Marilyn McCabe and Gail DiMaggio are original members of the Boiler House Poets Collective, which is how we met. I am pleased to reblog this post from Marilyn’s blog, O Write, in which she offers her reflections on Gail’s poem, “Metta for Judy who Loved a Biker”.
I don’t want to steal any thunder from Marilyn or Gail here, but urge you to check it out.
*****
Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/23/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-23rd-2024/
When I saw that Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week was “prime,” the first thing that leapt into my mind was Gail DiMaggio’s first book of poetry, Woman Prime, which won the Permafrost Prize from the University of Alaska.
Gail was one of the original members of the Boiler House Poets Collective, now retired from attending our reunion residencies, but still a much-admired legacy member. I especially admire her ekphrastic work and her remarkable ability to write about difficult topics with insight and grace.
I invite you to check out Woman Prime or Gail’s other work and experience its power for yourself.
You’re welcome!
*****
Join us for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/10/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-7-2023/
Yesterday morning, the 2023 members of the Boiler House Poets Collective did a reading at The Bear & Bee Bookshop in North Adams, Massachusetts.
It was a lot of fun! We had a mix of family and friends, folks from the community, members of the writers’ group that meets at the Bear & Bee, even someone who came in after a yoga class at the studio next door.
I acted as emcee. We presented in reverse alphabetical order: Wendy Stewart. Eva Schegulla, Kyle Laws (who was unable to attend in person, so I read her poems), Hope Jordan, Mary Beth Hines, Nancy Edelstein (who presented a video of her artwork in relationship with light), Jessica Dubey, Merrill Douglas, Jessica Bane Robert, and me, Joanne Corey. Okay, I broke with the reverse alphabetical order so I could go last and moderate for questions and answers. It wound up that there were no questions, so my job was easy.
Several of us, including me, chose work that deals with the North Adams area. Several chose to incorporate the themes of light and darkness, which ties into Nancy’s work and video and which has been a theme for us this year during our residency. It was a joy to hear so many voices and perspectives concentrated in a short amount of time.
Already making plans for next year, so stay tuned!
Yesterday, the Boiler House Poets Collective began their annual workshop-in-residence with The Studios at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) In North Adams.
Yesterday, my new poem “drinks” appeared in Issue Two of Mania Magazine. Mania Magazine is “a small, independent literary magazine dedicated to your 3AM works!”
It’s ironic that it came out on the opening day of our residency because this poem was written during the 2015 residency with Jeffrey Levine of Tupelo Press at The Studios, only a few weeks after residencies began, that gave birth to the BHPC. (Anyone who is curious can read my blog posts about that experience.) The short version is that I was in waaaaaaaay over my head, and was not sleeping well and overwhelmed most of the time. I did not write this poem at 3 AM but my brain was definitely in that mode, resulting in a somewhat atypical poem for me. I’ve sent it out a few times over the years to journals that had a more expermimental or quirky bent but it has never been picked up until Mania arrived on the scene.
This is only their second issue and I’m so pleased to be included. There’s prose, poetry, art and photography – and you can read and enjoy at any time of the day or night.
Even 3 AM…
Please join members of the ’23 Boiler House Poets Collective for a reading 11 AM Saturday, September 30 at The Bear & Bee Bookshop, Holden Street, North Adams MA (in person only).
This invitation is brought to you through Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday. Join us! Learn more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/09/27/one-liner-wednesday-on-top-of-everything-else/
B
My poem “Grandpa’s pipe smoke lingers on the stoop” has just been published in Issue 3.2 of The Purposeful Mayonnaise, a Canadian-based bimonthly literary and art journal-platform. The theme for this issue is “Home.” It’s available for free download at the link above. Make sure to view all the amazing art and writing, including an interview!
My poem is part of my currently unpublished full-length collection that centers around the North Adams area and my family’s experiences there. I wrote it during the 2019 Boiler House Poets Collective residency at The Studios at MASS MoCA.
Its original title was “122 State Street.” For those of you who know North Adams and who would like to be oriented physically, the location is right before heading over Hadley Overpass toward Main Street.
This poem is about my maternal grandparents’ home when I was in the lower grades of primary school, over fifty years ago now. Remember that your comments are always welcome here at Top of JC’s Mind.
April is National Poetry Month in the US and there are often poetry readings scheduled in celebration.
This year, the Broome County (NY) Arts Council invited the Grapevine Poets to present a reading, which happened Tuesday evening.
The Grapevine Poets is a group of local poets who meet regularly to workshop each other’s poems, meaning we bring in our drafts for feedback from the poets in attendance in order to assist us in revisions. We also have done manuscript reviews for each other, several of which have been chosen for publication. I am the current record-holder for most manuscripts reviewed with three, my chapbook Hearts (forthcoming soon from Kelsay Books), my full-length collection Small Constellation and my newest chapbook Half a Duet, both of which I am submitting to presses in hope that they will be published someday, too.
While we have been meeting for years and frequently mention the group in our acknowledgements or bios and although we have sometimes read at the same open mics, this was the first time that we formally presented ourselves as the Grapevine Poets. It was very much a collaborative effort with everyone pitching in and divvying up the tasks of scheduling, organizing, publicity, programming, etc. in conjunction with Connie Barnes at the Broome County Arts Council, which is still settling into its new home in the section of State St. in Binghamton often called Artists’ Row.
We decided on a format that each poet would read a poem from another poet we admire and one of our own. We each chose whether or not we wanted the poems to be related to each other in some way. I chose to link my selections thematically, reading “Woman in Suite A, 1922” from Kyle Laws‘ book Uncorseted and my poem “Studio 7 – Building 13” which both relate to a woman’s experience writing in a new studio.
After Connie’s welcome, Wendy Stewart provided the story of the Grapevine Poets, the format of the reading, and her selections. We had decided to each introduce the next poet, so Wendy introduced me and, after my reading, I introduced Sharon Ball. We continued with Burt Myers, Andrée Myers, Merrill Douglas, Jessica Dubey, and J. Barrett Wolf, who also led the question and answer period.
One of our big concerns before the event was would people actually come! I’m pleased to say that we had about thirty-five people there, which is sizable for a poetry reading in our area. There was a bit of a scramble to find and set up more chairs but it was a great problem to have.
I was happy that some people that I had invited were able to attend and that one person came because they recognized my picture from the flier that Burt had designed for the reading. Burt is the art director for the communications and marketing office at Binghamton University and we are grateful to have his professional expertise on hand, as well as his poetic voice.
I’m trying to wrap my head around knowing that some people might come to a reading specifically because it involves me. I’m more accustomed to thinking of myself within a group context, whether it’s the Grapevine Poets or the Boiler House Poets Collective or the Binghamton Poetry Project, and of invitations that come my way to read as being because of these affiliations and my more-established poet-friends.
But, with my first time as featured reader coming up on May 13 at 1:30 at the Tioga Arts Council in Owego along with Merrill Douglas and my first chapbook Hearts forthcoming soon from Kelsay Books, I’m trying mightily to adjust my mindset so I can present myself as more professional, for want of a better term.
Not sure I have the chops to pull it off, but I’ll try.
As I wrote in this post yesterday, a new interview with members of the Boiler House Poets Collective by Devon Ellington is available at The Rumpus.
This shameless bit of self-promotion is thanks to Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/03/22/one-liner-wednesday-like-one-of-your-french-girls-2/
As one of the original members of the Boiler House Poets Collective, I’m thrilled to share an interview that Devon Ellington did with some of our members for The Rumpus. (I realize I threw an inordinate amount of links in that sentence; the “interview” link will open the article in a new tab.)
When Devon contacted us with interview questions, it was a pleasant and energizing surprise. Email messages and reminiscences flew among us. It was fun for those of us who are “originals” to fill in some of the history for people who have joined more recently.
It also highlighted the strength of being a collective in that we can retain our core identity while incorporating new members. At this fall’s residency, for the first time, “originals” will be in the minority. I admit to anticipatory sadness at missing seeing so many of my BHPC poet-friends, but I’m excited to add to our ranks as we continue to grow as artists and as community.
I hope you enjoy the article and want to explore more about BHPC. You can check out our inaugural reading in the Boiler House at MASS MoCA and more under the Collaborative Projects tab.
Spouse B, Daughter T, and I are in London, UK, visiting Daughter E, Son-in-law L, and Granddaughters ABC and JG. Yesterday, we made a trip to the Battersea Power Station.
Having grown up around power stations, I am geeky about them and would like to tour them, but the Battersea Power Station after decades of use as a coal-fired power station, designation as a historic landmark, and decades of disuse and deterioration, has been transformed into a shopping mall, apartments, offices, restaurant, and entertainment complex. The mall only opened a few months ago and more shops will be opening later this year.
On our way to the main entrance, we passed this sign. Of course, I had to take a photo of it as a shoutout to my friends of the Boiler House Poets Collective!
The main part of the old Art Deco-style power station that has been transformed into shops and restaurants is massive. Here is a view as you look down one of the main galleries that once housed multiple turbines:
The amount of detail that went into the restoration is staggering. Here you can see some of the Art Deco elements and part of one of the old control room through the windows.
There are lots of fun elements that play off the power station theme, such as the Control Room B cocktail bar, which features lots of dials and gauges as part of the decor.
I loved seeing the remnant of this safety helmet sign. When we used to go to the hydro stations with Paco, this would have been termed a “hard hat area.” (Yes, I am just that geeky about these things, as anyone who has heard me going on about the industrial roots of the MASS MoCA complex will know.)
There are, of course, many distinctly modern features. For example, one of the old smokestacks now houses an elevator to take people up to the top to look out over London and the Thames. Not being particular fans of heights, although it is glass encased at the top, we did not go up in Lift 109, so called because the top of the stack is 109 meters from the ground, but it’s there for those with the inclination and pounds to do so.
At the moment, there are a number of light installations scattered around the complex. JG was especially taken with these hearts and kept hopping from one to another, while saying “another heart” over and over in an enthusiastic, two-year-old voice. I suppose it’s possible that this was more of a valentine feature than part of the light installations, but it was fun, none the less.
So, Happy Valentine’s Day from London for those celebrating!
Joanne Corey 