In Praise of Open Mics

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When I was 18 years old and a freshman at West Chester University, I desperately wanted to become a writer, and I was fortunate to find a local literary community. Every Wednesday, I attended the open mic night at Fernarrio Coffee Shop, which provided a space for me to share my work with an audience that gave me helpful feedback, long before I had a clue how to craft a decent extended metaphor and where to break a line. This series was especially unique because it featured jazz musicians, Bob Dylan wannabes, and poets all sharing the stage. The first time I took the stage, I read too fast, stumbled over a few lines, and griped the paper until it wrinkled, but the more I did it, the easier it became. For four years, even after I took a bunch of creative writing classes, I continued attending local open mics. They made me confident in my work and eventually prepared me for doing my own featured readings.

Recently, some open mics have started in northeastern, PA. One occurs the last Wednesday of every month at the Library Express at the Steamtown Mall. It starts at 6:30 p.m., and so far, we’ve had a nice mix of college and high school students. I hope they continue attending as a way to revise their work and gain confidence.

The other open mic I know of takes place the third Friday of every month at ArtSeen Gallery in Wilkes-Barre. It begins at 8 p.m.

If you are just starting out, or even if you’re a polished writer, attend the open mics in your community as a way to share your work and support other writers. If you know of a local open mic, please spread the word.

Bob Dylan Being Bob Dylan

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If you want an interesting and entertaining read, then I suggest you pick up the latest issue of Rolling Stone featuring Bob Dylan on the cover. The interview between the American folk/blues troubadour and reporter Mikal Gilmore raises a lot of interesting points about the history of race in America, using other writers in one’s work, and Dylan’s own career. The full interview is not available online, but you can find one of the most riveting sections online here.

The interview has caused some buzz because Dylan addresses plagiarism issues that have dogged him for years, dating back to when he was accused of copying the words for “Blowin’ in the Wind” from a college student and the music from an old gospel hymn. This time, Dylan holds nothing back and says “F*uck ’em” to his critics, adding, “He’ll see them in their graves.” He does acknowledge that he has quoted other writers in his work before, including Civil War-era poet Henry Timrod, but he says that quoting other work is a long tradition in folk music.

The criticism and Dylan’s reaction to it raise a good point when pondering any art form. When is it okay to quote the work of others, and when is it plagiarism? I would argue that if you are using a line or two in your own work, but reworking it and doing something new with it, it’s not plagiarism, and that seems to be Dylan’s argument. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to give a citation in an album’s notes.

Dylan covers a lot of other issues in the interview, including the 1960s, and his desire to move as far away from that era as possible, as well as his new album, Tempest, and how he felt after President Barack Obama was elected in 2008. Interestingly enough, after discussing the history of slavery and racisim in this country, Dylan refuses to state whether or not he thinks this country has changed and is any closer to a post-racial era, due to the election of its first black president.

The interivew offers a lot of insight regarding Dylan’s new album, his view on history, and the way he’s been treated by the press and his fans, including the Judas label he was given in the mid-1960s for going electric. Some of Dylan’s answers are befuddling, but that’s how he’s always been. Check it out if you’re a fan of his, or you just want a good read.

Poetry Jazz Night

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A few months ago, I posted about a wonderful and inspiring poetry and jazz night that took place at the AFA Gallery in Scranton. The second poetry and jazz night is set to take place tonight, from 6-9 p.m. at the AFA Gallery again. The event is part of the weekly drawing social series that occurs at the gallery, so if you come, feel free to bring art to work on, or writing. If you don’t want to do that, then you can just enjoy the music and the poets.

The cost to attend is $5 for the general public, and $2 for students. The featured readers include Rich Howells, Tom Allen, Maureen McGuigan, and I. The musicians include Tom Allen on woodwinds, Chelsea Smarr on harp, Bob Ventrello on percussion, Doug Smith on acoustic bass, Ron Stabinsky on piano, and  Julian Sparacino on saxophone and flute.

This should prove to be another great event, and one that mixes different artistic mediums, which is a great way to share poetry with a broader audience. After tonight, there should be another poetry and jazz reading in two months or so.
 

The Vintage Theater’s Grand Re-opening

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I’m a firm believer that the more all-ages art and music venues a community has the better, which is why I’m thrilled that the Vintage Theater in Scranton is having a grand re-opening party this Friday, beginning at 6 p.m. A few months ago, the Vintage closed its location on Penn Avenue, and its fate was uncertain. However, the co-owners, Conor O’Brien and Theresa O’Connor, worked all summer to host fundraisers and an Internet campaign to save the venue. Not only did they raise enough money to re-open, but they exceeded their fundraising goal.

Since closing, the theater has relocated to 326 Spruce Street. The celebration this Friday is free and will include music by several local bands and artwork by my talented girlfriend, Jenna Casaldi, and our friend Heidi. (Some people already saw the art, since it was up during a sneak peek First Friday event a few days ago).

The new Vintage location should be even better than the last one, with plans for a full-scale cafe, used bookstore, art and writing workshops, and plenty of music events.  I’m looking forward to taking part in a reading and Q & A there on Oct. 19 with some other local published writers. More info on that when it’s closer to the date. For now, come to the grand re-opening this Friday if you can.

New Visions Writers Showcase

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If you read this blog and live in northeast, Pennsylvania, you should come out to the New Visions Writers Showcase taking place this Saturday at 7 p.m. at New Visions Studio Gallery, 201 Vine Street in Scranton.  This month’s readers include Chicago-based fiction writer Eugene Cross, poets Richard Aston and Scott Thomas, crime fiction writer Lauren Stahl, and Keystone College students Lisbeth Herr Gelatt and Jennifer Matarese. Below you can find bios of each reader. The reading is free, and authors will have books for sale.

Eugene Cross is the author of the short story collection Fires of Our Choosing, which was long listened for the Frank O’Connor International Short story Award. He was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania and received an M.F.A. from The University of Pittsburgh. His stories have appeared in Narrative Magazine (which named him one of “20 Best New Writers” and his story “Harvesters” a “Top Five Story of 2009-2010”), American Short Fiction, Story Quarterly, TriQuarterly, and Callaloo, among other publications.

His work was also listed among the 2010 Best American Short Stories’ 100 Distinguished Stories. He is the recipient of scholarships from the Chautauqua Writers’ Festival and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, as well as a fellowship from the 2012 Sewanee Writers’ Conference. He is the winner of the 2009 Dzanc Prize for Excellence in Literary Fiction and Community Service.

Scott Thomas has a B.A. in Literature from Bard College, a M.S. in Library Science from Columbia University, and a M.A. in English from the University of Scranton. He is currently employed as a librarian, specifically, Head of Information Technologies & Technical Services at the Scranton Public Library. His poems have appeared in Mankato Poetry Review, The Kentucky Poetry Review, Sulphur River Literary Review, Poem, Stirring: A Literary Collection, and other journals. Currently, he resides in Dunmore with his family.

Lisbeth Herr Gelatt is a student at Keystone College and was born in Los Angeles, but eventually moved to Pennsylvania to raise a family. Currently, she works for Wayne Country Transportation and is now the mother of three grown women, including a veteran of the Iraq war. Her most recent writing credits include Keystone College’s The Plume Literary Magazine, CowboyPoetry.com, and PANK. She is working on at least one urban fantasy novel, and she hopes to complete a chapbook of poems in the near future.

Jennifer Matarese is also a student at Keystone College and the author of the novel Heroine Addiction.

Richard  Aston has been a member of Mulberry Poets and Writers Association for over 30 years and has been active in the Wilkes-Barre /Scranton poetry scene generally. He has coordinated all of the poetry contests held by the Mulberry Poets. He has been publishing poetry for over 30 years, and has had his collection Valley Voices published by Foothills Publishing. He has also published technical textbooks and numerous professional engineering papers. He has three children and seven grandchildren.

A former prosecutor in Pennsylvania, Lauren Stahl is an avid reader and writer of the crime fiction genre. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State Dickinson School of Law and received her M.F.A. from Wilkes University. Lauren’s first novel, Deadly Conviction, is currently represented by Union Literary in New York with the hopes of reaching publication. She is hard at work on her second novel, The Bottom Line.

 

A Favorite Online Lit. Magazine

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Because it’s early September, the time when most academic/literary journals open for submissions to poetry, I’ve been thinking a lot about some of my favorite journals. I’m still more of a fan of print journals as opposed to online for a number of reasons. When I have a poem published, I like getting a print copy in the mail with the poem in it. I have a nice little collection on my bookshelf, and I know that I’ll be able to keep those journals for years. My concern regarding online journals is that a lot of them start up fast, but they don’t last very long, and then your poem published is lost if the editors never archived anything. However, I do realize that as the publishing world continues to drastically change, more long-standing journals will move to a strictly online format, or at least upload some of the content online.

This week, I’ve been pondering some of my favorite online journals. One that I like a lot s Solstice Literary Magazine. My poem, “Before He Enlisted,” appeared there in the last issue.  What I like about the journal is how clean and simple it is. It’s easy to browse around the site and sift through the poetry, fiction, non-fiction and interviews the editorial staff publishes. I also love the quality of writing showcased. The latest issue has work by well-known contemporary American poets Stephen Dunn and Afaa M. Weaver, mixed with writing by young, up-and-coming writers. The journal also has an impressive editorial staff and advisory board, which includes National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes, Stephen Dunn, and others.

Check out Solstice Literary Magazine if you’re looking for a good online journal, and feel free to share some of your favorite journals, either print or online. I may start showcasing other literary magazines on my blog over time.

Some Practical Advice for Poets

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A few weeks ago, I came across an article in the New York Times about Jeffrey Skinner’s book The 6.5 Practices of Moderately Successful Poets. I’ll admit that prior to the article, I’ve never heard of Skinner, even though he has five collections of poetry out and has been published in major publications, including The Atlantic and New Yorker, but after reading the review, I wanted to get my hands on his new book.

His latest work isn’t really at all a craft book, and it doesn’t feature writing prompts. Instead, it offers sound advice for poets at any level, and it does so with great sarcasm and wit. One of my favorite pages in the book is a list featuring the “Top Ten Poet Complaints,” which includes lines like “I haven’t heard of a single person in this lit. mag,” “I guess you have to be famous to be in this lit. mag,” and “AWP keeps turning down my panel.”

Besides the humor, the book offers plenty of useful advice and reflections on the writing process. I especially like the chapter in which Skinner compares the act of writing to getting lost in the forest and states, “you have to get more immediately and literally lost every time you face the white page and the words begin to appear (or don’t) and you follow, with no idea where you’ll end up.” He also admits in the same chapter that very few appreciate poetry, but to become successful in the genre requires a writer to “commit to uncertainty” and to “unreasonable devotion.”

My favorite chapter is the one in which Skinner describes the classes he took at Columbia with Howard Moss, David Ignatow, and last year’s Poet Laureate Philip Levine. He depicts Ignatow as more concerned with his rising poetry career than the students. Moss, however, is depicted more kindly, and Levine is treated as a wonderful, but tough mentor, who, to paraphrase Skinner, knew his own skills and limitations as a poet.

The 6.5 Practices of Moderately Successful Poets is the most humerous book on craft I’ve yet to read, and also one of the most useful. It’s a wonderful book for teachers, students, and poets of all levels.

Help Out FootHills Publishing

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Foothills Publishing has been a staple of the literary community here for years, and since 1986, the press has published over 300 chapbooks and full-length collections of poetry, including by several local poets.  Its founder and editor, Michael Czarnecki, has given workshops all over northeast, PA and other pockets of the tri-state area. What makes the press especially  unique is that the books are handcrafted, making them total works of art.

Recently, the press suffered a major setback. Michael and his wife, Carolyn, had a devestating house fire that destroyed most of their possessions, including the books. The family’s Amish neighbors have volunteered to do a house-raising, if enough funds are raised.

An indigogo campaign has been launched to try to salvage the press and restore the home. You can find more info about it here. Any size donation would be much appreciated.

Some Tips for New Writers

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This afternoon, while enjoying one of the last days of summer vacation with my niece at Kirby Park, I met another resident who told me he’s interested in writing, and he asked what advice I’d give a new writer. My conversation with him made me want to come home and write down the basic feedback I would give to anyone just starting out.

1. Write daily. This is the first piece of advice I give to anyone. Even if you have a full-time job and family, make time for writing daily, even if it’s for 10 minutes. Serious writing should become a habit, much like exercise. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. The muse isn’t going to show up if you don’t put the time and effort in. My writing schedule is pretty standard. I do it in the morning for at least an hour, usually more. I start by journaling and freewriting, and then I move to drafting or revising a new poem. Once I’m done teaching for the day, I often return to my writing in the evening and do revisions then. This schedule won’t work for everyone, so find a time that works best for you, no matter the time of day or night.

2. Find a writing community. Most of your friends or family that aren’t writers won’t care about the great novel you just read or the book of poems you’re revising, so it’s important to find a community of writers to connect with so you can get support and feedback. Writers need other writers because otherwise, the world feels like a lonely place. You can find information about writing workshops in your local art papers. If you live in a rural area where there aren’t any workshops, find some online. While completing her senior year creative capstone project last year, a student told me that she was part of an online writing community that gave her frequent helpful feedback on her novel-in-progress, and that feedback showed in her work.

3. Read as much as possible. This can’t be stressed enough.  No matter your genre, you should be reading as much as you can. If you’re a poet and serious about the craft, it’s crucial to understand the traditions, movements, and key players that came before so you have a better understanding of what’s happening now and what’s already been done. A poet’s work should possess a “historical sense,” in the words of T.S. Eliot, meaning not only some resemblance to traditional works, but also an awareness and understanding of their relation to one’s own writing and contemporary literature. This belief can be applied to any genre of creative writing.

4. Don’t stress over publishing credits. Before you worry about seeing your name in print, focus on finding a writing community, reading, and making your writing as strong as possible. If you put the work in, the publishing credits should come.

Finally, if you have some extra money or belong to a local library, check out some craft books on writing. I always find them useful. My favorite ones for poetry are Best Words, Best Order by Stephen Dobyns, The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo,  The Poet’s Companion and Ordinary Genius by Kim Addonizzio, and A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver. There are plenty of others too in all different genres. Just noodle around Google.

 

 

Word Fountain Flood Issue

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Rachael Goetzke and Ed Lupico, my friends and fellow writers at the Osterhought Library in Wilkes-Barre, are trying to pull together a glossy issue of the journal they run entitled Word Fountain. They want the next issue to focus on the flood from last September and Hurricane Agnes of 1972 that caused the evacuation of several communities throughout Pennsylvania, especially the northeastern part of the state. They are seeking fiction, poetry, essays, art, and pictures.

They plan to donate all of the money they generate from the issue to flood victims. I know that a lot of my friends in this area were affected in one way  or another by the most recent flooding, or they have relatives that shared stories about Agnes. Why not try to write something for the issue?

There’s still time to submit. The deadline is this week.

Click this link for more info and the submission guidelines.