The Mad Poets Blog

From Eileen D’Angelo

Hello, All!   JUST A HEADS UP … The MAD POETS REVIEW Book Release Party that was scheduled for THIS SATURDAY. October 27th HAS BEEN POSTPONED !!!!   The new date is SAT. DECEMBER 1st .  11:00 a.m. at the Delaware County Institute of Science, 11 Veterans Square in Media.  I absolutely hated having to do this – but it was inevitable, due to the wild schedule of Mad Poets since September 1st.  The new issue is shaping up to be amazing, and features work by RENEE ASHLEY, BARB CROOKER, DAVID KOZINSKI, MARIA FAMA, ANNA EVANS, RACHEL BUNTING, COURTNEY BAMBRICK, PAUL MARTIN, HARRY HUMES, LOUIS McKEE, CA CONRAD, FRANK SHERLOCK,  and others. Special thanks to Amy Laub for doing a large portion of the typing, and to Missy Grotz and Dave Worrell, for their dedicated assistance.  See you on December 1st !

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WINNERS OF THE 2007 MAD POETS REVIEW COMPETITION !

KATE NORTHROP (Bio below) was our esteemed Judge for the 2007 Mad Poets Competition.  The winners will appear in Volume 21, scheduled to be released on December 1st.  In a field of 425 poems, Kate chose 12 to recognize.  Here are this year’s talented winners:

1ST PRIZE – KATE WILDING

2ND PRIZE – KIM GEK LIN SHORT

3RD PRIZE – BARBARA TORODE

4TH PRIZE – TAMMY PAOLINO

5TH PRIZE – MARGARET ROBINSON

6TH PRIZE – ASHRAF OSMAN

7TH PRIZE – RICHARD S. BANK

8TH PRIZE – KATE WILDING

9TH PRIZE – CAMILLE NORVAISAS

10TH PRIZE – DIANE GUARNIERI

11TH PRIZE – MARGARET ROBINSON

12TH PRIZE – HANOCH GUY

*If you sent an SASE for results, copies of the winners’ flyer is going out ASAP. (The MPR Winner’s List flyers got packed away after the mad poets festival –and are in one of the boxes in the garage! Hence the delay).

WED., OCTOBER 24TH – 7 PM, MAD POETS OPEN MIKE NIGHT AT THE GRYPHON CAFE - hosted by Richard Moyer in the upstairs room. Bring your poems, or your favorite poets’ work !  Musicians welcome.  Come for a cozy circle of sharing poetry or music ! Last chance for 2007 !

OCTOBER 28TH at 1 pm - Mad Poets at STEEL CITY COFFEEHOUSE – Featured poets LYNN BLUE + MARIA LIGOS, followed by an open. Hosted by Noah Cutler. Steel City is located at 203 Bridge St., Phoenixville, PA 19460.  Store # is 610-933-4043. Be there or be square!

OCTOBER 29TH 8 PM – Mad Poets Presents a special reading at ST. JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY featuring APRIL LINDNER, ANTHONY PALMA AND BROOKE PALMA !  Details on the room at St. Joe’s and full bio info to come.  MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW, and don’t miss these fine poets. 

THURS. NOVEMBER 1ST - 7 PM - MAD POETS AT MILK BOY COFFEE features COURTNEY BAMBRICK and BARBARA TORODE plus an open mike to follow, hosted by Autumn Konopka.  Milk Boy is at 824 W. Lancaster Ave., in the Bryn mawr Film Institute (the old theatre) in Bryn Mawr. (Not to be confused with Milk Boy’s other Ardmore location. This series will continue in 2008, but will move to second Thursdays).  (Note: Courtney Bambrick is working on running a series of Mad Poets Workshops in 2008, stay tuned ! And Barbara Torode is one of our 2007 Mad Poet Winners !!)

ALSO – ON NOVEMBER 1ST  at 7 pm !!!

ALL YOU BUCKS COUNTY POETS !!  A NEW MAD POETS SERIES IN BUCKS COUNTY AT DOYLESTOWN LIBRARY !!!

“A-MUSE POETRY SERIES“ will begin on November 1st at 7 pm, at the Doylestown Library Panel Discussion with Bucks County Poet Laureate, Marie Kane and Montco Poet Laureate David Simpson, including Q & A.  This new MPS Series is moderated/organized and coordinated by Mad Poets:  Joanne Leva, Bill Wunder and Camille Norvaisis !!! 

Doylestown Library is at 150 S. Pine St., Doylestown, PA 18901, Phone: 215-348-9081. Emails for info, for Bill Wunder and Camille: billybaloney02@yahoo.com, Camille525@aol.com  (Joanne’s is a work email, so until I get her OK, I can’t release it).   So! For all you Bucks County poets without a Mad Poets “home” – you can’t get better than this !!  Special thanks to Bill, Joanne and Camille, for all their hard work !!!!! 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH AT 7 PM - MAD POETS PRESENTS:   EMILIANO MARTIN, KASIA NEWCOMER AND FERESHTEH SHOLEVAR at the HAVERFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY, in the Community Room downstairs. An Open Mike will follow. The library is at 1601 Darby Rd. Havertown, PA 19083; their number is 610-446-3082. Hosted by Eileen D’Angelo (unfortunately, Peter Krok who was scheduled to host this reading will not be able to join us).

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH  – 7:30 PM – MAD POETS PRESENTS LAWRENCE DUGAN + RICHARD MOYER AT THE DELCO INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, 11 Veterans Square, Media, PA 19063; Open reading follows!  Hosted by Eileen D’Angelo.  Bring your poems!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH – ROBERT ZALLER WILL RUN A MAD POETS WORKSHOP at the Delco Institute of Science, 11 Veterans Square.  Workshop begins at 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 pm – Lunch is catered and brought to us at 1 pm – and Robert Zaller will read from his work at 2 pm.  There’s a $50 fee for the workshop.  The class is open for 8-12 participants.  SIGN UP NOW..   The Deadline is Saturday, November 3rd, for registrations; to allow Robert time to review two poems of each participant by email, prior to the workshop on Nov. 17th.  EMAIL MADPOETS@COMCAST.NET with ZALLER WORKSHOP in the subject line, and mail your check for $50 made payable to “Mad Poets Society”, to Mad Poets Society, P.O. Box 1248, Media, PA 19063-8248 – TIME IS RUNNING OUT !!!!    

This comes from Victor Schwartzman at the Guild of Outsider Writers. If you have been published in the small press or operate a small or alternative press you may want to check this out. The link is  http://www.outsiderwriters.org/content/view/508/1/

To go directly to the petition site click here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/amazoncom-should-create-an-alternative-literature-section

Mad Poet Ashraf Osman maintains a poetry calender that includes Mad Poet Events as well as other Philadelphia area poetry events. If you would like to see what is going on please visit the calender here: http://freecal.brownbearsw.com/PhillyPoetry If you want to add an event please follow the directions or contact Ashraf. You can also visit the Philly Poetry Site at : http://www.phillypoetry.com/

Hey there kids –

The Mad Poets Review Book Party, originally scheduled for October 27th, has been POSTPONED until December 1st. The time and location will be the same — 11a @ the Delaware County Institute of Science in Media, Pa.

For more information or directions, check out the Institute of Science schedule or email madpoets{at}comcast{dot}net.

The final reading of 2007 at the Last Word Bookshop in University City was a blast. Leonard Gontarek, the host, presented a diverse group of poets consisting of Robyn Alter-Bielana, Ish Klein & Amy Ouzooian. Philadelphia poets Amy Small McKinney and Louis McKee were also in attendance with the standing room crowd. It was a good evening of poetry in University City.

I write free verse all the time. When I try to write metrical poetry, I get a headache and an intense craving for a glass of wine. What I don’t get is a successful sonnet, or villanelle, or whatever. But that’s ok, I’m comfortable with my limitations. Having a best friend who is a formalist, though, means I am kept abreast of excitement in the formalist poetry world. Some of the happenings over the past week caught my attention, and I thought I’d toss them out here for public consumption: (Continued)

FROM EILEEN D’ANGELO

TOMORROW – OCTOBER 7th!  NOON TO FIVE PM ! 

    The 20th ANNUAL MAD POETS FESTIVAL !

All day poetry readings between noon and five, reception follows, light refreshments served all day.  Special Guest: Daniel Hoffman will read at five pm. Check the line-up of incredible poets below ! Don’t miss a minute of this annual mad poets party !  Held in in Parlor at  MEDIA BOROUGH HALL, which is between 3rd and 4th Streets and Jackson & Monroe Streets in Media.  ()Don’t feed the meters, the meter maids are OFF!)    This event is held in conjunction with the Media Food & Arts Festival on State Street in Media.  There are bands in the streets, arts, crafts, and all the local restaurants put out booths with fantastic food for this festival.  We are 2 blocks back at Media Borough Hall. 

    State St. is closed to traffic, but you can take MONROE STREET , back to the Media Borough Hall, and cross through the street fair. Monroe will not be closed, but Jackson Street will be closed.  Below the Festlval Schedule will be directions.  HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE !  Be well, Eileen

2007 MAD POETS FESTIVAL SCHEDULE – APPROX. TIMES

FIRST SET HOSTED BY G. EMIL REUTTER

    BETWEEN NOON AND 1 PM

ROCKY MARCELLUS

KRYSTLE MARCELLUS

DANIEL MARCELLUS

JOY ROSE

LYNN BLUE

DUYEN DeGAIN

KASIA NEWCOMER

ALICE WOOTSON

CHRISTOPHER BROADBELT

DAVID KOZINSKI

SHORT BREAK  (No more than 10 min.)

  2^ND SET HOSTED BY EILEEN D’ANGELO

    BETWEEN  1 PM AND 2 PM  

BETH PHILLIPS BROWN

NATHALIE ANDERSON

RICHARD MOYER

CLAUDIA BEECHMAN

BRIAN SAMMOND

WILLIAM HETZNECKER

STEVE CONCERT

CAROL CLARK WILLIAMS

JOANNE LEVAN

SHORT BREAK

* 3^RD SET HOSTED BY EMILIANO MARTIN  

BETWEEN 2 PM AND 3 PM  

DIANE GUARNIERI

TAMARA OAKMAN

LINDA FISCHER

GLENN McLAUGHLIN

STEVE DELIA

JOE DORAZIO

NAIMA LESLIE WILLIAMS

BROOKE PALMA

ANTHONY PALMA

SHORT BREAK * 

4^TH SET HOSTED BY GLENN McLAUGHLIN

BETWEEN 3 AND 4 PM

EMILIANO MARTIN

G. EMIL REUTTER

JOYCE MEYERS

ED KRIZEK

AMY LAUB

PETER BAROTH

THERESE HALSCHEID

DAVE WORRELL

KIM GEK LIN SHORT

SHORT BREAK *

5^th set  HOSTED BY JOANNE LEVA

BETWEEN 4 AND 5 PM

KATE WILDING

RAY GREENBLATT

RICHARD S. BANK

JC TODD

LEONARD GONTAREK

DANIEL MOORE

AAREN Y. PERRY
LOUIS McKEE

WD EHRHART

DANIEL HOFFMAN

RECEPTION FOLLOWS*  /MINGLING / MUNCHIES

Anthony Palma, Brooke Palma & April Linder
St. Joseph’s University.

About the poets… (Continued)

Jenn McCreary & Chris McCreary

Featured reading followed by open mic
Hosted by Autumn Konopka

Milkboy Acoustic Cafe
824 W. Lancaster Ave.
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
610-527-0690

*See full schedule for this series.

About the Poets… (Continued)

Autumn Konopka & Alice Wootson

Hosted by Glenn McLaughlin
Featured readings followed by open mic

Churchill Artisan Baker & Chocolatier
137 E. High Street
Pottstown, PA 19464
484-941-5100

*See the full schedule for this series.