goodness.

Perhaps more importantly, the downtown has a different look. Back in 2011, there were entire blocks of downtown with vacant storefronts, especially on Lackawanna Avenue. Now, most of those empty storefronts have been filled. Last night, after I had a reading during the First Friday Art Walk, I marveled at how many boutiques have spread through the downtown, from Penn Avenue to Spruce Street. I also took a moment to feel grateful that a poetry reading on a Friday night had so many people at it. Even more people flooded a holiday market held at the location of a former popular department store, The Globe. This says something about the potential this city has.

Scranton’s future still has yet to be determined. It still has many obstacles to overcome, namely matters of long-term employment prospects for young people, but the city has changed since the Writers’ Showcase Reading Series started five years ago. The downtown has more businesses and restaurants. There is a community of young artists trying to create something here. The city is moving forward with paying off its debts and getting out of its distressed status.

Tonight, we’re going to celebrate five years of a reading series that has connected national writers with local ones. We’re also going to celebrate the progress the city has made.

Last Literary Events of the Year

November 27, 2016Leave a comment

I’m closing out the remaining weeks of 2016 by doing a few more readings for Waiting for the Dead to Speak, before I take a break for a few weeks to celebrate the holidays and gear up for the new year. Here is a list of upcoming events. Special note: the 5-year anniversary of the Writers’ Showcase Reading Series in Scranton will happen this Saturday!

Sunday, November 27 2016 3-5 p.m.

MRAC Reading

419 Green Lane (Rear) Havertown, PA 19128

Thursday, December 1, 2016 7- 9 p.m.

Farley’s First Thursday Poetry Reading

Farley’s Bookstore, 44 S. Main Street, New Hope, PA.

Friday, December 2 2016 6 p.m.

First Friday Poetry Reading

Library Express, Steamtown Mall Scranton

Saturday, December 3 2016 7-9 p.m.

Writers’ Showcase

Olde Brick Theater, 126 W. Market Street, Scranton, PA

Featured readers include Stanton Hancock, Alexis Belluzzi, Daryl Sznyter, and Jaimee Wriston Colbert. Admission is $4.

One Week Later

November 16, 2016November 16, 2016Leave a comment

The last time I posted on my blog, the county was shocked, making sense of the election results that proved all pollsters wrong. In a week, the world feels like it has been turned upside down. President Obama, to his credit, has been as gracious as he can be in his transition of power. Hillary Clinton conceded last Wednesday and has since blamed James Comey and the FBI letters for her loss. The Democrats, meanwhile, are gearing up to select a new DNC chair. So far, popular progressive Rep. Keith Ellison has tossed his name into the ring, as well as Howard Dean. So far, a lot of Dems, including Harry Reid and soon-to-be Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have backed Ellison. In the House, meanwhile, the Democrats have delayed their leadership elections, which does not bode well for Nancy Pelosi. The Democrats are licking their wounds and ready to clean house, at least somewhat. If they want to move forward, gear up for 2018, and start winning elections again, that’s probably for the best.

To be blunt, the Democrats have few easy paths forward. In 2018, they have an enormous amount of Senate seats to defend, including some in red states. In the House, they still have a few dozen seats to flip until they win back the majority. The party is poised to be in the minority at least for the next four years. Meanwhile, it may be hard to develop a strong, progressive alternative vision to Trump because it seems likely they are going to have to fight to protect progressive gains made over the last few decades. Paul Ryan is already licking his chops about privatizing medicare and medicaid, which would unravel a large part of LBJ’s domestic legacy. In the “60 Minutes” interview that aired a few days ago, Trump warned that if Roe V. Wade is overturned, abortion rights will go back to the states and women will have to go to another state to get an abortion. The problem is that nearly 2/3 of state legislatures are in GOP control. So yes, I think the Democrats have quite a fight on their hands going forward, but if Trump’s governing is totally mismanaged, it is possible there could be another wave election, on par with 2006, which would give Democrats control of at least one branch of Congress.

Despite this, I have been amazed at how fast the left has organized. Already, there are mass protests planned for January 20 and 21, the weekend of the inauguration. The women’s march on the 21st appears to be gaining the most momentum, to the point where it already earned a story in the NYT. There are buses headed to that rally from all across the country, including in Scranton. I will be there with my partner, and we already know of a few friends joining us. Meanwhile, organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have reported record donations since Tuesday’s results. Even locally, I have been meeting with people about what we can do in this community. This election has rattled enough people that they are wiling to fight over the next few years.

If you want to get involved, here are some easy ways:

Contact your Senator and Congressman/woman. Tell them to be vigilant and NOT support any attempts by the new Trump administration to roll back women’s rights, LGBT rights, and civil rights. Tell them to NOT support any attempts to privatize the social safety net programs, namely Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Contact your local Senator and Congressman/woman and tell them to pressure Trump to rescind the appointment of white nationalist/alt-right leader Steve Bannon as top adviser.
Make a donation, no matter how small, to organizations that work to protect women’s rights, LGBT rights, civil rights, and immigrants.
Plan to attend the inauguration protests. Go to rallybus.net. If you can’t be there, and if you can afford it, sponsor a bus seat for someone who wants to attend but can’t afford a bus seat.
Get involved in your community. Reach out to people that want to mobilize. There are more folks out there wanting to do something than you may imagine.

Brian Fanelli

Poet. Educator. Horror Blogger.