Across America With Rebecca Forsythe--PoemAlley's Guest Speaker For October 25, 2011

Animating observations amassed from 49 states' worth of motorcycling with her husband, Rebecca Forsythe also peppers her poetry and musical contributions with musings on biblical and historical themes, not to mention an abundance of figures drawn from her own family.

Of her recent collection, from which she will be reading, Prairie Morning (2010, Turn of River Press), PA member Karen Waigland Davis notes how the writing resonates with the intensity by which "Forsythe observes and lives her life." Adds Barbara Holton, "Rebecca's poetry has a clarity and a grace that's sometimes missing in the poetry written in these post-modern days... Her throwaway lines can take my breath away."

Listen here to samplings of her daughter, Amanda, performing as soprano on New Dawn, an album of song and piano music by contemporary classical composer Carson Cooman, which features poetry by Rebecca. 

Two Back-To-Back Readings On Monday and Tuesday!

Spanning poetry, satire and essays, PoemAlley regular Richard Duffee's ouvre explicates the human-scale effects of systemic injustice, geopolitical machinations and social/class relations. As October 10's featured speaker of Barnes & Nobles' Open Mic Poetry program, Richard has lived in Chicago, Philadelphia, as well as South Asia, where he married into an Indian family. A legal advocate for the homeless, his work experience ranges from painter, bookseller and psychiatric aide, to plumber, editor and law professor. A two-time candidate for Congress with the CT Green Party, Richard is the author of The Slow News of Need (Yuganta Press, 2001), a 35-year compilation of impassioned observations on the universal (but under-acknowledged) struggle between the pathology of "making a killing" versus the need to eke out a living.

Open Mic Poetry gathers the second Monday of each month at 7p.m. in the cooking section adjacent to the cafe on the main floor of the Stamford Barnes & Noble (located in the Stamford Town Center).

For more information, contact:
Barnes & Noble
Stamford Town Center
100 Greyrock Place Suite H009
Stamford, CT 06901

203-323-1248


For the "B" side, come by the following night just a couple of blocks over to hear Kaaren Whitney read as featured guest for the October 11 Tuesday at Curley's PoemAlley session. A former Connecticut resident, Kaaren has lived in England since 1971, where she works as a homeopath and serves as guardian of a labyrinth and Tree Circle. Among various credits, Kaaren has placed work in the UK's 2006 National Poetry Anthology and the Moonwise Diary (2007 through 2009), and was also a commended winner of the Fakenham Poetry Competition in 2008. Karen has contributed her nature-inspired writing to Painting to Poem (2006), Spring (2009), Shades of Light and Dark (2009), among other titles, as well as to 2009's Voicing Visions, a DVD/booklet collaboration between assorted artists and poets. She has read at Cotton's Yard Gallery, the Halesworth Fringe Festival and numerous open mic venues in England, the United States and Australia.

Find out what she's up to at her Ink, Sweat and Tears Webzine here; for a seasonal sampling of her Neo-Pagan poetry, see her frequent input across the pond on Living the Wheel of the Year, a UK-based online celebration of Celtic festivals and nature culture.