August 9th: January Gill O'Neil 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 August 9th, we welcome poet on the rise January Gill O'Neil.

January Gill O’Neil is the author of Underlife (CavanKerry Press, December 2009). Her poems and articles have appeared in The MOM Egg, Crab Creek Review, Ouroboros Review, Drunken Boat, Crab Orchard Review, Callaloo, Literary Mama, Field, Seattle Review, and Cave Canem anthologies II and IV, among others. Underlife, is a finalist for ForWard Review Book of the Year Award, and the 2010 Paterson Poetry Prize. In 2009, January was awarded a Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grant. She was featured in Poets & Writers magazine’s January/February 2010 Inspiration issue as one of their 12 debut poets. A Cave Canem fellow, she is a senior writer/editor at Babson College, runs a popular blog called Poet Mom, and lives with her two children in Beverly, MA.

Visit January Gill O'Neil's blog.

August 2nd: Frank and Erin Reardon

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 August 2nd, we celebrate a poetry reunion with blood relatives and literary comrades Frank and Erin Reardon.



Frank Reardon was born in 1974 in Boston, Ma. He's lived all over the United States and currently lives in North Dakota. Frank has published poetry collections such as Cancer Face, Exorcism Of The Con-Artist, Rival Tongues and his new entitled Interstate Chokehold. Frank also has published in such magazines and webzines as New York Quarterly, Quillbillies, Black Listed, Epic Rites, Denver Syntax, Up The Staircase, New Mexico Review and Kill Poet. Frank is currently locked away in the Badlands working on his first novel.



Erin Reardon is a poet. She has been published at Silenced Press, Hecale, the Neo-Lampshadian Outpost, Spoonful, Parasitic, Zygote in My Coffee, Words Dance, Beat the Dust, Heroin Love Songs, Epic Rites and Gutter Eloquence Magazine. She has featured three times at Stone Soup and has performed several open mics there and at The Cantab and The Lizard Lounge.

July 26th: The "Chad F***ed Up" Open Mike Extravaganza

Due to more than one scheduling error (i.e. Chad f***ed up), Stone Soup was unable to secure a feature for July 26th. As a result, the night belongs to the open mikers with an ultra-extended open mike segment. People always afraid of showing up late for the open mike, coming with a poem that's too long (note: this almost never happens) or not knowing whether a particular night is a good night to debut a different kind of poem, Stone Soup says "Come on down!" People who have been away are welcome. People who have never been are welcome. We want to hear from you.

July 19th: Michael Mack 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 19th, we feature poet and playwright Michael Mack, fresh from a performance in Washington, DC.

Poet, playwright, and performer Michael Mack served in the US Air Force before graduating from the Writing Program at MIT.

His poems have appeared in America, the Beloit Poetry Journal, Cumberland Poetry Review, Journal of the American Medical Association, and Southern Poetry Review. They have aired on National Public Radio and were anthologized in Best Catholic Writing.

Awards include an Artist's Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, First Prize in the National Writers Circle Poetry Competition, and an Eloranta Fellowship, which funded a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre for the Arts in Ireland.

Mack has performed in venues as diverse as the US Library of Congress, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, the Columbia Festival of the Arts, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the Austin International Poetry Festival, and Off-Off-Broadway at the Times Square Arts Center.

His solo play Hearing Voices (Speaking in Tongues) explores his mother's life with schizophrenia, and he has performed it nationwide both in theatrical settings and for consumers and providers of mental health services. These have included McLean Hospital, the national conference of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and for faculty and students of the Harvard Medical School.

Visit Michael Mack's website.

July 12th: Joanie DiMartino 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 12th, Joanie DiMartino will debut her first poetry book Strange Girls, for the Boston area.

Joanie DiMartino has work published in literary journals including Alimentum, Calyx, Wicked Alice Poetry Journal, and Modern Haiku, and also in anthologies, such as Motif: Writing by Ear, Letters to the World: Poems from the Wom-Po Listserv, and New Growth: Recent Kentucky Writings. She is a past winner of the Betty Gabehart Award for poetry from the Women Writers Conference, Kentucky, and was a finalist in the Cultural Center of Cape Cod poetry competition. She is a founding member of the women’s poetry group Mosaic, in Lexington, Kentucky, and is currently also a member of Poets & Writers Consortium East in Groton, Connecticut. Her first chapbook, Licking the Spoon, was published in 2007 by Finishing Line Press, and her first full-length collection, Strange Girls, about women in sideshows, circuses, and carnivals, was released in June, 2010 from Little Red Tree Publishing.

Her poems have been featured in several art exhibits in Lexington, Kentucky, including Sideshow, a collaborative project with the Women Artists Group; Collaborations + Catalysts, an exhibit highlighting combined mediums; and Connections, an interfaith exhibit, where her poem, “The Monks,” an experimental piece incorporating Gregorian Chant throughout the poem, was performed. She was most recently featured in the exhibit Women in the Arts, a show by local artist Deborah Curtis, where her portrait and poem, “Self-Portrait,” were on display at ArtWorks in Norwich, Connecticut.

DiMartino holds an MA in public history from Rutgers University. She has worked in the history museum field for fifteen years, and her poetry often pairs history with a feminist perspective. She hosts ‘Soup & Sonnets,’ a monthly literary salon for women, and, along with performing poetry, leads workshops and discussion groups. Raised in southern New Jersey, DiMartino has lived in Lexington, Kentucky, and now resides with her son, Dante, in Mystic, Connecticut.

Click here to Purchase Strange Girls.

July 5th: Aaron Goldstein 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 5th,ollowing the Fourth of July festivities, Aaron Goldstein brings his conservative viewpoint that has launched a thousand response poems at The Cantab to Stone Soup.

Aaron Goldstein has been writing poetry for nearly twenty years. Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, Aaron came to Boston ten years ago in the pursuit of happiness. A conservative in a field dominated by liberals, socialists and communists, Aaron can be seen antagonizing the patrons and poets of the Cantab Lounge on most Wednesday nights with his verse from the right. Aaron is also an accomplished essayist on politics and other passions and is a regular online contributor to The American Spectator as well as other conservative blogs.

Aaron's poems were featured in the anthology Out of the Blue Writers Unite (2003). He has also put out two chapbooks Oysters & The Newborn Child: Melancholy & Dead Musicians (2003) and Woman in the Sky: Poems Inspired by Amelia Earhart & The Journey of Flight (2009).

Aaron, however, does not live by politics alone. His other passions include, but are not limited to, baseball, music and ketchup flavored potato chips. Aaron currently lives in Jamaica Plain where he shares space with the beloved Boston poet Christopher Kain.

Reminder

Anne Brudevold features tonight.

June 28th: Don Hammontree 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 28, poet, author and musician Don Hammontree will close off the month of June for Stone Soup with a mix of spoken word and acoustic music.

Don Hammontree is a writer, singer, and photographer who resides in Fall River, Mass. A native Midwesterner, he has gigged all along the East Coast and the American heartland, and has also performed in Poland and Ukraine. He has released three solo CDs, "Mount Hope Days" in 2003, "The Mumbai EP" in 2005, and "Brutalist School" in 2010.He has also self-published a novel, "Baptized in Formaldehyde," described as a "sex, drugs and rock and roll tome for the whole family." His music can be sampled at iTunes and www.cdbaby.com/artist/DonHammontree.

Listen to Don hammontree's music.

June 21: Jade Sylvan Presents Book of Hope



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 21, local author Jade Sylvan presents the local youth group Books of Hope as they tour throughout New England this summer.

Books of Hope seeks to give the next generation of young authors the tools they need to bring their talents into the world and help shatter the negative stereotypes that often surround urban youth. Based in the Mystic Housing Project in Somerville Massachusetts, its mission is to empower young people to find their voices and give back to their community through creative writing, book production, performance, and social entrepreneurship.

Through the process of writing, designing, and promoting their own books of poetry, creative nonfiction, and short stories, young authors become aware of the power they hold within themselves to open doors and create positive change. The program provides a safe space for at-risk teens, primarily from families of Haitian immigrants, to use their creativity constructively and spread inspiration and motivation to others. Now in its tenth year, Books of Hope is extending its reach from Somerville and the surrounding areas to the rest of New England and beyond.

Visit the Books of Hope web site.

Reminder

Joanna Nealon and Carol Weston feature tonight.

June 14th: Alan Feldman 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 14, we have poet and teacher Alan Feldman making his first Stone Soup appearance.

Alan Feldman is the author of The Happy Genius (SUN, 1978), A Sail to Great Island (University of Wisconsin Press, 2004), and a number of chapbooks, including The Personals (Choomia, 1982), Anniversary (1992), Round Trip (2003) and On the Zocalo (2007)––these last three with color drawings by Nan Hass Feldman. His poetry has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Poetry, The Nation, The Southern Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Threepenny Review and several anthologies such as Best American Poetry 2001 and Best American Erotic Poems From 1800 to the Present. He has received the Elliston Book Award, the Pollak Prize for Poetry, as well as fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches a free drop-in poetry workshop during the year at the Framingham Public Library, and during the summer at the Wellfleet Public Library.

June 7th: Anne Brudevold 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 May June 7, we welcome back past feature and local author and publisher Anne Brudevold.

Anne is a recalcitrant poet since there's no money in it and she needs to make money, so she has caved in to the dirty world of commerce and is writing a not too sappy romance novel with redeeming qualities such as jabs at the logging industry in Maine and kudos to the art of knife making. She hopes to get into the mosh pit of being publishing and getting a substantia advance. She has published in Wilderness House Literary Review, OntheBus, Plieiades, University of Missouri Press. Windhorse, Black Bough, Ibbetson St., Bagelbards, Peregrine, Appleseeds, and on Spoonful. Also, Wilderness House Literary Review published her novel Hunter Moon online. She has one Pushcart nomination, and won honorable mention at the Cyclaments and Swords recent contest, and second place in the Best of the Valley Optimist Contest. She publishes Eden Waters Press. Issues are availabe on June 7th at deep discount. She likes to cook, eat, and hike. She has featured at Borders, Stone Soup, and the Moultenburough Public Library in New Hampshire. She's a little insecure, but who isn't in these waning days of the recap of the Roman Empire.

Visit the Eden Waters Press web site.

Spoonful Issue #4 Is Up

We are pleased to release issue # 4 of Spoonful, an online journal that serves as an ongoing tribute to the Stone Soup Poetry scene.

Issue # 4 can now be read here.

Featuring:

A TRIBUTE TO MIKE AMADO.

A VIDEO/TEXT POETRY SEGMENT WITH JOANNA NEALON.

"PATH OF A POSSUM" BY GORDON MARSHALL

POEMS BY:

Greg Ford, Tim Gager, Lo Galluccio, Melissa Guillet, Coleen T. Houlihan, John Landry, Shannon Mcginnis, Chad Parenteau, Erin Reardon, Su Red, Thea K. Scott, Luis Lazaro Tijerina, James Van Looy, Derek JG Williams, and Rafael Woolf.

ARTWORK BY:
Jane Chakravarthy, James Conant, Edward S. Gault, Laurel Lambert, Bill Perrault, Michael E. Quigg, Su Red, Samantha Scott-Heron, Luis L. Tijerina, and Cindy Williams.

Thank you,

Chad Parenteau
Lynne Sticklor

May 31st: Da Butcha 'shoppe



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 31, we end the 39th anniversary month-long celebration with music and poetry from Da Butcha 'shoppe.

Da Butcha ‘shoppe rose phoenix like from the ashes of Poetry Performance Troupe, the Collective in 2006, and features guitarist, Ethan “Black Wednesday” Mackler, and Poet, D. A. “Da Butcha” Boucher, vocals.

Da Butcha ‘shoppe mixes all forms of entertainment to bring Poetry to life, from burlesque to comedy to dance to everything in between.

Da Butcha ‘shoppe has appeared on stages in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, amazing and astounding all.

Some of their performances have included Butcha’s birth of a rubber chicken, the Alien, and interpretive dance.

Due to the fact that they blow minds every time they appear, they have been called the most interesting group on stage today and reviews of their sets have ranged from “I’ve never seen anything like that before.” to “I don’t know what I just saw, but I liked it!” to “WOW, that was incredible!”

Generally, as a rule, Da Butcha ‘shoppe challenges what the public thinks of as Poetry, their tag line, “this is not your father’s Poetry.”

Da Butcha ‘shoppe, the best thing since sliced bread.

May 24: Joanna Nealon and Carol Weston 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 May 24, Stone Soup Poetry's month long anniversary celebration continues with Stone Soup alum Joanna Nealon and Carol Weston.




Joanna Nealon is a Fullbright Scholar who has published five books. In addition to Stone Soup, she has read for various venues such as Tapestry of Voices, Ibbetson Street Press, Walden Pond Poetry and the Newton and Brockton Library series. She has been published in The Aurorean, Ibbetson Street Review, the Stone Soup anthologies, Cosmic Trend, Bitteroot, Northeast Corridor, and Poesis. Her newest release is Poems of The Zodiac.




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.

May 17th: Charley Shively and Jim Dunn 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 17, we are visited by past Stone Soup figureheads Charley Shively and Jimm Dunn.



Charley Shively is the author of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, San Francisco Experience. He has written two volumes regarding Walt Whitman's correspondence, Calamus Lovers and Drum Beats, and The History of the Conception of Death in America 1650-1860 (1988). He was the founding editor of Fag Rag (one of the first gay-liberation publications in the country) and Good Gay Poets Press, publisher of John Wieners' seminal text Behind the State Capitol or Cincinnati Pike. He is Professor Emeritus of the UMass Boston History Department.



Jim Dunn is the author of Soft Launch (Bootstrap 2008), Convenient Hole (Pressed Wafer 2004), and Insects In Sex (Fallen Angel Press, 1995). He has served as the Poet-In-Residence at Endicott College and has also participated in the Prison Poetry reading Program at BU. His work appears in eoagh, Gerry Mulligan, tthe cafe review, Meanie, and the anthology celebrating John Wieners , The Blind See Only In This World. He recently edited the John WIeners Journal, "A New Book From Rome" with Derek Fenner and Ryan Gallagher of Bootstrap Press.

Reminder

Brian S. Ellis closes out National Poetry Month.

May 10: Doug Holder and Zvi A. Sesling 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 10, Stone Soup's celebration of its 39th anniversary continues with the return of poet/publishers Doug Holder and Zvi A. Sesling.

Doug Holder is the founder of the Ibbetson Street Press. He is the co-founder of The Somerville News Writers Festival, arts editor of The Somerville news, Director of the Newton Free Library Poetry Series, and Book review editor of The Wilderness House Literary Review. His work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Toronto Quarterly, Poetry Motel, the new renaissance, The Endicott Review, and many others. He currently teaches writing at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, Mass and Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. He holds an M.A. in Literature from Harvard University.




Zvi A. Sesling has published poetry in over 100 magazines among them: Midstream, Poetica, Voices Israel, Saranac Review, New Delta Review, Plainsong, Asphodel, Ibbetson St., Haz Mat Review, Istanbul Literary Review, The Chaffin Journal, Ship of Fools and Chiron Review. He has more poems forthcoming in 2009 in Main Street Rag, Endicott Review and others. He was awarded Third Place (2004) and First Prize (2007) in the Reuben Rose International Poetry Competition and was a finalist in the 2009 Cervena Barva Press Chapbook Contest. In 2008 he was selected to read his poetry at New England/Pen “Discovery” by Boston Poet Laureate Sam Cornish. He recently participated in a Jewish Poetry Festival at Temple Sinai, Brookline, MA. He edits the Muddy River Poetry Review. His book King of the Jungle (Ibbetson St.) was published in March and his chapbook Across Stones of Bad Dream (Cervana Barva) is due out this year.

May 3: C.C. Arshagra Features at Stone Soup



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 3, to celebrate Stone Soup's 39th anniversary month, we welcome back C.C. Arshagra, a figure from Stone Soup's past that makes a long-awaited return, promising new work and musical accompaniment.

C.C. Arshagra is a Boston based poet and songwriter. He was active in Stone Soup as the videographer for the Stone Soup Poetry TV show. He also toured with the Barnum and Buddah Poetry Circus. He is the author of The Open Mike Poems, a series of chapbooks. He has been called "The hardest working man in poetry" by Jeff Robinson.

Visit the poet's web site.

Reminder

April Rangers Continues Stone Soup's National Poetry Month Celebration.