 Call for Entries - 29th PHOTO REGIONAL of the Capital Region co-hosted by the Fulton Street Gallery and The Photography Center of the Capital District LLC, both located in Troy, NY
JUROR: Ariel Shanberg is the Executive Director of the Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY
PHOTO REGIONAL DATES: April 22 - June 2, 2007
DEADLINE for SUBMISSIONS: April 15, 2007
SALON Reception: April 27 - 5 to 9 PM
REGIONAL Reception: April 28 - 6 to 9 PM Juror's Talk: 5 PM Eligibility — Open to artists within a 150 mile radius of the Capital Region who are over the age of eighteen. Professional and non-professional who use any photographic medium, including digital and photo collage. This year the Photo Regional will add an additional category - short video works (up to 3 min.) Video may be experimental, narrative, documentary, animation, or collage. All works must have been completed no earlier than 2005. Awards — First, Second and Third Place Prizes, Honorable Mentions, Sponsor Awards & Exhibition Opportunities Contact information & Entry Forms:
Fulton Street Gallery - Colleen Skiff, director - www.fultonstreetgallery.org,
e-mail: info@fultonstreetgallery.org, tel:518-274-8464
The Photo Center - Nick Reinert, director - www.photocentertroy.org,
e-mail: pccd404@att.net, tel: 518-273-0100
 In celebration of National Poetry Month, Albany Poets is proud to present the 2007 Albany Word Fest featuring the poetry, spoken word, music, and art of upstate New York. This year’s event will take place on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21, 2007.
The 2007 Albany Word Fest will start off on Friday night with a cocktail party at Tess’ Lark Tavern (453 Madison Ave.) at 5:00PM. This is a chance for all of the poets and performers to get together and talk with each other before the event begins. This is open to all. Must be 21 or older to drink. At 7:00PM, the poetry and spoken word begins at the Friday Night Open Mic at the UAG Gallery (247 Lark Street). We are hoping for this open mic to be our biggest and best yet. In previous years we have had over 50 poets perform at the open mic, this year we are hoping for twice that number. Poets who wish to participate in the open mic will be able to sign up online at www.albanywordfest.com starting on March 15. Performers will also be able to sign up at the event. Each poet will have three minutes to share their work. The open mic is open to all. Admission is based on donation. On Saturday afternoon, day two of the Albany Word Fest begins at Tess’ Lark Tavern for spoken word, music, and art with a special edition of Experimental Cabaret, starting at 3:00PM. This event, hosted by Nicole Peyrafette, will feature multi-media work from local poets and musicians. Performing at this event will be Mary Panza with Monica Roach and John Weiler, Mother Judge and Nicole Peyrafette, and Thom Francis with local musicians. This event is open to all. Admission is based on donation. Must be 21 or older to drink. At 8:00PM, we move to Valentines (17 New Scotland Ave.) for Psycho Cluster F*#k ’07, featuring music and spoken word from local acts to be announced. Admission for this event is $5.00. This event is 18+. Must be 21 or older to drink. The 2007 Albany Word Fest is sponsored by Albany Poets, Tess’ Lark Tavern, UAG Gallery, Valentines, and the very generous donations of supporters of the arts and artists of upstate New York. For more information, up to the minute news, and a complete schedule of events, go to www.albanywordfest.com
Anne Gorrick and J. J. Blickstein at R&F Handmade Paints, Kingston, Feb. 17, 2007[From Bob Wright]Anne Gorrick is the host of a relatively new poetry series at R&F Handmade Paints, a large, older building at 84 Ten Broeck Avenue in Kingston, just off Albany Avenue near Broadway, where they manufacture what seem to me to be wonderful encaustic paints and pigment sticks (go to http://www.rfpaints.com/ for more details). I managed to get there pretty much on time for the 2 o’clock readings by Gorrick herself and J. J. Blickstein, the poet and well-thought-of publisher of Hunger magazine, now defunct. Gorrick often writes experimental poetry, and today, for example, she read three “erasure” poems, where the writer takes a piece of text and erases parts of it to come up with a poem, as well as a poem she derived by translating a piece of text (from The Pillow Book, the famous Japanese classic) back and forth between English and several other languages, arriving ultimately at an English text that she crafted as the final version. She also read what she called a “quarter” cento, where “cento” (meaning “patchwork” in Latin) is a text created by excising lines from the works of other literary works (in this case some of her favorite women writers). All in all, I thought she managed to write some quite interesting poems using these techniques. Blickstein read from his newly published book barefoot on a drawing of the sun, in which several of those poems are deconstructions of certain painters’ works that he has taken to several poetic levels. He read, for example, poems for Edward Hopper, Max Beckman, and Frida Kahlo, each of them quite powerful. A good two hours, spent in an attractive space with several interesting people. I plan to go back. Go to http://www.cadmiumtextseries.blogspot.com/ for more information about the series, the people, and future events.
WAMC Auditorium, Albany, Feb. 16, 2007[From Therese Broderick, her blog entry titled "Day 434--Tomber," at http://poetry.blog-city.com]"Tomber" is French for "to fall." Tonight at the Linda (the WAMC Linda Norris Auditorium) in Albany, a multi-media concert by Nicole Peyrafitte and Pierre Joris dramatized the aphorism, "where anything falls, it lies; where anything lies, it falls." During this uninterrupted 90-minute sensual feast of foodstuffs (a homemade chowder cooking on stage), song (some in French), poetry (some in German), live instrumental music, painting (Nicole's works) and cinematic pastiche, everything tumbled out and somehow all fell together very well. Themes emerged early in the show and returned later in different forms. One motif was the line -- the latitude line of approximately 42 degrees north which links Albany, New York to Nicole's hometown in France; the lines of cables on the Brooklyn Bridge; the line of a serpent carved on a prehistoric erotic sculpture; the red line of words slinking across the screen; the lines of commerce between Asia Minor and the New World and back again to Old Europe. Baghdad, San Diego, London, French villages, Albany--all were rendered in varying, overlapping modes. As Pierre observed, "a single language is obsolete." The several talented musicians on oud, bass, percussion, and guitar accompanied both Nicole's original and tantalizing melodies--fiercely sung as usual--and Pierre's original series of fragmentary poems. Noteworthy were Nicole's ode to the Hudson River and Pierre's verbal and pictorial collage of mornings, mourning, and lemurs. By the end of the evening's many alternating adventures in sight and sound, the soup was ready: real vegetable-and-pork soup served to the audience in large paper cups along with red and white wines. Or should we say "soupe et vin." One language is obsolete. And one review can't capture all the angles of this unique, successful personal and professional collaboration between Pierre and Nicole. This event was recorded by the local public radio station WAMC and was presented for the release of two CD's listed on the artists' and producer's websites-- www.nicolepeyrafitte.com www.pierrejoris.comwww.tawilproductions.com
 Albany Poets' own Mary Panza will be on The Edge - 104.9FM this Sunday night (February 18) at 10:00PM for the weekly Capital Underground show with host Ralph Renna.
Mary will be talking about the Albany poetry scene, the 2007 Albany Word Fest, upcoming Poets Speak Loud and Albany Poets Presents events, and more. She also reads a couple poems on the air. If you listen closely, you may also hear "Radio Man" on the radio from Thom Francis (we will see if it makes it through the editing process). We have also been told that there will be more poetry and spoken word on the air in the coming months. So stay tuned for more information on hearing the poets of upstate New York on "Capitaland's Pure Rock" station, The Edge.
 On Thursday, February 15 at 7:00PM Albany Poets and The Sage Colleges will again come together to present an evening of Black history-inspired poetry at the Opalka Gallery Lecture Hall featuring The Poet Essence and others from Albany Poets and the Sage College community.
This event is free to the public from 7:00 - 9:00PM. The Opalka Gallery is located on the Sage College of Albany campus at 140 New Scotland Ave. This poetry reading is part of an entire month of Black History events being put together by the Office of Cultural Enrichment and Diversity at The Sage Colleges taking place on both the Troy and Albany campuses.
 Live From The Living Room, a featured reading series with an open mic afterwords is held on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at the Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Center, 332 Hudson Avenue, Albany, NY. The next reading is February 13th, Valentine's Day with Pierre Joris.
Pierre has two new books of poetry coming out this Spring: Aljibar and Meditations on the Stations of Mansour Al-Hallaj. Recent publications include Permanet Diaspora, The Rothenberg Variations and Poasis: Selected Poems and a collection of eassays, A Nomad Poetics. Right now, however is most psyched by the release this week of his CD Routes by Ta'wil Productions. Sign up is at 7pm with 7:30 start time with host Don Levy and $2.00 suggested donation. For more info call (518) 462-6138. This is a straight-friendly reading.
Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, Feb. 7, 2007[From Therese Broderick]The few hardy poets from Albany who braved the frigid weather to drive to Caffe Lena's poetry open mic on February 7th were amply rewarded. The first reward was that not a single person mentioned the Super Bowl. (Sigh of relief.) The second reward was that a reporter from the Saratoga newspaper took lots of photos for a full spread. (Better than DW's gallery? Wait and see.) The third reward was that we got to hear the featured poet Julie Lomoe. With her typical wry wit and candidness, Julie read some newer poems(about becoming a poetry "sophomore"; about her kitty named for the sleeping pill Lunestra), some old favorites (how she gets lost while driving her car; her bipolar diagnosis), and some prose (an excerpt from her mystery novel). She even let audience members vote for which poem they wanted to hear next. Although the crowd was smaller than usual (among the missing were Dan W, Don L, Mimi M, and Mary J), enough people did attend to keep the room warm and cozy--Sue J, Shaun B, Barbara G, Tim V, James S, Josh M, Therese B, and others. Which of those versifying mugs will make it onto the pages of the Saratogian? That's as hard to bet on as the Super Bowl.
Workshop by Suzanne Rancourt, Feb. 3, 2007
[From Therese Broderick]In her free afternoon workshop on Saturday, February 3rd at the Social Justice Center in Albany, poet Suzanne Rancourt, MFA, led a packed room (about 20 people) through three writing exercises--1) describe yourself and include one lie; 2) create a story about a photograph; 3) write about the contents of a box. Suzanne used the Amherst Writers & Artists method of teaching, which means that she made every writer--but especially new and uncertain writers--feel safe and special. She encouraged us to trust the narrators of our first-draft poems or stories. She encouraged us to write honestly, using our natural voice in plain language and using particular details of experience. According to Suzanne, honesty in writing is not the same as testimony. Honesty in writing is letting our narrators (not the same as our real selves) tell our story without censorship, even to tell "lies" (if told in the context of real life). After writing comes listening. Suzanne taught us how to listen to our own work and to the work of others. Suzanne encouraged (but did not force) us to read aloud, listening for the passages that were unforgettable and asking, Why were they so memorable? Once we know why certain passages stick in the mind, we start rewriting. Rewriting means distancing ourselves enough from the narrator in order to improve craft. We don't need to memorize all the academic terminology of technique, but we do need to pay attention to how words are used and to what effect. Suzanne is a highly skilled workshop leader and a pleasant person. She is also a fine poet. After the workshop, she read a few of her own poems to an appreciative audience. If you missed this valuable workshop, call Suzanne at 696-3180 to find out about her next one. To learn more about her method, visit--www.amherstwriters.com.
 It is that time of year again for the Metroland Readers' Picks and again Albany Poets can be plugged into a number of categories in the Arts & Entertainment and Media sections. Please remember Albany Poets when filling out your survey this year for Best Local Performing Arts Organization, Best Local Arts Coverage, Best Local Website (arts), Best Local Blog, and you can even enter the Albany Poets Podcast at the end of the survey.
You can fill out the survey on the Metroland website or you can just pick up a copy of the paper and mail it in when you are done. Thank you in advance for helping spread the word about Albany Poets. Click Here to fill out the Readers' Picks '07 survey
 Poetry, Music, and Spoken Word Open Mic Night on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 starting at 8:00PM
Albany Poets is back at Valentines for a night of poetry, music, and spoken word on Tuesday, February 6. Poets, musicians, and spoken word artists are all invited to come out and share their work at this monthly event series. Open Mic sign up begins at 7:00PM. There is a $3.00 suggested donation for this event. All money collected at the event will go toward the upcoming 2007 Albany Word Fest. Albany Poets Presents takes place at Valentines Music Hall (17 New Scotland Ave.) on the first Tuesday of each and every month. For more information, go to www.albanypoets.com/presents.
 Jawbone Returns to Red Square on February 2
The next Jawbone reading will take place this Friday, February 2 at 7:00PM at Red Square, 388 Broadway in downtown Albany. The featured readers will be Aidan Thompson and Eric Keenaghan. Elaine Krautman to Read at Poetry on the Loose Elaine Krautman will read her original work at the next Poetry on the Loose event. The program will begin at 8:00PM. on Saturday, February 3 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 6 Orchard Street (at Main) in Middletown. Her presentation will be followed by an open reading during which anyone may participate. The author comments on her practice of writing and reading: “Composing poetry absorbs and pleases me. I was taught as a child that it was my task to become a citizen in the world of print. I like to read my poems to people because this seems their true purpose. Reading to you, I become absorbed again, as I was when I wrote the poem, only now we create something together.” The Poetry on the Loose Reading/Performance series is supported this year with funding from Orange Arts/Orange County Tourism and the County of Orange. For further information, contact: William Seaton, Poetry on the Loose, Inc., 15 Spring Street, Goshen NY 10924. Or you can email William at seaton@frontiernet.net Peter Kane Dufault to Speak His Poetry on Sunday, February 4 Peter Kane Dufault will speak his poetry on Sunday, February 4 at 3:00PM in the Claverack (Columbia Country) library http://claverack.lib.ny.us/, junction of 9H and 23B. Peter, who has been writing all his long life, has been widely published in major poetry venues and in the New Yorker when they were publishing great poetry. His two books of poetry are lyrical, often about the natural world, with a turn or surprise, and which for me share the luster of streams, skies, and minerals. He can quote much of his poetry from memory and prefers to do that. Also he has written poems addressing our current political predicament that beg for a wider audience. For more information on Dufault, go to this website at http://www.webjogger.net/poetrydufault/ 10th Annual Poetry Slam at RPI on Saturday, February 10 La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated’s 10th Annual Poetry Slam and Open Mic will take place at the Biomedical Auditorium, on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus in Troy on Saturday February 10, 2007 starting at 6:00pm. This event is free and open to the public. To perform or for more information contact Josh Clarke at (516) 582-9732
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