The Friday Influence

Tonight (Friday 10/30) me and the Salamander crew will be hosting the “Salamander #50 Virtual Reading.” Here’s the full info:

Friday, 10/30 @ 6PM EDT-Reading: “Salamander #50 Virtual Reading” Featured readers: Rajiv Mohabir, Joan Naviyuk Kane, and Anne Kilfoyle

Register here for this event.

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Also, had a recent blast to the past via my friend and fine poet Alan Berecka. Alan was kind enough to recently post some short clips of me reading at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas back in 2016. Here are the links should you care to check’em(me) out:

“Joe”
“Jalapeños”
“Drinking at Home”
“Spiderman Hitches a Ride”

Ani pointed out that this was in the last days of me reading with “wild eyes” — which was really my hard-headed attempt to “make eye contact,” ha. These days, I’m inclined to take a performance as an opportunity to serve the poem. Like, that’s my job at a reading, to make sure you hear the poem.

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Lastly, the election. It’s been happening and keeps happening and it’s stressing all of us out, no? And that’s not the only stressor, not the only public one, nor private one. I’m hoping y’all are being kind to yourselves still. Here’s a poem by Matthew Olzmann, “Letter to a Bridge Made of Rope” that I’ve been sharing at readings. As the speaker hears from the rope bridge: here’s to all of us making it across.