September 14: CD Collins Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On September 14th, we welcome CD Collins to our venue.

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 As one of originators of the early ‘90s resurgence of spoken-word with live music, her work has been archived in the compact discs Kentucky Stories, Subtracting Down and Carousel Lounge.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

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

Visit CD Collins' website.

Elizabeth Szewczyk Rescheduled

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

Reminder

Welcome Margaret Young from Beverly tonight.

September 7: Tom Daley Features

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On September 7th, we celebrate Labor Day with another visit from poet and teacher Tom Daley.

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

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

Reminder

Elizabeth Szewczyk Features Tonight, August 10th.

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 31st: Al Gundy Returns

Photo by Walter Gundy

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On August 31st, open miker Al Gundy will return to Stone Soup to debut his latest poetic tale, "First King."

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

August 24th: Elizabeth Szewczyk Features




Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On August 24th, our summer of visiting poets continues with Elizabeth Szewczyk, who was rescheduled from the 10th due to illness.

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


Migrant

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

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

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

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

--Elizabeth Szewczyk


Click here for reviews of This Becoming.

August 17th: Margaret Young Features




Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On August 17th, Beverly author and teacher Margaret Young has her first Stone Soup feature.

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

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

August 3rd: The Highway Poets Return

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery (located on 106 Prospect Street in Cambridge) with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On August 3rd, The Highway poets make their annual visit to Stone Soup, celebrating Biker Poetry Month and the first anniversary of the publication of Rubber Side Down, the biker poet anthology. Below is only partial list of participants, as there are always announced and unannounced readers when the Highway Poets visit.



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



Gypsypashn publishes in print and on the web regularly, she is well-known for her monthly column in New England's Motorcyclist Post. She and Colorado's Gypsyrose produce 'Biker Bits,' a daily Biker Rights e-zine. In 2004, Gypsypashn published A Samplng of Soul, a collection of poetry.

Purchase the Rubber Side Down anthology.

July 27th: Christopher Kain Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On July 27th, the reading series welcomes back popular open miker Christopher Kain.

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

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

July 20th: LisaAnn LoBasso Features



Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On July 20th, Stone Soup will be visited by well-traveled poetLisaAnn LoBasso.

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

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

Click here for a sample of her work.

July 13th: Dan Provost and Erin Reardon Feature

Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m. On July 13th, we welcome a double feature of poets and friends Dan Provost and Erin Reardon.



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



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

July 6th: James O'Brien 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 6, local artist James O'Brien brings his performance piece, "Lizard Link," among other works, to our venue.

n three short decades, James O'Brien has lived lives as a traveling political folk singer, performance poet, journalist, film critic, and fictionist. From festival stages alongside Tanya Donelly, Juliana Hatfield, and Josh Ritter, to the pages of The Boston Globe - where he is currently a regular correspondent on municipal politics, health, wildlife, and the environment - O'Brien's writing spans medium and purpose. His poetry is generally focused on national identity, guilt, responsibility, and the psychology of the American artist and the American mind in the natural and supernatural landscape. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Visit James' blog.

June 22: Karen Szklany Gault 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 22nd, we welcome Karen Gault with her first Stone Soup feature.

Karen Szklany Gault has been writing poetry since she attended Marist College (BA 1986). Her hometown is Hawthorne, New York, with family ties to the historic town of Sleepy Hollow. Her final year at Marist was spent studying at the University College, Galway in Ireland, with a three-week whirlwind tour of the European continent snuck in. From 1986-1988 she called Orange, California home, where she took classes in both the Music and Psychology departments at Chapman University. While studying there, she spent a week of cultural exchange with Mexican Students from the Universidad de la Ciudad de Mexico, partying and speaking with them in their native tongue. In 1996 she graduated from UMass Boston with a M.Ed. in Elementary Education. She co-taught Kindergarten and taught second grade, as well as serving as an historical interpreter at the Paul Revere House (where she met her husband, Edward Gault) and The Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum. She has a passion for the sea and maritime history and looks forward to publishing poetry and prose for the entertainment of young readers. Since 2004, when she delivered her daughter Cosette, she has been inspired to write more poetry and has been reading at Stone Soup, Open Bark, and Tapestry of Voices.

June 15: Paul Bamberger 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 15th, Stone Soup will be starting earlier as we introduce New Hampshire poet Paul Bamberger, who will be reading his longer poem "In This Land" and a selection of others.

Paul Bamberger holds an MFA degree in English from UMass/Amherst and teaches at Northern Essex Community College. He has contributed to Agenda and the North Essex Review. His first book, Eating is to Till the Earth, was published by Shore Publishing in 1972. His most recent book is Down by the River from Islington-bryer Press, which has received praise from Straus & Giroux Publishing founder Jonathan Galassi.

Click here for samples of Paul Bamberger's work.

June 8th: Mignon Ariel King 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 8th, we feature Mignon Ariel King, who will be featuring her first poetry collection courtesy of Ibbetson Street Press.

Mignon Ariel King is a lifelong resident of greater Boston, Massachusetts. She is author of the autobiographical poetry collection THE WOODS HAVE WORDS (Ibbetson Street Press, 2009). Ms. King has been reading at open-mics since 1998. An alumna of Simmons College and a former English instructor, she edits the online journals MoJo! and U.M.Ph.!

Visit King's MoJo.

June 1st: Derek JG Williams 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 1st, we begin the month featuring young local poet Derek JG Williams, who will be debuting his latest CD.

Derek JG Williams grew up in Connecticut and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in English from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the spring of 2004. He has featured at numerous venues around New England and New York. He recently released a full length CD of poetry and music titled A Chorus of Cities, his work bridges the gap between academia and performance. He is 26.

Visit Derek JG Williams' Myspace page.

Stone Soup Tonight

Tonight, May 25th, we conclude our month-long 38th anniversary celebration and feature Walter Howard.

Click the YouTube links below for samples of Walter's work.

May 25th: Walter Howard Features


Photos 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 May 25th, Stone Soup caps the month long celebration of its 38th anniversary as a poetry venue with a feature of Walter Howard, a longtime fixture in the poetry scene and the open miker's open miker.

Walter Howard is a retired history professor, English teacher, and journalist. He is a member of the Longfellow Society, Natick Writers, and the Wayland Poetry Workshop. His poems have appeared in Motive, Longfellow Journal, Ibbetson Street Press, Journal of Modern Writing, Endicott Review, and others.