William Taylor, Jr. (http://www.sunnyoutside.com ) POBOX 441429 Somerville, Mass. 02144.


I know of William Taylor, Jr’s work through the bi-coastal literary journal Poesy Magazine. So when the publisher of the Somerville small press “sunny outside,” Dave McNamara, sent me a broadside of his poetry I dove right in. McNamara, a recent graduate of the Emerson College publishing program, is involved with a lot of different projects, and he likes to experiment with format, paper, etc... This broadside is really a thin chap, with ordinary gray cover stock, and waxy transparent paper inside. This paper makes for faded print. This may be for affect- but I find it a bit distracting. However... the poems are excellent. Taylor paints a well-studied portrait of a stoic old man, as well as a study of the arcane pleasures of an “old man’s bar.” The bar portrayed in “Like Winter,” captures the dark refuge that only a venue like this could provide:
“...inside these walls/ time moves slow/ and we have all/ the necessary things/ smoke, drink,/ and silence/ a little talk and some/ gentle laughter/ all of us hiding/ from something/ waiting for yesterday’s love/ and tomorrow’s unemployment/ checks”/ All I can say is : “Pour me another, Joe,” as I wrote this review in such a place; situated on an undistinguished stretch of Somerville Ave, far from the hip environs of Davis Square in our fair city. I advise you to go to http://www.sunnyoutside.com and keep up with their talented stable of writers.
Doug Holder

This is a poem about the disaster in New Orleans by Ibbetson Street Press Arts Editor Richard Wilhelm that I plan to read at the Katrina Relief Reading Oct. 18 at the Old South Church in Boston at 7PM. --Doug Holder


ELEGY FROM THE SECOND LINE

After the flood—
a bitter drink,
crimson words,
the poor herded at gunpoint—
slack faces of the waiting, waiting
for relief or for death—
sky empty of everything
but the final notes
of a brass band dirge
falling across the lake.

--Richard Wilhelm

Please check out this event my good friend Harris Gardner has organized:



One People- A Benefit for Katrina Relief Fund/American Red Cross

TAPESTRY OF VOICES
Presents:

ONE PEOPLE
A Benefit for Katrina Relief Fund/
American Red Cross

OLD SOUTH CHURCH
(Corner of Dartmouth and Boylston Streets)
Tuesday, October 18th, 2005 - 7:30 P.M.- 9:30 P.M.
Event Coordinators:
Harris Gardner & Ellen Steinbaum

( Each participant will read one poem)

Participants:

American Red Cross (T.B.A.) Elizabeth Lund
Kaji Aso Fred Marchant
Alex Beam Gail Mazur
Lisa Beatman Elizabeth Mckim
Frank Bidarrt Askold Melnyczuk
Kevin Bowen Ifeanyi Menkiti
Bob Buckley Joanna Nealon
Shari Caplan State Rep. Byron Rushing
Charles Coe Diana Saenz
Nguyen Ba Chung Lloyd Schwartz
Diana DerHovanessian Lainie Senechal
Alden DiIanni-Morton Don Share
Elizabeth Doran The Rev. Canon Peter Southwell-Sander
Leslie Epstein Ellen Steinbaum
Harris Gardner Sandra Storey
Regie Gibson T. Michael Sullivan
Carolyn Gregory The Rev. Dr. Nancy S. Taylor
Doug Holder Dan Tobin
Walter Howard Tino Villanueva
Brian Scott Kelley Rosanna Warren
Mel King Afaa M. Weaver
Irene Koronas Carol Weston
Danielle Legros-Georges Marc Widershien
Frannie Lindsay Sam Yoon
Lois Lowry

Special thanks : Old South Church - Ivy Associates, Real Estate- Townsend Associates Real Estate - Ellen Steinbaum- Charles Coe- Pen New England- Lainie Senechal- Doug Holder-Fred Marchant -The William Joiner Center at U. Mass Boston- and The Media.

SUGGESTED DONATION: $10.00 - Whether you donate $1.00 or a $1,000, you are very welcome.

A report from Irene Koronas about "Breaking Bagels With The Bards," a group of poets that meet in Harvard Square every Saturday at 9AM in the basement of Finagle-A- Bagel. Please join us!



carrying our stories in front pockets like baseballcards or marbles; we compare, exchange; the value ofeach exchange depends on the popularity of theplayers, their home runs and with marbles, the unusualmarkings that make a poet's life gleam. we flick ourmarbles into designated holes while clicking othersout of the way. team games played alone.on Saturday we exchange family (and other) influences.my life is not full of extraordinary stuff and i don'ttalk much about my early years. i figure if you readmy poetry it is not hard to come to an understandingof who i am, of my being a first and second generationAmerican. like so many other families who work theirtails off to help their children lean forward, we haveout faults. i prefer expressing my gratitude for beingborn here (yeah, i know it sounds corny and sometimesit is not politically correct) so i may keep my mouthshut when it comes to imperfections. i listen to thepoets exchange stories, their influences spread overthe table, offering us a chance to come to anunderstanding of each other. listening is likecollecting baseball cards or marbles. i keep a jarfull of those old round glass balls in the back of oneof my kitchen cabinets. once in awhile i hold one inthe light to marvel at the reflections. i figure itain't right to discus other people's personal storiesin public, so my childhood and yours are in jacketpockets with lucky stones and pressed flowerswords caught:chaos theory (poetry magazine)bathtub gin (another magazine) cool names)talking in-lawssome kind of fleasbohemian intimacyfinancing the American revolution (hyam soloman)family politics and pornographymiserable failuresbraggingyour as good as your weakest linkshe impressed herselfan exercise in scatology

My Blog: "Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene" just got a ringing endorsement from Karen Wulf Executive Director of the literary organization "PEN NEW ENGLAND."

"Just wanted to say that you're site is great, and thanks for keeping us in the loop..."

Karen Wulf Executive DirectorPEN New England Emerson College 120 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02116 (617) 824-8820 tel (617) 519-0882 cell