Footage from the Three Bad-Ass Poets Reading

The night started with a buzz, and then we got drunker.

Well, that’s not completely true, but there was definitely some drinking. It was actually one of the funnest readings I have ever been to. And it definitely was BAD-ASS.

The night of March 26th began as a party at A Different Path Gallery with the wonderful curator Katherine Weston. The party was then interrupted by some poetry for an hour and then party continued.

The poetry reading began with Charles Coté, author of Flying for the Window.

One of the first poems he read was called “April.”

During his reading, Charlie was caught texting.

Charlie then closed his read with the concluding poem from his book Flying for the Window, “After a Storm.”

Charlie was followed by Sarah Freligh, author of Sort of Gone.

Of course, before she read there was a brief intermission so everyone (about 20+ of us) could refill their wine glasses. One of the first poems Sarah read was “Birthday,” I think, or “Happy Birthday.”

A bit later she read “Halfway House.”

Then there was another intermission to fill more wine glasses. Then I (Tom Holmes) read. The first part of what I was read was from my recently released collection of poems, The Oldest Stone in the World (Amsterdam Press, 12:00:01, 1-1-11). I gave a brief introduction to the book.

Then I commenced with the first part of my reading. (In case you’re curious, we all read about 15-20 minutes.) I devoted the first part of my reading to the book, and the second part to some of new investigative poems of Paleolithic cave art. But first excerpts from The Oldest Stone in the World.

Then some of the new poems: ”Paleolithic Person Discovers Fear,” “Paleolithic Possession,” “The First Painting,” “The Invention of the Ellipsis,” “Paleolithic Person Tells of the Invention of Harmony and Melody,” and “Paleolithic Person Learns to Sing.”

Then we returned to the party where the poets words, along with the audience’s words, slowly became more and more slurred. Luckily there was a limo to drive most people home, and the rest of us walked home.

It really was a bad-ass reading by poets and attendees. Thank you everyone for coming.//