St. Lawrence Area Poets

Last Thursday's reading at the Hookah House in downtown Potsdam, for those who missed it, was a swell event.  Regular SLAP members who read were me & Nancy, Dale Hobson, JeanMarie Martello, & Rajiv Narula.  The SLU student who attended the most recent meeting, Jon Ignatowski, also read.  Two folks from the rather modest crowd took advantage of the open-mike.  That would be Bill Clinger of Hermon, who recited two somewhat humorous poems, & Setanta O'Ceillaigh from Massena, who was actually the first reader, sharing five or six of his poems.  The atmosphere was kinda cool--w/ the low lights, plush furniture, exotic smoking-devices, & fragrant ambience.  But of course it's primarily a place of business so there were a few interruptions.  We were served brownies & homemade bread by the hostess Ashley.  The place is pretty cool--call them at 274-9800 for details.  I get the impression that both Bill & Setanta are interested in becoming regular SLAPPERS.

And I can't believe that I forgot to mention the reading at St. Lawrence University two weeks ago.  It was a special reading to honor North Country Poets.  Of the seven readers who were invited & actually attended, four represented SLAP--Dale Hobson, Jeanmarie Martello, Rajiv Narula, & myself.  The other three were Albert Glover, James Hall of SUNY Potsdam, & Theo Hummer, who organized the reading.  This event was pretty well attended.  Two poets from the audience took advantage of this open-mike.  First was Amelia Erdem, who read like five of her poems.  She told me that she's trying to put together a collection of her work soon.  And the second & final reader was Yessenia Chimelis, a student from the Bronx, who read two poems off her laptop, one by someone named Jimmy Woods & one of her own.  The next SLU reading is scheduled for March 2nd, but more on that next week.  Hope some of these students come back again.

I've got a start on the next SLAP assignment (which I'm not going to explain, unless someone asks).  It's turning out okay but will present some challenges.  But I shall prevail!  See you all next time.

Soundtrack: The Buzzcocks

Beverage: Sam Adams Boston Lager

Weather: Cloudy right now, drizzling snow all day

Contact John at ataraxia1114@aim.com