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.