1/24/08
1/20/08
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
1/6/08
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 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.
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."
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."
1/2/08
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
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
12/24/07
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.
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.
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.
12/23/07
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.
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.
12/22/07
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.
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.
12/12/07
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.
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
12/9/07
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.
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.
11/26/07
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.
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.
11/24/07
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.
11/23/07
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.
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