Upcoming "Special Guests" at the Colony Café - Monday Night Open Mic for June 2008

Every Monday Night "Forever". All events include an open mic of poetry/prose/performance hosted by Phillip Levine (Chronogram Poetry Editor).
Doors Open at 7pm, start time is 7:30pm. Features read for approximately 20-25mins each, beginning around 8pm. Open mic before & after the featured readers.

Upcoming "Special Guests":

Monday, June 2nd, 2008:
Northeast Center for Special Care - Resident Poets, Artists and Musicians

Monday, June 9th, 2008:
Steven Cleaver (poetry, fiction) - Steven Cleaver is a poet and fiction writer. His first novel, Saving Erasmus, was named Best of 2007 by Publishers Weekly and he was called an Original Voice by Borders Books. His poetry has won awards and has been listed on Poets Against the War. He brings a quirky sense of humor and a wry outlook on life to his writings. He is working on a book of poetry, Dear God, Or Whatever Your Name is Now and a second novel, The Gaps Between the Platforms.

Brett Bevell (poet) - Brett Bevell is the author of the illustrated poetry books America Needs a Buddhist President (White Cloud Press 2004) and America Needs a Woman President (Monkfish 2007), as well as The Reiki Magic Guide To Self Attunement (Crossing Press 2007).

Brett won the 1995 Paul Laurance Dunbar Poetry Prize, and has published his work in progressive and literary magazines around the country such as Chronogram and Earth First Journal. He lives and works at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY

Monday, June 16th, 2008:
Teresa Costa (poet) - Teresa Costa can be reached at: manxcat12491@yahoo.com

Jan Castro (poet) - I moved from St. Louis to New York City and Ulster County about a year ago, on June 22nd, 2005. Here are some of my many poetry publications, performances!  Published Poetry includes: Wax-Winged, libretto and letterpress by Eclectic Press, 2005; The Last Frontier, 2002, and poems in Eyeball No. 5,” New Letters; Memories and Memoirs… by  Missouri Authors; Poem for Julius Hemphill on WSQ CD, Justin Time Records, disk 137-2, 2000; Exquisite Corpse, Contact II, Telephone, Greenfield Review, Roof I, Weid, Abraxas; and the portfolio Thirteen Poets from Nevertheless Press.

Poetry Readings include: New Music Circle and other Jam Sessions, River Styx at Duff's, Community College, E. St. Louis; Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis Poetry Center, Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, University of Kentucky at Lexington, Cornell U., U. of Wisconsin, Edinburgh and London Arts Festivals, Washington U., Webster U., Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, St. Louis U., Laumeier Sculpture Park, U. of Louisville, Missouri Botanical Garden, Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines Conference at the University of Iowa; New College in San Francisco, U. of Missouri-St. Louis; Small Press Book Fair at New York U.; Staten Island College, Lindenwood U., and radio programs in California, Missouri, and other states. 1996 -2000: Cassis, France; Co-Host, New Music Circle on HDHX, Sept. 17;  Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club on Oct. 5; Obie's Pub: Sept. and Oct. 11;   Left Bank Books on Nov. 2; Brandt's Spoken Word Sundays on Dec. 7 ’97; Poetry for University City Municipal Commission, March 21; poetry for River Styx at Duff’s, April 19;  Day of the Dead Beats reading, Blueberry Hill, Nov. 1; Meramec Writing Festival 2000, March 31; 3rd annual “Howl” reading, April 16: biography panelist and poet, MO Center for the Book: U. of MO, Columbia, 11 Nov. 2000.  2001 - 2006: two concerts at the Galaxy club; poetry performance with Gash-Voigt Dance Theater; exhibition & reading of The Last Frontier for Special Collections Washington University, St. Louis; Southern Illinois U., E. St. Louis; Lindenwood U., St. Charles MO; “Poem for a Poet” danced at Forest Park Community College by Gash-Voigt Dance Theater; Taproots Arts Fair; and YMCA Meet the Authors at Arthur’s Picnic in the Park, St. Louis.

Author: Sonia Delaunay: La Moderne, The Art & Life of Georgia O'Keeffe, The Last Frontier (poetry); co-editor, Seeking St. Louis, Voices from a River City, 1670-2000, Margaret Atwood: Vision and Forms; Contributing Editor, Sculpture Magazine, 1996 to present; freelance writer: The Nation, American Poetry Review, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Black Renaissance Noire, belles lettres.

Curator and memberships: Midwest Sculpture (06), Sonia Delaunay: La Moderne (02); Guest Art Advisor, Sculpture Key West (06); humanities professor, guest lecturer, arts consultant at universities; Founding Executive Director and award-winning Editor for Big River Association; member of Board of National Coalition of Independent Scholars; member, New York’s PEN American Center. See Jan Garden Castro at www.google.com and www.sculpture.org

Monday, June 23rd, 2008 - 7pm:
Thom Francis (poet) - Thom Francis, an upstate New York native, has been a writer and spoken word artist since he was old enough to understand, and therefore question the nature of the world in which we all exist. His skepticism, an attribute that seems to have been instilled in Thom since birth, has only been strengthened by the struggles in which he has encountered throughout the course of his thirty years of survival. These various struggles have made Thom an extremely strong and empathetic person, as well as the perfect candidate to pursue a calling in which he exposes the peculiarity exhibited by the human race. His work, based upon personal experience as well as general observations, always reveals an outlook commonly overlooked by the average observer.

Since Thom has been involved in the Albany area poetry scene he has been featured at such open mics and events as The School of Night (Valentines), Vox (Albany Center Galleries), Web of Consciousness (C@fe Web), Live from the Living Room (Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Center), Open Spoken (Colony Café, Woodstock), Kill Your TV, Feed Your Ears (Lark Street Bookshop), Third Thursday Poetry Open Mic (Lark Street Bookshop), Poets in the Park (Washington Park), the Albany Word Fest 2001, 2002 (Thacher Park), 2003 (Valentines), 2006 (UAG Gallery), and 2007 (Tess' Lark Tavern), and LARKfest in 2006 and 2007.

Mary Panza (poet) - Mary Panza currently serves as the Vice President of Albany Poets.  She is the host of the monthly poetry and spoken word open mic, Poets Speak Loud, held at the Lark Tavern. She has been involved in the Albany poetry community for over a decade hosting events, performing her own work, producing a local poetry CD, and editing an anthology on the local Albany scene.

Monday, June 30th, 2008 - 7pm:
Craig Hancock & The Kinderhook Group (poetry) - Craig Hancock’s poems have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies, most recently Hudson River Art and Peer Glass.  For the past twenty years, he has taught writing at UAlbany, working mainly with Educational Opportunity Program students, who help keep him honest, paid, and real. Most recently, he has been looking deep and hard into the heart of language.  One result, Meaning-Centered Grammar (Equinox, Ltd) appeared in late 2005.  He is now working on a follow-up book, a more fully integrated grammar and rhetoric.  He is a founding member and past President of the Hudson Valley Writer’s guild, founder of the Kinderhook Writer’s Group.  Most of his recent poems have come out as songs.

Planned July Schedule:
7/7 - Billy Internicola (poet); Frank LaRonca (poet)
7/14 - Allen Murphy (poet); Judy Lechner (poet)
7/21 - Joanne Pagano Weber (writer/painter); Bruce Weber (poet/art historian)
7/28 - Donald Lev & Home Planet News Benefit

Colony Café, 22 Rock City Road, Woodstock, NY
(845)679-5342 - www.colonycafe.com

Upcoming Special Guests at the Colony Cafe

Upcoming "Special Guests" at the Colony Café - Monday Night Open Mic - Poetry/Prose/Performance - Every Monday Night "Forever"

All events include an open mic of poetry/prose/performance hosted by Phillip Levine (Chronogram Poetry Editor). Doors Open at 7pm, start time is 7:30pm. Features read for approximately 20-25mins each, beginning around 8pm. Open mic before & after the featured readers.

Monday, February 25th, 2008 7pm:
Phillip hosts Phillip & Friends on his near birthday featuring: Gnomon Shadow Puppet Theatre (Sharon Penz & Zzoe), Elijah Wapner ("Mr. Inevitable"-stand up comedy) & Wide Open Mike

Gnomon Shadow Puppet Theatre (Sharon Penz & Zzoe) - Presents shadow puppet theatre in the Western European tradition, performed live, with live music & narraion, in performances of edifying plays and stories from many cultures.  Gnomon Puppet Theatre is available for parties, festivals, and performances at Libraries, schools, homes and other venues, as well as for tutorial workshops. Contact: (845)247-2843 or email: gnomonshadowtheatre@yahoo.com or Gnomon Shadow Theatre, 122 West Bridge Street, Saugerties, NY 12477-1418. Website: http://web.mac.com/taimasmith/Gnomon/Home.html

Elijah Wapner (Mr. Inevitable-stand-up) - Elijah Wapner is an 11th grader at the Hudson Valley Sudbury School and studies acting, movement and voice in the teen conservatory at Stella Adler Studio in Manhattan. He performs standup comedy as a regular at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City and travels the country raising awareness about autism. His TV debut was on MTV's True Life, and he has been featured in the New York Times, Redbook Magazine, and on Japanese Television (NHK). Check out his calendar of events at www.MrInevitable.com

Monday, March 3rd, 2008 - 7pm:
Tara Johannessen (poet and filmmaker w/short film: The Holy Longing by Goethe) and Gretchen Primack (poet, with her new book The Slow Creaking of Planets)

Tara Johannessen (poet and filmmaker w/short film: The Holy Longing by Goethe) - publication includes Sleep: bedtime reading by Roger Gorman and Robert Peacock (Rizzoli) and Wildflowers. Currently working for the severly disabled and the elderly as a nurse's assistant.

Gretchen Primack (poet, with her new book The Slow Creaking of Planets) - Gretchen Primack’s publication credits include The Paris Review, Prairie Schooner, FIELD, New Orleans Review, Rhino, Best New Poets 2006, and others. Her chapbook The Slow Creaking of Planets is freshly minted from Finishing Line Press.  She teaches at Bard College and at two maximum-security prisons through the Bard Prison Initiative. More information and poems can be found at www.gretchenprimack.com.

Monday, March 10th, 2008 - 7pm:
A. C. Everson (A pinata bashing poet) and Frank Boyer (writer, performance/installation artist)

A. C. Everson (A pinata bashing poet) - A. C. Everson is a home grown poet, sculptor and performance artist who has performed and shown in the Albany area and abroad since 1994.  In 1995, A. C. started Breaking My Art where her poetry and piñatas are combined in what has been described as “awesome” performances. She has four self published chap books of poetry and two self produced cds of her poetry backed up by some of the Albany areas best musicians. You can hear some at www.myspace.com/aceverson .

Frank Boyer (writer, performance/installation artist) - Frank Boyer was born and raised in the Middle West. Throughout the 1980's, he was based in New York City, where he was active in the performance art scene and also wrote and performed poetry.  He has lived upstate since 1992, and is the single parent of a teen-age son. He is glad to read and to hear poetry whenever he can.

Monday, March 17th, 2008 - 7pm:
Tom Molinaro (meditation instructor, teacher, writer) and Laura Lonshein Ludwig (poet)

Tom Molinaro (meditation instructor, teacher, writer) - I am a writer, poet, interested in freedom, heaven on earth, for you, for me, for everyone who wants it, and for changes upon the planet from these intolerable conditions.  What are the intolerable conditions?  The lack of interest in things that matter, of waking up and celebrating life, the lack of culture, the death of the good things we've found in the past, the thrusting upon of technology without our proper balance of spiritual development, the lack of creative living, new ideas and the lack of the impending bonfire of our vanities and the trivial grossness to which we, as a group, have become attached and infected. www.tommspace.com

Laura Lonshein Ludwig (poet) - Laura Lonshein Ludwig's work is listed in Who's Who in the World in 2004 and 2005.  Recipient of 4 New York State Council of the Arts grants, and author of 3 books, Robo Sapiens, Sounds Like a Plot, and Reflections for the Renaissance. Reviewed by legends in TV, radio and scholars. see: www.barnesandnoble.com.

Monday, March 24th, 2008 - 7pm:
TBA and Richard Boes (prose, 1st chapter of his new book Last Train Out)

Richard Boes (prose, 1st chapter of his new book Last Train Out) - Richard Boes has written a ripped-from-the-heart memoir (The Last Dead Soldier Left Alive) of the years of struggle, substance abuse, and failed relationships that followed his combat experience. It’s painful, yet richly rewarding. Imagine sitting down in a pub next to a slightly scary-looking fellow who buys you a round and then begins to talk, his words spilling out in a heated rush, things bottled up within him all flooding to the surface. And although some of what he is saying is hard to hear, it’s made compelling by his wry, ironic perspective and stream-of-consciousness style, which is akin to that of Henry Miller or Jack Kerouac. At closing time, you’d be inviting him home for a nightcap to hear the rest—even if it disturbed your sleep for weeks to come. - Anne Pyburn (Chronogram, June 2007)

Monday, March 31st, 2008 - 7pm:
Donald Lev (poet) and R. Dionysius Whiteurs (Peptic Poet of the Pepperoni Persuasion)

Donald Lev (poet) - Donald Lev was born in New York City in 1936. He attended Hunter College, worked in the wire rooms of the Daily News and New York Times, and then drove a taxi cab for 20 years (with a 6-year hiatus in which he ran messages for, and contributed poetry to, The Village Voice and operated the Home Planet Bookshop on the Lower East Side). His earliest poems appeared in print in 1958 and he started his first small press magazine, HYN Anthology, in 1969. The most recent of the fourteen collections of his poetry is Grief, a chapbook published in 2006 by Bard Press/Ten Penny Players in Staten Island. A volume of his Selected Poems will be brought out soon by Red Hill Outloudbooks in Claryville, NY. His brief underground film-acting career pinnacled with his portrayal (he wrote his own lines) of "The Poet" in Robert Downey Sr.'s 1969 classic Putney Swope. He and his reclusive cat Kit Smart live in High Falls, NY, where he spends most of his time publishing the literary tabloid Home Planet News, which he and his late wife Enid Dame founded in 1979.

R. Dionysius Whiteurs (Peptic Poet of the Pepperoni Persuasion) - Born in the Bronx, brought up in the hills of Mahwah NJ, Ron (R. Dionysius) Whiteurs has lived in the New Paltz-Rosendale region since 1966. With an MA from SUNY New Paltz, he taught English at that institution in 1970-71 and went on to a long career as unofficial "Poet Laureate" of IBM Publishing in Poughkeepsie. From these scintillating heights his fortunes took a flip/flop/flip like some half-dead fish out of water in the following manner:

Performed regularly at the Rosendale Creative Space Co-Op from 1989 to 1992; Performed annually at the Cave Readings at the Widow Jane Quarry in Rosendale from 1991 to 1997; Starred in the Igneous It performance Ox Necks in Tweed on April 3, 1992; Performed at Fountain House, NYC and slammed at the Nuyorican, NYC during these years; Performed at the Woodstock Guild's Byrdcliffe Barn as part of Summerjazz (FM Artists Coalition) in 1992; Performed as main featured poet at the Outloud Festival in Claryville in 1994; Formed the amateur-amateur-amateur rock n' roll band "Glory-Hole Bishops of the Holy See" in which he starred as lead NON-singer and song writer; Recorded four poems in 1993 for the Steve Charney Show ("Knock-On-Wood") on WAMC Albany Public Radio; Featured in the brief biographic film Trapped in Amber by Bart Thrall of Big Time Records; and somehow got himself published in the Rondout Review, The Poets Gallery (Woodstock), Chronogram, Hunger Magazine, and Wuzz Buzzin (Switzerland).

Presently, Ronald, a noted toy collector and craftsman of fine costumes and objects, reads, rants, and raves regularly at the Bohemian Book Bin in Kingston, at the Colony Cafe in Woodstock, and at the Woodstock Town Hall. He is a member of the Woodstock Poetry Society.

Poetry/Prose/Performance:
Colony Café, 22 Rock City Road, Woodstock, NY
(845)679-5342 - www.colonycafe.com
The Colony Cafe has full bar and cafe menu.
For further information about the Monday Night Open Mic or possible bookings contact: Phillip Levine pprod@mindspring.com. For information about the Colony Café contact: Jeff Harrigfeld osmrecords@hotmail.com

November 2007 "Special Guests" at the Colony Café Monday Night Open Mic

The featured readers for the November open mics have been announced.  Below is information on all of the upcoming readings.  The Monday Night Open Mic at the Colony Café (Colony Café, 22 Rock City Road, Woodstock) takes place every Monday night starting at 7:00PM with and open mic before and after the featured readers. All events include an open mic of poetry/prose/performance hosted by Phillip Levine.

Monday, November 5th, 2007: Resident Poets, Musicians, and Artists from Northeast Center for Special Care
A select group of poets, musicians and artists from Northeast Center for Special Care will be performing original music and poetry, and exhibiting original paintings, prints and drawings at the Colony Cafe on Monday night,  November 5th.

The Northeast Center for Special Care is an innovative long-term care, rehabilitation, recovery and community reentry program for individuals recovering from multiple disabilities acquired from complex injuries, mainly traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.

Monday, November 12th, 2007: Efrayim Levenson and Deborah Emin
Efrayim Levenson's poems have been published in Above Water, ArtVoice, Bflo Journal, Blatherskite, The Buffalo News Poetry Page, Earth's Daughters, Foist, The Grin, Medicinal Purposes Literary Review, Pure Light, Swift Kick, and Tempus Fugit.  His new chapbook, Dances With Tears, published in March 2007 by Poets Wear Prada, was a featured selection in Poets House's 2007 Showcase.

More information can be found at http://efrayimlevenson.blogspot.com, http://timessquareshoutout.blogspot.com, and www.chabadrego.org/poetry

Deborah Emin is the author of the novel, Scags at 7. Set in the 1950s suburban world outside of Chicago, the story is told by the seven-year-old Scags about her summer vacation. Believing she is about to embark on a lazy, fun-filled couple of months, it is anything but that as her beloved Pops falls apart and with him the world as she knew it.

Sample pages of the novel are available on the publisher's website: www.kedziepress.com. More than you may want to know about Deborah's other work is on her website: www.deborahemin.com.

Monday, November 19th, 2007: Tim Verhaegen, Patricia Martin and Gus Mancini
Tim Verhaegen was raised on Long Island.  He has been living in the Capital District since 1980.  He is a member of the Every Other Thursday Poetry group in Voorheesville and the Armchair Poets in Troy. His poetry appears in Many Waters and Poetry Don't Pump Gas, an anthology created by the Voorheesville poets.  His poetry is inspired by his Long Island childhood, his gay identity, his insatiable curiosity about the workings of people, and the stories of the people that surround him.  Wordsmiths Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, David Gray and Melanie Safka are his lyrical heroes. He has featured at nearly every poetry open mic in the capital district.  He will be featuring at Caffe Lena in Saratoga November 7th. He loves the spoken word, he chooses his most personal, intimate poetry for the spoken word experience.  http://www.thursdaypoets.blogspot.com/

Join the irrepressible duo Mancini and Martin to experience some live IN the Moment sharing-- a rich aura/aural tapestry of original music and evocative words, selected from their upcoming same-titled cd.

Monday, November 26th, 2007: Cate McNider and Cheryl A. Rice
Cate McNider is an artist in her own residence in West Hurley four days out of the week. Originally from North Carolina, she migrated to NYC after a two year stint studying acting and modern dance in London. While auditioning and acting, the writing became more satisfying and creatively expedient. She has read her work at St. Marks Church, NYC, The Knitting Factory and various Brooklyn café’s.

Cate’s work has been published in several journals, The Westmoreland News, VA, and at www.thelisteningbody.com. In 1990, ”Guardian’s Trust” was made into a song by the late Michael Hedges on his Road to Return album. Cate continues to write lyrics, collaborating with the musician/lyricist & Oscar nominee Ramsey McLean of New Orleans.  Their song ‘Straydog Mountain’ is a hit.  A collection of her poems is on the way.

Born on Long Island in 1962, Cheryl A. Rice has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She has had both poems and prose published in Chronogram, The Country and Abroad, The Florida Review, The Gathering of the Tribes, Home Planet News, Mangrove, Other:, The Temple/El Templo, Ulster Magazine, and The Woodstock Times, and online at www.albanypoets.com, www.poetrypoetry.com, and www.thehiddencity.com. She has lived in New York's Hudson Valley for over 25 years.

For further information about the Monday Night Open Mic or possible bookings contact Phillip Levine at pprod@mindspring.com. For information about the Colony Café contact Mariann Harrigfeld at mariann@colonycafe.com or call 845-679-5342.