[David Rosenthal]

I am excited to announce that I will be starting a new reading series here in the East Bay. It will be at St. Alban's Episcopal church in Albany (right next door to Berkeley) and will take place from 7:00 - 9:00 pm on the first Wednesday of each month beginning September 5, 2012. There will be featured readers and an open mic.

This area is lousy with poetry readings, so to make a niche for this reading, we will be focusing formal poetry. I am currently working on lining up some featured readers. Open readers will be encouraged, though not required of course, to read formal work.

So, if you are a Bay Arean or if you plan to be in the Bay Area on or about the first Wednesday of a month, come on by. Also, if you have something to hawk like a book or whatnot (or not), and you plan to be around here on one of those Wednesdays, let me know and maybe we can set you up as a feature.

I will post more details as they emerge.

David R.

[Roger Slater]

Congratulations, David. Sounds great.

Might I suggest that you try live-streaming the readings on the Internet? You may not know just how easy this is to do, provided that your venue has WiFi. There may be other similar services, but I can vouch for Ustream, which is entirely free. All you need is a laptop with a webcam. Ustream will also record the event for those who missed it, so when it's over you can post the link and more people can see it.

I wish you great success.

[R. Nemo Hill]

Great news, David.
I'll let you know if I make it to the Bay Area again this autumn!

Nemo

[Rick Mullin]

Great news David!

And best of luck! I think the focus on metrical poetry will help get the series off the ground. You increase energy with restraints, right? And look at how successful David Park was launching a figurative art movement in the Bay Area in the 1950s when people were being shot for not painting abstract pictures. A desperately-needed revival of the grand tradition in a new idiom.

So, here's to the New Bay Area Figurative Art movement, this time in poetry. I am in and out of the zone--hopefully I can attend a reading before long.


Louise, David Park, circa 1960

[Cally Conan-Davies]

And I'm not too far above you now, so I'll join the movement, too!! At last, David Ahhh, we might....ahhhh.....steal a kiss!!!

Cally

[Charlotte Innes]

Fantastic, David! Hey, I'm in LA... There are a ton of good poets here that would be willing to fly or drive (it can be done) that short distance to Northern Cal.--especially during the summer months for teaching types. (That includes me!) But if you need names, I can send you a list.

Charlotte

[David Rosenthal]

Thanks, everyone.

Bob -- I'll think about it, but really I am just hoping to pull off a reading. I am not yet even sure if there will be anything worth streaming. But maybe I'll get my daughter to do it -- she did the ustream for Occupy Berkeley High.

Nemo -- anytime your coming to town, I'd love to have you read.

Rick -- There are a lot of regular readings around here, but none that I know of focused on formal work. My hope is that that will give us a unique niche, but it might just cement our obscurity. We'll see. Meanwhile, let me know if your heading out here sometime.

Cally -- wait, I am slow and out of any loop there might be -- where are you now?

Charlotte -- Thanks. We won't be able to offer anything close to making that trip worthwhile -- not even the gas money. But if you know people who are heading up here for other reasons and would fit the bill and would want to read, I'd love to be put in touch with them. Or if you're coming up...

Thanks everyone.

David R.

[Janice D. Soderling]

I think that is a wonderful idea. You are sure to pull in passers-by. I would wander in to listen for sure if I saw a flyer about that. Good luck with this project.

[David Rosenthal]

Thanks, Janice.

Now I have this site with info about the planned series and a way for patrons of the arts to help support it.

David R.