Frank O'Hara tribute with Billy Collins This Thursday, Aug. 2nd

Don't forget to make a big time effort to get your soul in need of something, anything, over to Madison Sq. Park at 6:30 pm this Thursday, August 2nd to experience a tribute to that renowned, fabulous, and, alas, dead, New York poet Frank O'Hara. The scoop:

A Strictly New York Joie de Vivre:
Celebrating the Work of Frank O’Hara
With Billy Collins and Paul Violi
Presented by the National Book Foundation

The poet Frank O’Hara (awarded the National Book Award for Poetry posthumously in 1972) was a key figure in the postwar New York School of poets and painters which includes poets John Ashbery and James Schuyler, and painters Larry Rivers and Jasper Johns. His deceptively straightforward poems are in fact complex representations of a revolutionary sensibility. O’Hara’s influence on succeeding generations of poets, as well as on the cultural landscape of New York City, is undeniable.

Poets Billy Collins (ed. The Bronx's only Poet Laureate!) and Paul Violi (ed., funny guy, witty poet) will read from O’Hara’s work as well as their own, and discuss O’Hara’s continuing influence on contemporary poetry and the literary culture of New York City. Billy Collins was United States Poet Laureate from 2001–2003; he has published eight collections of poetry and edited two anthologies of contemporary poetry. Paul Violi is the author of twelve poetry books and has been published widely in magazines and anthologies. His many poetry awards include grants from The American Academy of Arts and Letters and The Ingram Merrill Foundation. He teaches in the New School graduate writing program and at Columbia University.

Poet and critic Craig Morgan Teicher will moderate.

The really great thing is that the reading and discussion will take place by the Farragut monument! And we all remember Farragut, right. That famous line...

Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead...

Oh, you bet it's going to be great. For a great article on Frank O'Hara, click here.

Cornelia Street Open Reading July 27, 2007 Poem

This poem was created from one line of every poem read during the Son of Pony All-Open reading at Cornelia Street Cafe on July 27, 2007.

Found Poem

If one is a mirror to someone's art
Everyone's poems will be published.

The shitty truth is they'll care.

There really must be a miracle boldly
hidden somewhere around here.

It's good to be wrong.

Since you made them, you should
fix them without my consent.

Don't say nothing 'till I get out of prison.

The body is not a book to be read critically,
for every morning the waiting time lengthens.

Which reminds one of what we too must do

to become thought. You could write the very next line.
I do not say that I know what to do with you.

We must prevent the unity from crashing.

We have come to do battle. We have lost.
But the sky is about to break open.

Bye Bye Bruno's on Bleecker

It's been a tough week in the obituary column. Ingmar Bergman. Tom Snyder. Bill Walsh. In their work in film, late night T.V. interviews and the football field, they each created something unique that was widely acknowledged, praised and/or condemned. All will be missed. Life is short. Their life and death has created a sense of community because of their celebrity.

Mere men alone do not create community. It is the manifestation of the ideas of men (and women), and sometimes, the creation of a physical space to encourage the gathering of friends, family, colleagues, strangers for often nothing more than a cup of coffee and a pastry (often breakfast, lunch and dinner). Cafe Trieste in North Beach. The Onyx Cafe in Los Feliz. Bruno's on Bleecker St. in Greenwich Village. Well, the Trieste is still there at least. But Bruno's, like the Onyx and so many others, is gone.

Bruno's was never renowned as an intellectual or hipster hangout. Most of those places closed ten years ago. It was, however, a genuinely sweet place, with a particularly delectable fruit tart, a family-like atmosphere, awesome coffee and late hours. As a passing musician lamented, "This place used to be where you could get a cup of coffee at 2 in the morning. And now they're gone. New York is driving out all it's artists." Oh, you noticed?

Why is Bruno's closing? Greed (a.k.a. Rent hike). I don't know how much they paid, or what the rent went up to, but if a successful business like Bruno's is shutting down, it doesn't look like any small business on Bleecker still has a chance once their lease is up. In the words of Iris Dement, "So long, now/Kiss it goodbye." On West 4th street, not far from Bruno's, a Day Spa just closed. The new asking price for 1750 sq. feet? $30,000 a month! And Bleecker Street is so much more popular.

Last year, popular Bleecker Street grocery store Strawberry Fields closed. In its place? A Reiss boutique. The owners went to a great deal of trouble to make the nondescript place fit their hipper-than-thou requirements:

To begin the process, the firm stripped down the 5,000-square-foot space back to its bare bones and examined the interior’s existing traits—including its lackluster qualities. Ultimately, D_raw determined that balancing the industrial backdrop with organically-inspired concepts would result in a more visually-engaging space. In essence, their goal was to create an antidote to industrial overload by bringing in the natural elements of a garden.

Lackluster qualities? Industrial backdrop? Organically-inspired? How about the fact that you hardly see anyone in this hell hole of pretentious design? How many people who used to buy their eggs, milk, butter and bread in Strawberry Fields now shop there? Zero! In fact, how many people who live in the neighborhood shop there? None! Though--since I enjoy fiction so much--I'd love to see a survey.

It would be one thing to say that market prices are driving the little guy out of Manhattan's retail businesses. But the fact is, the market itself is being falsely created. Bleecker Street's reputation as being a cluster of flagship designer boutique stores, was actively solicited, with real estate brokers deciding to create a neighborhood at far above market price. And we let them do it because, by the time we find out it's happening, you see signs about greed on the window. But how long will these oh-so-cutesy designer boutiques last? How many will maintain a presence on Bleecker Street for 70 years, as Bruno's did, not to mention the entire span of there overvalued 10 year leases? Suffice it to say--and ya heard it first, folks--not many.

Things change, sure. But who is deciding how they change? In an effort to keep NYU from razing more historic buildings to install gaudy glass highrise condos, Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Historical Association is fighting the good fight. But he's saving the buildings, but not the businesses in them. Hmm... Got to do something about that.

The good news is that there's another Bruno's across town on La Guardia. The other good news is that Rocco's--that other renowned, late-night Bleecker Street bakery (which happens to be right next door to the former Bruno's--is still open and going strong. This summer, TRP has been gobbling down their delicious lemon ice at the rate of two a day ($1.50 for small, not too sweet, perfect for hot, humid conditions.

Here's a poem for Bruno's.

In Memory of a Bakery

I usually went to Rocco's in the old days,
when there was a choice. Not Bruno's.

It was nice to have a choice. But if I wanted
a fruit tart, it was Bruno's hands down.

Now there is no choice, or rather, only one.
Bruno's is gone. Bruno's is gone.

There's a sign on the window that
mentions something about greed,

and the destruction of a neighborhood
on the best block in the village.

While I stand in shock reading it, a
few people emerge from the basement

carrying the last of the giant mixers
they've just purchased at discount prices.

Well, Rocco's is still open. At least. So far.
And I usually go there anyway. So far.

Peter Carlaftes to perform Off Broadway

TRP poet/playwright/actor Peter Carlaftes is slated to perform in the world premiere of Vodka for Ashtrays, an original one-act by David Sirk. The play is slice of life piece that centers on the downfall of a man who becomes increasingly unable to handle life responsibly after one too many tragedies. Carlaftes plays one of his downfall facilitators, in the interesting role of "Joe," who has the appearance of being the funny character, while actually being the dark, evil force.

The play is part of The Strawberry One-Act Festival, Series F. The possibly only performance will be Saturday, August 4th, at 5 p.m. at The American Theatre of Actors, 314 West 54th St., 2nd Floor, between 8th and 9th Aves. Tickets are $20. Reservations: 646-623-3488. Admission is for four one-acts, including Naughty Cats, H.O.V., Orphans of the Digital Era and Ashtrays for Vodka. After the performance, audience members, as well as online viewers (tapes of the plays will be posted), will vote as to which play they enjoyed most. The play with the most votes moves on to the Semi-Finals, then Finals, and then the playwright of the winning play becomes eligible to submit a full-length play for development support. During the festival, the audience also votes for Best Actress, Best Actor (here's a hint: P. C-A-R-L-A-F-T-E-S), and Best Director.

Sounds like a lot of fun! Hope to see you there. For more info, check out the Riant Theatre Website.

Tonight: Cornelia St. All-Open Reading

When's the last time you've been to a totally open poetry reading? Tonight's your chance, as Kathi Georges hosts a feature-reader-less poetry reading at Cornelia Street. This one time only event is sure to be fun! Rather than have a featured reader, Georges will invite those in the room to create a poem using one line from each poet. The created poems will then be read at the end of the night.

See your own words become part of new poems! Experience the collective nature of the universe! Enjoy yourself for once already! See you tonight at Cornelia Street (29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th and Bleecker). Doors open at 5:45, sign up to read before 6. Admission $7, includes a free beer or wine.

All poetry. No fiction. No music. No comedy. No crap.

Akashic Books' Bronx Noir Release

If you're looking for a fun read to round out your summer, check out Bronx Noir, the latest release of the Noir series published by Akashic Books. At last night's book release party, we got a preview of the fabulous tome, with excerpts read by the authors.

The Bronx is best known as the borough no one goes to, and most people try to leave, and yet somehow, everyone claims to be from! But, as Bronx Noir demonstrates, it has a wonderful charm all its own, both in the past, as in Joanne Dobson's sweet Sedgwick Ave. tale "Hey Girlie" and in the present, most notably in Abraham Rodriguez Jr.'s tough South Bronx tale "Jaguar." Editor S.J. Rozan did a great job of putting the Bronx book together, by dividing it into areas of the Bronx. Collectively, the stories cover the entire Bronx borough, from Rikers Island to Riverdale. Plus writers include unknowns as well as famed crime writers like Lawrence Block. Check it out at Akashic Books.

With 14 books already in the works and 12 more on the brink of publication, covering major cities worldwide and quickly going into translation, the Noir series is one of those screaming success stories we all dream about. Kudos to Noir series developers Tim McLoughlin and Johnny Temple, not to mention Akashic Books itself for taking the risk to begin with.

"Le secret de l'aciton c'est de s'y mettre."

You Know You're Online Way Too Much When...

This afternoon, life was perfect until--suddenly--I could no longer accesss craigslist! Yikes! You should have seen the look on my face as I pushed the reload button over and over, only to get the message Error! Every other website worked. But I didn't want every other website. I wanted craigslist, that comforting, cleanly designed source of everything from New York garage sale info to jobs, jobs, jobs.

Turns out there was a big power outage in San Francisco. In SOMA. Where the Giants play, where BART runs, where I spent nine months once--literally: for nine months, except for an occasional trip to North Beach, I never went North of Market Street! Hmm....What is the sound of Barry Bonds' record winning home run if it's hit during a blackout?

Supposedly the power is back on now. For almost everyone. But craigslist is still down. Reminds me: During one blackout there, a poor friend of mine had no power in his loft for 3 weeks! He was the last one they turned back on. Crushing blow to his ego.