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.
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.
11/12/07
11/5/07
11/2/07
November 19th: Jeffrey Croteau Features
Jeffrey Croteau's forthcoming chapbook, Oranges, is being published by Penhallow Press. His work has most recently appeared in The Paris Review and Fence. Born and raised in New Hampshire, he spent ten years living in New York City before relocating to Cambridge last year. A poem from Oranges appears below.
After Frost Nights
for Laura
Flocks of robins, each orange
chest blazing like a furnace,
huddle darkly in groves grown quiet
and warmed this winter morning.
A black fog palls the town,
the smudge pots' night-smoke snuffed--
fires that farmers lit to keep
the ember fruits from freezing.
And those who stoked the groves
all night return: sleepless children,
dark and small as sweeps,
now nod their heads in breakfast plates
of toast with summer jams.
Long dawns, day-long dawns,
from which lovers do not rise for work:
windows shut firm, thermostats up,
e'll stay in bed today.
While on the street headlights cortege
the neighbors to work
and the streetlights burn all day.
--Jeffrey Croteau
Visit the Penhallow Press web site.
Jeffrey Croteau's forthcoming chapbook, Oranges, is being published by Penhallow Press. His work has most recently appeared in The Paris Review and Fence. Born and raised in New Hampshire, he spent ten years living in New York City before relocating to Cambridge last year. A poem from Oranges appears below.
After Frost Nights
for Laura
Flocks of robins, each orange
chest blazing like a furnace,
huddle darkly in groves grown quiet
and warmed this winter morning.
A black fog palls the town,
the smudge pots' night-smoke snuffed--
fires that farmers lit to keep
the ember fruits from freezing.
And those who stoked the groves
all night return: sleepless children,
dark and small as sweeps,
now nod their heads in breakfast plates
of toast with summer jams.
Long dawns, day-long dawns,
from which lovers do not rise for work:
windows shut firm, thermostats up,
e'll stay in bed today.
While on the street headlights cortege
the neighbors to work
and the streetlights burn all day.
--Jeffrey Croteau
Visit the Penhallow Press web site.
November 12th: Linda Larson Features
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 12th, we welcome Linda Larson, who has celebrated late 2007 with the publication of her new collection of poetry from Ibbetson Street Press, washing the stones.
Linda Larson was born in 1947. She began writing poetry in elementary school and published in school publications in Evanston, Illinois and at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1970 she graduated with a M. A. in the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars. Influenced by T.S. Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, and Robert Bly she continued to write for publication. At the same time she battled mental illness for over three decades. Her peripatetic lifestyle resulted in the loss of many manuscripts. From 1997 through 2002 Larson was the editor of Spare Change News, a Cambridge-based newspaper that reports on and serves people experiencing homelessness.
In her sixtieth year Larson has managed with the help of book designer Lynne Sticklor to bring out an autobiographical collection of her poetry spanning her days as a student at the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars and encompassing her struggles with mental illness, homelessness and addiction.
Click here for a sample of Larson's work.
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 12th, we welcome Linda Larson, who has celebrated late 2007 with the publication of her new collection of poetry from Ibbetson Street Press, washing the stones.Linda Larson was born in 1947. She began writing poetry in elementary school and published in school publications in Evanston, Illinois and at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1970 she graduated with a M. A. in the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars. Influenced by T.S. Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, and Robert Bly she continued to write for publication. At the same time she battled mental illness for over three decades. Her peripatetic lifestyle resulted in the loss of many manuscripts. From 1997 through 2002 Larson was the editor of Spare Change News, a Cambridge-based newspaper that reports on and serves people experiencing homelessness.
In her sixtieth year Larson has managed with the help of book designer Lynne Sticklor to bring out an autobiographical collection of her poetry spanning her days as a student at the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars and encompassing her struggles with mental illness, homelessness and addiction.
Click here for a sample of Larson's work.
10/29/07
November 5th: Al Gundy Features
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 5th, we welcome one of our newest young open mikers, Al Gundy, as a feature.
Al Gundy wrote his first novel, "The Mystery of the Golden Watch," in first grade, with his best friend. Since then, little time passes when he's not clicking away at a keyboard. In addition to poetry and prose, he is the author of his own 16-year-old family comic strip, "Elo & Anson", which can be read at www.eloandanson.com. When he's not workin at the wordin, or hanging out with his beloved friends, he's making his living at a cafe. Al is very appreciative of everyone who supports local poetry and art, and hopes to see you at Stone Soup.
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On November 5th, we welcome one of our newest young open mikers, Al Gundy, as a feature.
Al Gundy wrote his first novel, "The Mystery of the Golden Watch," in first grade, with his best friend. Since then, little time passes when he's not clicking away at a keyboard. In addition to poetry and prose, he is the author of his own 16-year-old family comic strip, "Elo & Anson", which can be read at www.eloandanson.com. When he's not workin at the wordin, or hanging out with his beloved friends, he's making his living at a cafe. Al is very appreciative of everyone who supports local poetry and art, and hopes to see you at Stone Soup.
10/22/07
Upcoming Features
October 29th: Stone Soup celebrates Halloween with the return of Cat and D.A. “Da Butcha” Boucher of The Collective.
November 5th: The debut feature of Al Gundy.
November 12th: Linda Larson reads from his newest collection, washing the stones.
November 19th: Penhallow Press introduces Jeffrey Croteau.
November 26th: A visit from Native American poet and editor Susan Deer Cloud.
November 5th: The debut feature of Al Gundy.
November 12th: Linda Larson reads from his newest collection, washing the stones.
November 19th: Penhallow Press introduces Jeffrey Croteau.
November 26th: A visit from Native American poet and editor Susan Deer Cloud.
10/19/07
October 29th: The Collective Celebrates Halloween
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 29th, Stone Soup presents a special Halloween performance with DA Boucher, aka "Da Butcha," and the poetry troupe known as the Collective.
From DA Boucher:
The Collective has been performing since 1994 when the Short Attention Span Poet put together a show for Stone Soup Poetry at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge, MA . The Collective line-up has included poets such as RAT, Jeff Taylor, Marc Goldfinger, Diana Saenz, the Spank Me Grrlz, and many others.
The founding charter members are poets, Da Butcha & C*A*T and bass player, Black Wednesday. The Collective has brought their brand of new American poetry to audiences from Maine to Rhode Island & Massachusetts to New York and all the New England states in between, except Vermont. The poets of the Collective pride themselves as being the most daring and cutting edge poets in poetry today, no subject is avoided or thought of as taboo, they have done sets with titles and subject matter such as, “Tales From the Sh*thouse”, poetry about crap, “Sewer Monsters”, nakedness, paint, rolling naked in paint on an American flag, & all sorts of political poetry that slams the U. S. political & war machine.
No other poetry performance troupe has taken the chances that the Collective has. Every time the Collective is on stage, they raise the bar for all poet performers and poets in general. They must be doing something right because they are the most talked about poets or troupe, good or bad, slammed or praised, everyone from Michael Brown to Lee Kidd and Jonathan Leavitt to Jeff Robinson have something to say about, the Collective. Come see THE Premier Poetry Performance Troupe that everyone’s talking about, the Collective.
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 29th, Stone Soup presents a special Halloween performance with DA Boucher, aka "Da Butcha," and the poetry troupe known as the Collective.
From DA Boucher:
The Collective has been performing since 1994 when the Short Attention Span Poet put together a show for Stone Soup Poetry at TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge, MA . The Collective line-up has included poets such as RAT, Jeff Taylor, Marc Goldfinger, Diana Saenz, the Spank Me Grrlz, and many others.
The founding charter members are poets, Da Butcha & C*A*T and bass player, Black Wednesday. The Collective has brought their brand of new American poetry to audiences from Maine to Rhode Island & Massachusetts to New York and all the New England states in between, except Vermont. The poets of the Collective pride themselves as being the most daring and cutting edge poets in poetry today, no subject is avoided or thought of as taboo, they have done sets with titles and subject matter such as, “Tales From the Sh*thouse”, poetry about crap, “Sewer Monsters”, nakedness, paint, rolling naked in paint on an American flag, & all sorts of political poetry that slams the U. S. political & war machine.
No other poetry performance troupe has taken the chances that the Collective has. Every time the Collective is on stage, they raise the bar for all poet performers and poets in general. They must be doing something right because they are the most talked about poets or troupe, good or bad, slammed or praised, everyone from Michael Brown to Lee Kidd and Jonathan Leavitt to Jeff Robinson have something to say about, the Collective. Come see THE Premier Poetry Performance Troupe that everyone’s talking about, the Collective.
October 22nd: Deborah M. Priestly and Devon Prevost Feature
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 22nd, gallery co-owner Deborah Priestly returns to feature alongside her partner, Devon Prevost.
Deborah M. Priestly hosts Open Bark Candelite Poetry night every Saturday at Out of The Blue. She has been published in many small press journals, anthologies, and local newspapers. She has also taught poetry workshops through the Newton Public Schools via Douglas Holder and at the Very Special Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a Women’s Creative Healing Arts Group at the Out of the Blue Art Gallery on Sundays from 1 to 5PM r She co-leads this group with Devon Prevost.
Sculptress Devon Prevost is a graduate of Lesley College. She has been producing art and writing poetry since a young age of nine and still continues to evolve and find her strength and voice. She had art shows at Leslie University and was part of a Tsunami Fundraising Project where she co-produced a mural which currently hangs in Porter Square for all to see. She is now a familiar face now around the Out of the Blue Art Gallery, at Stone Soup and at Open Bark.
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 22nd, gallery co-owner Deborah Priestly returns to feature alongside her partner, Devon Prevost.
Deborah M. Priestly hosts Open Bark Candelite Poetry night every Saturday at Out of The Blue. She has been published in many small press journals, anthologies, and local newspapers. She has also taught poetry workshops through the Newton Public Schools via Douglas Holder and at the Very Special Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a Women’s Creative Healing Arts Group at the Out of the Blue Art Gallery on Sundays from 1 to 5PM r She co-leads this group with Devon Prevost.
Sculptress Devon Prevost is a graduate of Lesley College. She has been producing art and writing poetry since a young age of nine and still continues to evolve and find her strength and voice. She had art shows at Leslie University and was part of a Tsunami Fundraising Project where she co-produced a mural which currently hangs in Porter Square for all to see. She is now a familiar face now around the Out of the Blue Art Gallery, at Stone Soup and at Open Bark.
10/15/07
Spoonful Journal # 1 is Up
We're pleased to announce issue # 1 of Spoonful, an online journal
that serves as an ongoing tribute to the Stone Soup Poetry scene.
Issue # 1 can now be observed here.
Featuring:
TRIBUTES to BILL BARNUM, JACK POWERS, SIMON SCHATTNER, AND JOHN
WIENERS BY:
Ann Carhart, John Landry, Gordon Marshall, Margaret Nairn, Joanna
Nealon, Deborah M. Priestly, Colorado T. Sky, James Van Looy, and
Rafael Woolf.
POEMS BY:
Bill Barnum, Yonit Bousany, Anne Brudevold, Susan Deer Cloud, Timothy
Gager, Steve Glines, Marc D. Goldfinger, Paul hapenny, Walter
Howard, Coleen T. Houlihan, Linda Larson, Ryan Miller, Chad
Parenteau, Jack Powers, Lisa Reade, Erin Reardon, Tom Sheehan,
Colorado T. Sky, Jade Sylvan, Tracy L. Strauss, and Carol Weston.
ARTWORK BY:
Caleb Cole, James Conant, Edward S. Gault, Bill Perrault, and Cindy
Williams.
Visit the website for updated submission information regarding Issue
# 2, scheduled to be published in the winter. There will be
additional updates to the site later this month.
Thank you,
Chad Parenteau
Lynne Sticklor
that serves as an ongoing tribute to the Stone Soup Poetry scene.
Issue # 1 can now be observed here.
Featuring:
TRIBUTES to BILL BARNUM, JACK POWERS, SIMON SCHATTNER, AND JOHN
WIENERS BY:
Ann Carhart, John Landry, Gordon Marshall, Margaret Nairn, Joanna
Nealon, Deborah M. Priestly, Colorado T. Sky, James Van Looy, and
Rafael Woolf.
POEMS BY:
Bill Barnum, Yonit Bousany, Anne Brudevold, Susan Deer Cloud, Timothy
Gager, Steve Glines, Marc D. Goldfinger, Paul hapenny, Walter
Howard, Coleen T. Houlihan, Linda Larson, Ryan Miller, Chad
Parenteau, Jack Powers, Lisa Reade, Erin Reardon, Tom Sheehan,
Colorado T. Sky, Jade Sylvan, Tracy L. Strauss, and Carol Weston.
ARTWORK BY:
Caleb Cole, James Conant, Edward S. Gault, Bill Perrault, and Cindy
Williams.
Visit the website for updated submission information regarding Issue
# 2, scheduled to be published in the winter. There will be
additional updates to the site later this month.
Thank you,
Chad Parenteau
Lynne Sticklor
9/30/07
October 15th: Nathan Graziano 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 15th, we will welcome the long anticipated visit of Nathan Graziano to Stone Soup.
Nathan Graziano lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, with his wife and two kids. He teaches high school at Pembroke Academy. His latest collection of poetry,Teaching Metaphors, was released by Sunnyoutside Press in June. He is also the author of Frostbite, a collection of short fiction, and nine chapbooks of poetry and fiction. Below is a sample poem, originally published in Rattle.
On a Former Student’s Spread
in Hustler Magazine
She seemed much happier in the nude,
with her fingers clamped to stiff nipples
and legs spread wide in a claw foot tub,
than she ever did in my classroom,
half-listening to me blather about Blake,
her head down on the desktop.
As I search for lint in her bellybutton
and dirt behind her airbrushed ears,
I realize she would not know Hamlet
if he were to show up at her photo shoot
with his foil’s tip dipped in poison
and drawn to the greasy photographer’s throat.
Even if the prince were to introduce
himself by name, nothing would register,
as if “Hamlet” was plucked from a phonebook.
But she couldn’t mistake the look in his eyes
when she glanced back from her pose
to find him ready to cry or scream.
Visit Nathan Graziano's web site.
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 15th, we will welcome the long anticipated visit of Nathan Graziano to Stone Soup.
Nathan Graziano lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, with his wife and two kids. He teaches high school at Pembroke Academy. His latest collection of poetry,Teaching Metaphors, was released by Sunnyoutside Press in June. He is also the author of Frostbite, a collection of short fiction, and nine chapbooks of poetry and fiction. Below is a sample poem, originally published in Rattle.
On a Former Student’s Spread
in Hustler Magazine
She seemed much happier in the nude,
with her fingers clamped to stiff nipples
and legs spread wide in a claw foot tub,
than she ever did in my classroom,
half-listening to me blather about Blake,
her head down on the desktop.
As I search for lint in her bellybutton
and dirt behind her airbrushed ears,
I realize she would not know Hamlet
if he were to show up at her photo shoot
with his foil’s tip dipped in poison
and drawn to the greasy photographer’s throat.
Even if the prince were to introduce
himself by name, nothing would register,
as if “Hamlet” was plucked from a phonebook.
But she couldn’t mistake the look in his eyes
when she glanced back from her pose
to find him ready to cry or scream.
Visit Nathan Graziano's web site.
October 8th: Rafael Woolf Features
Photo by Bill Perrault
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 8th, we welcome the return of Stone Soup and open mike regular Rafael Woolf as a feature.
Rafael Woolf was the editor of local legend Bill Barnum, putting together several manuscripts that have yet to be published. An earlier book of poems on mental illness, I Wish That My Room Had a Floor, was first published by Jack Powers' Stone Soup Press It was recently re-released by the editors of Boston Poet.
Click here to order Rafael Woolf's book from Lulu.
Photo by Bill Perrault
Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On October 8th, we welcome the return of Stone Soup and open mike regular Rafael Woolf as a feature.
Rafael Woolf was the editor of local legend Bill Barnum, putting together several manuscripts that have yet to be published. An earlier book of poems on mental illness, I Wish That My Room Had a Floor, was first published by Jack Powers' Stone Soup Press It was recently re-released by the editors of Boston Poet.
Click here to order Rafael Woolf's book from Lulu.
October 1st: The Peddlar Features
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. Beginning our October readings will be the ever-traveling poet, "The Peddlar."
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. He recently released the chapbook/CD compilation Raised By Wolves with J. Barrett Wolf.
See a preview of Peddlar's upcoming chapbook, Laconia Bike Week ... Dust that never Settles!
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. Beginning our October readings will be the ever-traveling poet, "The Peddlar."
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. He recently released the chapbook/CD compilation Raised By Wolves with J. Barrett Wolf.
See a preview of Peddlar's upcoming chapbook, Laconia Bike Week ... Dust that never Settles!
9/15/07
Saturday Night: Legendary Boston Poet Jack Powers Celebrates 70th
On Sept 15, 2007 at 5 P.M. at the International Community Church in Allston (30 Gordon St.) celebrated poet Jack Powers will celebrate his 70th birthday with a potluck dinner and reading.
Jack Powers is the founder of Boston's legendary Stone Soup Poetry Founded in 1971 at the Charles Meeting House on Beacon Hill in Boston, Powers has lead this venue of readings, activism and publishing for well over thirty years. Powers was also influential in establishing the Beacon Hill Free School in the 1970's, which encouraged people to teach and participate in educational courses for no charge.
Stone Soup Poets is almost as well known for its publishing history. Powers has published over 80 titles , including Powers' personal favorite "Jack of Hearts," by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Powers has also published such poets under the Stone Soup imprint as the award-winning Franny Lindsay, and the late Black Mountain School poet John Wieners.
Powers has jumpstarted the careers of many well-known poets including the small press doyenne Lyn Lifshin. Folks like Beat bad boy Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg and Robert Bly have passed through Stone Soup's poetic portal. Stone Soup Poets has been housed for the last several years at the Out of the Blue Art Gallery in Cambridge, Mass. It meets every Monday
at 8PM, and carries on the proud tradition with the help of poet Chad Parenteau.
The well-known Boston street artist and activist Sidewalk Sam, as well as Doug Holder of the Ibbetson Street Press, Rev. Lorraine Cleaves Anderson of the International Community Church, and Margaret Nairn president of Collaborative Artworks Inc, are organizing the celebration. The reading and potluck dinner will have music provided by Boston -area poet and singer/songwriter Jennifer Matthews, as well as Powers' sons.
All friends and acquaintances, and anyone who has been touched by Jack in his long literary outreach are invited to come. Bring a poem, a dish for the potluck, and a friend!
* For more information contact: Doug Holder 617-628-2313
On Sept 15, 2007 at 5 P.M. at the International Community Church in Allston (30 Gordon St.) celebrated poet Jack Powers will celebrate his 70th birthday with a potluck dinner and reading.
Jack Powers is the founder of Boston's legendary Stone Soup Poetry Founded in 1971 at the Charles Meeting House on Beacon Hill in Boston, Powers has lead this venue of readings, activism and publishing for well over thirty years. Powers was also influential in establishing the Beacon Hill Free School in the 1970's, which encouraged people to teach and participate in educational courses for no charge.
Stone Soup Poets is almost as well known for its publishing history. Powers has published over 80 titles , including Powers' personal favorite "Jack of Hearts," by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Powers has also published such poets under the Stone Soup imprint as the award-winning Franny Lindsay, and the late Black Mountain School poet John Wieners.
Powers has jumpstarted the careers of many well-known poets including the small press doyenne Lyn Lifshin. Folks like Beat bad boy Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg and Robert Bly have passed through Stone Soup's poetic portal. Stone Soup Poets has been housed for the last several years at the Out of the Blue Art Gallery in Cambridge, Mass. It meets every Monday
at 8PM, and carries on the proud tradition with the help of poet Chad Parenteau.
The well-known Boston street artist and activist Sidewalk Sam, as well as Doug Holder of the Ibbetson Street Press, Rev. Lorraine Cleaves Anderson of the International Community Church, and Margaret Nairn president of Collaborative Artworks Inc, are organizing the celebration. The reading and potluck dinner will have music provided by Boston -area poet and singer/songwriter Jennifer Matthews, as well as Powers' sons.
All friends and acquaintances, and anyone who has been touched by Jack in his long literary outreach are invited to come. Bring a poem, a dish for the potluck, and a friend!
* For more information contact: Doug Holder 617-628-2313
9/11/07
September 24th: Ryan "Rat" Travis 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 24th, Ryan Travis returns to the venue where he got his start to pay tribute to Stone Soup and Jack Powers.
Ryan "Rat" Travis has often been called, the most dangerous man in poetry. A member of the infamous Collective and the Barnum and Buddah Poetry Circus, Rat has performed all over New England, as well as, New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. His poetry style varies from kid’s poetry to haiku, sonnets, free-form, rap, and everything in between. Making you laugh one minute and then crying the next, his poetry is sarcastic, introspective, raw and full of truth. He has often been likened to the likes of Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman, Jim Morrison, Henry Rollins, and Charles Bukowski all rolled into one. A sample poem follows below.
Heil Mickey
Everyone is given a number when they come to work here
you become the number and less the name
Everyone wears a uniform that's specific to their area right down to the socks
There are guidelines on how a worker should look
specific hairstyles and colors
Men are allowed a moustache of a specific length and width
beards aren't allowed
neither are sideburns
tattoos are a different story
If you have a visible tattoo
don't even apply
If you get a visible tattoo or change your hair color
to anything other than a normal hair color that is suited to your skin tone
you are fired
Goth's need not apply
You must conform to their standards
cut your hair if it gets to long
or you get written up
stand straight, don't lean
or you are written up
you can't be sick
you can't be late
even for a minute
There's a point system
If you're late less than 2 hours it's half a point
more than 2 hours
it's a point
call in sick
it's a point
You can call in for 3 days in a row and it's only a point
as long as you say it's continuous
get enough points and you're written up
3 in 30
6 in 90
12 in a year
if you're written up 4 times you're fired
There are so many ways to get written up
safety infractions
appearance infractions
attitude infractions
for a job that's so short on people they can't fill every position
they sure don't make any effort to keep people
They've burned through most of the locals
so they have to import workers from other countries
or lie to college students about how great it is to work here
the college program is pretty much indentured servitude, with a smile
which is another way you can get written up
not smiling
They try to get their workers to conform
most of the workers are so conditioned they can do their jobs in their sleep
nonconformists are gotten rid of
they're trying to get rid of me and slowly but surely it's working
A clear signal that lets other workers know it's ok to run the ride
is an open hand
raised outward arm extended
palm outward
Heil Mickey
--Ryan “Rat” Travis
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 24th, Ryan Travis returns to the venue where he got his start to pay tribute to Stone Soup and Jack Powers.
Ryan "Rat" Travis has often been called, the most dangerous man in poetry. A member of the infamous Collective and the Barnum and Buddah Poetry Circus, Rat has performed all over New England, as well as, New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. His poetry style varies from kid’s poetry to haiku, sonnets, free-form, rap, and everything in between. Making you laugh one minute and then crying the next, his poetry is sarcastic, introspective, raw and full of truth. He has often been likened to the likes of Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman, Jim Morrison, Henry Rollins, and Charles Bukowski all rolled into one. A sample poem follows below.
Heil Mickey
Everyone is given a number when they come to work here
you become the number and less the name
Everyone wears a uniform that's specific to their area right down to the socks
There are guidelines on how a worker should look
specific hairstyles and colors
Men are allowed a moustache of a specific length and width
beards aren't allowed
neither are sideburns
tattoos are a different story
If you have a visible tattoo
don't even apply
If you get a visible tattoo or change your hair color
to anything other than a normal hair color that is suited to your skin tone
you are fired
Goth's need not apply
You must conform to their standards
cut your hair if it gets to long
or you get written up
stand straight, don't lean
or you are written up
you can't be sick
you can't be late
even for a minute
There's a point system
If you're late less than 2 hours it's half a point
more than 2 hours
it's a point
call in sick
it's a point
You can call in for 3 days in a row and it's only a point
as long as you say it's continuous
get enough points and you're written up
3 in 30
6 in 90
12 in a year
if you're written up 4 times you're fired
There are so many ways to get written up
safety infractions
appearance infractions
attitude infractions
for a job that's so short on people they can't fill every position
they sure don't make any effort to keep people
They've burned through most of the locals
so they have to import workers from other countries
or lie to college students about how great it is to work here
the college program is pretty much indentured servitude, with a smile
which is another way you can get written up
not smiling
They try to get their workers to conform
most of the workers are so conditioned they can do their jobs in their sleep
nonconformists are gotten rid of
they're trying to get rid of me and slowly but surely it's working
A clear signal that lets other workers know it's ok to run the ride
is an open hand
raised outward arm extended
palm outward
Heil Mickey
--Ryan “Rat” Travis
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