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The June FIRST TUESDAYS was our last before the three day poetry festival. Many of the regular poets came out, but several poets new to the stage read as well.

Variety was the name of the game as the readings spanned funny and somber topics. They managed to touch upon the inner workings of the mind of a poet at work, covered current events with an ironic piece on Madoff, and even mentioned local places, such as Queens Boulevard and the 7 train. There were some very different approaches to sensuality, and Richard Newman and Jeanann Verlee delighted attendees with material from their upcoming books.

Did you know that “dirty is the new clean?” Those who heard feature poet Jon Sands get it. He thrilled everyone with beautiful poems written about everything, and accessible to the whole audience.

Now we prepare for the three day festival and cordially invite you all to continue sharing this community atmosphere and these exciting events with us on June 18-20. Check out details about the festival here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The May open mic at Terraza Café allowed readers extra time to share their poems and talk about their history. This provided a meaningful (and often comical!) context in which the stories behind the poetry could emerge.

The featured poet of the evening, Richard Jeffrey Newman, read several powerful selections from his book entitled The Silence of Men. His poems tended to center around the themes of sex and death—themes which, inevitably, can be the most relevant to life.

The 3-day poetry festival will take place from June 18-20 at various locations in Jackson Heights, culminating on Saturday June 20th with an all-day outdoor event at the Garden School. Featured poets for that day include Queens Poet Laureate Julio Marzan, Nicole Cooley, Lauren McClung, Richard Jeffrey Newman, Roger Sedarat, and Ocean Vuong.

Given that the aim of the Jackson Heights Poetry Festival is to develop community through poetry, we strongly encourage members of the Queens community to contact us with ideas, suggestions, poetry, art, and of course—financial assistance!

E-mails can be sent to jhpfest@gmail.com

Hope to see you next first Tuesday at Terraza Café, June 2nd, with Jon Sands scheduled to be the featured poet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The April FIRST TUESDAYS open mic night featured amazing Barry Wallenstein, accompanied by Vincent Chancey on the French horn. The collaboration resulted in a whirlwind of poetry and music, with solos offsetting words and vice versa. The performance was captured on video by Ted Maniatakos, and will be edited and available for viewing shortly.

A diverse mix of regulars and newcomers reading in Spanish and English took the stage all night long. Highlights included Nietzsche quotes, readings off blackberrys and the modern version of Noah’s ark.

The 3 day JHPF summer festival is approaching quickly and will be held on june 18-20. We invite anyone who has been attending the open mics and workshops to put forward ideas, suggestions, or any help to make this event successful. Please stay tuned to the website to see updates on poets reading and all of the events occuring on the three days.

Check out the new pictures below, and join us again for the next first Tuesday on May 5th (cinco de mayo!) at Terrazza Café!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The rain came down on the outside while the ideas flowed on the inside as poet and spoken-word artist Marty McConnell led the third JHPF Workshop, entitled: “Worlds Collide? The Relationship between Written and Spoken Poetry.”

The workshop itself wasn’t so much a collision as a fruitful coexistence. Marty opened the session by explaining how certain types of poems are clearly meant to be read (such as those whose impact depends on the way the lines appear on a page, or those which are not readily grasped at once and warrant re-reading and reflection). Some are also obviously best when performed (as when the poem is written more in the nature of a script or monologue). Most poems fall in between, lending themselves to being read or heard, depending on the intent of the poem and the receptivity of the audience. Marty also encouraged us to be sensitive to the emotional journey of a poem; how we feel at the first line, when that changes, and what it changes to.

We then progressed to a set of exercises designed to strengthen the impact of any poem regardless of where on the read-to-speak scale it lies. We practiced identifying the heart of a poem and a series of visceral scattered touch points in an existing poem. Next, we used these as a starting point that resulted in word lists which we ultimately used to construct our own pieces, based on the “heart” and a set of touch points.

In the second part of the workshop, Marty shared with us several poems from her new in-progress manuscript featuring poems based on cards in the tarot deck, which sparked a whole new set of interesting conversations, such as the alliteration that characterized the poem inspired by the High Priestess, and the challenges of the “drag king” point of view in the poem based on the Magician card.

Check back for information on our next workshop later this year and our next First Tuesdays open reading,which will be held on April 7th at Terrazza Cafe and will feature the poet Barry Wallenstein accompanied by Vincent Chancey on the French Horn.

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This month’s first Monday was not so great, with way too much snow and way too much cold. Fortunately, First Tuesday quickly came around and made things right. The open mic night at Terrazza Café was a huge and crowded success. Thanks to all who attended!

Our featured poet, Marcelene Mosca, had the opportunity to present her work accompanied by Bruce Jacobs on the clarinet and two recorders (not all at the same time), resulting in moving and sometimes eerie renditions of her poetry.

There were also first-time readers who braved the stage (and the frightening jump onto it), so thanks especially for your participation. We hope to see you back next month.

The issue of language preference of the poetry ready at the JHPF came up, and here’s the awesome solution we came up for it:

Although it is encouraged to translate your poem into English, or give an English summary so that the majority can understand it, it is a huge privilege to hear a poem read by its author in the language it was first written. So please, do not be shy around the sign-up sheet if your first language is not English. We want to hear what you have to say!

Check back for pictures and updates soon.

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As a recent addition to the Jackson Heights Poetry Festival (I’m Rebecca, the new intern. Hi.), I would like to explain to the readers of this blog why poetry, among all other activities, is so important.

But like most things, a word once explained can often lose its value, and much like most things, in our speech we are regulated. Our thoughts become the subject of scrutiny. Who we are can become uncertain, a clash of our own expectations and the expectations of others.

In my opinion, a good poem should remind its reader of something unique once noticed, in fantasy or reality. It is an expression which is simultaneously an explanation. The ways in which people express themselves are becoming increasingly technologized, with children learning to use the Internet before they’ve read their first full book.

The emergence of organizations which seek to encourage more traditional written and spoken forms of communication is essential to the preservation of these arts and the mental framework they provide.

The Jackson Heights Poetry Festival invites you to leave your home, join your neighborhood, and speak your mind.

Join us at Terrazza Café for our next event – the monthly FIRST TUESDAYS open mic night, this Tuesday March 3rd at 7 p.m.

Looking forward to meeting you there!

Rebecca

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The February 3rd First Tuesdays was beautiful, and quite a surprise to those who thought, after January 20th, that we had exhausted our capacity for new beginnings. Presidential politics aside, JHPF was just getting warmed up. Despite a snowstorm, our latest First Tuesday drew a great crowd, poets with a broad range of experience and knowledge including many first-time JHPF readers, our first stand-up comedy act from Dax, and our first musical accompaniment from Leo. Now that we’re primed to expect the unexpected, we eagerly anticipate our next First Tuesday on March 3rd, with featured poet Marcelene Mosca.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from February 3rd. You can also check out some more videos and pictures as we add them onto our facebook fanpage!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Richard Jeffrey Newman sharing his thoughts

 

Nathalie Handal reading a poem

 

Nathalie Handal listening to a workshop participant read a poem

 

After a successful first JHPF workshop last November, another took place on January 26.

This workshop was led by Nathalie Handal, and promised an intriguing theme: A Cross-Cultural Meditation on Love in Poetry . And that’s exactly what was delivered, as Nathalie used love poetry from Pablo Neruda and Billy Collins to frame three progressively captivating writing exercises, starting with the idea of sitting next to a potential love object on a train, to seeing your real partner on a train - with someone else! - and culminating in a recipe for an erotic dream. Considering topics like that, it’s no surprise that the participants created a fascinating array of works, ranging from beautiful and sensual to emotionally charged to comedic.

As the wine and cheese were enjoyed Nathalie shared poems from her upcoming book, “Love and Other Strange Horses,” and moderated a provocative discussion on how different cultures respond to love and all that goes with it.

The night ended with new friends and eager anticipation of the next workshop. Be sure to sign up for our March 26 workshop with Marty McConnell, with the theme “Worlds Collide? The Relationship between Written and Spoken Poetry.”

Also, don’t miss our February 3 FIRST TUESDAYS Open Reading featuring Vikas K. Menon!

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Here are some photos from the January ‘09 FIRST TUESDYAS, sorry they are so late, we hope you enjoy them anyway!

January 2009 Reading

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The January Featured Poet: Holly Anderson and spoken word group New Randy:

 

 

 

 

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Chateau If
by Peter Gizzi

     If love if then if now if the flowers of if the conditional
if of arrows the condition of if
     if to say light to inhabit light if to speak if to live, so
     if to say it is you if love is if your form is if your waist that
pictures the fluted stem if lavender
     if in this field
     if I were to say hummingbird it might behave as an
adjective here
     if not if the heart’s a flutter if nerves map a city if a city
on fire
     if I say myself am I saying myself (if in this instant) as if
the object of your gaze if in a sentence about love you might
write if one day if you would, so

   if to say myself if in this instance if to speak as
another–
     if only to render if in time and accept if to live now as if
disembodied from the actual handwritten letters m-y-s-e-l-f
     if a creature if what you say if only to embroider–a
city that overtakes the city I write.

And check back with the blog for our January FIRST TUESDAYS pictures, coming in the next few days!

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