Tag: reading

National Poetry Month ’26

Here in the United States, April is observed as National Poetry Month. While my writing and activities are constrained by my health, it was my privilege to be involved with a couple of poetry events this month.

I was able to read a couple of my poems as part of the Tioga Arts Council‘s Poetry Out Loud event. Area poets gathered to read poems, their own or others’. I especially loved hearing from some of my friends of the Grapevine Poets and from Dante Di Stefano, whose spouse is director of the Tioga Arts Council. The amazing thing about the reading was that there were a number of participants who had never before done a reading or even attended one. We also had a wide range of work read, including a poem in Bengali which was a combination of singing and speaking.

For the third consecutive year, one of my poems was accepted to the Write Out Loud event at the Fenimore Art Museum near Cooperstown, NY. The performance was the evening before the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton’s spring concert and I knew I would not have energy to sing dress rehearsal, scoot to Cooperstown for the evening, and sing an afternoon concert the next day, so I happily ceded reading duties to Sharon Rankins-Burd, who read my poem “The Bridge” so admirably last year. This year, my poem “Nor’Easter Numbers” was the first poem on the program. I’m looking forward to the recording of the reading becoming available. I’ll post when it is!

How did you celebrate poetry this month?

SoCS: JC’s Confessions #35

reading difficulties

While this post will be stream of consciousness for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday on the prompt “easy/hard,” it is also part of my occasional series JC’s Confessions, so I will open with the usual non-SoC opening for that series.

In the first few seasons of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert did a recurring skit, then a best-selling book, called Midnight Confessions, in which he “confesses” to his audience with the disclaimer that he isn’t sure these things are really sins but that he does “feel bad about them.” While Stephen and his writers are famously funny, I am not, so my JC’s Confessions will be somewhat more serious reflections, but they will be things that I feel bad about. Stephen’s audience always forgives him at the end of the segment; I’m not expecting that – and these aren’t really sins – but comments are always welcome.

Reading, which is something that was usually easy for me, is now often hard to do.

As someone who loves reading and who is trying to be a writer and poet, that’s a hard thing to admit.

This change is mostly related to what has recently been diagnosed as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), an inherited connective tissue disorder that affects collagen. Because we have connective tissue throughout our bodies, many different body parts and systems are affected and the symptoms and their locations vary over time.

For these last couple of years, I’ve been having a lot of problems with my brain and with fatigue.

I often have brain fog, which makes it difficult to concentrate. This makes it hard to read anything that is long, like books. I do better with short things, so I do a lot of my reading these days in the forms of emails, so, given what is going on, I read commentary on political topics and environmental problems and some Catholic church/social justice news that lands in my inbox.

You would think that poems would be perfect for my length limitations, but, sadly, this isn’t the case. I’ve largely lost contact with the creative side of my thinking, making it hard for me to read poetry most of the time, as I am not able to really appreciate the art of the poet. I hadn’t realized how much of my own creativity is wrapped up in reading someone else’s work. I do still manage to do a bit of reading of poems, especially my poet-friends’ work, but it’s frustrating and sad for me, knowing that I can’t fully appreciate their artistry.

I also have severe limits on how long I can read, write, or concentrate. I’m writing this in the morning and hope to draft one other practical letter I need to write, but that will probably be about it for the day because I will be very tired afterward. In order to have energy to go to vigil mass at 4:00, I’ll most likely spend the early afternoon lying down and resting.

It’s really hard to deal with these limitations on my brain power and energy.

There are also some other problems caused by my hEDS that interfere with my reading. I’m having a couple of problems with my eyes. I have some level of visual disturbance going on, especially with my left eye, which causes some blurring that isn’t able to be corrected with glasses. The problem isn’t with the eye itself but with the brain in processing it – at least that is the current theory. It may be related to dysautonomia, where the regulation of all those things that our bodies ordinarily do without our thinking about them goes a bit haywire. On rare occasions, I can concentrate hard enough on what I am looking at that I can get the blurriness to clear, although only for a short amount of time and at risk of ramping up the fatigue.

The other connective tissue-related eye problem is dry eye, which I treat with prescription drops, artificial tears, and taking flaxseed oil. These help but don’t eliminate the problem, which, on top of everything else, makes reading, especially onscreen, more tiring.

Now that we know about the hEDS, we may be better able to address some of the problems underlying this struggle I’m having with reading.

Or not.

I have a bunch of referrals to new specialists pending. I’m most anxious to find help for the brain fog/fatigue symptoms so that I can think and feel like myself again.

Meanwhile, I feel sad – and, sometimes, guilty – that I can’t manage to read my friends’ work or keep up with the torrent of news and commentary that I would like to do.

I try to give myself grace, but it’s hard.

*****
You are invited to join us for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays. Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/03/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-21-2026/

Reblog: Carol Mikoda’s Outside of Time now available!

Originally published on the Boiler House Poets Collective site here: https://boilerhousepc.wordpress.com/2025/11/26/carol-mikodas-outside-of-time-now-available/

Photo caption: Carol Mikoda reading from Outside of Time at the North Adams Public Library (photo by Mary Beth Hines)

When Kelsay Books published Carol Mikoda’s Outside of Time in October, she celebrated with a reading at the North Adams Public Library. Carol was in residence at the Studios at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) as a member of the Boiler House Poets Collective. Participating in the reading marking the tenth anniversary of the Boiler House Poets were fellow Kelsay authors Joanne Corey (Hearts), Jessica Dubay (All Those Years Underwater), and Mary Beth Hines (Winter at a Summer House), along with Merrill Oliver Douglas, Judith Hoyer, Kyle Laws, Deborah Marshall, Eva Schegulla, and Wendy Stewart.

You can read and hear more of Carol Mikoda’s work on her Substack, The Yellow Table.

A birthday poetry reading

As I wrote about here, I am in North Adams for the 10th anniversary residency with my beloved Boiler House Poets Collective.

It is unusually warm for early October this year, which is, unfortunately, riling up some of my health issues, but I did manage to spend some time in the buildings at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) yesterday. Although I wasn’t putting pressure on myself to write, I was so moved by the Ohan Breiding Belly of a Glacier exhibit that I sat in the gallery and drafted a poem about it. Bonus: the centerpiece of the exhibit is a film and then I was able to sit in the related exhibit room to write so I got to rest and not have to worry about keeping my balance for a long bit.

Ohan Breiding – Even the stones are alive (a letter to the future), 2024


I was able to participate in workshopping with the poets before spouse B came to pick me up for dinner and the evening with one of your high school friends who still lives in the North Adams area. B and daughter T came into town to be able to attend the special Boiler House Poets Collective 10th anniversary reading on Saturday.

I was a bit nervous about reading, as my health has kept me from doing it much over these last couple of years, so I practiced a bit more beforehand than usual. We were thrilled to be reading at the North Adams Public Library in their third floor community space, which is part of the original mansion that became the library in 1898.

Through the wonders of alphabetical order, I introduced the group with a brief history and then read the two North Adams-themed poems I had chosen. It was very cool that the podium we were using was a gift to the library in honor of a local poet, artist, and teacher, D. Patrice Bolgen, who passed away in 2021.


The reading was fantastic! It was so great to hear a sampling of work from all ten of us: Joanne Corey, Merrill Douglas, Jessica Dubey, Mary Beth Hines, Judith Hoyer, Kyle Laws, Deborah Marshall, Carol Mikoda, Eva Schegulla, and Wendy Stewart. It meant a lot to me to have B and T there for the reading. My poet-friends surprised me with a card and birthday flowers – along with the traditional singing of “Happy Birthday to You” – after the reading.


We were also thrilled to be able to present our gift to North Adams for ten years of hospitality to the Boiler House Poets Collective, a collaborative poem that you can read at the beginning of the post. Wendy Stewart read it as part of the thank yous at the reading and we gave it to people who were at the reading. A larger broadside version is our gift to the library, The Studios staff, and other officials who make our time here so joyous.

A collaborative poem is one that a group of poets write together. For this poem, each of us contributed several lines on the theme of praising North Adams which a smaller group assembled into the poem. We were happy to be able to craft a special gift to North Adams in honor of our tenth anniversary in residence with The Studios at MASS MoCA.

After lunch, I was able to do a revision of the poem I had drafted in the Breiding exhibit on Friday in time to bring it to our workshopping session. I was glad to have something to bring as I had thought I might not manage it until Sunday or Monday. Of course, that means I don’t have anything prepared for today yet, so I think it’d better close this post and get over to the Museum or my studio and work on something.

Or take a deep breath and remind myself that there is no pressure to bring something to workshop today. I am among trusted friends who will understand if today is not my day to share.

10th anniversary of the Boiler House Poets Collective

As you may have surmised from the post about our reading on this Saturday, I am once again in North Adams in residence with the Boiler House Poets Collective at The Studios at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art).

This is the tenth anniversary year of the first poetry workshop-in-residence that The Studios offered within their opening weeks in fall 2015. I was just starting to publish poetry and only had the courage to apply because I had grown up in the North Adams area and thought I would feel more at thome there. That week was both daunting and wondrous. If you visit my blog archive for November, 2015, you can read about it in multiple posts, which manage to somewhat mask the terror of being thrown into the deep end that I felt at the time.

The saving grace, though, was my fellow poets, who were so welcoming and supportive. Even before we left the residency, we started to plan a return, and thus the Boiler House Poets Collective was born.

As one might expect, not all of our initial group of 9 was able to re-convene, so we invited poet-friends to join us. You can see our listing of poets for each year here. You may notice that there is no listing for 2020 as The Studios, understandably, were closed for an extended period because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to changes in the structure of The Studios, we now can accommodate ten members each year. Kyle Laws and I are the only “originals” in attendance this year, although we consider Jessica Dubey as an honorary original as she has been with us since 2016, our first official residency as the Boiler House Poets Collective.

My health challenges, while not as severe as they were during last year’s residency, are still impacting my energy and creativity, so I am trying to be gentle with myself and not create unrealistic expectations. My immediate focus is to make it through the reading tomorrow morning. Thanks to the wonders of alphabetical order, I will do the introduction and my poems first. Bonus: After that, I can relax and listen to all the rest of the work of my fellow BHPC poets without having to gear up to read.

I’m also excited because we will be unveiling a collaborative poem honoring North Adams as our gift to this special place that we have enjoyed so much. I will share it here on the blog at some point after the reading. I loved having a special tenth anniversary project and am thrilled that we will be able to offer it at our reading and as a special gift to the library, Studios, and other North Adams supporters as a broadside. There is also a smaller, printed version which we will have at the reading for any listeners who would like to have one.

In the spirit of not putting pressure on myself, today I plan to visit the museum and see what’s new. MASS MoCA does not have a permanent collection, so there are always new artworks to experience. There are also some exhibits that are long-term, so I will re-visit some of my old friends here, especially our namesake Boiler House. If I am lucky, something I see will spark a poem later in the residency. If not, I have some prior ekphrastic poems based on MASS MoCA art that could use revision. Or, maybe, there will just be some more blog posts.

Or naps.

No pressure.

One-Liner Wednesday: October 4 BHPC reading

For those in the North Adams, Massachusetts: Join the Boiler House Poets Collective for a special reading in honor of our tenth anniversary at the North Adams Public Library on Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM!

This invitation issued under the auspices of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/10/01/one-liner-wednesday-look-what-came-in-the-mail/

One-Liner Wednesday: Save the Date for BHPC reading

For those in the North Adams, MA area, the Boiler House Poets Collective invites you to a reading in celebration of our 10th anniversary residency at The Studios at MASS MoCA on Saturday, October 4, 11 AM at the North Adams Public Library.

This invitation brought to you through Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/09/17/one-liner-wednesday-pockets/

Write Out Loud ’25 recording is available!

In late April, I posted about Write Out Loud ’25 at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York. My poem “The Bridge” was read by Sharon Rankins-Burd as part of the event, along with work by fellow Grapevine Poets Richard Braco, Merrill Oliver Douglas, and Jessica Dubey and twenty more writers living within 100 miles of Cooperstown.

I’m pleased to announce that the recording, long delayed by technical difficulties, is finally available! The recording will open in a separate tab in YouTube. If you click on “more” in the description, it opens a list of the program with links to bring you to whichever segment you wish to view. I’m especially pleased to share Sharon’s reading of my poem. She did an amazing job!

Enjoy!

Double-header Saturday

I realize that title seems like baseball, but it’s not, although Cooperstown is involved…

Despite my current health issues, I managed to attend two major events on Saturday.

In the afternoon, I sang-along with parts two and three of Handel’s Messiah. This was an event offered by the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton, with whom I serve as a singer and board member. Our artistic director, John M. Vaida, conducted a volunteer chamber orchestra and soloists with a chorus made up of those who showed up to sing along. Most of us were members of Madrigal Choir or Downtown Singers, although I think there were a few who aren’t presently in either group. It was a lot of fun to sing with old and new friends without the pressure of performance. Madrigal Choir hopes to do more events like this in the future.

Next up was heading to the Fenimore Art Museum, just outside Cooperstown, for the Write Out Loud ’25 reading, made possible only because spouse B did the driving, as we live about an hour and a half from there. I had been accepted to Write Out Loud ’24 last year with a poem from my chapbook, Hearts. When submissions opened for this year’s event, I sent the call on to my poet-friends in the area and I’m pleased to say that the Grapevine Poets from the Binghamton area were well represented this year with Merrill Oliver Douglas, Jessica Dubey, Richard Braco, and me all having work accepted.

Merrill read her poem, “Meditation in Walmart,” as the second piece in the program, with Richard reading “Pole Star Child” as the next-to-last piece in the program. Accepted writers have the option to read their own work or to have a member of the theater company affiliated with the Fenimore perform their piece. Cait Liberati read Jessica’s poem, “Love Birds.” Jessica wished that she could have been there to read it herself but she was away on a trip. I was thrilled with Sharon Rankins-Burd’s reading of my poem, “The Bridge“! I had planned to have an actor read my poem from the start because my health situation is too uncertain. I also appreciate hearing what a trained actor does with my words.

The Fenimore Art Museum has released the recording on their YouTube channel. If you click “more” in the description, it will open the program with links to the beginning of each piece.

I had figured that expending that much energy in a day would knock me for a loop and it did. I spent most of the day yesterday in bed and will lay low today, too, just going out for physical therapy. I’m grateful that I was able to attend these events and hope that we are able to get a better handle on my diagnosis and treatment options soon so that I have more energy to do two things in one day – or even one thing…

SoCS: crumpled?

I remember reading Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday yesterday and thinking that I would pass this week because absolutely nothing came into my head, but, this morning, as I lay crumpled on my bed because taking a shower was too tiring and I’m trying to rest so I can participate in a poetry reading this afternoon, I thought I should post because I thought the prompt word was crumple but it was actually crackle, so never mind.

Yeah.

Brain fog.
*****
Please join us for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Details at the link above.