Woodstock Poetry Society
Featured Reading and Open Mike
Saturday, June 8th, 2024 at 2pm
Woodstock Library

HYBRID: in-person and virtually via Zoom

Barry Wallenstein
Richard Levine

Poets Barry Wallenstein and Richard Levine will be the featured readers, along with an open mike when the Woodstock Poetry Society when the Woodstock Poetry Society meets in person and streamed via Zoom on Saturday, June 8th, 2024 at 2pm(eastern).

WPS meetings are held the 2nd Saturday (2pm) of every month.

Woodstock Library
5 Library Lane, Woodstock, NY 12498
(845)679-2213
www.woodstock.org

The Zoom app can be downloaded here: Zoom Download Center

To attend: contact phillip@woodstockpoetry.com to receive Zoom info
If attending, please indicate if you would like to be on the open mike. Thank you.

The reading will be hosted by poet Phillip X Levine. All meetings are free, open to the public, and include an open mike.

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Features:

Barry Wallenstein - Barry Wallenstein, author of eleven collections of poetry, most recently It’s About Time (2021) and in 2020, Time on the Move. He has made eight recordings of his poetry with jazz; most recently Lisbon Sunrise, (2022). Barry is Emeritus Professor of Literature and Creative Writing (CUNY); and an editor at American Book Review.



Dawdling Past Curfew

Surely it was an error or a lucky punch
that let me slip through
and continue in this living room,
the best room on the planet,
when the others have left,
some few, years ago
some others, just lately.

They no longer know I’m here
in the room, or maybe,
possessed by magic,
some do know
and think my way,
feel into the corners
of this large room.

It cools a little
every time someone leaves.
All the coats, hats, scarves,
neatly hung in the closet,
are bored on their hangers,
devoid of utility.

So, I stick around
and envision my needs,
palpate my hunger,
photograph all I can,
find the music
that keeps me listening
and in touch with the players.

Out this plate glass window
beauties pass by,
a phoebe, a falling feather,
a postal worker with parcels;
boys and girls who vibrate
on the verdant lawn.
The past tense makes no sense.

-Barry Wallenstein (from It's About Time)

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Richard Levine - Richard Levine, a retired NYC teacher, is the author of Now in Contest, Selected Poems, Contiguous States, and five chapbooks. An Advisory Editor of BigCityLit.com, he is the recipient of the 2021 Connecticut Poetry Society Award, and was co-editor of Invasion of Ukraine 2022: Poems. His poetry has appeared in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry column and can be found on the Poetry Foundation and the American Academy of Poets websites. In addition, his work is archived in LaSalle University’s Special Collections Library. A Vietnam veteran, he recently reviewed The Best of Medic in the Green Time: Writings from the Vietnam War and its Aftermath, for American Book Review. website: richardlevine107.com.



Lost and Found Poetry

After watching the documentary about a poetry festival,
a student noticed the book on my desk, bearing the same title.
“Are all the poets from the movie, in it?” she asked, picking it up.
“More,” I said. “Would you like to read it? Take it.”

Quick as those two words, her eyes widened. She placed one hand
on top of the book as if swearing an oath. Her smile broadened
to her eyes, until I finished my thought.
“You can give it back to me after the holiday.”

If the shades had been suddenly drawn and the lights turned off,
the room could not be more absent light than her face,
and I felt I was holding something broken
when she handed the book back to me.

-Richard Levine

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Developing WPS 2024 Schedule - now in-person at the Woodstock Library and via Zoom
All WPS Events: Events

01/January 13th - Patrick Hammer, Jr.; Robert Langdon
02/February 10th - Lissa Kiernan; Mary K O'Melveny
03/March 9th - Ethan Sirotko; Janet Kaplan
04/April 13th - Poetry Month Special Event ("Unbroken Circle")
05/May 11th - Roger Mitchell; Steve Clorfeine
06/June 8th - Barry Wallenstein; Richard Levine
07/July 13th - Karen Schoemer; Martin Steingesser
08/August 10th - Craig Hancock; Marnie Andrews
09/September 14th - Christopher Heffernan; Jerrice J. Baptiste
10/October 12th - Joann Deiudicibus; Thomas Festa
11/November 9th - Judy Lechner; Teresa Costa
12/December 14th - H.R. Webster; Ken Holland and Annual Business Meeting

Also, why not become a 2024 Member of the Woodstock Poetry Society?

Membership is $20 a year. (To join, send your check to the Woodstock Poetry Society, P.O. Box 531, Woodstock, NY 12498. Include your email address as well as your mailing address and phone number. Or join online at: www.woodstockpoetry.com/become.html). Your membership helps pay for meeting space rental, post-office-box rental, the WPS website, and costs associated with publicizing the monthly events. One benefit of membership is the opportunity to have a brief biography and several of your poems appear on this website.

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