SWING THEORY READING

The reading I took part in last night was not only a delight but a revelation. Thomas Devaney reading from his new poetry collection Runaway Goat Cart and Joanna Fuhrman reading from her new book The Year of Yellow Butterflies were distinct in their approaches to their poetry and their presentation of them, and yet their work connected in such deeply revelatory ways that I felt my work engaged with and contributed to, so much so it felt, for me, like a giant collaborative effort (one questioner asked afterward if we had chosen as a group beforehand work that would create such a similar effect that it seemed so obviously interconnected and equally resonant).

I was honored and grateful to be included in this event and for the attentive and appreciative audience of students, friends and fellow poets. Unfortunately I wasn't sent any photos of Joanna or Tom reading, but here are three that were taken of me, the first by the wonderful poet and friend Stella Kamakaris and the other two by another New Jersey poet and close friend whose work I also love, Rachel E. Dikem: