Tuesdays at Curley's

Welcome to PoemAlley, Stamford, Connecticut's eclectic venue for poets, poetry reading and discussion! Open to anyone living in Fairfield County and the surrounding area, we meet Tuesday nights at 7:30 pm at Curley's Diner on 62 Park Place (behind Target) . Come contribute, get something to eat, or simply listen!



Showing posts with label Emily Dickinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emily Dickinson. Show all posts

Nov 12, 2018

Pat St. Pierre: “Composing Nows” In Words And Images


As this evening's Open Mic guest, Wilton resident Pat St. Pierre is a freelance writer and amateur photographer whose love for the written word and poetry, in particular, was kindled initially while attending New Canaan High School.
An admirer of the simplistic style of Emily Dickinson, Pat uses words and photography in capturing small vignettes, ranging from life's ordinary events to its darker journeys--as depicted with startling inevitability in the following from The Ephrastic Review:



The Family in the Red House

While walking through woods
Near a rambling river
I came upon a paint peeled red house

barn like in appearance,

broken window panes,
tall grasses covering old cement steps
unattended for years.

Who inhabited this red house
and where are they now?
I entered cautiously through the front door,

looked around the open space.

Dishes with cobwebs adorned
the wooden kitchen table.

Shriveled food occupied the old refrigerator.

The scene appeared as though 

a family simply disappeared.

Bedroom quilts covered most beds,
one bed remained unmade.

As I walked around

floorboards creaked like soft screams.

I slipped on a small throw rug;
moving the rug with my feet,
I discovered a trap door located in the floor.

Slowly, I lifted the rusty hinge.

There in the hollow space
were skeleton bodies.
The family stayed behind in the paint peeled red house.

Pat's award-winning adult and children's poetry, as well as assorted fiction/non-fiction, has run in The Camel Saloon, Fiction 365, Friday Flash Fiction, The Kids Ark, Silver Boomer Books, among many other venues, while her photography has graced the covers and pages of Gravel, Sediments, Our Day’s Encounter and Peacock Journal

Her first chapbook, Reality of Life, was published by Foothills Publishing, followed by Theater of Life (Finishing Line Press)--nominated in 2010 for the New England/Pen/LL Winship Award; fellow Finishing Line poet Debbie Richard considered Pat's third release, the photo-accompanied Full Circle (Kelsay Books, 2014) a “mosaic... of memories... reflect(ing) the seasons in nature, in human frailties, and in coming home again.”

An avid participant in many writing workshops over the years, Pat is a past member of the Saugatuck Poetry Group and the Rose and Thorn Literary Ezine. Go to her blog, pstpierre.wordpress.com, to view her latest photography and writing.

Hosted by Frank Chambers, Barnes & Noble’s Open Mic Poetry program meets the second Monday of each month on the main floor of the bookstore (located in the Stamford Town Center), beginning at 7:15 p.m.

For more information, contact:

Barnes & Noble
100 Greyrock Place, Suite H009
Stamford, CT 06906

203-323-1248

Oct 25, 2014

A Fall Celebration Of Poetry And Music

Following-up on last winter’s cozily snowbound and well-received program of readings, music and singing (delivered with delightful off-the-cuff verve by Jane Wickham and Ralph Nazareth on the piano, respectively), as well as a video presentation on the life of Emily Dickinson, Jane has put together another PoemAlley presentation for this weekend, this time celebrating Autumn.

A resident of the Mapleview Towers senior apartment complex (around the corner from the Stamford Town Center), Jane is known as much for her handmade jewelry as for her thoughtful selection of photography and art used to spot illustrate the, by turns, locally- and Continentally-flavored pieces she shares at Curley’s.

Open to the public and PA members, alike, all are encouraged to bring a favorite poem to share, or to just to come by for a listen and to enjoy complimentary refreshments. Wear a costume, if you dare!
\
Where:
Community Room
Mapleview Towers
51 Grove Street (Corner of Broad and Grove)

When:
Sunday, October 26, 2014
3-6 pm

Contact:
Jane Wickham, 203-274-5474

Sponsored by PoemAlley and Curley’s Diner, this event is free; only on-street parking is permitted, unless you have a Mapleview Towers Parking Permit.



Dec 12, 2013

The Season Asks “Joy, First”

Partake of words, food and entertainment at Holiday Cheer at Mapleview Towers, a festive afternoon gathering organized by regular PoemAlley contributor Jane Wickham, to be held this Saturday in Mapleview's Community Room for residents of the Stamford apartment complex.
Eleni Begetis Anastos

Open to area poets and members of Tuesdays at Curley’s (hosted by Curley’s Diner co-owner and poet Elena Begetis Anastos), Saturday’s celebration of seasonal hope, fellowship and spoken art encourages all to share a favorite short piece (to be read by someone else, if preferred) in an atmosphere accented by refreshments, live music provided by PA members, as well as movie screenings spanning the Transcendental and Beat periods, including 1978's Emily Dickinson: "A Certain Slant of Light" (check out the poet's moody winter meditation "There's a Certain Slant of Light" here), featuring Julie Harris, and the 2006 documentary, The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg.

Newly-discovered, this 1860 daguerreo-
type is purportedly only the second photo of
Dickinson (to left, with friend Kate Scott
Turner) found
Here’s a portion of Harris’ brilliant take on the private 19th century poet from 1976's The Belle of Amherst...





















... and here's the trailer for the Ginsberg film by Jerry Aronson, with commentary by Joan Baez, William F. Buckley, Ken Kesey and others:


New to Ginsberg? This deliriously animated version of "Howl" (created as part of the eponymously-titled 2010 film by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman) demonstrates the enduring socio/political impact of his work, fifty-seven years after its first controversial publication:



When:
Saturday, December 14, 2013
3-6 PM

Where:
Mapleview Towers
Community Room
51 Grove Street
Stamford, CT 06901

Contact:
Jane Wickham, 203-274-5474