Poets Wear Prada is a poetry publishing house with excellent poets and affordable books with beautiful covers. Have you had your poetry today?--Meredith Sue Willis, Books for Readers * * * Stylistically, these beautifully designed and produced chapbooks bear their own distinctive signature.--Linda Lerner, SMALL PRESS REVIEW

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Kiwanis Summer Gazebo Readings Raise $$$ for Summer Camp; June 11: Teller, Savino, Cooper, Siegal and Goldstein Feature

SUMMER GAZEBO READING SERIES 
monday evenings 7-8 p.m. 
June, July and August

SCHOOLHOUSE GREEN
on Foxhurst Road
(just east of Long Beach Road
across from the Firehouse)
Oceanside, New York

FEATURING ON MONDAY JUNE 11TH:

Gayl Teller   Robert Savino   Jack Cooper
     Herbert Siegel   Gail Goldstein

HOST:  Tony Iovino

Free & Open to the Public
Bring Your Own Lawn Chair.

http://www.facebook.com/events/400692499973137/


Jack Cooper [Credit: Jay Franco, Inspired Word]
 

John Jack Jackie (Edward) COOPER is the author of "Ten" (Poets Wear Prada, 2012), preview of his forthcoming “Aphorithms.” His American English translation of "Wax Women," with French texts of the original poems by Jean-Pierre Lemesle and photographs by Henry Jacobs (International Art Office, Paris: 1985), drew acclaim and dedicated full-window display from the Gotham Book Mart in New York—legendary fishing hole to the “wise”—released in the United States the following year. His work has appeared online (exitstrata.com), his reviews in "The Times Book Review" and "Publisher's Weekly." He has read manuscripts for Farrar, Straus & Giroux; served the Modern Language Association (MLA) as research associate;  taught English for eleven years to refugees for the federally funded ELESAIR Project; and was an XML specialist and content production editor for McGraw-Hill/GROW Network. Currently, he is co-publisher and production editor for Poets Wear Prada, a small literary press based in Frank Sinatra's hometown, Hoboken, New Jersey.

Robert Savino

Robert Savino is a native Long Island poet and practicing retiree.  Among Savino's publications are a full-length book of poetry, Inside a Turtle Shell (Allbook Books, 2009), and a chapbook,  fireballs of an illuminated scarecrow (Good Japan Press, 2008).   Widely published his work has also appeared in a multitude of literary journals, Angelflesh, Avenging Spirit, Axe Factory, Babylon Review, Backstreet Quarterly, Black Book Press, Bone & Flesh, Conflict of Interest, Creations Magazine 2007, 2008, 2009, Ellipsis, Fan Magazine, Fulva Flava, Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Home Planet News, In My Shoes, Incoming, Jerseyworks, Long Island Quarterly, Long Islander, Mad Poets Review, Mobius-The Poetry Magazine, Negative Capability, North American Review, Oberon, Poetry Motel, Poetry Superhighway, Rogue Scholars, Skyline Magazine, Skyline Review, Sport Literate, Surreal Underground, Tapestries, The Equinox, Urban Beat, Wooden Head Review, Xanadu, and several anthologies, Babyboomer Birthright (PoetWorks Press, 2013), Toward Forgiveness (Writers Ink Press, 2011), examination anthology (Local Gems Poetry Press, 2010), Long Island Sounds (The North Sea Poetry Scene Press, 2009), Long Island Sounds:2008 (The North Sea Poetry Scene Press, 2008), primal sanities (Allbook Books, 2007), The Light of City and Sea (Street Press, 2006). His awards include the Oberon Poetry Prize in 2008 and the Lake Ronkonkoma Historical Society's 15th Annual Poetry Competition in 2005.

Gail Goldstein is a retired teacher who works with autistic children. She is published in numerous poetry anthologies and literary magazines ("Toward Forgiveness," "Mobius," "PPA Literary Review," "Long Island Sounds," etc.) and has won various poetry awards (Mobius, Farmingdale, Princess Ronkonkoma). She is on the editorial staff of several poetry anthologies. "Whispers and Shouts," an anthology of poetry written by women from Long Island, will be Gail’s first book. It is coming out later this year. Gail’s other passion is music. A percussionist, Gail is part of the drUUmatics, a West African drum ensemble performance group. Visit www.druumatics.org for more information.


Gayle Teller

Nassau County Poet Laureate (2009-2011), Gayl Teller received an MA from Columbia University and another MA from Queens College, CUNY.  Her poetry collections include "At the Intersection of Everything You Have Ever Loved," "Shorehaven," "Moving Day," and "One Small Kindness."  Her most recent poetry book, "Inside the Embrace," was selected in national competition to be published by WordTech/Cherry Grove. For 14 years,  director and founder of  Mid-Island Y JCC Poetry Reading in Plainview, NY, a reading sponsored in part by the NYSCA,  she's taught in the English department of Hofstra University since 1985.  Finalist for Nassau County Poet Laureate in 2007, she has conducted numerous poetry workshops and seminars and been the feature reader at many universities, poetry centers, and libraries.  Her work has received the Edgar Allan Poe Prize, the Peninsula Library Poetry Prize, a National Federation of State Poetry Societies Prize, a National League of American PEN Women Prize, and The Connecticut Writer Prize; "One Small Kindness" was a finalist for the Blue Light Poetry Prize.  Her poems are widely published and anthologized, and her book reviews have appeared frequently in "Small Press Review."

Herbert Siegel

Herbert Siegel, Ph.D., has been a CEO of major public companies and is the recipient of numerous professional certifications and awards. He also holds degrees in business and international law.  He has published four books of poetry including “Poems From My Drawer” (2007), “Poems For The Universe” (2009) and his most recent "Life Through My Glasses: Collected Poems, 1950–2011" (Trafford Publishing, 2011).  New York State Senior Poet Laureate (2009), he has received multiple awards for his poetry including the Ellen La Forge Foundation Poetry Prize, published by Grolier of Cambridge; Sketchbook; the Voice of the Bards; and the 2010 Award of Excellence from the Poetry Institute of Canada.Visit him online at  http://www.HerbSiegel.org.


The Kiwanis Club on Oceanside raises dollars to send children to summer camp through advertising sponsorships, program patronships and the sale of raffle tickets.

To date the following businesses are sponsoring this year's reading series with their corporate pledge of $150:
 
21st Century Appraisers
Bondi Iovino & Fusco, Attorneys-at-Law
Aaron Rappaport, D.D.S., P.C. & David Rappaport, D.M.D.
Anthony J. Santino, Councilman
Bonbino's Pizza & Restaurant
Dee's Nursery
Friedberg Jewish Community Center
Herb & Marion Brown
Home & Hearth Real Estate
Mary Jane McGrath, Attorney
Michael Schamroth and Family
Municipal Credit Union
Nassau Financial Federal Union
Oceanville Mason Supply
South Nassau Communities Hospital
Tower's Funeral Home
Westron Lighting


Advertising Sponsorships and Program Patronships are still available! Sponsorships are $150 and include the sponsor's business name and logo on signs, posters and the thousands of fliers the club distributes, as well as on all announcements (including every email the club sends).  Individuals can also participate as "Program Patrons" for $25.  "Program Patrons" will have their names listed on the programs the club will be distributing each week.


If you, or anyone you know, would like to become a sponsor or a Program Patron, send your check made payable to "Oceanside Kiwanis" to Tony Iovino at the address below-- email or include your logo and the listing you want us to print.

Tony Iovino
68 Yorktown Street
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
Home: 516-763-1667
Work: 516-741-8585
Cell: 516-459-3262
tonyiovino@gmail.com

Mon 6/11 Peter Chelnik's Go Cat Go! Poetry w/ George Wallace at Gracie's Corner Diner in Yorkville, NYC

Monday, June 11th


6:45 PM - 9 PM


Peter Chelnik's GO-CAT-GO! Poetry Event

~featuring~

GEORGE WALLACE
@

Gracie's Corner Diner

352 E 86th St

(First Avenue)

New York, NY 10028

Neighborhoods: Yorkville, Upper East Side

(212) 737-8505


FREE!  Open Mic for Poetry


your food/beverage purchase helps support the venue

George Wallace, first Poet laureate of Suffolk County, professor at Pace University in New York, is the author of twenty chapbooks published in the US, UK, and Italy, Jumping Over The Moon (Boone's Dock Press, 2011), Poppin Johnny (New York: Three Rooms Press, 2009) and Summer of Love, Summer of Love (Shivastan Press, 2008), the most recent. A  full-length poetry book, Incident on the Orient Express, was just released by Nirala Publications, Nepal. Winner of the CW Post Poetry Prize, Wallace is  editor of poetrybay.com, poetryvlog. com, Long Island Quarterly and "Walt's Corner" in the Long Islander newspaper. An author whose work has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, German, Korean, Bengali, Russian, and Macedonian, he has traveled extensively to perform his work and to teach poetry workshops. Described as "Poetry's Rock Star" (Samantha Weiner, Long Island Examiner), Wallace is a a well-known and highly regarded poetry promoter.  He hosts monthly poetry readings at The Poetry CafĂ© at The Conklin Barn, Huntington and co-hosts the Go-Cat-Go Poetry Event with Peter Chelnik at the Greenwich Village Bistro.  Wallace was name 2011-2012 Writer in Residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace.

 

Peter Chelnik

Publisher/Editor Roxanne writes a little bit about the host of Go Cat Go!:

Peter Chelnik is responsible for getting me to read my work in public.  In 2003 I went to hear him read at The Back Fence at Dee Anne Gorman's invitation.  I had never met him before. There was this big burly "all-American" guy at the mic wearing his trademark Pendleton plaid wool shirt, baseball cap, glasses, mustache. reading list poems and what lists he read.  It sounded like jazz rants. No music.  But he was making music with his words.And his words were filled with American people and American scenes. big and real just like him. He was terrific.  Then after the reading broke up, Bridgid Murnagham, reading curator and our waitress for the day, dragged Dee and me on to the stage to read from our notebooks while Chelnik, along with his brother and nephew cheered us on.

We became fast friends, and Herb and I had the pleasure of publishing a chapbook of his poetry,  "Paradise Highway," four years later in 2007.

Monday, June 4, 2012

June 6 Ice Gayle Johnson at WCW Center in Rutherford NJ

Poetry in Rutherford, Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 7:00 PM

(June 4, 2012 -- Rutherford, New Jersey) -- The William Carlos William Poetry Cooperative of Southern Bergen County features poet, publisher, and entrepreneur Ice Gayle Johnson this Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 7:00 p. m.  As usual the monthly program also features the words of William Carlos Williams and a brief talk about the Rutherford poet.  An open reading concludes the program.  The event is free and open to the public. No advanced registration is required and all poets and poetry lovers are invited to attend and participate in the open reading. The WCW Poetry Cooperative readings are held the first Wednesday of each month on the upstairs Terrace of Williams Center for the Arts (www.williamscenter.org) located at 1 Williams Plaza in Rutherford, New Jersey.  The event is hosted by John J. Trause, Director or the Oradell Public Library.  For more information, please contact the Rutherford Public Library at 201.939.8600.

Author Ice Gayle Johnson
Ice Gayle Johnson’s debut poetry collection, "“The Key: Lady Grizzly & Sir Charles Otter” (Hoboken: Poets Wear Prada, 2012), 42 pages, ISBN-10: 0615606512, ISBN-13: 978-0615606514) shares her very personal experiences of love and loss, first the familial and then the romantic.

Creator of “The Five-point Cut,” “Graduated Bob” and “Fire Fly,”  the Chicago-based stylist Ice, a member of Intercoiffeur, the international honorarium and organization for hairdressing professionals, served on Clairol’s Presidential Council with First Lady Nancy Reagan’s colorist. An accomplished photographer, she has been represented by the Ward Nasse Galley of New York, her photos appearing on Marcel Schulman Greeting Cards, Signature Greetings, and others.

 As a co-founder and shaper of Uphook Press, Ice co-edited and contributed to its debut collection, “A Cautionary Tale: Peer into the Lives of Seven New York Performing Poets,” in 2008. Three other anthologies have followed: “you say. say.” (2009), “Hell Strung and Crooked” (2010), and “gape-seed” (2011). Ice Gayle Johnson has performed her poetry, coast to coast -- from the Bowery Poetry Club in New York to The Beat Museum in San Francisco. Her spoken word tracks have been featured by Stay Thirsty Media and Poetz.com. Eponymous CD and DVD are available at CDbaby and at DVD.com.

John J. Trause, Director, Oradell Public Library
New Jersey poet John J. Trause, host of the William Carlos Williams Poetry Cooperative Readings, and Director of the Oradell Public Library, is the author of  two poetry collections, "Inside Out, Upside Down & Round and Round" (Nirala Publications, 2012) and "Simply Serial" (Poets Wear Prada, 2008).

William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams (1883 –1963) was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. A pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine her received a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was born in Rutherford, New Jersey where he lived much of his life and died.  He published his first book, "Poems," in 1909. In 1920, Williams was sharply criticized by many of his peers (like Hilda Doolittle, Ezra Pound, and Wallace Stevens) when he published one of his most experimental books, "Kora in Hell: Improvisations." Pound called the work "incoherent" and H.D. thought the book was "flippant."   "Spring and All," which contained classic Williams poems like "By the road to the contagious hospital," "The Red Wheelbarrow," and "To Elsie" was published in 1923.  He is also know for his modernist epic poem, "Paterson" (published between 1946 and 1958), an account of the history, people, and essence of Paterson, New Jersey.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Jack Cooper
atelierprincipen@gmail.com
201.253.0561

“The Key: Lady Grizzly & Sir Charles Otter” by Ice Gayle Johnson (Hoboken: Poets Wear Prada, 2012), 42 pages, ISBN-10: 0615606512, ISBN-13: 978-0615606514, list price: $12.00, is available in paperback from Amazon Books and other popular booksellers.

Founded in 2006, Poets Wear Prada publishes beautifully designed, well-crafted poetry chapbooks from Sinatra’s hometown, the birthplace of professional baseball.

"Inside Out, Upside Down, & Round and Round Poems Selected & New" by John J. Trause (Nepal: Nirala Publications, 2012), 83pages, ISBN-81-8250-049-4 2012, list price: $20.00, is available from the publisher (www.niralapublications.com).

The Nirala Nepal Series is a series of contemporary writing.

Rapunzel: A Poem by Iris Berman







It was the little girl’s hair
They worried about

Shining, golden nuggets
Of light leaping from strand
To strand

It made them afraid, curious,
Awesome, dumbstruck, blind,
In hate and in love

So they hid her away
Forbid her to leave
The dark and lonely room

And there she sat
Year after year
Framed in the backlit
Picture window

Singing to herself
And the birds answered back

One spring day
A fine young man
Followed the beautiful music
To the one in the window

The old ones were afraid
They sent her far away
To a barren desert
Where she wouldn’t stray

But a song filled with the lute
And the flute and dancing in May
Possessed the young man
Led him to her little house

And there they stay
Together to this day.


 
Reprinted from
THE LITTLE BOOK OF FAIRY TALES
& LOVE POEMS
by Iris Berman
(Poets Wear Prada, 2007)

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Remembering Our Friend Iris Berman




IRIS BERMAN

 Poet  * Graphic Designer * Artist  



WHO IS IRIS BERMAN?

Iris Berman is a graduate of Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont and also attended The Art Students League in Manhattan. Her major influence was Richard Pousette-Dart from who she learned much about art and spirituality. She also holds a certificate in Electronic Publishing from Pratt Institute. Her artwork has been exhibited in several solo and group shows including the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition (BWAC) Artists Speak Series.

After many years of not writing, she walked into a poetry reading in the Village about 6 years ago and started writing poetry again. She has studied with Louise Gluck, Barry Goldensohn and William Packard and has attended the Riverside Poetry workshop and the 92nd Street “Y", to name just a few workshop venues. Currently, she is studying with Dorothy Friedman.

She has published locally in Stained Sheets, Nomads Choir, Rogue Scholar, Home Planet News, Medicinal Purposes, and nationally in Song of the San Joaquin. She has appeared at open mics and has been a featured reader at many poetry venues throughout the City.

Visit www.beansaboutit.com to see some of Iris's poetry.



WEAKNESS FOR BEAUTY

Poets have
a weakness
for beauty

Sometimes
it rages
like a fire
in the monotony
of a day

It overtakes them
on a crowded avenue
on a superhighway
or from exposure
to a deserted road

The poet may get
a wild idea
in the middle of
an oppressive afternoon
or in the icy night

They get hot
like jalapenos
with a grand idea
or in a detail
that everyone else
ignores

Sunrises and
sunsets can make
them weep

They see all things
in gashes and flashes
flashes and gashes

In the wound
and in the healing
of the wound










The Little Book of Flowers

Suddenly, a rose isn't a rose isn't a rose. Iris Berman's new collection tantalizes the reader, awakening all the senses for a delectible and sensual feast. Her words, like a waft of perfume, draw you into her private world of flowers for an aromatic massage of the mind.
   — Roxanne Hoffman, Curator and Co-Host of The Longest Running Bar Reading in The Village at The Back Fence
 


Iris Berman at The Back Fence [photo credit: Roxanne Hoffman]


Friday, June 1, 2012

Sun., June 3: Phoenix Reading w/ Poets Calabrese, Casey, Ice in Greenwich Village

Three women, all emerging writers, Rosalie Calabrese,  Pat Casey, and Ice Gayle Johnson -- a native New Yorker and management consultant for the arts, an Irish-American storyteller, and a Chicago hair stylist and professional photographer -- will be reading for Michael Graves' Phoenix Reading this Sunday afternoon June 3rd from 4:00 p.m.  to 6:00 p.m. at Scalinatella (formerly Scali Caffe), 245 Bleecker Street (west of Carmine), (212) 255-5353, in Greenwich Village, New York City. 

PHOENIX READING SERIES
Sundays at 4PM
@ Scalinatella
245 Bleecker Street
(west of Carmine)
New York, NY 10014
www.scalicaffe.com
 
Rosalie Calabrese
[Credit: Penny Jennings]
Rosalie Calabrese, a native New Yorker and graduate of CCNY, with a background in journalism, music administration, and various aspects of theatre, for the past several years has been a management consultant for the arts. In addition to preparing promotional materials, she writes poetry, short stories, and has composed libretti and lyrics for musicals. Her poems have appeared in "Cosmopolitan," "Poetry New Zealand," "Poetica," "Jewish Currents," "Jewish Women’s Literary Annual," "And Then," "Möbius," "Genie," "Thema," "Phoenix," "The Mom Egg," "The New York Times," "Critical Sociology," "Psychoanalytic Perspectives" among other publications, online and in print, including several anthologies, most recently "Miracles of Motherhood" and "To Have and To Hold" both released in 2007 from Center Street/Hachette Book Group USA.

Ice Gayle Johnson
Creator of “The Five-point Cut,” “Graduated Bob” and “Fire Fly,” Chicago-based stylist Ice Gayle Johnson, a member of Intercoiffeur, the international honorarium and organization for hairdressing professionals, served on Clairol’s Presidential Council with First Lady Nancy Reagan’s colorist. An accomplished photographer, she has been represented by the Ward Nasse Galley of New York, her photos appearing on Marcel Schulman Greeting Cards, Signature Greetings, and others.

A founder and shaper of Uphook Press, Johnson co-edited and contributed to its debut collection, “A Cautionary Tale: Peer into the Lives of Seven New York Performing Poets,” in 2008. Three other anthologies have followed: “you say. say.” (2009), “Hell Strung and Crooked” (2010), and “gape-seed” (2011).  Her debut collection of poems,“The Key: Lady Grizzly & Sir Charles Otter,” a very personal account of love and loss, both familial and romantic, was recently released by Poets Wear Prada.

Michael Graves
Michael Graves, author of four poetry collections, the most recent, “In Fragility” from Black Buzzard, hosts The Phoenix Reading Series every Sunday afternoons series at Scalinatella, 245 Bleecker Street (west of Carmine), (212) 255-5353, from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM. An open reading follows the featured guest writers. There is an $8 food/beverage minimum plus a suggested $3 donation.


By Subway: Take the 1 train to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square; alternatively the A, B, C, D, E, or F train to West 4th Street and exit at the West 3rd Street exit.

From New Jersey: Take NJ PATH to Christoper Street.


The first Phoenix reading took place in 1995 at La Poeme, a venue on Prince and Elizabeth Streets, and in the years since the series has grown and evolved into the friendly forum it is today. Each week, Phoenix features a set of talented and recognized poets (usually two or three) who read for 20 minutes each. Following the spotlight readings, there is an open mic, and any and all audience members are welcome to share 3-5 minutes of their own material. Phoenix also publishes a print review.


For more information about the series and the print review, please contact Host Michael Graves by email to mikegraves50@hotmail.com




About the Host:


Michael Graves is the author of two full-length collections of poems, "Adam and Cain" (Black Buzzard, 2006) and "In Fragility" (Black Buzzard, 2011) and two chapbooks, "Illegal Border Crosser" (Cervana Barva, 2008) and "Outside St. Jude’s" (R. E. M. Press, 1990). In 2004, he was the recipient of a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation. He is the publisher of the small magazine "Phoenix." Many years ago, he was a student of James Wright and organized a conference on James Wright at Poets House in 2004. And he became a member of P. E. N. a couple of years ago. In addition to leading a Finnegans Wake Reading Group, he has published thirteen poems in the James Joyce Quarterly and read from them and others of his poems influenced by Joyce to a gathering of the Joyce Society at the Gotham Book Mart.

Our apologies:  Pat Casey's bio was not available in time for this release.