August 11th: The Highway Poets Return

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On August 11th, The Highway poets make their annual return to the venue as one of their many New England stops in celebration of Biker Poetry Month in August. Below is a partial list of participants, more to be added as announced.

Photos by Bill Perrault

Jose’ “JoeGo” Gouveia is a first generation Portuguese-American poet who lives and writes on Cape Cod. He was awarded “Poet of the Year” at the 2001 Cambridge Poetry Awards and was 1999-2001 Poet-In-Residence at Cape Cod Community College. He is the former Slam Master of Cape Cod 1996-2000, has an MFA in Poetry from New England College, is a member of the Highway Poets Motorcycle Club and founder of the Biker Poets & Writers Association. He is Editor of Rubber Side Down, the biker poet anthology (Archer Books, LA) 2008. Jose’ also hosts “The Poets Corner” online poetry radio show out of Provincetown Community radio WOMR-FM and writes a monthly poetry column for the Barnstable Patriot. He has published 3 chapbooks of poetry, What We Do (Salt Winds Press, Cape Cod) 1997; Ginsberg Is Dead (Cape Cod Community College) 2000; and The Slaughter of the Sacred Cow (CapePoet Press) 2008. His first poetry CD A Cup’a Joe is forthcoming this April from WOMR studios, Provincetown.




Gypsypashn publishes in print and on the web regularly, she is well-known for her monthly column in New England's Motorcyclist Post. She and Colorado's Gypsyrose produce 'Biker Bits,' a daily Biker Rights e-zine. In 2004, Gypsypashn published A Samplng of Soul, a collection of poetry. She currently hosts a monthly reading at BestSeller's Cafe in Medford MA, Gypsypashn's Poetry Caravan.

August 4th: John Sturm Features


Photo by Bill Perrault

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. Returning for his second Stone Soup feature on August 4th is John Sturm, orator of great local renown, performing, among other works, "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe.

John Sturm has been performing at open mikes for the last few years at The Cantab, Club Passim, Out of The Blue and other venues. He has also performed at Forsyth Chapel for e.e. cummings' birthday anniversary.

July 28th: Brian S. Ellis Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On July 28th, Stone Soup welcomes the local spoken word slam celebrity, Brian S. Ellis, who is coming out with his first book the day of the feature.

Brian S. Ellis began slamming in the spring of two thousand six. Since then he has been on the Cantab Lounge Slam team twice and has represented the Cantab at the individual world poetry slam. He is the current slam champion of the Cantab and has been featured at poetry venues throughout New England. His fast paced, colorful voice is a strong addition to the Boston spoken word tradition.

Visit Brian S. Ellis' MySpace page.

Stone Soup Reminder

Tonight, July 7th: Richard Cambridge.

July 21st: Ryan "Rat" Travis Features





Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On July 21st, it's time to welcome another unique performance by longtime local poet Ryan "Rat" Travis.

Ryan Travis has performed all over New England, as well as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Published in many magazines and online publications, Ryan's poetry encompasses many styles from children's poetry to sonnets and adult free verse. A self-proclaimed Modern American Haiku Master, Ryan accomplished the daunting task of 1000 haiku in 100 days, which one day will be published if he can ever finish transcribing them. He considers himself a word warrior, explaining that as a poet it's his duty to see that no word should be taboo or have the power to hurt like some words can. He believes that no one word should be more important that any other and censorship especially to the artist only limits free thought and expression destroying the very fabric of our being. His latest chapbook: Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll is a collection of 18 of both old and new poems that has received rave reviews. Rat got his start at Stone Soup and over the years he has done everything from holding a revival meeting in complete clown makeup to duct taping a fellow poet to a makeshift cross and flogged him with a rubber chicken the day after Easter. He promises that this feature will put all his prior appearances to shame.

A sample poem follows below.


Rock N' Roll Survivor

In the beginning there was
Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers
then came whatever my parents listened to
during the days of 8 tracks and vinyl
Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Santana, Creedence
eventually I found my own music
KISS and Alice Cooper
and I worshipped them
AM radio was alive and music in the 70's was gorgeous
The Bee Gees, Hot Chocolate, Wild Cherry, The Village People
by High School there was an explosion of music
V66 was a local MTV type station,
those were the days when you didn't need cable to watch TV and UHF
reigned supreme
soon after, music television took over my life and my TV never turned off
next came bands like Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and Accept
My first concert was David Bowie
it was one of very many to come
I had some friends that had a band called Torch
that's when I found Black Sabbath and never looked back
Torch's manager turned us onto Frank Zappa
and we learned to experiment from there
I was a roadie for their shows, went to every practice and was their biggest fan
they played a battle of the bands with a punk band called Post Mortem
soon after, Torch broke up so I roadied for Mortem from then on
Punk Rock and New Wave were added to my tastes
The Meatmen, Sex Pistols, DEVO, B-52's
at some point Mortem crossed over to Metal
and took the former lead singer of Torch as their frontman
they released Coroner's Office, it was the first death metal album
and they became my favorite band
it seemed like I was at a concert every day
The Channel, The Rat, Bunratty's, The Paradise, The Garden, The Centrum
I lived in the pit
moshing and headbanging was my life
with my druggie friends I listened to
Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and the Grateful Dead
and in adulthood I found Yoko Ono and the beauty of the primal scream
my musical tastes have always been eclectic over the years
and I will always experiment and experience new music
but Heavy Metal will always be my favorite
cause Rock n' Roll has always been a real adventure
and I'm glad I survived.

July 14th: Mike Amado Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On July 14th, Mike Amado will be reading from his new chapbook Stunted Inner Child Shot the TV from Cervena Barva Press 2008.

Mike Amado is a performance poet, a percussionist and drummer who does lyrical, rhythmic tomes attuned to the social and semi-political. He is the host and co-founder of POETRY: The Art Of Words in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He is an online reviewer for Rattle, the Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene,and an Associate News Staff and Roadpoet eMagazine book and music reviewer. Also to be released in ‘08 is Rebuilding the Pyramids (Ibbetson Street Press). He has been published in Wilderness House Literary Review, Bagels With The Bards, Apt Magazine, Down in the Dirt and elsewhere. To quote the author: "I don’t Slam, I rock!"

Click here for a poem by Mike Amado.

July 7th: Richard Cambridge Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On July 7th, Stone Soup provides an appropriate end to the Fourth of July holiday weeked with a performance by poet and activist Richard Cambridge.

Richard Cambridge, poet and activist, is co-founder of Singing with the Enemy & Presente!, a troupe of artists and activists that addresses controversial themes on the American political landscape. His poetry has appeared in The Paterson Literary Review, Heartland Journal, Asheville Poetry Review and others. His awards include The Allen Ginsberg Poetry Prize and he was a finalist for a residency at the Fine Arts Work Shop in Provincetown, MA. He is a long-time resident of Cambridge, MA where he curates the Poets’ Theater at Club Passim, and co-hosts Squawk Coffeehouse at the Harvard Epworth Church. In 2003 he received the Cambridge Peace and Justice Award for the contributions of his art and activism. In 2005 his book of poems, PULSA— A Book of Books was published by Hanover Press.

Click here for a sample poem by Richard Cambridge.

June 30th: Jade Sylvan Returns



Photo by Caleb Cole

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On June 30th, Stone Soup welcomes back local favorite Jade Sylvan for what is sure to be a well-attended feature (early arrival is recommended).

Jade Sylvan hails from the rugged streets of Indianapolis, Indiana. In her young adulthood, she traveled to many places such as California, the South, Canada, and Europe, where she drank many delicious local beers. She also graduated from college. Somewhere along the line, she sold her soul to become a novelist and poet. Right now there are some big publishers interested in one of her novels. Really, there are. She's also almost done with another novel she's pretty excited about, not to mention she's going to have a new chapbook soon full of her poems. She's had some poems published in places like Spare Change News and Word Riot, so that's pretty cool, too. Gun to her head, her top five favorite movies are: Fight Club, The Graduate, Annie Hall, The Princess Bride, and Henry Fool.

Click here for a poem by Jade Sylvan from an issue of Spoonful.

June 23rd: Lynne Stickor "The Prize Lady," Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On June 23, Stone Soup welcomes the return of Stone Soup Staple Lynne Sticklor "The Prize Lady" for her first full-length feature in years.


Photo by Lynne Sticklor

Lynne Sticklor "The Prize Lady" is a performance artist, poet, and creator of Visual art: magazine collage, acrylics & sparkles, clay and Text & Graphics as mediums. She is the sole creator of The Prize Lady Experience, which is a one-on-one performance art piece, as well as a Stage Show with grand poetic theatrics and "fabulous prizes". It has been performed at many venues and at many events--public and private.

She describes The Prize Lady Experience as a way to feel worthy of being creative just because you've expressed yourself. It's about opening your mind to your creative side, to the clown or performer in all of us, and to the thoughts or ideas that can only surface when we are inspired in an indirect way. It's about feeling and being worthy of winning a prize just because you embrace the moment of creativity as your own. It breaks down the barrier between Artist and Non-Creative type and even Performer and Audience.

June 16th: Jane Chakravarthy and Portia Brockway Feature

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On June 16th, Stone Soup will have a double feature with local artists and friends Jane Chakravarthy and Portia Brockway.




Born in York, England 1974, Jane Chakravarthy left England after studying Sociology, counselling and photography, to live in Boston USA. There she focussed more on her artistic direction, finding and creating a more lucid expression with creative writing, painting and finally more importantly on discovering her own sense of being an artist. She has recently published her first book, Love its Wrath and others, a collection of her poetry, prose and artwork.





Portia Brockway is a visionary artist whose skillful devotion to the written word with a knack for ethereal yet grounded poetry. She has been published by Poetry Motel, 57 Inc., The Empty Vessel, Yoga International, and many other publications, as a poet, an essayist and as a short story writer. She was a finalist for “Best Female Love Poem” and “Best Female Erotic Poem” at the Cambridge Poetry Awards. Her photography has been published dozens of times by the hip Boston newspaper The Weekly Dig. She is a respected, beloved and admired yoga instructor of almost 20 years in Cambridge , MA

June 9th: Tam Lin Neville Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On June 9th, we welcome Somervile poet and editor, Tam Lin Neville, as our next feature.

Tam Lin Neville was born in New York in 19944. She received her BA from Temple University in Philadelphia and her MFA in poetry from Vermont College in 1989.

her poems has been published in The American Poetry Review, Crazyhorse, Harvard Review and elsewhere. SHer chapbook Dreaming in Chinese won Calypso Press' first chapbook competition in 1995. In 1998, her book-length manuscript, Journey Cake, was published by BkMk Press. She serves as editor of Off The Grid Press, Off the Grid Press, founded in the fall of 2005 to provide a forum for older, previously published poets.

Visit Off The Grid Press.

Click here for a sample poem from The Minnesota Review.

June 2nd: Christopher Kain Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On June 2nd, we welcome the return of past feature, Christopher Kain.

Christopher Kain found reading poetry aloud an irresistible urge since he encountered his first public appearance at the Haymarket Cafe in Northampton, MA in 1992. he continued to read at various venues in Cincinnati, OH. when he moved to Washington, DC in 1994, he was anthologized in the Live Poets Society journal in Alexandria, VA as well as the Federal Poet in Washington, DC. returning to CT, he read his poetry at various open mics in the area. in 1999, he released his first chapbook memory plays, which he hopes to re-release at this reading.

Moving to Boston, MA, he found new venues to read, first at Harris Gardner's Tapestry of Voices at the Borders Bookstore in Boston, MA, then at the Out of the Blue Gallery in 2002. he encountered the venue that would forever change his work, the Third Rail at the Cantab Lounge in Central Square. in February of 2003, he had a 30-minute feature of his work. in March of this year, he had a 10-minute spotlight feature showcasing his new book of poetry, called homefront, containing many of the poems he read at the Cantab over the past five years. The sample poem below is excerpted from memory plays.



when i was with Love
we had a daughter named Hope
she was the only good song
on our jukebox
the gem in our junkpile

Hope would cry in the morning
& in evenings hum herself
to sleep--love & i kept each other
awake with our restlessness

there was something beautiful
when Love held Hope in her arms
as if there wasn't any trouble
i lived on that

after Love & i left each other
i get Hope on certain appointed times
it's hard on her
because she's no longer Love's
& no longer mine

May 26: Marc Goldfinger and Dan Shanahan Feature

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On May 26th, Stone Soup concludes the month-long celebration of its 37th year with two Stone Soup staples returning to feature: Marc Goldfinger and Dan Shanahan.



Marc D. Goldfinger has been published by Ibbetson Street Press, The Aurorean, Pegasus, The Boston Poet, Clamor magazine, Earth First! and the Crooked River Press among others. He is currently the poetry editor of Spare Change News, a paper put out for the benefit of homeless people. He is a counselor for people with Substance Use Disorders and some of his work has been used to augment courses at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. His latest book is Essays On Major Mental Illness with a Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder or What Came First: The Chicken or The White Horse.





Dan Shanahan was reading and selling his poems to passers-bye on Beacon Hill in 1969 when he met Jack Powers. Jack was holding readings at the Old West Church then and soon after Jack initiated the weekly Stone Soup readings in his gallery on Cambridge Street. Dan left Boston for Alaska in 1972 where he lived for six years.

Stone Soup published The Alaska Poems, his first book of poems, in 1995, with assistance of a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant. In 1997 his second collection, Crystal Lake, was published. Crystal Lake reflects on the immanent present and historical past of a mill pond owned by Giles and Martha Corey, two victims of the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century. In 2003, Dan produced an audio book on CD entitled The Lotus Seed Poems, a suite of poems recollecting his experience of living with a meditation master whom he lived with in India.

May 19th: Cosmic Spelunker Theater Reunites


Photo by Elizabeth Schweber Doles

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On May 19th, Stone Soup welcomes the reuniting Cosmic Spelunker Theatre troupe, coming back together to perform at Stone Soup for the first time ever.

Cosmic Spelunker Theater is a Boston based collaborative performance art troupe that has been presenting its fusion of spoken word and movement since 2002, appearing at Mobius (Boston, MA), Puppet Showplace Theatre (Brookline, MA), Artists at Large, Inc. (Hyde Park, MA), Casa Nia, Zeitgeist Gallery, Out of the Blue Art Gallery (Cambridge, MA), The Revolving Museum (Lowell, MA), AS220 (Providence, RI) Warwick Museum of Art (Warwick, RI), and Bowery Poetry Club (New York, NY)

William J. Barnum is a stage actor whose long career began at the age of 17 playing Valentine in a production of Twelfth Night. His roles often had him sharing the stage with George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Bennedict, and Spaulding Gray. As a mime, he received training from Étienne Decroux, the father of modern mime, Tony Montanaro, and Samuel Avital, he was also one of the leads for Paul Curtis’ American Mime Theatre. He danced with the Boston Ballet and with José Limon. Barnum began to synthesize his stage skills as a performer with his own poetic compositions to form his own body of work. His poetry was collected in the volume Of Rare Design (VB Press.)

James Van Looy has been a fixture in Boston’s poetry venues since the 1970s and performed with the Mirage Mime Theater from 1980 to 1987 during which time he was also taught classes offered by Mirage. From 1987 to 1988 he was a member of the Collective Mime. His poetry has been anthologized in Out of the Blue Writers Unite. He has run poetry workshops for Boston area homeless people at Pine Street Inn and St. Francis House since 1992 and regularly reads at Bay State Prison as part of their poetry program. Currently, Van Looy leads the Labyrinth Creative Movement Workshop. Van Looy also has second degree black belt in Karate and is a Vietnam War era veteran.

Ian Thal‘s poetry grew out of his participation in Boston’s post-punk “spoken word” scene of the late 1990s before studying mime with Van Looy. His blog about his work with Bread & Puppet Theater was recently placed on the reading list for a course at the University of London. He is a member of the commedia dell’arte troupe, i Sebastiani, where he serves as both an actor and choreographer. He studies kathak, a classical dance form of Northern India, at the Chhandika Institute of Kathak Dance, and also serves as the mime and commedia dell’arte instructor at Open Air Circus, a Somerville based youth circus.

May 12th: Lynne Stickor "The Prize Lady," Chad Parenteau, Carol Weston Feature

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. Participants are encouraged to arrive early on May 12th, as Stone Soup will be featuring three performers to help continue with Stone Soup's celebration of its 37th anniversary: An opening performance by Lynne Sticklor "The Prize Lady," a micro feature by Chad Parenteau, and a main feature by Carol Weston.


Photo by Lynne Sticklor

Lynne Sticklor "The Prize Lady" is a performance artist, poet, and creator of Visual art: magazine collage, acrylics & sparkles, clay and Text & Graphics as mediums. She is the sole creator of The Prize Lady Experience, which is a one-on-one performance art piece, as well as a Stage Show with grand poetic theatrics and "fabulous prizes". It has been performed at many venues and at many events--public and private.

She describes The Prize Lady Experience as a way to feel worthy of being creative just because you've expressed yourself. It's about opening your mind to your creative side, to the clown or performer in all of us, and to the thoughts or ideas that can only surface when we are inspired in an indirect way. It's about feeling and being worthy of winning a prize just because you embrace the moment of creativity as your own. It breaks down the barrier between Artist and Non-Creative type and even Performer and Audience.


Photo by Janice Parenteau

Chad Parenteau helps host and coordinate Stone Soup and edits the online tribute journal Spoonful with Lynne Sticklor. His new chapbook comes out later this year. He has been a past participant in April's National Poetry Writing Month challenge. His feature will focus on recently completed work done for the recently completed NaPoWriMo event of 2008.


Photo by Bill Perrault

Carol Weston has featured many times with Stone Soup. She read alongside Jack Powers and Allen Ginsberg in 1973 in the former Charles Street Universalist Church. In the Winter of 1983, she was asked by Powers to feature in Boston's City Hall along with John Wieners. Her poetry has been published in The Farleigh Literary Review, Bomb, Stone Soup Anthology 2003, Spoonful and The Blind See Only This World.

Visit The Prize Lady's web site.

Visit Spoonful for samples of Parenteau's and Weston's work.

May 5th: Come Help Celebrate Stone Soup's 37th Year With Diana Sáenz



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On May 5th, Stone Soup welcomes the return of poet, playwright, performer, editor and former regular Diana Sáenz, to help in commemorating the 37th anniversary of Stone Soup.

Diana Sáenz is a native of Los Angeles California, and has been writing poetry since the age of 15. Her plays have been produced around the country, and she is has three books of poetry presently for sale: An Ordindary Life Discussed, The Book of Eve, and Just This side of the 3rd Millenium. Diana and her husband, Marshall Harvey, whom she met in 1995 at Stone Soup Poetry when it was at TT The Bears, are the editors of Boston Poet.

Her plays have been produced across the U.S. Her poetry has been staged in co-productions in theater and dance. She is on the Board of Directors of The National Boston Poetry Festival, and the founding editor of Boston Poet Magazine, and present editor of bostonpoet.com,

Sáenz is on the board of directors of Harris Gardner’s Boston National Poetry Festival. She has run the bostonpoet.com website since 2000. She has featured most recently at the Kerouac Festival in October 2006, Squawk, Jeff Robinson’s Poetry Jazz, Lowell University, Nashua’s Poet’s Corner, and many other venues.

Click here for a sample of the author's work.

Visit bostonpoet.com

Purchase the new Boston Poet print journal: Bad Ass.

April 28th: Gary Hicks Returns to Stone Soup



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 28th, Stone Soup closes off National Poetry Month with the return of local poetry staple Gary Hicks.

Gary Hicks is the author of a pen is like a piece. you pick it up. you use it and a contributor to Poets against the Killing Fields. For some 45 years, he has been a community organizer and activist, peace and justice advocate and at various times a teacher of children, young adults, and "grownups". He just passed his 62nd birthday and is feeling o.k. about that.

Click here for a sample poem by Hicks in The November 3rd Club.

Upcoming Stone Soup Features

New links will be shown below as new bios are created.


April 7th: Jim Bobrick and John Landry features.

April 14th: The infamous Lee Letif and Chris Robbins.

April 21st: Poet, editor and activist Susan Deer Cloud.

April 21st: Susan Deer Cloud Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 26th, we welcome the poet Susan Deer Cloud, who will stop by our venue during her visit to Massachusetts.

Susan Deer Cloud is a Métis mountain Indian who has been published in numerous journals & anthologies (Sister Nations, Unsettling America, Mid-American Review, Ms. Magazine, Sojourner, North Dakota Quarterly, Stone Canoe, etc). Her most recent book is The Last Ceremony (Foothills Press). She has received various awards and fellowships, including First Prize in Allen Ginsberg Poetry Competition, Prairie Schooner’s Readers Choice Award, a New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and 2007 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship. Her cat, Wu Wei, is not impressed.

Click here for a sample from Spoonful.

April 14th: Lee Litif and Chris Robbins Return

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On April 9th, Stone Soup will feature the return of Stone Soup's favorite open mike gadfly, Lee Letif and his opener, Chris Robbins. Because this sure to be an extension of Letif's usual open mike performances, the April 9th show will not be viewable on public access and therefore is best viewed live.



Photo by Bill Perrault


Lee Letif has been a regular contribution to the Stone Soup open mike since 1991. He's the author of several chapbooks, including Unpatriotic Flags and Abominating White Houses, Reckless Paella and Defecating Republicans, and Ultrasonic Amplifiers and Marshall Amps/Genital Wart Puking Rednecks.



Photo by Bill Perrault

Chris Robbins was born in Boston, MA, in 1965, not that this crap is actually important. He graduated Whitman-Hanson High in 1984, earning a B. S. degree ('cause, fact it people, that's all a high school diploma is really worth these days). In 1993, after writing poetry and otherwise wasting ink for nine years, Chris wrote a bunch of fixed form poems and, attempting to emulate one of his favorite classic rock bands, Jethro Tull, self-published a chapbook called Bard's Ambition. Now, 14 years later, he's at it again, this time with a chapbook of love and human equality poetry, appropriately called Love Among Equals.

April 7th: Jim Bobrick and John Landry Feature

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. April 7th, Stone Soup will be celebrating the opening of its National Poetry Month readings with Jim Bobrick and John Landry.




Jim Bobrick is the author of THROWBACKS from Spinner publications. He teaches at UMass Dartmouth and taught Literature for the Swain School of Design until its demise in the late 1980's.




John Landry is the poet laureate of New Bedford. He is the Contributing Editor for the 50th anniversary anthology of BEATITUDE, the San Francisco mag begun in 1958 by Bob Kaufman, Bill Margolis, John Kelly, and Allen Ginsberg. He has recently read at the annual 100 POETS Reading in Philadelphia. He hosts a poetry series at Gallery X in New Bedford.

Cancellation

Victoria Bosch Murray's feature for April 7th has been cancelled. We regret this and will attempt to reschedule her for another date soon.

Reminder, Tonight, March 31st

Welcome back Christopher Glenn.

A Reminder for April 24th

Lawrence Kessenich Features.

Spoonful 2 Is Out

We're pleased to announce issue # 2 of Spoonful, an online journal
that serves as an ongoing tribute to the Stone Soup Poetry scene.

Issue # 2 can now be read here.

Featuring:


OUR FIRST VISUAL POEM WITH:

"Squeeze Tight" by Sarah N. Dipity


TRIBUTES TO PATRICIA FILLINGHAM BY:

Debra Cash, Edward S. Gault, Gordon Marshall, Bill Perrault, Deborah M. Priestly, and Lynne Sticklor.


POEMS BY:

Mike Amado, William J. Barnum, Yonit Bousany, Sam Cha, Thade Correa, Patricia Fillingham, Nathan Graziano, Doug Holder, Coleen T. Houlihan, Laurel Lambert, Gordon Marshall, Margaret Nairn, Bill Perrault, Jack Powers, Christopher Robbins, Simon Schattner, Jade Sylvan, and James Van Looy.

ARTWORK BY:

Debra Cash, Vincent Ciaccio, James Conant, Edward S. Gault, Bill Perrault, Andy Schattner, and Cindy Williams.


Visit the website for updated submission information regarding Issue
# 3, scheduled to be published during National Poetry Month.


Thank you,

Chad Parenteau
Lynne Sticklor

March 31st: Christopher Glenn Returns



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On March 31st, Stone Soup is proud to welcome back Christopher Glenn to his second well deserved Stone Soup feature.

Christopher Glenn, commonly known in the Boston poetry scene as "Chris Utah"...(go figure) has been involved in poetry in New England for roughly the last 6 months. Has moved to Boston for Architecture school and is currently attending the Boston Architectural College. he never sleeps, eats when necessary, and is really good at sneaking on to mass public transit.

This is his second Stone Soup feature. Born in LA, raised in Salt Lake City Utah (no he is not Mormon) and now currently resides in Boston.

Visit Christopher Glenn's blog.

March 24th: Lawrence Kessenich Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On March 24, Stone Soup welcomes the poet and former Houghton Mifflin editor Lawrence Kessenich.

Lawrence Kessenich has published poetry in cream city review, Energy Review and Chronogram. His chapbook Strange News will be published by Pudding House Publications soon. Another chapbook, Trying to Save Jackie Kennedy, was a finalist in the Spire Press Poetry Chapbook Competition in 2007. He has also published essays on CommonTies.com and Arkansas Public Radio’s "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow."

Kessenich briefly attended the graduate creative writing program in poetry at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He then became an editor at Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston, where he read for the publisher’s annual poetry series and worked with the editors of Selected Poems: Anne Sexton and the author of Anne Sexton: A Biography. He also acquired two Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award-winning novelists and many other fiction and nonfiction writers. He lives in Watertown.


Bombed in Las Vegas

                              In the early 1950s, people in Las Vegas would sit on the
                              rooftops of casinos at night to watch nuclear explosions
                              at the Nevada Test Site 65 miles northwest of the city.

Zombie was the drink of choice as we awaited
the explosion, all night on the rooftop
of the Sands, sports jackets buttoned, shawls wrapped
tight against the cold and brittle desert air

Al and I would have preferred martinis
but the girls insisted we drink with them
and they were girls we wanted to please, hoping
they would please us back come morning.

We had seen bombs explode before, Al and I
all up and down the length of Europe
but Artie, testing A-bombs down the road
told us, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, my friends!”

By the time the dawn appeared, a knife edge
on the horizon, Al was dueling tongues
with Doris , my hand was far up Sally’s skirt.
And then the monstrous thing exploded.

The rumble was like a million tanks rolling
across France at once, the wind like as many
bombers whooshing overhead, the light as if
the earth itself was a cannon muzzle.

And as the monstrous cloud began to rise
like nothing less than Death, himself
I crawled into Sally’s welcome lap
and buried myself in her perfume.

Later, we made love like animals, proving
we, at least, were still alive, unlike the Japs
at Hiroshima and Nagasaki
who suddenly could have been next door.

And when I ejaculated, the white cloud
of my semen mushrooming inside of her
I, who’d said he never wanted children
prayed this explosion would bring new life.

--Lawrence Kessenich

March 17th: Kevin Gallagher Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On March 17th, Stone Soup welcomes the return of longtime local poet Kevin Gallagher. who celebrates the release of two chapbooks this year.

Kevin Gallagher is the author of two chapbooks of poetry, Isolate Flecks (Cervena Barva, 2008), and Looking for Lake Texcoco (Cy Gist, 2008). His poetry and reviews have appeared in such publications as The Boston Review, Emergency Almanac, Green Mountains Review, Harvard Review, Jacket, Peacework, the Partisan Review and elsewhere. In 2004 he edited a feature on Kenneth Rexroth for Jacket, and a chapbook titled Nevertheless: Some Gloucester Writers and Artists. From 1992 to 2002 he was a publisher and editor of compost magazine. A retrospective anthology of compost, co-edited with Margaret Bezucha, is titled There’s No Place on Earth Like the World (Zephyr, 2006). He lives with his wife Kelly, and son Theo, in Newton, Massachusetts.

Click here for a sample of Keven Gallagher's work from Jacket magazine.

March 10th: Thade Correa Features


Photo by Caleb Cole


Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On March 10, we have the pleasure of welcoming Thade Correa for his first Stone Soup feature.

Thade Correa was born January 17, 1983 and grew up in Hammond, Indiana. He attended Indiana University Bloomington where he studied literature, piano, and music composition. His work has appeared in Modern Haiku, Doug Holder's column "Lyrical Somerville," and Ibbetson
Street. His prominent influences include Whitman, Rilke, Neruda, Ginsberg, Stevens, and Ashbery. He currently works as a permanent substitute teacher at a school in Roxbury, which sometimes involves his having to deflect flying metal chairs.

Extra Spoonful #2 Preview!!! Click here for a sample of the Author's work.

March 3rd: Bill Perrault and Ann Carhart Feature

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On March 3rd, friends and Stone Soup regulars Bill Perrault and Ann Carhart to Feature.


Photo by Chad Parenteau

Bill Perrault was born and lived in Biddeford ME until he finished college for which he had paid by working as a weaver in the textilemills. From 1958 to 1960, the U S Army sent him to Germany as a medic andEducational Counselor. He took the opportunity to tour Europe at that time. When his tour of duty was over, he came home and six weeks later,he married his wife, Lorraine. In 1964, the first of their four children was born and, to date, they are now the proud grandparents of seven. After he and Lorraine married, he began his career teaching high school French and Latin in Maine and upper New York State. He did graduate studies at University of Maine and wrote his masters thesis on Guillaume Apollinaire. In 1973, he moved to Massachusetts to work for Polaroid. Bill now lives in Lowell. Throughout his life, he has enjoyed poetry andphotography. Bill was always the one with a notebook with him to write and a camera to take a picture. He never knew when he might be inspired or find a picture that just needed to be taken. In his retirement, the free time allows him to take these passions to a new level. If it’s joining the Poets in Boston for the Stone Soup Poets or producing local TV programs in Cambridge and Lowell, he is enjoying his creative life. Bill Has been published in the Stone Soup Anthology 2003, Out of the Blue Writers Unite Anthology, and various web pages, and if you are lucky enoughto be on his e-mail list, the poetry is Hot Off The Presses! Bill has featured, performed and sometimes hosted at open mikes all over NewEngland--including: COOL COFFEE in Biddeford, ME, Bestseller’s Cafe inMedford, MA his Walden Pond Series and, of course, Out Of the BlueGallery. Bill is a staple figure at the Gallery in Cambridge, MA and has faithfully supported the events they hold there every day/night of the week-- Stone Soup Poets, WordBeat, Open Bark and all.


Photo by Bill Perrault

Anne Carhart considers herself to be an old Cambridge poet but readily admits being born in Brooklyn and falling in love with poetry while living in the Village and attending NYU. She has an M.A. in Writing and one in Counseling/Psychology from Cambridge's Lesley University and an Ed.D. from UMass. Her poems have appeared in the anthology Cries of the Spirit, Heat City Review, Earth's Daughters, The Hartford Courant and Spare Change News. Ibbetson Street Press published her first book, Sanctus! Sanctus! Sanctus! She is working on her next book, A Kid From Brooklyn.

See the Spoonful website for samples of the poets' work.

February 25th: Harris Gardner and Lainie Senechal Return to Stone Soup

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On February 25th, we welcome the return of of past Stone Soupers Harris Gardner and Lainie Senechal.

Harris Gardner's poetry credits include The Jewish Advocate; The Harvard Review; Midstream; Cool Plums; Rosebud; Fulcrum; The Aurorean; Providence Journal; Spare Change News; Endicott Review; Ibbetson Street, and anthologies like City of Poets and I Refused to Die-A Holocaust Study by Susie Davidson. His first book of poetry wa Co-authored with Lainie Senechal a volume of poetry: Chalice of Eros. His next collection: Lest They Become, was published by Ibbetson Street Press. His newest collection, Among Us, was pubished in November, 2007 by Cervena Barva Press. He is the host of two poetry venues and the founder of Boston National Poetry Month Festival, 2001 to the present. He is the co-founder (with Doug Holder) of Breaking Bagels with the Bards, a weekly poetry community; Poet-in-Residence, Endicott College. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2005 and receieved honorable mention for the Boyle-Farber Prize in 2004.

Lainie Senechal is a poet, painter, and environmental science teacher. She has published over 75 poems in various publications including Dasoku, The Larcom Review, Spare Change, The Aurorean (featured poet 2002), Ibbetson Street, The Journal of Modern Writing, Wilderness House Literary Review, and The South Boston Literary Gazette. She has featured at many venues throughout New England. She has co-authored two volumes of poetry: Chalice of Eros with Harris Gardner and Naiad’s Lantern with her sisters. Her poetry appears in three anthologies: City of Poets, Bagels with the Bards, Bagelbard Anthology No. 2 and Wilderness House Literary Review, The Best of Volume1. In 2008 her chapbook Vocabulary of Awakening will be released by Pudding House.

Click here for a sample of Gardner and Senechal's collaboration.

Reminder

J*me performs tonight.

Reminder

Lisa Beatman at Stone Soup tonight.

Reminder

Adam Thielker returns on the 28th.

February Features Announced

February 4th: Newest Ibbetson author Lisa Beatman.

February 11th: The return of local performer J*me.

February 18th: David R. Surette reads from his new book.

February 24th: Welcome Harris Gardner and Lannie Senechal.

February 18th: David R. Surette Promotes New Book



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On February 18th, the celebration of new publications continue with the return of David R. Surette and his new publication.

David R. Surette's new book of poetry is Easy to Keep, Hard to Keep In, published by Koenisha. His first, Young Gentlemen's School, was released in 2004. Surette's poems have been published in literary journals such as Peregrine and Salamander and appear in the anthologies French Connections: A Gathering of Franco-American Poets; Cadence of Hooves: A Celebration of Horses; and Look! Up In The Sky! - An Anthology of Comic Book Poetry. He co-host Poetribe, a poetry series in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts .

Click here for a sample poem by David R. Surette.

February 11th: J*me Returns to Stone Soup


Photo by Christine Bower

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On February 11th, Stone Soup welcomes the return of performance poet J*me.

Over the past 4 years, the award winning poet and performer J*me, who is also known as James Caroline, has made a name for himself nationally through slams and features. In February of 2006 he toured the West Coast with Def Poetry's Caroline Harvey on the highly successful, I See Red tour. His work is a rare mix of literary craft and vulnerability, and the intensity of his performances has garnered comparisons to Patti Smith. J*me was voted Best Local Author in the 2006 Boston Phoenix poll. He is a multiple winner of Cambridge Poetry Awards for Best Erotic Male Performance Poet and Best Slam Poet Male.

He has guest-lectured and performed at Mount Ida College, Hampshire College, Emerson College and Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. In May of 2007 he will be performing and teaching at The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans with Dorothy Allison. He has studied with Anya Achtenberg, Patricia Smith, Regie Gibson, Sascha Feinstein, and Toni Amato. During the spring of 2004 he directed and performed in Musician and the Muse , a performance of poetry and music at The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center featuring Nicole Terez, Tom Daley, Regie Gibson, and Iyeoka Okoawo. He has competed with two National Slam teams, and represented the Cantab Lounge in the first Individual World Poetry Slam. In 1997 he was commissioned to write the vocal text and act as artistic sound director for Naked Truths; Voices of Shame, Sexuality, and Eating Disorders in Women, which was performed at the HERE multimedia center in Manhattan. He's been published in Quarry, Subliminal, Pinned Down by Pronouns (a Lambda Literary Award Finalist for 2004), The Shadow Sacrament, the Cascadia Review, and Painted Bride Quarterly.

Visit J*me's MySpace page.

February 4th: Lisa Beatman Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On February 4th, Stone Soup introduces the latest author to be published by the local Ibbetson Street Press, Lisa Beatman.

Lisa Beatman lives in Roslindale , MA, and manages adult literacy programs at the Harriet Tubman House in the South End. She won Honorable Mention for the 2004 Miriam Lindberg International Poetry Peace Prize and was awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant, as well as a fellowship to Sacatar Institute in Brazil .

Lisa’s work has appeared in Lonely Planet, Lilith Magazine , Hawaii Pacific Review, Rhino, Manzanita, Political Affairs, The Boston Globe, and Pemmican. Her first book, Ladies’ Night at the Blue Hill Spa, was published by Bear House Publishing.

Her second collection, Manufacturing America: Poems from the Factory Floor, has just been released by Ibbetson Press. The collection moves through the ‘life cycle’ of manufacturing – from its roots in the Lowell, MA textile mills, through downsizing, to the "artist lofts" mined from the old buildings as manufacturing moves overseas. It documents the swan song of a formerly vital sector that historically provided a leg up to many American workers. The book is true-to-life, based on her work at a print and paper manufacturing plant in Somerville , MA.

Click here for a sample poem by Lisa Beatman.

Click here to purchase her new book from Lulu.

Upcoming Features

January 7th: Open miker Sam Cha features.

January 14th: The celebration of open mike regulars continue with Derek Williams.

January 21st: Ryk McIntyre has a new book.

January 28th: Adam Thielker returns.

January 28th: Adam Thielker Returns


Photo by Bill Perrault

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. After an absence from Stone Soup, local poet Adam Thielker returns to Stone Soup for another anticipated feature.

Adam Thielker has written and performed his own poetry in Cambridge since 2002. He started reading at the Cantab's Boston Poetry Slam, but does not slam. He just reads. The first evening he came to Stone Soup at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery, both Jack Powers and Bill Barum recited while lying on the floor, under the watchful eye of Bill Perrault and his video camera. He felt he had found a home. Shortly afterward, Bill Perrault asked him to feature.

Within a year, a feature at the Cantab followed, as well as a further feature at Stone Soup at the request of Chad Parenteau. Now with the arrival of Rat Tar Art, just in time for a third Stone Soup Feature, the public at large may take his work home and put it on their own shelves.

Click here to read Adam Thielker's work in the Spoonful journal.

January 21st: Ryk McIntyre Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On January 21st, Stone Soup welcomes back Ryk McIntyre, who will be featuring his newly released chapbook.

Ryk McIntyre is a three-time National Poetry Slam Team member, as well as Co-host at The Cantab Poetry Reading. He has toured nationally and in Canada, opening for acts as varied as Andrei Codrescu Leon Redbone and Jim Carroll, as well as appearing as part of Lollapalooza 1994. He performed in "The Legends Of Slam" Showcase at NPS2006. He has been published in Short-Fuse- An Anthology Of New Fusion Poets, 100 Poets Against The New World Order, Nth Position Magazine and The Worcester Review. With Melissa Guillet, he has edited two anthologies, Look! Up In in the Sky!, an collection of comic book inspired poetry, and the upcoming Legendary-Stories We Tell Today; Stories Our Children Will Tell Tomorrow. He is a known biped, and he has pretty blue eyes.

Click here to see Ryk McIntyre perfrom his poem "In God's Image."

January 14th: Derek Williams Features


Photo by Mick Murray

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On January 14th, we continue to feature the local scene's open mikers by debuting Derek Williams.

Derek Williams grew up on the lean, white, streets, of Connecticut--plenty. In 2000 he slayed the suburban dragon, and moved to the Berkshire mountains to trade pelts with local liberals and learn about literature. He graduated in 2004 with a BA in English and an unbridled contempt for college students. A move to Boston only made sense. After an ill-fated tryst with teaching, he began writing again, and over the past year has performed at local venues in and around Boston. His poetry has been influenced and informed by A.R. Ammons, Hart Crane, and John Berryman. He is hard at work on his first novel, and his poetry manuscript is nearing completion. He is unemployed, and has won no accolades or prizes. Most days, he spends inordinate amounts of time wandering the streets of Allston.

A sample poem follows below.


An Emissary of Unknowns

The attorneys are hard at work,
The bones of their bodies hulk
Through tombs writ of law and suffering,
The ink of their speech still drying.

In the old neighborhoods landlords
Have taken to locking their rooftop doors:
With each year that passes fewer and fewer
Bodies are posited
On the long, tar, beaches, of New York City,
They linger like unsolved long division
Across an incomplete skyline,
More fodder for satellites,
The glint of the sun a diamond in their lens.

A plume of catapults have been commissioned,
The carrier pigeon is making a comeback,
Locks are meant to be broken,
Children play in streets and parking lots
In deference to playgrounds.

There is a handgun under every pillow
And a camera on every street corner:
A parabola of parasols stricken by the sidewalk
Speak of rain like it is a new language.

Rumor has it that Coney Island
Is closing after Labor Day,
That only the Cyclone will remain standing
When the dust from the cranes
Settles over the waterfront,
The ascent and fall of that rollercoaster
Assured by local politicians and zoning boards,
Literal testament to time that cannot stop moving,
That will not stop moving.

This is the last refuge, werewolf men
And sword swallowers ply their trade
On a desolate boardwalk;
Children gasp at their feats,
The puzzle of their countenance,
That shock is our own to contend with,
The worldly and shrill despair
Of seagulls sustaining out over the waves.

An ugly woman breathes fire
Into the hazy summer night,
Behind her waves break
Against rocks shaved sharp by our longing:
She has been trimmed of words,
Her body undulates in time
With each foaming white crest,
And the flame that issues forth from her tongue
Is the tiniest riot we’ve seen this year.

--Derek Williams

Happy Holidays

Margaret Nairn and Jack Powers want to wish you a happy holidays.

January 7th: Sam Cha Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On January 7th, local open miker will have his first feature at Stone Soup.

Sam Cha was born in Seoul in 1978 . He grew up in, variously, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Seoul. He majored in English at Williams College, and graduated in 2001. He received his MA in English from Rutgers in 2005. He's been around. He likes to drink coffee and whiskey, most of the time separately. He likes the kind of pie that has a rope ladder hidden inside, and he puts hot sauce on everything, or almost everything, coffee and whiskey being two of the only exceptions. He smokes too much. He reads a lot: Pynchon, McCarthy, Twain, Borges and Nabokov are some of his favorites. He writes a lot, but less than he'd like to write.

He wrote a lot of bad poetry in college, and thankfully most of it remains buried on his hard drive. Some of it still exists on paper in various Williams College literary magazines, most of which are now defunct. One of those poems somehow got second place for the Bullock Poetry Prize of the American Academy of Poets at his school for 1999. He moved to Boston early in 2007, and has been attending open mic poetry nights since June or so. Although he's a novelist at heart, he writes poetry right now because it's easier to read in the time slots available. One of the poems he wrote this year was a finalist for the Anderbo Poetry Prize. He wants to write words that move like steel in a knife fight. He wants to write words that draw blood.

Click here to read "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," Sam Cha's finalist poem for the Anderbo Poetry Prize.

January 31st: Deborah Priestly Helps Celebrate The New Year


Photo by Bill Perrault

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On the 31st, everyone is invited to help ring in the new year with an open mike hosted by Out of The Blue co-owner Deborah Priestly. We hope you can attend as writer, poet or musician and partake in the open mike and free refreshments.

Deborah M. Priestly runs the Out of the Blue Art Gallery located in Cambridge, Mass at 106 Prospect Street with Tom Tipton, (founder, owner). She runs the Open Bark Poetry reading every Saturday night at the gallery. Her publication credits include Ibbetson Street, Spare Change, Poesy, Fresh!, Boston Poet, The Boston Herald, The Boston Girl Guide and Out of the Blue Writers Unite (which she also co-edited). She is the author of The Woman Has A Voice from Ibbetson Street Press, an eclectic combination of healing poetry and images of women in transition.

Visit the Spoonful web site for samples of Priesly and other Stone Soup Poets' work.

Tribute to Patricia Fillingham by Chris Robbins


Photo by Bill Perrault

I was shocked, saddened and devastated to hear the news of our friend Patricia Fillingham's passing. She was a dear gracious friend to me, and to all of us. When she walked into the room, we knew our venue was graced with the presence of one of God's angels. She was often called the "spitfire" of Stone Soup because she spoke out strongly against sexist tyranny in her poems, but she always made her points with compassion and class. When she and I embraced, I felt loved and accepted, like I was really worthy of being here. Sometimes, when one of my bad jokes got out of hand, she let me know it, but she still loved me just the same.

I visited her house a couple of times. One of these visits was when she had a Valentine's Day party. She taught me how to make a wassail bowl, (even though the alcohol in it was a bit too much for me) and she introduced me to new foods (such as chicken covered in mango sauce). You could say that we were the Harold and Maude of Stone Soup Poets. True, we were "just good friends," but this friendship was more enriching than any intimate encounter could ever be.

I miss Patricia terribly, and I will always love her. In one of her poems, Patricia stated that her late husband may have already found another partner in the afterlife, and she may be lonely on the other side. I hope that doesn't ring true, and that she is now happy with her husband. But if the aforementioned prophecy does ring true, I will be there for her when it is my time to cross over.

God gave us, the Stone Soup Poets, a wonderful, compassionate friend when He gave us Patricia. But now that her time on Earth is over, we have to face the heartbreaking truth. Even though it hurts to let her go, we must now give her back to Heaven. Just remember that her spirit will always be with us at Stone Soup.

December 24th: Margaret Nairn and Jack Powers

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On December 24h, Margaret Nairn and Jack Powers will help to celebrate the holidays. Stop by and share your work (holiday themed or otherwise).


Photos by Bill Perrault

Margaret Nairn was born in Pennsylvania and raised on the Island of Guernsey in the British Channel Islands. Having lived in the Boston area for 21 years, she is now involved in furthering the cause of general health. She is part of the Collaborative Artworks group in Lynn, proud to be both a member and the president, amongst artists who struggle to overcome "difficulties" by making and selling art together. She lives in Watertown and has two cats.



Jack Powers founded Stone Soup Poetry as a weekly venue thirty-six years ago. The reading currently meets every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery. In 2002, he was the first recipient of the Ibbetson Street Press lifetime achievement award. He is the author of several collections, the most recent being the chapbook entitled, The Inaccessibility of The Creator.

Visit the Spoonful web site for samples of the poets' work.

December 17th: Arto Payaslian Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On December 17th, Stone Soup is visited by Arto Payaslian, who returns to Cambridge for the holidays.

Arto Payaslian is a poet and songwriter currently completing a PhD in English Literature at the University of Glasgow in the UK where he also teaches creative writing and modern poetry. He has done graduate work in literature at Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts at Boston where he also taught courses in critical thinking. His poems have appeared in PN Review, Ararat Quarterly, and Meridian. A book-length poem, Capillarity, is forthcoming next year from Carcanet Press.

Patricia Fillingham Passes Away

Patricia Fillingham, a beloved staple at the Stone Soup open mike as well as a past feature and publisher of several books of poetry--both hers and others--with her imprint Wart Hog Press, passed away recently. On December 3rd, an impromptu tribute was given with the help of her children, David Fillingham and Debra Cash, who wish to thank all who attended and read from their mother's work.

A memorial service is planned for tonight, December 12th.

Boston area memorial serviceWednesday,
December 12, 2007 7:30-9:30 pm
First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist
404 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA 02478
Office Telephone: 617 -484-1054

Click here for the website.

After the new year, there will be a celebration in New Jersey, on January 7, 2008 evening starting at 7 p.m.

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County
35 Cleveland Street, Orange, New Jersey 07050
Office Telephone: 973-674-0010.

Click here for the website.

Memorial donations in Patricia’s memory may be sent to the American Civil Liberties Union.


Eulogies will be published on this website, and her work will be featured in the next issue of Spoonful. Anyone who wishes to submit words or poetry in tribute to Patricia Fillingham should email Stone Soup at stonesouppoetry@yahoo.com

December 10th: Gloria Mindock Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On December 10th, we welcome the return of poet, editor, and publisher Gloria Mindock, who will read from her newly released collection.

Gloria Mindock is editor of Cervena Barva Press and the Istanbul Literature Review in Turkey. Her book, Blood Soaked Dresses, was just published by Ibbetson Street Press. She has another full-length collection, Nothing Divine Here, forthcoming by U Soku Stampa. She is the author of two chapbooks: Oh Angel and Doppelganger. Gloria has been published in numerous literary journals in the US, UK, Romania, to name a few including UNU: Revista de Cultural, Citadela, Murmur of Voices (Anthology) in Romania with translations by Flavia Cosma, Phoebe, River Styx, Poet Lore, WHLR, Ibbetson, Arabesques, Poesia, Blackbox, and the Bagel Bards Anthology 1 and 2.

Click here to purchase Blood Soaked Dresses.

Visit the Istanbul Literature Review website.

Correction, November 26th, Christopher Glenn Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 26th, we welcome the debut feature of open mike regular Christopher Glenn.

Christopher Glenn, commonly known in the Boston poetry scene as "Chris Utah"...(go figure) has been involved in poetry in New England for roughly the last 6 months. Has moved to Boston for Architecture school and is currently attending the Boston Architectural College. he never sleeps, eats when necessary, and is really good at sneaking on to mass public transit. Currently is working on his first chap-book hopefully due for release in the spring/summer.

This is his first feature at the ripe age of 21 and 3/4s Born in LA, raised in Salt Lake City Utah (no he is not Mormon) and now currently resides in Boston.

Visit Christopher Glenn's blog.

December 3rd: Gordon Marshall Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On December 3rd, Stone Soup welcomes the return of regular open miker Gordon Marshall as a full feature.

Gordon Marshall is a 43-year-old poet who combines the romantic with the surreal. He draws his rhythms from jazz and from the psychedelic rock of the sixties, purifying his voice through these sounds. He finds their embryonic spirit in the poetry of the great romantic revolutionary Percy Bysshe Shelley, on whom he did his Master’s thesis in 2005. He is a jazz poet.

Click here to visit Gordon Marshall's web site.

November 26th: Susan Deer Cloud Features

Update: Due to Illness, Susan Deer Cloud will be unable to feature on the 26th. She is being scheduled for a later date, which will be announced her shortly.

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 26th, we welcome the poet Susan Deer Cloud, who will stop by our venue during her visit to Massachusetts.

Susan Deer Cloud is a Métis mountain Indian who has been published in numerous journals & anthologies (Sister Nations, Unsettling America, Mid-American Review, Ms. Magazine, Sojourner, North Dakota Quarterly, Stone Canoe, etc). Her most recent book is The Last Ceremony (Foothills Press). She has received various awards and fellowships, including First Prize in Allen Ginsberg Poetry Competition, Prairie Schooner’s Readers Choice Award, a New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and 2007 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship. Her cat, Wu Wei, is not impressed.

Click here for a sample from Spoonful.

Tonight

Linda Larson Features.

Tonight

Al Gundy Features.

November 19th: Jeffrey Croteau Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November19th, Stone Soup welcomes back Penhallow Press, as they debut their latest publication by author Jeffrey Croteau.

Jeffrey Croteau's forthcoming chapbook, Oranges, is being published by Penhallow Press. His work has most recently appeared in The Paris Review and Fence. Born and raised in New Hampshire, he spent ten years living in New York City before relocating to Cambridge last year. A poem from Oranges appears below.


After Frost Nights
for Laura

Flocks of robins, each orange
chest blazing like a furnace,
huddle darkly in groves grown quiet
and warmed this winter morning.

A black fog palls the town,
the smudge pots' night-smoke snuffed--
fires that farmers lit to keep
the ember fruits from freezing.

And those who stoked the groves
all night return: sleepless children,
dark and small as sweeps,
now nod their heads in breakfast plates
of toast with summer jams.

Long dawns, day-long dawns,
from which lovers do not rise for work:
windows shut firm, thermostats up,
e'll stay in bed today.
While on the street headlights cortege
the neighbors to work
and the streetlights burn all day.

--Jeffrey Croteau

Visit the Penhallow Press web site.

November 12th: Linda Larson Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 12th, we welcome Linda Larson, who has celebrated late 2007 with the publication of her new collection of poetry from Ibbetson Street Press, washing the stones.

Linda Larson was born in 1947. She began writing poetry in elementary school and published in school publications in Evanston, Illinois and at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1970 she graduated with a M. A. in the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars. Influenced by T.S. Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, and Robert Bly she continued to write for publication. At the same time she battled mental illness for over three decades. Her peripatetic lifestyle resulted in the loss of many manuscripts. From 1997 through 2002 Larson was the editor of Spare Change News, a Cambridge-based newspaper that reports on and serves people experiencing homelessness.

In her sixtieth year Larson has managed with the help of book designer Lynne Sticklor to bring out an autobiographical collection of her poetry spanning her days as a student at the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars and encompassing her struggles with mental illness, homelessness and addiction.

Click here for a sample of Larson's work.

November 5th: Al Gundy Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 5th, we welcome one of our newest young open mikers, Al Gundy, as a feature.

Al Gundy wrote his first novel, "The Mystery of the Golden Watch," in first grade, with his best friend. Since then, little time passes when he's not clicking away at a keyboard. In addition to poetry and prose, he is the author of his own 16-year-old family comic strip, "Elo & Anson", which can be read at www.eloandanson.com. When he's not workin at the wordin, or hanging out with his beloved friends, he's making his living at a cafe. Al is very appreciative of everyone who supports local poetry and art, and hopes to see you at Stone Soup.

Tonight

Welcome Deborah M. Priestly and Devon Prevost.

Upcoming Features

October 29th: Stone Soup celebrates Halloween with the return of Cat and D.A. “Da Butcha” Boucher of The Collective.

November 5th: The debut feature of Al Gundy.

November 12th: Linda Larson reads from his newest collection, washing the stones.

November 19th: Penhallow Press introduces Jeffrey Croteau.

November 26th: A visit from Native American poet and editor Susan Deer Cloud.

October 29th: The Collective Celebrates Halloween

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 29th, Stone Soup presents a special Halloween performance with DA Boucher, aka "Da Butcha," and the poetry troupe known as the Collective.

From DA Boucher:

The Collective has been performing since 1994 when the Short Attention Span Poet put together a show for Stone Soup Poetry at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge, MA . The Collective line-up has included poets such as RAT, Jeff Taylor, Marc Goldfinger, Diana Saenz, the Spank Me Grrlz, and many others.

The founding charter members are poets, Da Butcha & C*A*T and bass player, Black Wednesday. The Collective has brought their brand of new American poetry to audiences from Maine to Rhode Island & Massachusetts to New York and all the New England states in between, except Vermont. The poets of the Collective pride themselves as being the most daring and cutting edge poets in poetry today, no subject is avoided or thought of as taboo, they have done sets with titles and subject matter such as, “Tales From the Sh*thouse”, poetry about crap, “Sewer Monsters”, nakedness, paint, rolling naked in paint on an American flag, & all sorts of political poetry that slams the U. S. political & war machine.

No other poetry performance troupe has taken the chances that the Collective has. Every time the Collective is on stage, they raise the bar for all poet performers and poets in general. They must be doing something right because they are the most talked about poets or troupe, good or bad, slammed or praised, everyone from Michael Brown to Lee Kidd and Jonathan Leavitt to Jeff Robinson have something to say about, the Collective. Come see THE Premier Poetry Performance Troupe that everyone’s talking about, the Collective.

October 22nd: Deborah M. Priestly and Devon Prevost Feature



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 22nd, gallery co-owner Deborah Priestly returns to feature alongside her partner, Devon Prevost.

Deborah M. Priestly hosts Open Bark Candelite Poetry night every Saturday at Out of The Blue. She has been published in many small press journals, anthologies, and local newspapers. She has also taught poetry workshops through the Newton Public Schools via Douglas Holder and at the Very Special Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a Women’s Creative Healing Arts Group at the Out of the Blue Art Gallery on Sundays from 1 to 5PM r She co-leads this group with Devon Prevost.

Sculptress Devon Prevost is a graduate of Lesley College. She has been producing art and writing poetry since a young age of nine and still continues to evolve and find her strength and voice. She had art shows at Leslie University and was part of a Tsunami Fundraising Project where she co-produced a mural which currently hangs in Porter Square for all to see. She is now a familiar face now around the Out of the Blue Art Gallery, at Stone Soup and at Open Bark.

Reminder for Monday the 15th

Nathan Graziano Features Tonight.