WINCH & LALLY

Just a quick note to say the reading at KGB Bar last night—Terence Winch and I read our poems in two sessions with a short intermission, Terry reading first for "ten" minutes and than me and the same after the break—was a lot more entertaining than the debate tonight.

About half the standing room only crowd were old and new friends of mine and Terry's, and about half folks neither of us knew. Old friends and great poets like Bruce Andrews, Ted Greenwald, Charles Bernstein, Bill Zavatsky, David Lehman (who oversees the reading series and gave the introduction), Simon Pettet (he and I will be reading next month in Jersey, more about that soon)—and especially Beth Rake, Keith McCarthy and publisher and great editor Janey Tannenbaum (whose Wyrd Press published my early long poem "My Life" as a book back in the '70s)—were there, as well as new friends and also terrific poets, Jose Funes, publisher and poet Lisa Duggan, Phliipa Scott, artist and poet Susan Napack, Nance Boylan and others I'm probably not remembering, and ones in between, like Janet Kirker, just too many friends to list here (plus my ten-year-old now eleven-year-old today and his mother and aunt Luloo) and more, made it feel like a poets reunion and family celebration rolled into one (or vice versa).

Terence "raised the bar" as someone said, and I tried to reach it. Even read a bunch of new poems, ten of them written that day (yesterday afternoon) and they seemed to go over pretty well.

All in all a terrific night. I was told there'd never been a bigger crowd for a poetry reading at KGB. Nice to hear that. And Terence and I figured out that it may have been the first time we read together in Manhattan! A first. But we'll be reading again there in January, this time in a reading series where poets read prose they've written. I'll post the details when I get them straight.

For those who were there, thanks again for coming out, and thanks to KGB Bar for keeping the words flowing.

[PS For another take on the reading see "Last Night at the KGB Bar" link at the top right]