Meet the Hosts: Mary Kathryn Morgeneier
Mary Kathryn Morgeneier and all of her various personalities (Kat, Kate, Katie, Mary K, etc.) live in harmony in Phoenixville, PA, where she hosts the Mad Poets Steel City Coffeehouse open mic.
Katie was a born poet, who began telling stories as early as six years old — in her first confession. “As the line to the confessional grew shorter and shorter, I remember working my thumbs into a nervous tizzy,” she explains. “Finally my turn. Bless me Father for I have sinned; it has been no time since my last confession. And then I proceeded to lay a series of colorful but untrue crimes on him. I got ten Hail Marys for my sins, and an extra twenty Hail Marys for lying in my first confession.”
From there, the poetry flowed! Katie says she’s been writing for most of her life but has only been sharing her poetry publicly since joining Mad Poets three years ago. Like her favorite poet, Emily Dickinson, Katie’s poems are often observations of daily life; she also writes about social issues and personal relationships.
Katie took the reigns of the Steel City Coffeehouse open mic just this year. Her reading is a combination of poetry and music. “The evening turns into a great celebration of the human spirit,” she explains. “Once in awhile it seems that all of the music, poetry, and spoken word resonates with everyone–as if we had all arrived there by divine appointment. It can seem very magical. It’s never dull!”
The Steel City readings happen on the 1st Tuesday of every month; the next one is Sept 1st at 7pm. But, you can catch Katie reading with a slew of other host poets this Thursday at the Milkboy Acoustic Cafe in Bryn Mawr.
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BUKOWSKI-CONNECTED PROGRAM: VINCENT QUATROCHE & G.EMIL REUTTER READ THEIR OWN POEMS & COMMENT ON THE WRITINGS & INFLUENCE OF CHARLES BUKOWSKI
Manayunk Art Center located at 419 Green Lane (rear) presents “A Bukowski-Connected Afternoon: Vincent Quatroche and G. Emil Reutter Read Their Own Poems & Comment on the Writings & Influence of Charles Bukowski ” on Sunday, September 20 from 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM. Attendees also invited to read Bukowski material in an Open Reading. $4 Donation requested. Refreshments available. Phone: 215-482-3363.
The Bukowski-Connected Program will include a talk titled “Don’t Try” by Quatroche. “Don’t Try” are the words engraved on Bukowski’s tombstone (he died in 1994). The meaning of “Don’t Try” is interpreted as don’t try to be like anybody else. Bukowski has become an emblematic figure for the modern outsider and depraved individualist. Time magazine called Bukoski the “laureate of American lowlife.” A well-known Bukowski quote is “These words I write keep me from total Madness.” The misfit Bukowski is like no one else in American literature. Some compare Bukowski to Jack Kerouac, the iconic figure of the “Beats.”
G Emil Reutter, who resides in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, knocked around as a Tea Blender, Steel Worker, Warehouse worker, Car wash guy, Busboy, Short order cook and Gas pump jockey. Finally he settled down for 25 years as a railroad cop, raised a family, and recently retired from the railroad job. His most recent collection of selected poems titled Blue Collar Poet was released in February of this year. Seven collections of his poetry and short fiction have been published
Vincent Quatroche is a frequent presence on the New York City spoken word poetry scene. A profile of his work appeared on PBS in 1998. He is a much-published author who has generated numerous creative projects, including several books and audio/video interpretations of his work. He has been a member of the Communication and English Department at Jamestown Community College since 1997 and has been on the faculty in the Communication Department at Fredonia State College since the late 80s. He has also served as an Instructor in Adult Education for the Chautauqua County Jail in Mayville NY since 1996.
Peter Krok, the Humanities Director of the MAC, hosts and coordinates the Sunday series, which is now in its twentieth year. Attendees are invited to share Bukowski work or their own comments on Bukwoski.. Light refreshments will be served. For information about literary programs contact the MAC at 215-482-3363.
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