Friday, June 21, 2013

Coming Up June 24, 2013

A perfect evening!  Weather was ideal- just a  light breeze- and the Readers were even better!


Ron Baumback started off with passages from his memoir of growing up here on Long Island, which brought knowing nods from the crowd; Jared Harel, a rising star, treated us with powerful, evocative poetry; Tom Phelan brought the crowd to frequent laughter with scenes from his Ireland-based novel; and the ever-delightful Barbara Reiher-Meyers closed out the evening with poetry emotional and funny.
And look what we have in store for you this week!
Coming up this Monday, June 24th, we feature:

Jane Ormerod

 
 
 
Jane Ormerod is the author of the poetry collections, Welcome to the Museum of Cattle (Three Rooms Press, 2012), Recreational Vehicles on Fire (Three Rooms Press, 2009),and 11 Films (EXOT/Modern Metrics, 2008),and the spoken word CD Nashville Invades Manhattan.  Her work is widely published in anthologies and journals including AND/OR, Have a NYC, Maintenant, Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts, Ambush, and the Hydrogen Jukebox compilation CD Brain Ampin'.  She is a founding editor of the innovative small press, great weather for MEDIA.
Born on the south coast of England, Jane now lives in New York City and performs extensively across the United States and beyond-Los Angeles to Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Canada, Britain, Ireland, and The Netherlands to name just a few places. In 2011 she performed at the major John Cage retrospective at The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea (UK).  

 "One of the most imaginative, persistent poetry visionaries... (Jane's) signature style is beyond belief-moving lightspeed with an astoundingly unique beat and the ability to communicate with complete command of language," - Daniel Yaryan, producer of the San Francisco poetry series Sparring With Beatnik Ghosts.
www.janeormerod.com


Narges Rothermel

 
 

Narges, Russian and Turkish descend, 
was born in Khoy-Iran. She came to Summit, New Jersey in September of 1969 as an Exchange Visiting Nurse. After completing the two-year program,
decided to stay and make this country her home.
She received her RN diploma in New Jersey.
Later, she chose to become a Critical Care Nurse
and worked as a Critical Care Nurse for thirty years.
                                    ***
Growing up in Persia, she had the privilege of being introduced to poems of Hafiz, Saadi, Omar Khayam, Rumi, and others. She has been writing poetry in Farsi since seventh grade. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1978, she decided to write her poems in English so her children could read them and know her through her poems in case she didn't survive.
She is a 34-year Breast Cancer Survivor. 
                                    ***
Her first poem, "My Left Breast," was published
in Serenity at Daybreak byInternational Library Of Poetry in 1999.
Since then six more poems were published
in different anthologies by the same publisher.
Her poem, "The Holiest Blessings," was published
in Songs of  Seasoned Women.
Her poems are published in many anthologies in Long Island, New York: Songs of Seasoned Women, Toward Forgiveness, Bards Annuals, Whispers and Shouts, and Soul Fountain. First prize winner of Haiku from PPA and first prize winner of Princess Ronkonkoma production. 
Her first book of poems, Wild Flowers, was published in June of 2010 and her second book, Rays and Shadows in October of 2012.

 
George Guida

 
 

George Guida is a native of Lynbrook and the author of five books, including The Pope Stories and Other Tales of Troubled Times, and three collections of poems* Friars Club Conscience, New York and Other Lovers,
and Low Italian. His work appears in many journals and anthologies, including Harpur Palate, Inkwell, Barrow Street, The Paterson Literary Review, Literature and Gender, and Rabbit Ears: An Anthology of T. V. Poems . He teaches English and creative writing at New York City College of Technology, and serves as Poetry Editor of 2 Bridges Review.

 
Ron Ross

 

Ron's latest work, a short story collection titled "TALES FROM THE SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK", joins his five previous books, "THE TOMATO CAN", "BUMMY DAVIS VS. MURDER, INC.", "NINE...TEN...AND OUT! THE TWO WORLDS OF EMILE GRIFFITH" and two children's books, "McGURK AND ME" and "WILLIE THE QUIET TURTLE." Ron was also a consultant and appeared in the feature length documentary "RING OF FIRE; THE EMILE GRIFFITH STORY", based on his book.
A former boxer, manager and promoter, besides being a full-time author, Ron is also a sportswriter covering fights around the country. He earned his B.A., majoring in English, at Brooklyn College and then studied for his Masters Degree at New York University after a two year hitch in the army. He and his wife Susan are long-time Oceanside residents

            Ron was inducted into the L.I. Jewish Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Harriet Slaughter

 
 

Since her retirement from the Broadway League as Director of Labor Relations , she has been pursuing her creative journey through painting and writing poetry.
This past year she curated  an photographic exhibition on behalf of the League of Professional Theatre Women,  Celebrating Our Legacy for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts  at Lincoln Center.  She also produced an  Oral History  on the role of women in management and press agentry for the Theatre on Film and Tape Collection for the Library.   She was pleased to host a tribute to composer Alan Menken on behalf of Encompass New Opera Theatre Company and will be performing the same duties this fall to honor the 90th  birthday of  America's legendary lyricist, Sheldon Harnick.   This past fall she produced  and participated in an evening of women's poetry, WOMEN'S WORDS at New York's  Cherry Lane Theatre.
As a member of the Poets of Nassau, she participates as a featured reader of her poetry in venues in Long Island.  Her poetry has appeared in various Long Island poetry collections , including Shouts and Whispers and  Performance Poets Association's Literary Review.  She has received citations for her poetry from several  poetry publications.   Her goal this year is to compile her writings and her art work for publication.   She is pleased that her paintings have been accepted into several juried exhibitions in New York City and Long Island  in recent months.
She holds a BFA in theatre and dance from the University of Texas and a MFA from New York University in arts administration, and certificates  from MOMA's art program.  She is a student of Long Island painter, Kyle Blumenthal .
 

See you at the Gazebo!!
Many thanks!

Tony Iovino 
tonyiovino@gmail.com

Upcoming Schedule 


7/1/13
Independence Day Celebration

7/8/13
Walter Wagner, Matt Pasca, Terri Muuss,  
Jack Anderson, Doreen Spungin 

7/15/13
Nino Provenzano, Louisa Calio, Florence Gatto,
Marisa Fresca

7/22/13
Jerry Zezima, Vicki Iorio, Gayl Teller,
Richie Woods, Herb Siegel 

7/29/13
Christina Rau, George Wallace, Linda Frank,
Judy Turek, Deborah Hauser  

8/5/13
Wendy Wisner, Ed Stever, Pramila Venkateswaren,
Linda Opyr 

8/12/13
Saralee Rosenberg, Deborah Honorhof, Alix Strauss,
Carol Hoenig, Ellen Meister  

8/19/13
James Arthur, Richard Vetere, Mario Susko,
Bruce Grossberg, Natasha Guruleva 
 

And more to be announced!!!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Coming Up June 3, 2013

It's Summer!!!! And we're back!

Season 7 promises to be our best yet-- some of the best of our past Readers and a group of "newbies" we expect will continue our tradition (I think after 7 years we can have a tradition!) of excellence.

Sponsorships ($150) and Program Patron ($25) opportunities are still available--just let me know if you are interested.

So come join us on the Green! 

Coming up this Monday, June 3rd, we feature:

Peter Dugan

 
 
Peter V. Dugan was born and raised on Long Island. He is a graduate of The New School in New York City and currently enrolled in the MFA program at Adelphi University. He has published five collections of poetry and has been published in numerous anthologies and magazines over the years. His work has recently appeared in Reckless Writing: The Modernization of Poetry by Emerging Writers of the 21st Century, Chatter House Press 2012 and he co-edited and formatted the Writing Outside The Lines poetry anthology, Wyld Syde Press 2012. He also hosts a reading series at the Oceanside Library on Long Island.

John Brennan

 
 
Comes from Crossmaglen, a small town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. LIved in Manhattan for twelve years but thankfully managed to escape to the relative sanctuary of Long island just in time to save his sanity!.................. (Or so he thought!)
He has traveled extensively and has visited many of the sacred sites. He incorporates his experiences in both his prose and poetry. John is a member of the Long Island Writers Guild: the Long Island Poets Collective: the Amateur Writers of Long Island: the Performance Poets Association and the Bards Initiative. Some of his writing expresses the spiritual dimension and each piece hopefully contains a lesson coupled with historical facts. He has also written a series of poems dedicated to the musicians who, sadly, are no longer with us.

 
Elizabeth Rowe

 
 
Elizabeth Rowe is a professional storyteller and voiceover artist from Oceanside, NY.  For over 25 years, she's been performing her repertoire of world folk tales, myths, legends, literary short stories and personal tales in schools, libraries, museums, conferences and festivals throughout the metropolitan Tri-State area.  She is widely known for a vast repertoire of ghost stories collected since she was a student.  Elizabeth has been a regular performer for the New York Story Exchange at the Cornelia Street Café in Greenwich Village since its inception in 1997.  Other featured appearances include the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, the Players' Club, Manhattan; Wave Hill, NY and LI Cablevision's Tell Me a Story.   She has conducted workshops for parents and teachers with the New York State Reading Association, Nassau BOCES, the Long Island PARP Conference and the Columbia Teachers' College Writers' Project. 
Ms. Rowe is a member of the National Storytelling Network and the Long Island Storytellers Network. You can visit her website at www.Storytellerowe.com.

Barbara Novack


 
Barbara Novack is Writer-in-Residence at Molloy College, where she is also a member of the English Department.  As Writer-in-Residence, she founded and hosts Poetry Events and Author Afternoons, two reading series at Molloy College that bring contemporary poets and writers to a wider audience.


An award-winning writer, her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies. Her most recent full-length poetry collection, Something Like Life (JB Stillwater, 2012) has received a warm welcome. With art as its theme and life as its story, Something Like Life explores the journey we all take in our search for happiness. 

Barbara also presents programs and conducts workshops on poetry, fiction and memoir at various metropolitan area venues. She is a member of The Authors Guild and is listed in the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers, and in both Who's Who and Who's Who of American Women.  Her website is www.barbaranovack.com.

See you at the Gazebo!!
Many thanks!

Tony Iovino 
tonyiovino@gmail.com

Upcoming Schedule 


6/10/13
Lloyd Abrams, Roxanne Hoffman, Robert Savino,  
Vincent Casale  

6/17/13
Barbara Reiher-Meyers, Ron Baumbach, Jared  
Harel, Tom Phelan

6/24/13
Jane Ormerod, Narges Rothermel, George Guida,
Ron Ross

7/1/13
Independence Day Celebration

7/8/13
Walter Wagner, Matt Pasca, Terri Muuss

7/15/13
Nino Provenzano, Louisa Calio, Florence Gatto, Marisa Fresca

7/22/13
Vincent Maher, Vicki Iorio, Gayl Teller

7/29/13
Christina Rau, George Wallace

8/5/13
Wendy Wisner, Ed Stever, Pramila Venkateswaren

8/12/13
Women Authors of LI

8/19/13
James Arthur, Richard Vetere, Mario Susko        

And more to be announced!!!

Monday, May 27, 2013

June schedule

Here is our June schedule!
6/3/13 Peter Dugan John Brennan Elizabeth Rowe Barbara Novack
6/10/13 Lloyd Abrams Roxanne Hoffman Robert Savino Vincent Casale
6/17/13 Barbara Reiher-Meyers Ron Baumbach Jared Harel Tom Phelan
6/24/13 Jane Ormerod Narges George Guida Ron Ross

Still working on July & August--will be out soon!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Sami LaRose

The Complex Brain
By:Sami LaRose

To love or not to love that is the question 
Do I tell him how I feel;
Do I tell him how he makes everything seem surreal? 
Or do I stand back? 
Close my mouth like I've been caught up in a trap
Or should I squeal?
You make life seem so unreal 
This is the way you make me feel
You make life so surreal until;
Reality hits me, that you are no longer mine 
And we had to say our goodbyes 
It was no longer our time to shine
But forever in my heart you remain
I try to keep my feelings domain,
But I cannot resist the urge 
Of how you make me feel.
You make life so unreal 
So surreal 
Just by how you make me feel 
Is this love 
Or is this tragedy
When will my fairly god mother come sprout
And talk to me what all my dreams are about?
Will she give me that glass slipper or will I have to ask her?
I am always scared that my life will end in disaster 
Holding on, not letting 
My hope begins to show.
You saw the vulnerability in my eyes,
You saw how easily I begin to cry 
So you took it further, and pretend as if it we're over 
Maybe some things are better for us than we think 
True love can make our hearts sink
And our souls grow bitter 
And our skin turns old
We were once
So brave and bold;
And now we don't even have a place to call home

The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Pat Beckerman

For Mr. Goodyear
Pat Beckerman


On that sunny Easter Sunday,
the Living Girdle
did not consume my thighs
to keep itself alive
but merely contained them
voraciously
and shaped them to a narrowed gait

And I walked so proudly
in my celery-hued suit,
handmade, and so carefully
stitch by stitch by steady stitch,
down to its A-line skirt

Yes, I walked proudly
to church then home again
alone, but for one friend:
my living latex underling
the Playtex living underthing
that choked my pubescent thighs
with my passionate permission
to a meek yet firm submission.

Mimicking the flawless fawns
I’d seen in "Seventeen"
I was but thirteen, and yet
was vying with my close companion,
my Goodyear support system,
for my each and every breath.

I didn’t know that I was beautiful…
so ripe, so sensual….and so
alive!
within my blooming hips and thighs;
I didn’t know I could
BE beautiful
without compression!


The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Matt Pasca

WHITE DOGWOOD
Matt Pasca
Late March, New York
sunrise blends the treetops,
trunks left naked like coy
cartoons, covering up.
The train station roof,
church steeple and Atlantic
sky stretch unabated, no bough
to block. Yet this morning
a white dogwood
blossomed proudly
over Union Boulevard, obscuring
air with cloven frills, doilied
petals, a tree so bold
it screamed a Whoville scream,
just loud enough to hear.
I am here! it echoed
in my tiny car
blistered with red
nodes from a lagging oak,
one of the millions
wishing to be quicker
and less cynical. Soon
the white dogwood
will be common:
abundant and green—
mere scenery for yellow
shocks of forsythia
and bursting stalks
of summer, though
today it commands us
to change what we think
possible.
 
The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Sharon Anderson

Whimsy
Sharon Anderson

Drift, languid, a fairy's whisper...
linger, hovering
above lawns, meadows,
weaving to and fro.

Dance with abandon over fallow fields,
pirouette in breeze's sway.

Your course, not chosen.
An updraft, your whimsy,
a sudden squall your calamity.

Your final haven awaits the will
of nature's caprice.


The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Dd. Spungin

Solid Pistachio Shells
Dd. Spungin


At a moment’s notice, I can become The Hulk
So say my grandsons, unused to my scaly green outbursts
Nutcracker in hand, I conquer the almond
Its willingness to capitulate to my touch, a gift


In the supermarket aisle, needed items sit atop the highest shelf
Smaller now but caneless,
I need to choose:
Call for help or bypass my desire


It isn’t just the daily routines that turn me angry green
Ignorance can do it
Sometimes long lines of traffic
The late payment unforgiven


Talk of my patience has not been greatly exaggerated
But there is that limit:
The shell that refuses to crack
The burnt pot
Any declaration of war.
 
The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Lynn Cohen

Nostalgia
Lynn Cohen

Watching “Midnight in Paris”
I suffer nostalgia:
live in my past;

you in times that never have been.

I travel back in your life;
remember another lover you found
years after she left
because she was too young
for the passion you wanted.

Wandering the Paris Pontes
I pass a miniature Statue of Liberty
see all join the banks of the Seine.

Paris in the rain
suits me well
I do not need a parapluie;
I just want another time:
The twenties of Eliot, Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Stein.


The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

George Held

Under the Escalator
George Held

I want to go all the way
around on the escalator
to slip under the plate
at the bottom and turn
topsy-turvy in that
chamber below floor
level where it rolls
under itself and climbs
back to the top where
I’ll come out of the
crack under the plate
and start all over again
unless the trolls who
control the machinery
in that chamber under
the floor exact a toll
from me that I can’t
pay, since I’m upside
down and unable to
reach my bills or coin
and they imprison me
in that dark chamber
forever to hear those
metal stairs whine and
those rubber railings
sigh in their grooves
as all the customers
silently, sullenly ride
over me, my screams
drowned out by that
indifferent machinery.

The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Pat Roth

Finish Line
Pat Roth
 
Night at the Races-K of C
Need a winner-let it be me
Put my money on “Sandy’s Hope”
Did I win? – NOPE!
I have no luck but I have true wealth
‘cause I still have family, friends and health
 
The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Maria Lisella

At last
Maria Lisella

we killed them, destroyed
the wasp nest, so formidable, dangerous.
So old I thought. The exterminator announced
the process complete. If the wasps had not
buzzed around my tiny 90-year-old mother,
they could have dwelled in peace.
Once they went into attack mode, they left me
no choice. Entwined by morning glories
twirling up the railings, tendrils tossing
from the roof, a lone wasp whips
so close to my cheek I feel its two pairs of wings,
a survivor searching for home.

The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Patricia Beckerman

WOMANDANCE
Patricia Beckerman
Through the sacred dance...
I will be still an instant, and go home.
Embattled hearts clash, bleed, and retreat....
Yet I can find a fountain flowing sweet, on this battleground!
The floods and quakes induce the Mother's labor
And I birth my
Self
And feel the birth pangs moving through my feet.
I will be still an instant, and go home.
And reach the sunlit eye of any storm.
A prison can imprison only form!
Let there be light!
While Mother Earth's sap pulses through my limbs this dancing night,
While sister-hearts are gathered
We are free to take a flight
Through ecstasy...
Into blissfulness!
As suns a billion bright
Might shine away the night!
We rise, we fall, we twirl
We whirl like dervishes...
And while we let the moonbeams spin us
Our planet spins within us
We celebrate this earth-space
And our dancing clears a birthplace
Of the spirit!
Let it dance,
Let it flow...
While it's flowing,
Let us know:
We are stillness in the center of a whirlwind of adverture!
In the center of you, I discover there's me!
Let us dance tonight, ladies,
Let us dance....
....and be free!
 
The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Harriet Slaughter

Boston Marathon

Harriet Slaughter


They stood behind the barricades
Runners in motion, legs outstretched.
A tempest boom bursts upon the scene,
Another in quick succession.

Spattered blood, spreading limbs
Line the street of runner’s dreams,
A dark, ghostly finish.

Our hearts heave in pain for those who lost
In an endless cycle of violence
Harbored deep in crevices of twisted minds
Making another grandstand debut.

The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Tim W. Brown

Heart
is a Drum

Tim W. Brown


"I
want I want I want"
is
a refrain you will hear
if
you listen close enough.
Its
source is the heart:
a
beat is heard as blood
reverberates
in ears, pulse
is
felt inside the wrist.
It's
a two-step rhythm that
everyone,
even the unmusical,
has
a feel for, vibrations
propelling
us on a march
in
this parade called life.
It
echoes and resonates
through
the chest cavity,
attuning
the listener with
just
how big and hollow,
like
a bass drum, we are,
how
much we ache to fill
the
world with our noise.


The Summer Gazebo Readings are held each Monday evening at 7pm in June, July & August. Each evening 4-5 authors and poets share their work from our Gazebo on Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. SGR is produced by the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside. Funds raised through sponsorships help send underprivileged kids to Kamp Kiwanis each summer. This summer marks our 7th season