The Mad Poets Blog

Tonight we kick-off a new, old event for the Mad Poets. The Mad Poet Bryn Mawr series at Milkboy Acoustic Cafe (a series which has been alive and kicking on Lancaster Ave for at least 6 years) starts a new year as the Milkboy Mixed-Genre Series. Every month (or mostly every month), our featured readers will include poets and prose writers. For me, this is very exciting. My best friend is a fiction writer, and although I’ve always found my voice comes easiest in poems, I find the craft of writing prose always impresses and inspires me. I can’t wait to see the dynamic things that happen when put these readings together every month. The readings start at 7pm at the Milkboy Acoustic Cafe on Lancaster Ave (same building as the Bryn Mawr Film Institute). The readings are free & open to public.

In addition to the new genre, we’re also kicking off a new open mic contest that will land the winner a featured reading slot as part of the Milkboy series in Novemember! Come on out, bring your ears, bring your poems, bring it on!! I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so excited for the kick off of this series.

This month, we’ve got Ed Krizek reading poetry and Randall Brown bringing the fiction.

Here’s a little about them:

Ed Krizek, poet

Ed Krizek was born in New York City and now runs a sales and marketing business in Swarthmore, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia.  He holds a BA and MS from University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA and MPH from Columbia University.  He is active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County, has published over forty-five articles, poems and short stories in various publications, and won prizes in several poetry and short story competitions including the Emotions Magazine 1999 poetry competition, Mad Poets Society contests from 2006, 2001 and 1999 and Pennsylvania Poetry Society Contest 2007. Ed is also president of Greater Philadelphia Poets for Young Voices an offshoot of Mad Poets Society dedicated to finding and promoting high school aged poets.

Randall Brown, flash fiction

Randall Brown teaches at and directs Rosemont College’s MFA in Creative Writing program. He is the author of the award-winning flash fiction collection Mad To Live, and his essay appears in The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers, and Writers in the Field. Also, from 2004-2009, he happily toiled on the staff of the flash fiction journal SmokeLong Quarterly in a number of roles, including Lead Editor. Since discovering the flash form in 2004, he has published flash, edited it, talked about it, written about it, read tens of thousands unpublished pieces of it, taught it, workshopped it, lectured on it, and fallen madly in love with it. He’s a member of a daily flash fiction workshop, and his blog FlashFiction.Net has a singular mission: “to prepare writers, readers, editors, and fans for the imminent rise to power of that machine of compression, that hugest of things in the tiniest of spaces—micro, sudden, flash, fiction.” He also enjoys fly fishing, the outdoors version of this world of (very) tiny things.

It’s Monday again… what’s going on?

Drop a comment letting us know where you’re reading, where we can read your work, where you’re hosting an event, performing, or where we can buy your book.

As for us, we’ve got a lot going on this week.

*Week of Mar 8*

• Wed, Mar 10, 6:30pm: Amy Laub leads the Mad Poets Critique Circle at the Coffee Club in Media, Pa. Bring 15 copies of one of your own poems for roundtable critique & discussion. Free & open to the public.
• Thurs, Mar 11, 7pm: Ed Krizek (poetry) & Randall Brown (fiction) are the featured readers at the Milkboy Acoustic Cafe mixed genre series. The reading is free, open to public & followed by an open mic. Also, since this is the first reading of the year (sadly, snow killed our Feb reading), this is your first chance to participate in the Open Mic contest & vie for a featured reading in November. Hosted by Autumn Konopka.
• Sat, Mar 13, 2pm: The Business of Words, poetry reading and writing workshop moderated by Tamara Oakman, at the Blue Grotto at Community Education Center in West Philadelphia. Free and open to the public. Bring 10 copies of your own poem.
• Sat, Mar 13, 7pm: Ruth Rouff & Al Taconelli read for the Otherwise-Poetry at Churchill series in Pottstown, Pa. The reading is free, open to public & followed by an open mic. Hosted by Glenn McLaughlin.
• Sat, Mar 13, 7pm: A Little Spring Madness in the Mansion Parlor at the Media Borough Hall. Featured poets include Joseph Dorazio, Amy E. Laub, Linda Fischer & Chris Schaeffer, and Nick Filone is the featured musician. Hosted by Brian Sammond.

It’s Monday again. That means time to get Shameless with your good news. Reading coming up? Book getting published? Website we should check out? Type it in the comments & let us know. Or tweet it with the hashtag #ShamelessMonday. (And of course, if you’re not following us – @MadPoetsSociety – you should be!)

As for us, we’re really getting back in action this week!

*Week of Feb. 8, 2010*

• Wed, Feb 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m.: The MPS Critique Circle meets at the Coffee Club in Media, Pa. Please note, this is a new location & a new time for 2010. The critique circle is free, open to the public, and will convene in the Coffee Club’s glass-enclosed conference room.
• Thurs, Feb 11, 7 p.m.: We kick off our series at the Milkboy Acoustic Cafe in Bryn Mawr with our annual pre-Valentine’s Love/Anti-Love open mic. This is always LOTS of fun! No featured readers — just you, you, and you reading your poems about love, hate, lust, repulsion, and everything in between.
• Sat, Feb 13, 2 p.m.: Tamara Oakman’s Business of Words poetry workshop moves to the Blue Grotto (at Community Education Center) in University City. The workshop will meet monthly on the 2nd Saturday, Feb thru Nov.
• Sat, Feb 13, evening: The Mad Poets series in Pottstown kicks off… I don’t have full details, yet, but I’ll update later.

There are still a few hours of Monday left (depending on where you are in the world, there me be alot of hours of Monday left)… besides, it doesn’t *really* have to be Monday for you to shamelessly self promote.  So bring it on:  Where are you reading? Where are your poems, stories, essays, etc. published??  Post it in the comments & will do our best to spread & respread the word.

And what about us… HOLY POETRY, BATMAN! We’ve got one busy week!

*Week of Oct. 5*

• Tues., Oct. 6, 7p.m.: Open Mic Poetry at Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville, hosted by Mary Kathryn Morgeneier.
• Wed., Oct. 7, 7p.m.: Mad Poets Critique Circle facilitated by Amy Laub at the Media-Upper Providence Free Library.
• Wed., Oct. 7, 6p.m. – 7:30p.m.: The continuation of Leonard Gontarek’s Self & Place in Poetry workshop. It’s too late to join this workshop, but keep an eye out for future workshops with Leonard. Or if you really need some feedback, like now, head on out to the Critique Circle (details above).
• Thurs. Oct. 8, 7p.m.: Milkboy Acoustic Cafe Series, hosted by Autumn Konopka, featuring poets Quincy Scott Jones, Pat Goodrich & Elizabeth Raby, followed by an open mic.
• Sat., Oct. 10, 1p.m. – 3p.m.: The Business of Words Poetry Workshop, facilitated by Tamara Oakman, at the Univ. of Pennsylvania Bookstore.
• Sat., Oct. 10, 7p.m.: Otherwise – Poetry at Churchill’s, hosted by Glenn McLaughlin, featuring Sean Webb & Autumn Konopka, followed by an open mic.
• Sat.-Sun., Oct. 10-11, 7p.m. – 3p.m.: Mad Poets Bonfire at Ridley Creek State Park.

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.

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!”