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The Neighborhood of Make Believe—after Thomas Lux
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Poets in Prison
The Luis Angel Hernandez Florida Prison Poet Laureate is an honorary two-year position awarded by Exchange for Change and O, Miami Poetry Festival to a poet incarcerated within the Florida Department of Corrections.
The vision for of the Laureateship is to Increase visibility of Florida’s prison population, drawing attention to the lives and living conditions of incarcerated people; advocate for widespread, cost-free humanities education and programs in carceral settings nationwide; change public perception about incarcerated people,and assert the basic humanity of all living beings.
The contest is named in honor of Luis Angel Hernandez, an incarcerated Florida poet who passed away from cancer in 2018.
The current Luis Angel Hernandez Florida Prison Poet Laureate is Christopher Malek.
Malek’s poem “Bruises” appears at the Poetry Fundations’ wbsite-
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/155243/bruises-5ff7b464a6237
Malek is working on his first collection of poems, and his work has been commissioned by the University of Arizona’s Art for Justice project.
The vision for of the Laureateship is to Increase visibility of Florida’s prison population, drawing attention to the lives and living conditions of incarcerated people; advocate for widespread, cost-free humanities education and programs in carceral settings nationwide; change public perception about incarcerated people,and assert the basic humanity of all living beings.
The contest is named in honor of Luis Angel Hernandez, an incarcerated Florida poet who passed away from cancer in 2018.
The current Luis Angel Hernandez Florida Prison Poet Laureate is Christopher Malek.
Malek’s poem “Bruises” appears at the Poetry Fundations’ wbsite-
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/155243/bruises-5ff7b464a6237
Malek is working on his first collection of poems, and his work has been commissioned by the University of Arizona’s Art for Justice project.
Tell Us Something You've Done That Our Facebook Friends Have Not
a cento by Facebook friends
Lauren Had Jimmy Page drive me home from Thee Image (Miami).
Jennifer: I stole cocaine!
James: Sutured lacerations on inmates.
Scott: Performed acupuncture.
Jennifer L: When I was an au pair in London, I took care of Prime Minister Callahan’s granddaughter, Tamsin Jay.
Jonathan: Drank beer with Lightnin' Hopkins, Walter Shakey Horton, Willie Dixon & Muddy Waters at War Memorial Auditorium in Ft Lauderdale circa 1970-71.
Wanda: Was seriously electrocuted.
Laura: Got married in Bora Bora.
Leah: Volunteered for the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy in NYC. Patty Duke hosted.
Tricia: Rode a pregnant cow.
Betsy: Was on Kids Say the Darndest Things back in Art Linkletter's day.
Shelly: Had lunch with Hank Aaron.
Cara: Sat and talked to Penny Marshall at a Barbra Streisand concert.
Leslie: Worked as an usher for the Jackie Gleason show in Miami Beach, and lived with you!
Ruth: Threatened a bear with a cast iron skillet, and swam in John Wayne’s swimming pool.
Lynda: “Made out” with Chuck in a hearse in RC parking lot (a burger joint).
Francine: Snuck backstage at a Ritchie Haven's concert at Central Park. He autographed my tee-shirt.
Maria: I helped write a speech for the Pope.
Jay: Got lost in the Gaza Strip at midnight.
Pamela: I acted as a courier for a trip from Florida to Indonesia with stops to deliver packages in Tokyo and Singapore and back.
Stacie: Ran a Nationwide, coast to coast, marijuana distribution.
Mary Jane: Survived seven rifle shots sent in my direction!
Gillian: Walked with lions in South Africa.
Pamela G: Slept with boyfriend in a convent.
Victor: At 8 years old, I played sax with Jr. Walker and the All Stars while my Dad was on the drums.
Jeff: I impersonated Tim McGraw under hypnosis.
Lynne: Asked Dustin Hoffman directions in the NYC Broadway theater district.
Laurie: Physically built our house like Rosie the Riveter
Janet: Had a high-speed malfunction while skydiving and landed under a reserve chute in Miami-Dade Correctional Institution in Florida City.
a cento by Facebook friends
Lauren Had Jimmy Page drive me home from Thee Image (Miami).
Jennifer: I stole cocaine!
James: Sutured lacerations on inmates.
Scott: Performed acupuncture.
Jennifer L: When I was an au pair in London, I took care of Prime Minister Callahan’s granddaughter, Tamsin Jay.
Jonathan: Drank beer with Lightnin' Hopkins, Walter Shakey Horton, Willie Dixon & Muddy Waters at War Memorial Auditorium in Ft Lauderdale circa 1970-71.
Wanda: Was seriously electrocuted.
Laura: Got married in Bora Bora.
Leah: Volunteered for the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy in NYC. Patty Duke hosted.
Tricia: Rode a pregnant cow.
Betsy: Was on Kids Say the Darndest Things back in Art Linkletter's day.
Shelly: Had lunch with Hank Aaron.
Cara: Sat and talked to Penny Marshall at a Barbra Streisand concert.
Leslie: Worked as an usher for the Jackie Gleason show in Miami Beach, and lived with you!
Ruth: Threatened a bear with a cast iron skillet, and swam in John Wayne’s swimming pool.
Lynda: “Made out” with Chuck in a hearse in RC parking lot (a burger joint).
Francine: Snuck backstage at a Ritchie Haven's concert at Central Park. He autographed my tee-shirt.
Maria: I helped write a speech for the Pope.
Jay: Got lost in the Gaza Strip at midnight.
Pamela: I acted as a courier for a trip from Florida to Indonesia with stops to deliver packages in Tokyo and Singapore and back.
Stacie: Ran a Nationwide, coast to coast, marijuana distribution.
Mary Jane: Survived seven rifle shots sent in my direction!
Gillian: Walked with lions in South Africa.
Pamela G: Slept with boyfriend in a convent.
Victor: At 8 years old, I played sax with Jr. Walker and the All Stars while my Dad was on the drums.
Jeff: I impersonated Tim McGraw under hypnosis.
Lynne: Asked Dustin Hoffman directions in the NYC Broadway theater district.
Laurie: Physically built our house like Rosie the Riveter
Janet: Had a high-speed malfunction while skydiving and landed under a reserve chute in Miami-Dade Correctional Institution in Florida City.
SoFloPoJo & The Betsy Hotel's Poet-in-Residence
Mary Galvin
Mary Galvin
Mary Galvin lives in Lake Worth, Florida, and has been reading and writing poetry since she was a child. Her poetry has been published in Southern Women’s Review, Homestead Review, and East Coast Literary Review. In addition to being a poet, she is the author of Queer Poetics (Greenwood/Praeger, 1999), a critical study of Modernist women poets. Mary holds a Doctor of Arts from the State University of New York at Albany, and is currently a Professor of English at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth.
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The first partnership between SoFloPoJo and The Betsy Hotel took place Sunday, February 16, 2020. The Betsy Hotel's Writer's Room offers residences for poets, writers, musicians and artists. Mary Galvin spent about a week working on her poetry and enjoying the spectacular ambience of the The Betsy.
Fans and poets from Palm Beach County came down to South Beach to listen to Galvin read new work as well as older poems. Among the poets were: Judy Ireland, Cara Nusinov, Jennifer Greenberg, Margie Schnabel, Jennifer Litt, Stephen Gibson, Holly Jaffee, and Lucia Leao. The Betsy's showrunner Sandra Rovira was our gracious host. (Pictured with Galvin above left). The Betsy is a cultural treasure in South Florida hosting poetry readings and books signings in association with SWWIM Everyday, O, Miami and The Academy of America Poets. https://www.thebetsyhotel.com/explore/about-us
Fans and poets from Palm Beach County came down to South Beach to listen to Galvin read new work as well as older poems. Among the poets were: Judy Ireland, Cara Nusinov, Jennifer Greenberg, Margie Schnabel, Jennifer Litt, Stephen Gibson, Holly Jaffee, and Lucia Leao. The Betsy's showrunner Sandra Rovira was our gracious host. (Pictured with Galvin above left). The Betsy is a cultural treasure in South Florida hosting poetry readings and books signings in association with SWWIM Everyday, O, Miami and The Academy of America Poets. https://www.thebetsyhotel.com/explore/about-us
February 2020 issue 16
What Saves Us - Very Possibly It's Poetry
by Francine Witte All photos by Mark Strodl
by Francine Witte All photos by Mark Strodl
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Martin Espada & Gabriel Ramírez
Kathy Engel & Rich Villar
George Wallace & Audience
Readers at the Lincoln Center’s David Rubinstein Atrium
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What does it mean to live in a country that won’t call you a citizen? A country at odds with its own symbol of welcome in New York Harbor? A country whose president throws rolls of paper towels in response to a hurricane? These were just some of the questions asked in the form of poetry on November 8, 2019 at the launch reading for What Saves Us published by Curbstone Books/Northwestern University Press and edited by Martin Espada.
The reading took place in Lincoln Center’s David Rubinstein Atrium to a standing room only crowd. Hosted by New York City Poet, Rich Villar, one by one, poets ascended the stage to ask difficult, searing questions, each reading their entry in the anthology. Lincoln Center seems an odd choice for a reading of dissident poetry, when you consider it is one of America’s foremost symbols of wealth and privilege. The Atrium was on 62nd street, but a mere block or two away, the well-heeled were dropping upwards of 200 dollars to listen to a three-hour opera, or watch ballet. How can the questions of a handful of poets share the same air, much less rise above it loud enough to be heard? Simple. It’s the roar. It’s the roar of poems spectacularly crafted and sharp. The lion himself, Martin Espada, bookended the reading with two such poems. Ending the reading with “Letter to my Father,” he remembers his father and the hard lessons he learned from him, “you taught me there is no God, no life after this life.” This poem was met with a well-deserved standing ovation. Denice Frohman elegantly read her poem “Puertopia,” speaks of Puerto Rico after Maria. “now/the beaches are gated & no one knows the names of the dead.” She goes on in this poem to talk about the vulture-like nature of investors who, like with Katrina, swoop in to buy the land cheap. This poem’s roar was a bit quieter, but no less heard. Another standout performance was given by George Wallace, who delivered his “I am sorry Diane Di Prima,” with his special combination of soft growl and rising incantation. This poem apologizes for the revolution we did not have, how “we cleaned things up just/enough to carry on.” A poem like this crystalizes the whole mission of the evening, to rebel in words. It says yes, we have it good, but is that a good thing? And the audience got it. The audience got it. Poets continued throughout the event poking and challenging with their words, their voices. Poems about absent fathers, and living in Section 8 housing and revolutions that didn’t happen, but should have. This beautiful space, this seat of luxury suddenly became an arena for what needs to be talked about, a symphony of grit and reflection. And, of course, the book itself only continues this. What Saves Us features the work of many notable poets, but what was clear on this chilly night in November, was how ideas and powerful words have a voice no one can silence. |
Feb 2020
