9 OCT 06
On the second Wednesday of every month, there's a poetry reading at The Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The series is called PoetsWednesday. It was started in 1978 by Edie Eustice--it's the longest-running poetry series in New Jersey and Edie is still making it happen, in league with poet Deborah LaVeglia. When I went there originally, Joe Weil was also a co-curator.
Joe Weil is the first real poet I ever met.
The very first time I read a poem in front of an audience was at the PoetsWednesday open mic. It was a pretty daunting experience. I happened to look up from my papers and into the bored eyes of a kind of cool guy (cooler than me, at least) and had a convincing physical feeling of defeat (I really thought I might pass out). Somehow I managed to finish the (too long) poem and get off the stage (the only time there was an actual stage there, something about a St. Patrick's day play). I have no idea what could have possessed me to try again, but I did, a second and then a third time. As I was leaving on that third night, Joe Weil said to me (sounding quietly surprised), "You're a good poet." And I don't think anything that anybody's said to me about my work since has had such a profound effect.
A couple of years after that, I was invited to be a featured reader at PW (my first time as a featured reader and they even paid me), opening for Therese Halscheid. In a couple of days (Wednesday the 11th), Therese and I will team up again there. I'm really looking forward to it.
The PoetsWednesday open welcomes poets of every stripe. If you're anywhere near Woodbridge on Wednesday evening, come join us.
Directions are here.
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