 Arabesques Review, Vol. 03 Issue 02: Contemporary Women's Literature Anthology is now online
What is women's writing? Is there a separate female discourse in universal literature? Is there any social obligation on the part of women's writing towards feminism or society? Is there a grand narrative or even lineal progress from one generation to the next in recent times? In this special issue of Arabesques, we have compiled a selection of contemporary women authors from all over the world whose work and influences are as diverse as the women themselves and which will give an idea about the 21th century women's poetry and fiction to celebrate the importance of this literature. Arabesques is proud of its tradition of featuring the work of many established and emerging international writers in its most current anthology featuring A. S. King, Adriana DiGennaro, Caren Beilin, Caroline Morrell, Cheryl Snell, Christiane Bostock, Clairr O'Connor, Cyndy Kelly, Deborah Strozier, Diane Raptosh, Elie Wormwood, Elizabeth Simson, Jane Williams, Janet Norman Knox, Jessica Restaino, Jill Stegman, Joyce Yarrow, Julene T Weaver, Kathie Giorgio, Kendra Sims, Kim Goldberg, Laura Lehew, Leslie Wilson, Lisa Zaran, Louise C. Callaghan, Lynn Strongin, Lynne Knight, Mary Pomfret, Michelle Battiste, Nora Nadjarian, Olivia Kate Cerrone, Rebecca Del Rio, Sabine Pascarelli, Stephanie Friedberg, Sultana Raza, Swati Chopra, Tanya Evanson, Thomas Brucie, Toni Calvello, Tracy Robinson. For more information on submitting to future issues and to check out this issue of Arabesques Review go to their website at www.arabesquespress.org/journal
 Poetry and spoken word continue next week with a many open mics and events going on through out the area. Here are a couple of open mics of note. For a complete listing of the poetry open mics and events in the area, go to www.albanypoets.com/events.
Albany Poets returns to the Lark Tavern for our monthly open mic for poetry and spoken word, Poets Speak Loud, with featured poet Carol Graser Monday, June 25. Carol Graser hosts the first Wednesday of the month poetry series at historic Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. She’s read her poetry at various events and venues around New York State and her work has been published in many literary journals. POETS SPEAK LOUD takes place at Tess' Lark Tavern (453 Madison Ave., Albany) on the last Monday of each month and is hosted by Mary Panza. Sign up begins at 7:00PM, the featured poet goes on stage goes on stage at 7:30PM with the open mic following. On the very next night (Tuesday, June 26) a brand new poetry open mic series starts in the Electric City with host Marty Mulenex (the featured poet in July at PSL at the Lark) at the Moon and River Café at 115 South Ferry Street, Schenectady beginning at 7:00PM. . Labels: open mic, poetry events
 Writing from Art, a popular program for five years, continues this Summer! Co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Writers Guild and the Albany Institute of History and Art, the paintings of Albany native Stephen Hannock are featured, winner of an Academy Award and one of the country's foremost neo-romantic painters. There are two opportunities before the writing workshop to meet the artist and preview his work at receptions hosted by the Albany Institute of History and Art.
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 21, 5:30 - 7:30 FREE
Artist Talk and Reception: Thursday, July 19, 5:30 - 7:30 FREE
Open Mic Afterwards: Walk up the street afterwards to Third Thursday Poetry Night, an Open Mic hosted by Dan Wilcox and Poetry Motel Foundation at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave.
The workshop, Writing from Art is for writers of all genres and levels will take place Thursday, August 9 Time: 2-4 pm. This program is inspired by the exhibition Luminosity: The Paintings of Stephen Hannock at The Albany Institute of History and Art, 125 Washington Avenue, Albany. Bring your creativity. We’ll provide the inspiration! The Institute's Education Director Erika Sanger will lead a discussion of the artist's landscapes, self-portraits, and paintings embedded with words. She will be followed by a multi-genre writing session with award winning local poet and writing instructor, Therese Broderick. Workshop $15 members of the Institute or Guild; $20 non-members
The Albany Institute of History & Art will open the new exhibition LUMINOSITY: Paintings by Stephen Hannock, on Saturday, June 16. The exhibition will showcase 20 paintings by, Stephen Hannock, including self-portraits, landscapes and four major works described by the artist as “Vistas with Text”. The exhibition also includes sketchbooks, photographs and two short films related to Hannock’s work. The opening reception for LUMINOSITY will be held on Thursday, June 21 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm during the June Third Thursday program.
One of the country’s foremost neo-romantic painters, Hannock was born and raised in Albany, and attended the Albany Academy. His paintings are multi layered in technique and meaning. In his more recent larger paintings, which the artist refers to as “Vistas with Text”, Hannock includes written commentaries or diaries embedded in the painting. Hannock describes these paintings “as woven fabrics of light combined with the recounting of anecdotes of people’s adventures celebrating the history of the times.” In 1998 Hannock won the Academy Award for “Special Effects” in the motion picture, What Dreams May Come. For the film, Hannock created more than 100 paintings that were used by the special effects team to create computer-generated images of heaven and hell.
Recognizing Hannock’s interest in Hudson River School artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, John Kensett, and George Inness, the Albany Institute is installing its collection of Hudson River School paintings in the adjacent galleries. Hannock studied art at Smith College with Leonard Baskin (with whom he apprenticed with from 1972-75), and received his B.A. from Hampshire College. In the beginning of his artistic career, Hannock experimented with Day-Glo paints, which required dark rooms and black lights to bring out the colors. He then began to experiment with phosphorous paints on canvas with external black lighting, and exhibited two paintings at the Albany Institute in 1982. Hannock’s style of painting was changed by an accident in the early 1980s, when he attempted to remove a sky on a canvas with an electric sander. The result of the rough treatment to the canvas had a surprising effect on the quality of light emanating from the work. The surface of the painting glowed with an inherent luminosity and soon became the artist’s trademark style.
To achieve a luminous look, Hannock has mastered and manipulated the use of electric sanders to polish in between the many layers of oil paint and resin to create a smooth surface infused with light and depth. Hannock’s work is represented in many private and public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Museum of American Art, Washington D.C; Smith College Museum of Art, Worcester Art Museum, MA; Museum of Fine Art, Houston, TX; and the Albany Institute of History & Art. Several examples of Hannock’s Hudson River work will also be on view during the summer at Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, New York and the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA. Hannock divides his time between his studios in Williamstown, MA and New York City.
LUMINOSITY: Paintings by Stephen Hannock will be on display from Saturday, June 16 through Sunday, September 2. The opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 21 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm during the Albany Institute’s monthly Third Thursday Program Labels: workshops
 Here are a couple of the poetry and spoken word events that are going on this week in and around Albany.
Wednesday, June 20 at 7:30pm - the Night Sky Cafe Open Mic Zounds! The Night Sky Cafe Poetry Open Mic 402 Union St, Schenectady, NY. Featuring James Schlett with an open mic hosted by Shaun Baxter with his zany postcards. Thursday June 21 at 7:00pm – The Third Thursday Poetry Night The Poetry Motel Foundation presents Third Thursday Poetry Night at the Social Justice Center (33 Central Ave., Albany, NY ) featuring poet Liz King with open mic for poets before and after the feature.
Liz King is a graduate student and a library clerk. She fancies herself a photographer and a short story writer; likes to jot down observations & notes and call them "poetry"; over-analyzes everything and talks to herself more often than you know; eavesdrops in restaurants. There is a $3.00 suggested donation for this poetry reading. For more inofrmation, contact host Dan Wilcox at dwlcx@earthlink.net Saturday, June 23 at 8:00pm – UUCC Wordsworth Coffeehouse Come and see and hear redoubtable poets Olga Kronmeyer and Teresa Marta Costa read their smashing poetry at the UUCC Wordsworth Coffeehouse at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Sawkill Rd, Kingston, NY. Admission is $5.00 (or $2.50 if you reaf your own poetry). Open reading hosted by Shirley Powell. For more info, email Shirley at pshirley234@aol.com For more poetry events and open mics, check out the events calendar. Labels: Albany Poets, poetry events
Poets from the Saratoga Springs area will read from their books of poetry. Partway through the readings, Susan Jefts and Carol Graser will lead a poetry workshop for all who are interested. Both have had their poetry published in numerous journals throughout the country and have led poetry workshops for a wide variety of groups and organizations. Poets include Jefts (with Margaret LaFrance, flute), Graser, and Mary Cuffe-Perez. The Arts Fest runs all weekend and includes many musical, dance and literary events throughout the city at several venues. According to the event's website, "SaratogaArtsFest, a three-day celebration of the arts from June 15-17, 2007, will deliver the brilliance and energy of art in its many forms—music, dance, fine art, film, theatre, and writing—to an anticipated audience of 5,000 people. By encompassing the appearances of emerging and established artists with local, national and international reputations at diverse performance venues and exhibit spaces in Saratoga Springs, SaratogaArtsFest aims to expand appreciation for the arts and continue the city’s growth as a premier arts destination." Passes for the weekend are $25 and can be purchased at their office in the arcade building near the corner of Broadway and Phila Street. Labels: poetry events
 On Saturday, July 7, the Poets in the Park series will begin its 2007 season at the Robert Burns Statue in Washinton Park.
From host Dan Wilcox: Poets in the Park has been celebrating poetry in July at the Robert Burns statue in Washington Park, Albany, NY since 1989. The series, formerly run by the late Tom Nattell and now hosted by Dan Wilcox, will continue with readings on Saturdays, July 7 through July 28; the readings start at 7:00 PM and are free & open to the public; donations are accepted. The Robert Burns statue is near where Henry Johnson Blvd. passes through Washington Park and crosses Hudson Ave. The first reading in the series, on July 7, will be “Under Cover: Albany Poets read Albany Poets” in which the poets will be reading the poems of other local poets. This program is being coordinated by Thom Francis of Albany Poets(www.albanypoets.com) The schedule of readings is:
July 14: Catilin Meissner & Chris Brobham
July 21: P. R. Dyjak & Barbara Louise Ungar
July 28: Alison Koffler & Dayl Wise Please bring your own chairs or blankets to sit on. Rain dates for each event are the following Sunday, same time, same place. Poet in the Park is ponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation. For more information contact Dan Wilcox, at dwlcx@earthlink.net; 518-482-0262. Labels: Albany Poets, poetry events
 On Thursday, June 7, Word Thursdays will feature two New York City writers: poet Patricia Brody and fiction writer Andrew Weinstein.
They will read in Bright Hill's Word & Image Gallery, now showing Gail Bunting's "Walking the Woods: Paintings and Giclee Prints. The reading begins with an open mike at 7 p.m., followed by the featured poets; all those present are invited to participate. Bright Hill Center is located at 94 Church Street, one block north of Barlow's General Store. Admission is $3 for adults and free to those 18 and under. Refreshments are served at intermission. Patricia Brody’s poetry appears in Poet Lore, Room of One’s Own (Vancouver), Barrow Street, The Paris Review, and on Poetry Daily. Her work also appears in Psychoanalytic Perspectives and Junctures (New Zealand) and in the anthology Chance of a Ghost. She is editing Survival of the Soul: Artists Living with Illness, an anthology of contemporary poems, prose and art. Awards include two Pushcart Prize nominations and two Academy of American Poets prizes. She has a family therapy practice in NYC and teaches English Comp and American Literature at Boricua College in Harlem. Andrew Weinstein’s fiction has appeared in journals, including the High Plains Literary Review and Boulevard, where he is currently a contributing editor. Nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize and cited for a Pushcart Special Mention, Weinstein has been awarded a residency at the MacDowell Colony to work on a novel, currently in progress. His essays and reviews have appeared in American Book Review, Bloomsbury Review, OnTheBus, Philadelphia Inquirer, Studies in Short Fiction, zingmagazine, and other publications. A graduate of Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, Weinstein teaches art history at the Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, and the Cooper Union in New York City, where he lives with his wife and two children. Word Thursdays Bright Hill Press's 2007 programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation, the Walter Rich Charitable Foundation, the Otis A. Thompson Foundation, the Dewar Foundation, the A. C. Molinari Foundation, the Delaware National Bank of Delhi, Stewart's Shops, area businesses, and its members and friends. For further information and for information about Bright Hill Press and its programs, contact Bright Hill Center at 607-829-5055 or email the Center at wordthur@stny.rr.com. Labels: open mic, poetry events
We have just posted new photos from recent poetry and spoken word events and open mics in the photos section of the website. These three new galleries are from the Night Sky Café Open Mic (Wednesday, May 16, 2007), Poets Speak Loud (Tuesday, May 22, 2007) and the Song of Myself Reading in Washington Park (Thursday, May 31, 2007). Also, be sure to check out Dan Wilcox’s blog to read his reviews of the events. Just click on the event title to go to his website, Night Sky Café, Poets Speak Loud, Song of Myself. Labels: Albany Poets
 Woodstock Poetry Society & Festival as part of the Woodstock Arts Consortium is sponsoring the following poetry event as part of the Woodstock "Second Saturdays" Art Events. For a full listing of "Second Saturday" events, see: www.woodstockartsconsortium.org.
Poets Iris Litt and Jana Martin will be the featured readers when the Woodstock Poetry Society & Festival meets at the Woodstock Town Hall, 76 Tinker Street, on Saturday, June 9th, 2007 at 2pm. Note: WPS&F meetings are held the 2nd Saturday of every month except for October, when it is held on the 3rd Saturday. The readings will be hosted by Woodstock area poet Phillip Levine. All meetings are free and open to the public. For information about the group, and its activities, visit http://www.woodstockpoetry.com/ Iris Litt's new book of poetry is What I Wanted to Say from Shivastan publishing. She'll be reading from it today, and you'll find a stack of the book for sale on the table in the back. It's also available at The Golden Notebook, the Book Bin in the Marshall's Mall, St. Marks Books in NY, etc., or you can order it on Amazon. She is also the author of a former book of poetry, Word Love, published by Cosmic Trend Publications—some copies will also be available at the reading. She has had poems published in many literary magazines including Onthebus, Confrontation, Hiram Poetry Review, The New Renaissance, Asphodel, Poetry Now, Central Park, Icarus, The Rambunctious Review, Pearl,The Ledge, Earth's Daughters, Poet Lore, Scholastic, Atlantic Monthly (special college edition) and many others. She has had short stories in Travellers Tales, Prima Materia, Out Of The Catskills, The Second 'Word Thursdays Anthology, Kaleidoscope, Cronos, etc., and articles in Pacific Coast Journal, Writer's Digest, The Writer and others. She has won many awards, including the Atlantic Monthly Award for College Writing, first prize in The Virtula Press short story contest, French Bread poetry award from Pacific Coast Journal and others. She teaches writing workshops in Woodstock, NY, and has taught creative writing at Bard College, SUNY/Ulster, Writers in the Mountains, Educational Alliance, New York Public Library, Marble Collegiate Church and many other venues in New York City and the Hudson Valley. She lives in Woodstock, NY and in New York City's Greenwich Village. Jana Martin has been hailed as one of fiction’s truly original voices. Her writing has been described as a “powerful punch, combining the brilliance of TC Boyle and the icy clarity of Margaret Atwood, as “prose so luminous it glows like poetry, stories that make you cry.” Her forthcoming collection of short stories and prose pieces, Russian Lover, is due out in fall with Yeti Books/Verse Chorus Press. A collection of short prose, Blue Elegy, is in the works as well. Her writing has been published in journals and magazines from Five Points to Glimmer Train to Cosmopolitan. Her lauded fiction column, "Is Mink Hollow", appears regularly on www.sporkpress.com, the online zine of Tucson-based Spork, an award-winning literary journal. She won Glimmer Train’s Best New Writer Award for her story “Hope,” received an NEA for a collaborative book on industrial design, and was Best Woman Writer of her class at the University of Arizona’s MFA program (1994). She is part of the writing collective "The Fictionaires", which also includes colleagues Vivien Goldman (The Book of Exodus) and Evelyn McDonnell (Mamarama). A fervent believer in speaking life into the page, Jana has appeared at countless venues, such as NYC’s Nuroyrican Poet’s Café, the Knitting Factory, and the Jefferson Market Library. Her prose poems and lyrics have been set to music by composers such as Randall Woolf and Michael P. A musician as well, for much of the 1990s she was a member of NYC-based indie pop supertrio "The Rings" (Revelator Records), played bass in Tucson-based punk ensemble "Flavor Cage", was part of the 7-member "Crotch City", and in the late 80s fronted famed NYC-based outfit "The Campfire Gilrs". She lives in Woodstock. Labels: poetry events
 Here's what previous workshop participants have said about RANDOM WRITING:
"...A really comfortable workshop with no one person taking over." "Cheryl, you gave me what I needed- time, place, prompt and a kick in the ass. Thank you!" "[RANDOM WRITING] stimulated me with useful idea that provoked writing." "[RANDOM WRITING] was really for everyone at any level of writing." Longtime Hudson Valley poet Cheryl A. Rice continues her RANDOM WRITING poetry workshop series in Saugerties on June 23rd. Future dates in Kingston as well as other locations are pending. RANDOM WRITING, a poetry workshop for new or used poets, was developed by Rice to satisfy her own craving for a workshop that flexes writing muscles as well as offers honest, direct feedback on work in progress. Inspired by such poets as Enid Dame and Sharon Olds, Rice seeks to orchestrate a workshop which contains the basic elements of growing your writing-- inspiration, wordplay, text manipulation and peer response. RANDOM WRITING workshops include provocative prompts such as 'hot-button' topics drawn from personal experience as well as unexpected sources right under our noses. RANDOM WRITING workshops also include tips on marketing, self-publishing, and how to find out what's going on where in the thriving Hudson Valley poetry scene, and beyond. Rice has been published widely both locally and nationally, and has made live appearances on WDST-FM (Woodstock, NY) and WKZE-FM (Sharon, CT). She is the founder and host of the semi-annual 'Sylvia Plath Bake-Off', allegedly the world's only combination open mic/baked goods contest. The Dutch Arms Chapel, at 16 John St. in Saugerties will be the site of the session of RANDOM WRITING, on June 23rd from 1-3pm. Registration is limited; 17 and older, please. The cost is only $20, payable on the day of the workshop. To register for an upcoming workshop, schedule a RANDOM WRITING poetry workshop for your school, club, business or friends, or for more information, Rice may be contacted at (845) 339-8686. Updates can also be found online at: http://www.geocities.com/dorothyy62/flyingmonkeyproductions.html Labels: workshops
 Caffe Lena presents its monthly poetry open mic on Wednesday, June 6 (7pm sign up, 7:30 start) with featured poet Diane Lockward. This open mic is hosted by local poet Carol Graser. There is a $2.00 admission for this event.
Diane Lockward is the author of What Feeds Us (Wind Publications, 2006). The collection received the Quentin R. Howard Poetry Prize. Diane is also the author of two previous collections, Eve’s Red Dress (Wind Publications, 2003) and a chapbook, Against Perfection (Poets Forum Press, 1998). Her poems have been published in several anthologies, including Poetry Daily: 366 Poems from the World’s Most Popular Poetry Website and Garrison Keillor's Good Poems for Hard Times. Her poems have also appeared in such journals as The Beloit Poetry Journal, Spoon River Poetry Review, Poetry International, Poet Lore, and Prairie Schooner. Diane is the recipient of a 2003 Poetry Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and has received awards from North American Review, Louisiana Literature, the Newburyport Art Association, and the St. Louis Poetry Center. Her work has been nominated for five Pushcart Prizes, featured on Poetry Daily and Verse Daily, and read by Garrison Keillor on NPR’s The Writer’s Almanac. Diane conducts writing workshops for young and old poets, inexperienced and experienced poets. She also conducts workshops for teachers on how to teach poetry. She was a featured poet at the 2005 Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching and a workshop presenter at the New Jersey State Council of Teachers of English Conference in both 2003 and 2006. Diane has also been a featured poet at a number of festivals, such as the Warren County Poetry Festival, the Inkberry Festival, the Long Branch Poetry Festival, the Walt Whitman Poetry Festival, and the 2006 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. A former high school English teacher, Diane now works as a poet-in-the-schools for both the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St, Saratoga Springs www.caffelena.org 583-0022 This program is funded in part by the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, Administered by the Saratoga County Arts Council. Labels: open mic, poetry events
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