The Mad Poets Blog

This Friday, April 22nd at 7:15pm, the Mad Poets’ Poetry Aloud and Alive series presents Brian Sammond at the Big Blue Marble bookstore in Mt. Airy.

Poet Brian Sammond has hosted poetry readings for the Mad Poets at Delaware County Science Institute, and currently hosts the Seasonal Madness series at Media Borough Hall.  He has hosted readings at the Blend at Blue Bananas Cafe on South Street as well.  But Brian is more than a host.  He has been a featured reader for Mad Poets and Poetry Blam!  Brian is a founding member of the Poetic Arts Performance Project.  His poetry has been published in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Mad Poets Review. Some of Brian’s poems have also been set to music.

Brian unwinds from the rigor(morti)s of his programming career by riding his mountain bike about the hills of southeast Pennsylvania, playing with nieces and nephews, and of course writing poetry.

Brian’s poetry is fully thought out and finely wrought.  He has a fine ear for nuance and appeals to all the senses, including the sense of humor.  It is poetry you can appreciate and enjoy.

The featured reading, which begins at 7:15pm, will be followed by an open-reading-go-round hosted by Mike Cohen.  All are invited to read a few minutes’ worth of their own poetry (or someone else’s) or just to listen and enjoy.

Big Blue Marble Book Store is located at:

551 Carpenter Lane
(Mt. Airy) Philadelphia, PA 19119
215) 844-1870
www.bigbluemarblebooks.com

Tamara Oakman, of Philadelphia, has recently completed “Snatch” her MAE thesis project at Arcadia University. She’s been published in Mad Poets Review, Philadelphia Stories, Best of Philladelphia Stories, Many Mountains Moving, and other journals. She runs a series at the Parkway Central Library called The Light of Unity Artist’s and Writer’s Series 2009.

Earlier this year, Tamara initiated a new poetry workshop series for the Mad Poets Society. The Business of Words workshop meets at the University of Pennsylvania Bookstore on the 2nd Saturday of every month, from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. (The next meeting is Sept 13th.)  You can check her out sooner by heading over to Milkboy Acoustic Cafe this Thursday at 7 p.m. for the Mad Poets Hosts Reading.

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.

Glenn McLaughlin, of Pottstown, PA, is a substitute teacher, recovering bio-tech start up executive, and host of Otherwise – Poetry at Churchill’s. He will join several other poets this week at Milkboy Acoustic Cafe in Bryn Mawr for a table turning evening when the hosts become poets.

University studies in chemistry, years of running and cycling combined with decades of sales in the plastics industry finally led to something worthwhile when his poems began arriving about 10 years ago.  Actually, Glenn can remember almost exactly when his first poem came: “Late April 1997, I think the second half of the month, driving home from Boston, at night, right about when I got on the Jersey Turnpike after crossing the GW Bridge.”

Glenn McLaughlin (the pretty "lady" in the sparkly dress) with G. Emil Reutter at the MPS Book Party

Glenn joined the Mad Poets Society about 5 or so years ago, and since then has spiced up the annual Mad Poets Journal Book Party by dressing in drag. (Yup, that’s him in the dress!)  About three years ago he decided to start a reading series in Pottstown, Otherwise – Poetry at Churchill’s.  ”First, I got tired of having to drive forever to get to a reading if I wanted to hear some good poems,” Glenn explains. “Second, Tanna, the owner of Churchill, wanted to add something to town, something artistic. We started talking one day and the rest is, as they say, history.”

Richard Moyer, of Berwyn, currently hosts the open mic poetry series at the Gryphon Cafe in Wayne. Richard has been published in more than 25 small books including The Main Street Rag, The Schuylkill Valley Journal, Willard and Maple, The Endicott Review, Free Verse, The Pink Cadillac, Small Pond Magazine of Literature, The Mad Poet’s Review and others. He has an AB in English from Harvard, an MH (Master of Humanities) from The University of Richmond, and an MA in English from Temple.

Richard is a rare blend of poet and business enthusiast.  “I have been writing poetry off and on all my life — or at least since my sophomore year at Harvard in 1950,” he explains.  His favorite poet is William Carlos Williams, and his favorite poem “The Red Wheelbarrow.” “I sure wish I’d written this poem,” he says.  (Don’t we all!)  He adds that his favorite hobby is following the stock market. “I love to turn on the TV late at night and listen to Bloomberg and what is happening in the Asian Stockmarkets.”

Richard has been a member of the Mad Poets Society for 10 years, having been introduced the group by a friend and former MPS member. He’s been opening the open series at the Gryphon for about five years.  Each month, about five to seven poets gather in the upstairs room at the Gryphon.

“I start off the meeting with a reading from an established poet and then everyone in a circle reads their poems for another two hours,” Richard explains.  This series is special because it allows poets the opportunity to really practice reading and hearing their own poems.

The group meets about four times per year. The next open mic reading at the Grypon is scheduled for September 21 at 7pm.

Amy E. Laub, of Upper Darby, claims that her poems pretty much write themselves – she just takes notes as fast as she can.  A long-time member of the Mad Poets Society, Amy hosts the MPS Critique Circle on first Wednesdays in Media, Pa.  She also works tirelessly as an assistant editor for the Mad Poets Review. When she’s not busting her hump (for free) for the Mad Poets, Amy gets paid to be a full-time secretary for a public school district.

Amy began writing poems in the third grade when her teacher, Mrs. Clothier, assigned Thanksgiving poems. She found the Mad Poets Society in the late 90s thanks to a flyer in the Media Town Mall.  And thankfully for us, she has been leading the Mad Poets Critique Circle since the fall of 2003.

“The Circle started in April 2003,” Amy explains. “[That fall] Eileen D’Angelo asked me if could take over hosting it.  I was — and still am — honored and thrilled to do so.”

Amy says the Critique Circle includes about 30 local poets, about eight to 12 of whom get together on the first Wednesday of the month at the Media-Upper Providence Free Library.  “We read our original poems and discuss how to improve them,” Amy explains. “The group is warm, friendly, humorous, constructive, and diplomatic.  I find it enormously helpful with my writing.  Newcomers are always welcome.”

Amy is inspired by pay raises, naps, and anything chocolate (it’s pretty hard to argue with those!).  She despises pantyhose and will only wear them if she’ll be rewarded with an open bar (fair enough). Her favorite poet is Sharon Black, a local poet who lives in Wallingford, PA.   The one poem she wishes she’d written:

empty bench–

rain
sits down.

~by Joel Weishaus

Amy’s own aesthetic is simple, but not simplistic.  She excels at finding depth in the “mundane.”  As a poet and poetry leader, Amy is fresh and honest.  Her’s is definitely a voice you should stop and listen to, attentively.  So, come out and do that on August 13th why don’t you??

Autumn Konopka, of Glenside, Pa., hosts the Mad Poets Society’s monthly reading at the Milkboy Acoustic Cafe in Bryn Mawr, serves as the (ever procrastinating) MPS web czar & lead blogger, and rarely writes about herself in the third person (except for right now).

Autumn has published some poems, won some awards, gotten some degrees, and taught a few classes.  She’s got a book that nobody has published yet (any takers??).  Over the past year or so, she’s taken a break from teaching and publishing while she focuses on being a full-time stay at home mom to her rambunctious little son.  In her “free” time, she’s honing her baking skills, blogging, and occassionally publishing arts & culture articles for Philly2Philly.com.

Autumn has been an active member of the Mad Poets since about 2001.   “I met Eileen at an open mic, she suggested I send a poem to the Mad Poets contest, so I did,” Autumn explains. “When I won an award (the illustrious 8th honorable mention), I knew this was an organization I need to be a part of.”

Seriously, Autumn explains, after her first Mad Poets Festival she was hooked.  She quickly learned about the myriad Mad Poets events and became a regular at the series at the Barnes & Noble in Bryn Mawr.  A few years later when that series needed a host, Autumn was happy to jump in.  “As soon as I started going to readings, I knew I wanted to be a host,” Autumn explains. “The two-poem limit of the open mic just didn’t do it for me.  I like being up on stage more than that!”

That’s only partly true.  Autumn, who has been hosting for about 5 years now, also believes its important for poets to not take themselves or their poetry too seriously.  She works hard to keep her readings lively and playful.  She thinks its the host’s job to make everyone comfortable and to make poetry accessible.  Most of the time, the crowds seem to respond.  Autumn has been called “a lively exuberant poet” and a “charming and gracious” poetry host. (*Blush*)

Autumn is particularly excited to be hosting the hosts, and reading with them, on August 13th.  She has some fun surprises in mind to keep the hosts and the audience on their toes.

Arlene Bernstein (alias Fern deBlanc), of Media, Pa., has been published in local and national journals, has won several contests, has performed in venues of all types, has been twice nominated for Pushcart Prizes in poetry and non-fiction. She promotes the work of other poets and musicians through Friends of Poetry, which she founded in 2004.  She remains one of America’s most widely unpublished writers, still waiting to be discovered — a la Lana Turner!  But you can discover her on August 13th, when Arlene reads with several other poet-hosts at Milkboy Acoustic Cafe in Bryn Mawr.

Vibrant, funny, stylish, Arlene brings a distinctive savoire faire to the poetry scene.  Her poetry is blends spunky contemporary wit and contemplation, always with a nod to our classical predecessors. It’s no surprise that some of Arlene’s favorite poets are Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Andrew Marvel, and “almost every 17th-century British poet.” She also loves T.S. Eliot, Robert Lowell, Stanley Kunitz, Rilke, Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, Gabriel Mistral.

Arlene’s been leading poetry gatherings since 2004, when her friend arranged and introduced her first public performance at the Bala Cynwyd Library.  The event drew such a big crowd, Arlene says, that the Librarian invited her to host a monthly series.  She hosted that series for a year, then added series at the Belmont Hills Library and at local coffeeshops, then moved on to a series at Seven Stones in Media.

“Hosting was fun,” Arlene says.  “I always tried to focus on presenting lively and somewhat lighthearted evenings of poetry, music, conversation, and refreshments.”

Although she’s been been writing poetry and fiction for more than 60 years (which is pretty amazing, since she can’t be a day over 45!), Arlene became a Mad Poet in 2005, after a friend brought her to the Mad Poets Festival in Media. She started hosting for the MPS in 2007, taking the reigns of the semi-annual “Madness” series that took place at Lori Cosgrove Design. In 2009, the Seasonal Madness Series, and its charismatic hostess, relocated to Media Borough Hall.  The next reading, A Little Autumn Madness, is scheduled for September 25 featuring poets Ashraf Osman, Brian Sammond, and Lisa DeVuono, along with musicians Michael London, Johnny Never, and Tom Mullian.

In Arlene’s words:  “The venue is beautiful (a Victorian Grand Parlour adjacent to the Media Police Station); the poets and musicians are accomplished; the open mic is spirited; the refreshments outstanding! Friday night is a perfect night for relaxing, so be sure to attend in September 25! We usually draw from 30 to 40 people, so it’s never like preaching to the choir!”

Check it out:

Our own Steve Delia is featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer today, in an article about the upcoming Philadelphia Writers Conference. Click here for the article.

Yay Steve!!

THURS., SEPTEMBER 6^TH, AT 7 PM

MAD POETS present A SMATTERING OF NEW VOICES, featuring ANNA MENDOZA, ADAM COBEN & ALLA VILNYANSKAYA (See bio notes below!) at MILK BOY COFFEE /ACOUSTIC CAFE, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., in the Bryn Mawr Film Institute (Bryn Mawr, PA 19010); Tel: 610-527-0690, hosted by AUTUMN KONOPKA! Check out our newest venue and find out what everyone is talking about! AND HANG AROUND AFTERWARDS! At 9 pm, there will be music at Milk Boy !! Our reading will run from 7-9 pm, then MUSIC. Stay tuned for other upcoming mad events, some mentioned below – For info, see www.madpoetssociety.com (Also, at the bottom – a little appeal from your “mad” editor.)

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