| |  | February 2024 | |  | "When February Sun shines cold, There comes a day when in the air The wings of winter slow unfold, And show the golden summer there."
– Philip Savage, 'When February' | | | From the Electronic Inkpot…
As February unfurls its wintry cloak and welcomes the tender embrace of love, we are delighted to present to you the latest edition of our spoken word poetry newsletter. Here, amidst the crisp air and the whispers of ancient trees, we delve into the poetic tapestry of this evocative month.
Be sure to check out Sal Roseo’s performance reading of Poe’s ‘Annabelle Lee’ at the Hackensack Johnson Library earlier this month.
February, with its frost-kissed mornings and twilight whispers, invites us to explore the depths of our emotions and the rhythms of our hearts. It is a time of introspection, of quiet contemplation, and of fierce passion. Capturing the essence of February through the power of spoken word poetry can be elusive, but the poets such as Paul Laurence Dunbar’s ‘Winter Song’ is a fine example of being in the moment.
We have a call for performance readers for our next event, ‘Celtic Folklore and Poetry’ to be performed on Sunday, March 17, 2024. Please download the draft libretto and contact me to be part of this great event.
Join us as we traverse the landscapes of February, guided by the lyrical cadence of spoken word poetry. Let us lose ourselves in the beauty of language, the power of expression, and the timeless allure of the spoken word.
The River Read series at the Red Bank Library will feature poet, Paul Rabinowitz this month (details below).
We invite you to immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of poetic offerings that await you in this edition. May these words kindle a spark within your soul and illuminate the path forward as we journey through the enchanting realms of February.
As always, in peace,
Robert |
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| | Spoken Word Performance | Recital of Edgar Allen Poe’s, 'Annabelle Lee' at the Johnson Library in Hackensack New Jersey as part of the spoken word event "Werdz, Lima and Poe' on January 11, 2024 by poet Sal Roseo. |  | | Black History MonthHonoring Revolutionary Era African American Poet Lemuel Haynes |  | By Daggett, Hinman & Co., sc. - Cooley, Timothy Mather. (1837) Sketches of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, A.M. Harper & Brothers (New York, NY). | Lemuel Haynes has the distinction of being the first black man in the United States to be ordained as a minister. Haynes was a native of West Hartford, Connecticut, and was the son of an African American man and a white woman. He spent much of his childhood as an indentured servant in the house of a Granville, Massachusetts, farmer. His writings were mostly composed of sermons and essays centered around his mission to overturn slavery in the nascent American republic. He also served with honour in the Massachussetts militia and infantryman as well as cleric in George Washington’s army.
At the outset of hostilities, Lemuel Haynes was not among the Minutemen who fought the Revolutionary War’s first skirmishes against British forces on April 19, 1775 but the next day Haynes, a young black man who was preparing for a future life as a minister, rushed to reinforce American militias fighting British forces in Boston, and he would soon record his sense of revolutionary ardor in verse. He penned the poem, ‘The Battle of Lexington’. The poem is composed of 35 lyrical quatrains and a meaningful summary excerpt is shared below: | “The Nineteenth Day of April last We ever shall retain As monumental of the past most bloody shocking Scene
Then Tyrants fill'd with horrid Rage A fatal Journey went & Unmolested to engage And slay the innocent
Then did we see old Bonner rise And, borrowing Spite from Hell They stride along with magic Eyes where Sons of Freedom dwell
At Lexington they did appear Array'd in hostile Form And tho our Friends were peacefull there Yet on them fell the Storm
Eight most unhappy Victims fell Into the Arms of Death Unpitied by those Tribes of Hell Who curs’d them with their Breath
The Savage Band still march along For Concord they were bound while Oaths & Curses from their Tongue Accent with hellish Sound
To prosecute their fell Desire At Concord they unite Two Sons of Freedom there expire By their tyrannic Spite |
| Thus did our Friends endure their Rage without a murm'ring Word Till die they must or else engage and join with one Accord
Such Pity did their Breath inspire That long they bore the Rod And with Reluctance they conspire to shed the human Blood
But Pity could no longer sway Tho' 't is a pow'rfull Band For Liberty now bleeding lay And calld them to withstand
The Awfull Conflict now begun To rage with furious Pride And Blood in great Effusion run From many a wounded Side
For Liberty, each Freeman Strives As its a Gift of God And for it willing yield their Lives And Seal it with their Blood
Thrice happy they who thus resign Into the peacefull Grave Much better there, in Death Confin'd Than a Surviving Slave
This Motto may adorn their Tombs, (Let tyrants come and view) “We rather seek these silent Rooms Than live as Slaves to You”
- Lemuel Haynes, ‘The Battle of Lexington’ |
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| |  | SEVEN PERFECT POEMS: AN INTENSIVE “WORKSHOP” – via Zoom | The Tupelo Truchas Poetry Conference began as a writer’s retreat at a cherished location, Truchas Peaks Place in Truchas, New Mexico. Over the years we have built a powerful writing workshop and formed a warm community of faculty and alumni. Successfully translated into a popular Zoom format for the spring of 2022, our renowned conference is open more broadly than ever before, without losing the magic of community, and without the travel costs! | | |  |  | Paul Rabinowitz is an author, screenwriter, photographer and founder of ARTS By The People. He is the author of 5 books including Confluence; The Clay Urn; truth, love and the lines in between; Limited Light and Grand Street, Revisited. Rabinowitz’s photography, prose and poetry appear in magazines and journals including The Sun Magazine, New World Writing, Arcturus-Chicago Review Of Books, Evening Street Press, The Montreal Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, Talking River Review, The Oddville Press and elsewhere. Rabinowitz was a featured artist in Nailed Magazine in 2020, Mud Season Review in 2022 and Apricity Press in 2023. His photo series Limited Light was nominated for Best of the Net in 2021. Rabinowitz’s poems and fiction are the inspiration for 8 award winning experimental films, including Best Experimental Short at Cannes, Venice Independent Film Festival, Oregon Short Film Festival, Jersey Shore Film Festival, Florence Indie Film Festival and Paris Film Festival.
Note: There will be NO ZOOM broadcast this month Please join us in-person
Your co-hosts: Linda ~ lindacjm@gmail.com Gregg ~ gregglory@aol.com |  | |  | Red Bank Public Library 84 W Front Street Red Bank, NJ 07701 (732) 842-0690 | | Inspiration | Friend, poet and subscriber to Spoken Word Poetry recently shared with me while were at the first 2024 reading for Monmouth County Poets, that he belongs to a non-fiction book group at the Long Branch Free Public Library. He is a man who thinks of all things poetic (or at mininmum, to be poetic) and has drawn on the source material of the books he’s read as inspiration for creating new verse.
I laud the effort! It is good practice and allows an opportunity to draw upon the life experiences of others to seek and express understanding. He recently read a biography of the work of Fredrick Douglass. From this reading, he created the poem, ‘Reading Words’
“The challenge it was to learn to read “Mistress” Sophia began the deed After just barely learning A, B, and C “Master” felt it planted the seed to be free Thus his reading became forbidden He persevered, and did it hidden The fruits of his labor on every page With his poetic words he did engage The reader’s focus of attention To commit with full intention To ensure the slaves’ emancipation And to restore the soul of the nation!”
- Marshall Harth, ‘Reading Words’ | |  | JOIN PERSONAL ESSAY LAB Now accepting applications! We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new program, Personal Essay Lab, designed to guide passionate writers through a transformative three-month journey of revising and submitting personal essays or memoir excerpts for publication.
In six sessions that meet every other week, Personal Essay Lab will help writers place one or two essays in reputable media outlets or literary journals.
Our next three-month Personal Essay Lab begins February 7. Ready to apply? Please complete our application.
Please email us at bookinc@projectwritenow.org if you have any questions about the application process.
| | | Sarah Helen Whitman: The Poet in Poe's Shadow |  | Sarah Helen Whitman was a talented and versatile poet, essayist, and critic who lived in the 19th century. She was well-read, well-connected, and well-respected in the literary and intellectual circles of her time. She was also a woman of courage and conviction, who defended the controversial writers she admired, such as Percy Bysshe Shelley, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. She was also a pioneer of spiritualism, feminism, and abolitionism, and a lover of nature, art, and beauty.
Yet, despite her achievements and contributions, Whitman is often remembered only as the fiancée of one of America's most famous and infamous writers, Edgar Allan Poe. Whitman and Poe had a brief and tumultuous courtship in 1848, which ended in a broken engagement and a lasting sorrow. Whitman was one of the few people who appreciated and defended Poe's genius, both during his life and after his death. She published her most famous work, Edgar Poe and His Critics, in 1860, in which she refuted the attacks of Rufus W. Griswold and other detractors of Poe.
Whitman's relationship with Poe, however, has overshadowed her own identity and creativity as a poet and a critic. She has been reduced to a footnote in Poe's biography, a minor character in his drama, a muse in his poetry. She has been portrayed as a sentimental, eccentric, and fragile woman, who was obsessed with Poe and his dark mysteries. She has been neglected and misunderstood by many critics and readers, who have failed to recognize her originality and diversity.
In my own thinking, I think Whitman deserves more recognition and appreciation for her own work and legacy. She was a remarkable woman who expressed her views and feelings with eloquence and passion. She was also a whimsical and playful writer, who experimented with various forms and themes, and who had a sense of humor and irony. She wrote poems about love, death, nature, and the supernatural, as well as essays on literature, art, philosophy, and society. She also wrote some witty and sarcastic poems about her engagement to Poe, such as "The Raven's Bride" and "The Shadow of the Obelisk".
Whitman’s primary publication was a lovely collection of her own poetry entitled, “Hours of Life” (Click this link to download an eBook of this fine work). | | Robert Reads for February 2024Paul Laurence Dunbar |  | | In Gracious ThanksA great honour to be bestowed… | It is with a bemused mix of pride and humility that I am pleased to announce that I have been chosen as a 2024 Library Champion by the Long Branch Free Public Library. Pride in that I have been fortunate to be affiliated with an outstanding group of people dedicated to serving their community through the preservation and propagation of literature, a bulwark of energy to preserving our common culture. Humility in that they have chosen to honour one so glad to be counted among their number and would / will continue to serve their mission of being the heart of the Long Branch community.
An awards dinner is planned for April 26, 2024 for I and my fellow Champions. I would be honoured if you would attend. It would not just celebrate the work of those honoured by the Long Branch Free Public Library but the entire organization that supports the work of cultivating our humanity through their efforts.
| | |  |  | Join ABC partner Project Write Now on February 13, 2024 at 7:00 pm for a fun evening of storytelling, conversation, and community! Using creative prompts, we generate new writing and then share our work. (Outside pieces are welcome too, but they must be your own work, 500 words or less, and align with PWN’s mission to provide a supportive environment.) If you would like to read, please email info@projectwritenow.org to be put on the readers list. Come to write, read, or listen! Your story matters and we want to hear it! | | | Monmouth County Poets - 2024 Schedule |  | Emotional or humorous, storytelling or intense, poetry can evoke a variety of thoughts and emotions. Explore or recite literary works during a time of alliteration, rhythm and verse.
All are welcome to read your work aloud or read work from your favorite poet(s). Themes are suggested and original poems are encouraged. Poems must be appropriate for a family-oriented audience. Preregistration is recommended for readers, though drop-ins are welcome as time permits. FREE!
Next session is February 21, 2024 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm at the Thompson Park Visitor Center. Contact RacheI Cohen to be added to the list of readers at (732) 542-1642, ext. 29 or via rachel.cohen@monmouthcountyparks.com. | |  | Our next Spoken Word Poetry event being produced is in cooperation with the Monmouth County Poets on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2024 from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm at the Thompson Park Visitor Center. It will be an afternoon celebrating timeless, Celtic tales. W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Lady Gregory, and Eavan Boland are some of the poets whose works will be recited by performance readers. These works delve into the rich tapestry of Celtic myths, legends and folklore. FREE! Registration is suggested, but not required. Light refreshments will be served following the performance.
We are seeking performance readers (5-6) to participate in the program and the DRAFT libretto can be downloaded here. As always, we will have two readthroughs (one by videoconference, one at the venue) to hone the performance. If interested in being a performance reader for this event, please let me know no later than February 16, 2024. For those who would like to attend this performance, reach out to Co-Producer Rachel below:
Contact RacheI Cohen to learn more about this event at (732) 542-1642, ext. 29 or via rachel.cohen@monmouthcountyparks.com.
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