October 26th: Jade Sylvan 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 October 26th, the venue celebrates the return of Jade Sylvan, who will be promoting the release of her first full-length book of poetry.

Jade Sylvan is a geek. Born of a family of scientists, she spent her adult education studying world religion, esoteric mysticism, the occult, sustainable design, and rock & roll history. After college, she traveled for a long time, seeing such wonders as the Spanish Mediterranean, the Swiss Alps, and William Faulkner’s grave in Oxford, Mississippi. She therefore knows most of the best bars in the Western world and how to pour a proper glass of absinthe in both the French and Bohemian styles. When she settled in Boston in 2007, she began seriously writing poetry. This tour celebrates the release of The Spark Singer, her first full-length collection of poetry. Jade believes this is just the beginning.

Visit Jade's web site.

October 19th: Bill Perrault Returns


Photo by Chad Parenteau

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 October 19th, Stone Soup welcomes back friend Bill Perrault, who has been out due to illness and would like to start reading again while on the road to recovery.

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.

See the Spoonful website for samples of Bill's writing and photography.

October 12th: Adam Goldberg 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 October 12th, Stone Soup welcomes the debut feature of local open mike poet Adam Goldberg.

Adam Goldberg (@AdamUltraberg on Twitter), "The Original Guytalker", is a Framingham original. At home with a microphone, or one of those yellow legal pads, he's totally available for your corporate or anti-corpoate functions (probably). No open bar can withstand him. He is utterly mighty. He recently released his CD, "Adam and Blake: Sibling Brothers", copies for sale with the dude.

Contact him at Adam_Goldberg2@emerson.edu.

This is his first feature and you're very likely to enjoy it.

October 5th: Fire of Prometheus 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 October 5th, Stone Soup reunites with the long-running poetry troupe Fire of Prometheus.

Comprised of poet/cartoonist/filmmaker Mick Cusimano, absurdist poet RU Outavit, activist performer Kasara, and local legend Bill Barnum, the Fire of Prometheus group entertained poetry venues and local media for close to two decades at venues like Stone Soup, The Naked City Coffee House, and most recently at the Squawk Coffeehouse, where they recently celebrated their first reunion show.

Click here for a video history of Fire of Prometheus by Mick Cusimano (rare Bill Barnum footage).

Click here for Mick's written history.

Reminder

John Landry and Maggie Cleveland Visit Stone Soup tonight.

September 28: 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 September 28th, we finish the month with Gordon Marshall, who will celebrate the release of his new book and announce the winner of the first Jack Powers Stone Soup Savor Poetry Prize.

Jazz artist Joshua Jefferson called Gordon Marshall “the poet laureate of the Boston improvised music scene.” Marshall has published two books, Waterwheel and Black President and other poems, and has one forthcoming, Chord. He has worked at bookstores, financial institutions, and at a hospital. He received his M.A. in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2005, and continues to study literary criticism and theory independently. He lives in Boston.

Visit Gordon's website.

September 21: John Landry and Maggie Cleveland 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 September 14th, the venue welcomes two excellent poets from the South Shore, John Landry and Maggie Cleveland.




John Landry is poet laureate of New Bedford. He has been a member of the Stone Soup community since the mid-1970's. He was recently celebrated in San Francisco, reading with Jack Hirschman, Sarah Menefee, and Neeli Cherkovski, all of whom have read at Stone Soup. Landry has served as a contributing editor for New College Review and the 50th anniversary anthology of Beatitude in San Francisco. He taught for several years at UMass Dartmouth and Bristol Community College. He is published internationally and has read across the US, including at the Library of Congress in 1986 at the request of Gwendolyn Brooks. His books ROAD DOES NOT END and WHALEOPOLIS: Orpheus in Whaletown will be published in 2010.




Maggie Cleveland looks for omens and wears her heartbreak like jewels in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, where she works as a grant writer and lives as a proud mama of two fierce little girls. She is the director of the New Bedford-based Whaling City Review LIVE poetry series, and will be coordinating the southeast regional kickoff event for the 2009 Massachusetts Poetry Festival. Maggie was the co-founder of the Baker Books Poetry Series, which she hosted from 1995-2000. She is the author of The Kids Ate My Homework: A New Bedford Area Resource Guide for Adult Students with Children (2008), and was recently published in the Newport Review (http://www.newportreview.org) and the journal …like this. Maggie is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Goddard College.

September 14: CD Collins 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 September 14th, we welcome CD Collins to our venue.

Kentucky native CD Collins follows the storytelling traditions of the South, both as a solo artist and when accompanied by musicians. As one of originators of the early ‘90s resurgence of spoken-word with live music, her work has been archived in the compact discs Kentucky Stories, Subtracting Down and Carousel Lounge. She has produced a short lyric documentary based entitled "Clean Coal Big Lie," which chronicles the catastrophic steps of mountaintop removal to retrieve Appalachian coal.

Collins’ fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines including StoryQuarterly, Salamander, Phoebe and The Pennsylvania Review. Her poetry collection, Self Portrait with Severed Head, was released by Ibbetson Press in March 2009. Her collection of short stories Blue Land was released by Polyho Press in June 2009. One of the stories in this collection was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart prize.

Visit CD Collins' website.

Elizabeth Szewczyk Rescheduled

Due to illness, Elizabeth Szewczyk's reading was delayed to this Monday, the 24th. Come and hear.

Reminder

Welcome Margaret Young from Beverly tonight.

September 7: Tom Daley 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 September 7th, we celebrate Labor Day with another visit from poet and teacher Tom Daley.

Tom Daley teaches poetry writing at the Boston Center for Adult Education, the Online School of Poetry, Lexington Community Education, and privately. He has published poems in Harvard Review, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. He is the author of the play, “Every Broom and Bridget—Emily Dickinson and Her Servants,” which he will be presenting as a one-man show on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at the Chelmsford (MA) Public Library. For information on his writing workshops contact Tom at tom.daley2@verizon.net.

Visit Tom's page at the Online School of Poetry.

Reminder

Elizabeth Szewczyk Features Tonight, August 10th.

The Jack Powers Prize--A Press Release by Gordon Marshall

The Jack Powers prize is to be awarded annually, beginning in August 2009, to a poet who has made a distinguished contribution to stone soup Poets, through their commitment to the art of poetry, and the power, subtlety and quality of their work.

No publication is necessary; nor is submission of any written text required. Simple presence at Stone Soup, together with dedicated recitation, are the criteria.

The prize is named in honor of Stone Soup’s great founder, who has served the Boston and Cambridge communities as a mentor and champion of new, aspiring, and developing poets since 1971, which service, rendered unflaggingly and humbly, has defined Boston’s identity as a poetry town for four decades.

The prize is to be administered henceforth by Powers’ successor as Stone Soup leader Chad Parenteau, whose faithfulness to the former’s mission has assured that the city will remain a template and an exemplar to the national United States poetry scene.

A monetary sum in the amount of $100usd will accompany the distinction, to be funded by the proceeds of Gordon Marshall’s third published volume of poetry, Chord. This is in recognition of Powers’ and Parenteau’s support and advocacy of Marshall’s career as a poet.

August 31st: Al Gundy Returns

Photo by Walter Gundy

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 31st, open miker Al Gundy will return to Stone Soup to debut his latest poetic tale, "First King."

Al Gundy was born in Cambridge, MA, the trick-or-treating capital of the world. He co-wrote his first novel, "The Mystery of the Golden Watch", in 2nd grade, and has since written adventure stories starring frogs, pirates, and everyone in between.. At the age of ten, he created the legendary comic duo, Elo and Anson, whose adventures can be read on www.eloandanson.com. Most recently, he has taken upon himself an important task: informing the public of the greatest pirate who no one's ever heard of, Luc Le Reutte. Al would like to thank everyone who has enjoyed and supported his poetry, and would also like to give a special shout-out to his beloved place of work, The Gelato Cafe.

August 24th: Elizabeth Szewczyk 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 August 24th, our summer of visiting poets continues with Elizabeth Szewczyk, who was rescheduled from the 10th due to illness.

Elizabeth Szewczyk is the award-winning author of the book, This Becoming, (Big Table Publishing Co., 2009). She has published poems in Sanskrit, Crazylit, Chantarelle's Notebook, Shapes, and other poetry journals. She is an English teacher at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, CT, and the co-editor of the poetry journal, Freshwater. Elizabeth is a recipient of the Connecticut Celebration of Excellence award in writing and also the author of a memoir book, My Bags Were Always Packed. A sample poem follows below.


Migrant

Their parents picked all day---
tobacco, corn, wheat, apples,
until the sun set and their fingers
stained yellow, holes deep in layers of skin.

But the children…
Can you teach me how to write my name?
Show me how to tie my sneaker?
Give me money---you’re rich, you have a home.

And I, at sixteen, ran from them, never
looked back, afraid this disease
would sicken my father, my mother, me.
Afraid I would have to ask

white girls with clean red sneakers
to give me money for bread.

--Elizabeth Szewczyk


Click here for reviews of This Becoming.

August 17th: Margaret Young 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 August 17th, Beverly author and teacher Margaret Young has her first Stone Soup feature.

Margaret Young has worked as an actor, artist in residence, and art educator, and currently teaches at Endicott College. Her first collection of poems Willow from the Willow was published in 2002. She is seeking publishers for her second and third collections (Night Blue, Almond Town) and a book of essays about clothes and costumes. She has published widely in journals, most recently Stand, and The Endicott Review, and lives in Beverly with her husband and son.

Purchase her book, Willow from the Willow, from Amazon.

August 3rd: 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 3rd, The Highway poets make their annual visit to Stone Soup, celebrating Biker Poetry Month and the first anniversary of the publication of Rubber Side Down, the biker poet anthology. Below is only partial list of participants, as there are always announced and unannounced readers when the Highway Poets visit.



K.Peddlar Bridges is the co-founder of the Biker Poets & Writers Association and founder of the ROADPOET online magazine. He also serves as a columnist for CT Cruise News and motorcyclegoodies.com. An occasional writing workshop teacher, his work has appeared in numerous publications and has made many radio and television appearances.



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.

Purchase the Rubber Side Down anthology.

July 27th: 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 July 27th, the reading series welcomes back popular open miker Christopher Kain.

Christopher Kain: "i found poetry at the Haymarket Cafe in Northampton while i was a junior at UMass in Amherst. after college, i moved to Cincinnati & read at Borders Books & Music as well as in the open folk mic at the Cincinnati Y. i moved to DC where i read at the Live Poets Society, took classes at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD, & was anthologized in the Federal Poet. due to dwindling funds, i returned home to the parents in CT & read at various open folk mics there. while working for Borders, i founded a six-month poetry workshop in Manchester, CT. i moved to Boston in 2002 & the first place i read was at the Out of the Blue Gallery. i became a regular at the Cantab for the next seven years & featured in various places in the Boston area. i finished a book of my poetry organized by the times of day called homefront. i contribute to a blog of writers determined to write 365 poems in 365 days. i am almost at poem #180 & am at least a month behind. i'm currently working on a book of poems titled Twentieth Century Limited, which will have 100 poems for the 100 years of the twentieth century. i can still be found giving my three minutes of work at the Cantab Lounge on Wednesday nights."

Click here for a poem by Christopher Kain from the latest Spoonful.

July 20th: LisaAnn LoBasso 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 20th, Stone Soup will be visited by well-traveled poetLisaAnn LoBasso.

Refusing to characterize her poetic style as either academic or performance, LisaAnn LoBasso considers herself most at home among artists. With over 20 years experience, she has produced countless readings and collaborative arts events, such as the Up Close, Let Loose Traveling Poets’ Reading Series, and Operation Soapbox, while still racking up her own credentials, including Poet Ambassador of Kern County in California, as well as appearances at venues and universities from West Coast to East. LisaAnn’s work has been lauded as both dynamic and boundary-breaking; dubbed a poetry minstrel by Las Vegas City Life Weekly, she has featured with diverse and noteworthy poets, such as Nicholas Roerich Prize winner Lee McCarthy, California Poet Laureate Al Young, and Paterson Award Winner Indran Amirthanayagam.

Twice nominated for California Poet Laureate 2008, she has two poetry books in print: In the Swollen a poetry collection (2003), and Oleander Milkshake, (2008). In her spare time, LisaAnn develops creative writing programs, theatre scripts, arts-education programs, and public arts installations with artists as far as England. She travels worldwide and recently just returned from living in India for three months. LisaAnn has worked closely with Gluck Award winner Frances Mconnel, National Book Award finalist and critically acclaimed author Susan Straight, and Pulitzer Prize nominee Maurya Simon.

Click here for a sample of her work.

July 13th: Dan Provost and Erin Reardon 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 July 13th, we welcome a double feature of poets and friends Dan Provost and Erin Reardon.



Dan Provost's poetry has been published throughout the small press for years. He has two chapbooks coming out this summer; The Southside of Agony published by New Polish Beat and a flipbook with the talented Aleathia Drehmer published by Tainted Coffee Press. He lives in Worcester where he is a college administrator at Assumption and an Assistant Football Coach at Millbury High School.



Erin Reardon is a poet. She has been published at Silenced Press, Hecale, the Neo-Lampshadian Outpost, Spoonful Quarterly, Parasitic, Zygote in My Coffee, Words Dance, Beat the Dust, Heroin Love Songs, Epic Rites and Gutter Eloquence Magazine. She has featured twice at Stone Soup, Boston’s Longest Running Poetry Series and has performed several open mics there and at The Cantab and The Lizard Lounge. She currently resides in Somerville, MA where she is often spotted bringing the funk.