2015, the year in poetry

2015 was not the most public year for me and poetry. I'd like to blow this year up socially as being constantly worn out made it difficult to attend open mics in the community.

Had to cancel a feature in Pittsburgh due to weather difficulties but I did have a good reading in Dayton in May for the Gem City crew.

It was an honor to be a part of the Sign Your Art project that put poetry on the street signs all over Columbus.

Had a great co-feature with Nancy Kangas at the Kitamu Coffee for the Second Friday Fete in November.

Had some strong thoughts about how the Columbus Arts Festival gave poetry the shaft.

Still writing, albeit slowly. It's there, quiet.

Most important though, we lost Gina Blaurock and so many of us are still reeling from her death.

About the reading at Kitamu Cafe

It was a tough night to give a reading after watching the horrors unfold in Paris. A night when about one in fifteen who went to a rock concert will never make it home. We had a show to do, and we did it - as poets do.

Quite the pleasure to share the stage with Nancy Kangas, who is one of my favorite poets. She did a wonderful set (after mine, as I would not dare follow her) that was engaging and totally relatable to my interests. She has a series of poems about parked cars for crying out loud!

I had not read live in over a month and got a bit winded. Think it went well. Did a lot of newer poems that have been swirling in my head or sitting in a computer file, unfinished, for longer than I care to admit. For posterity, here’s the set list.

A bunch of things man makes
Charlie Watts’ wrists
Raising the pitchfork, lighting the torch
How to drink a bad drink
The last barn sign painter - for Harley Warrick
The onramp from I-70 east to 315 north
Unlatching
Dear 2015
Nixon’s lunch
For my Mother on my Son’s birthday
Poughkeepsie service
Dear Pennsylvania

Thanks again to Alexis and Evan for inviting me to do a set at the Second Friday Fete. It’s nice to be asked.

Inspired by Nancy Kangas

Last week I attended a poetry reading in which Nancy Kangas, one of my favorite poets, read. She also did her slide interpretations.

There was also a poem about an on ramp. She suggested other poets write about their most memorable on or off ramps in the city so it can be a series.

After one incident last week, I was moved to write this:


The On Ramp From I-70 East to 315 North

This quarter cloverleaf tips over more trucks in a weekend
than any Hot Wheels cars I flipped on plastic track
Crime tape wrapped stalled cars on shoulder at sunrise
tells the lack of mercy this on ramp possesses
Cut off by an SUV that could not decide on
going east, or wherever
My Volvo rear ended by a Susan Komen painted Mustang
as a result of cell phone indecision
The merge north would be easier if allocated by lottery
than a correct turn signal
Jacked up Fury Road ‘58 Chevy spews blue smoke
Ain’t gonna drag that road rage Mitsubishi
Post accident parts spread out like a yard sale
All colors are welcomed to the ditch
Four cylinder non-turbo acceleration ignored by a lane hog
who will not pull over or slow down to let you in
True hypocrisy revealed by the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker
on the back of the Honda hybrid as it flees the scene
Its every driver for themselves
as another commute is endured, survived
never experienced.