Jan Steckel's Blog: Horizontal Poet Sings Bidyke Blues - Posts Tagged "open-mic"

Dear Friends,

Save the date, if you live in the SF Bay Area! I'll be among several featured readers at Works in Progress, an open mic for women. Good food, live music. NB: there's an admission fee. If you want to read, best to call Linda, the organizer (below), WELL before the reading, as the open mic list often fills up even before the show. Hope to see some of you women there! Though this is a lesbian-run reading, all women are welcome.

Warmly,
Jan


WORKS IN PROGRESS, An Open Mic for Women

Fireside Room, Plymouth United Church of Christ, 424 Monte Vista, Oakland

Saturday, March 12, 6:30-10:30 pm


Kimberly J. Miller is an accomplished vocalist who has performed across the United States, in England and on Russian Radio. She has opened for Chaka Khan, Chris Williamson, members of The Association and Three Dog Night. Her soulful, powerful performances have won her critical acclaim for a number of stage roles and well as for her concert “Salute to the Women of the Blues I & II” which were commissioned by and performed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
Kimberly will be accompanied by the illustrious Karen Mullally and Shari Kline!

Other incredible lesbian performers who will knock you out include:

Celeste McCarty, Karen Thompson, Tyler Stanley, Patty Overland, Bev Jo and Jan Steckel..

$7-$10 Admission includes a raffle ticket for a chance to win one of six $25 certificates for fine dining at a local restaurant!

6:30 – 7:30 Pot Luck - BRING YOUR FAVORITE FOOD TO SHARE!!
7:30 - 10:30 Performance, Fireside Room

Hosted by Feminist Author & Poet Linda Zeiser, Produced by Linda Zeiser & Carolyn Stull. For information, contact Linda at (510) 701-1022, ZeiserpoetMC@aol.com.

Works In Progress is a creative space for women's art: Poets, Musicians, Comediennes, and Performance Artists. All are encouraged to share their works, completed or evolving. WIP is scent free and wheelchair accessible.

A terrific review of my book The Horizontal Poet just got posted by Marie Lecrivain, editor and publisher of the Los Angeles litzine poeticdiversity and a fine poet and writer.

http://alkhemiapoetica.blogspot.com/2...

I love the image of her reading the title poem aloud at a poetry reading in Los Angeles. Wish I could have been there!

April, National Poetry Month, is a whirlwind. Had a terrific time reading the other night at the 10th Anniversary of Poetry Express in Berkeley with my friend Al Averbach. I'll be the featured reader on April 14 at The Poetry Zone, a collegial open mic hosted by Suzanne Frost at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Santa Barbara. Then it's back up to Berkeley for a reading with excellent poet Jeanne Wagner at Expressions Gallery, hosted by Steve Arntson, on the evening of April 20, with an open mic, 7-9 PM. Finally, I'll read on April 24 at the Lambda Literary Finalists reading at 6 PM at the main San Francisco Public Library. I'll try to post details about each reading here a few days beforehand.

How are you celebrating National Poetry Month?

Oh boy! Going tonight to hear our poet-friends Dale Jensen and Judy Wells read in celebration of their 10th wedding anniversary at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts tonight in Alameda. Jeanne Lupton will host. Can't wait! My husband Hew Wolff and I will read at the open mic -- I wrote a special tribute poem for Dale and Judy. 7 PM.

Hew's out hanging paintings. Wanted to invite anyone in the SF Bay Area to his reading Monday, May 14 at Poetry Express at Priya Indian Restaurant on San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley, California. It's hosted by Jim Barnard, Nance Wogan, Jan Dederick and Odilia Galván Rodriguez. There's an open mic, and poetry fans get 20% off their delicious Indian Food. 7 PM - 9 PM. Hew's formal poetry is lilting, clever, conversational and lovely.

Right now Hew's hanging a painting in the Pro Arts Gallery at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, California. We'll attend the free reception there at 7 PM on Friday, May 4.

On Saturday and Sunday, June 9 & 10, from 10 AM to 5 PM each day, we'll be having an open studio in the back yard. We'll hang Hew's paintings all along the fence, serve snacks and drinks, and hang out with anyone who shows up. I'll get the details up on Facebook soon, or, if you aren't on Facebook but want to come, just message me on Goodreads or email me at jmsteckel at aol dot com for details.

Happy end of National Poetry Month!

Welcome to May! For this week only, through May 11, I'm offering free shipping for *The Horizontal Poet.* I'm trying to raise money to pay for my trip to New York in June to attend the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony, where *The Horizontal Poet* is a finalist. From now through May 11, you can order signed copies of the book for $14, with free shipping, by sending a check to me at Jan Steckel/PO Box 18797, Oakland, CA 94619. You can also order by PayPal at Jmsteckel at aol dot com.

Here's what Out in Print (reviews of queer authors) had to say about the book:
http://blog.outinprint.net/2012/04/23...

Thanks to AskGayWrites for featuring the book on their blog here: http://blog.outinprint.net/2012/04/23...

I'll be one of several readers at Works in Progress, an all-women's open mic, on May 12. Here's the skinny on that evening:

CHECK OUT THE NEXT WORKS IN PROGRESS,
An Open Mic for Women :
at the Fireside Room, Plymouth United Church of Christ ,
424 Monte Vista, Oakland, CA, USA

Saturday, May 12, 6:30-10:30 pm

Featuring: Irina Rivkin – Original old-world OutMusic Awardee layers poetic lyrics, rich textured harmonies and vocal beats, all created on-stage through live-looping. Her compelling, powerful songs blend jazzy folk & rhythmic world music with an all-original sound. www.irinarivkin.com.
and Sharlana Bacchus playing her recorder and sharing her poetry with us.

Plus Eight other artists to thrill and delight you!!
Come enjoy the magic!!

$7 - $10 Admission includes a raffle ticket for a chance to win one of five $25 certificates to a local restaurant.

6:30 – 7:30 Pot Luck --– Bring your favorite dish to share.
7:30 - 10:30 Performance, Fireside Room

Hosted by Feminist Author & Poet Linda Zeiser, Produced by Linda Zeiser & Carolyn Stull Zeiser. For information, contact Linda at (510) 701-1022, ZeiserpoetMC@aol.com.

Works In Progress is a creative space for women's art: Poets, Musicians, Comediennes, and Performance Artists. All are encouraged to share their works, completed or evolving. WIP is scent free and wheelchair accessible.

Thanks to Evan Karp for posting a YouTube video of the April 24 Lambda Literary Finalists reading at the San Francisco Public Library. Here’s the video of me reading four of my poems from The Horizontal Poet: “Dios le bendiga,” “Twenty Thousand Vaginas Under the Sea,” “The Rose Grew Round the Briar,” and “The History of our Love.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chWLAn...

Thanks to Marie Lecrivain of the Los Angeles Lit Zine poeticdiversity for reprinting my poem “Fourteen Crossings” from my book. The poem appeared previously in Red Rock Review. You can find it here:

http://www.poeticdiversity.org/main/p...

Picks for this week:

I’m attending Oakland poet Cassandra Dallett’s featured reading at Poetry Express at Priya Indian Restaurant in Berkeley tonight. I first heard Cassandra at Paul Corman Roberts’ and H. K. Rainey’s by-submission-only reading Anger Management at Viricocha in the Mission in San Francisco. My husband Hew Wolff will be the featured reader at Poetry Express next week, Monday, May 14. Bring a poem of your own to share, and get 20% off your delicious Indian meal if you’re there to hear poetry. 7-9 PM every Monday night, 2072 San Pablo Ave, (between University Ave & Addison St), Berkeley, CA 94702. (510) 644-3977

This Wednesday, June 9, Jeanne Lupton and I are going to hear my poetry mentor and friend Julia Vinograd featured at Sacred Grounds coffeehouse in San Francisco. Should be a terrific show. Jeanne and I will both read at the open mic, I expect. Open Mic signups begin at 7 PM every Wednesday night, with readings from 7:30 to 10 PM. 2095 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94117. (415) 387-3859

Next weekend, Saturday, May 12, I’m going to Works in Progress, a Women’s Open Mic in Piedmont, a neighborhood of Oakland. I’ll be one of several readers at this bimonthly womens’ reading, but the most exciting action for me this time is singer-songwriter/looper Irina Rivkin’s beautiful, complex music. Shar Bacchus will play recorder. Contact me for details at jmsteckel at aol dot com if you want to go.

Hope to see you around!

Warmly,
Jan

Please save September 5 for me if you're going to be in the San Francisco Bay Area that evening! I'll be the featured reader at the Sacred Grounds Cafe near the Haight. Bring some poetry of your own to share at the open mic.

Sacred Grounds: Open Mic Wednesdays: 7 pm sign up
2095 Hayes @ Cole, San Francisco.
415-387-3859
Host: Dan Brady: creative1@creativeideasforyou.com

Host Dan Brady is a poet, composer, singer and an elementary school teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District. He took over hosting the Sacred Grounds Cafe Wednesday night reading after its longtime host Jehanah Wedgwood passed away a year and a half ago. Jehanah hosted the open mic for nineteen years and edited fifteen anthologies of its poets' work. Sacred Grounds is the oldest continuously running open mic in the city, started in 1973.

I'll read for half an hour. As I recall, the open mic spots are a generous 5-10 minutes. The cafe serves beer, wine, coffee, and a variety of food (not just pastries and sandwiches). The place is two blocks from Golden Gate Park, just on the other side of the Panhandle from Haight Street. Leave time for a picturesque walk before you come to the reading!

Details at http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/6...

What a nice way to wake up this morning! I checked into Goodreads to find that my poem "Are You Tough Enough to Haul Flowers?" is a finalist for this month's Goodreads Newsletter Poetry Contest. I really liked the other finalists' poems this time, too. I was delighted to find that my friend Joan Colby's poem "Anniversary Song" got an honorable mention.

Right now my poem just a vote or two behind the leader. If you're a member of the Poetry! group, or would like to become one, please go to
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
and vote for your favorite poem! You will have to join the Poetry! group to vote if you are not already a member.

In other news, I'm going to be interviewed by San Francisco's Melinda Adams, otherwise known as Lilycat, on FCC Free Radio this Sunday, February 3, from noon to 2 PM Pacific time. The Program is "Lilycat on Stuff." You can tune in to listen live at http://www.fccfreeradio.com at studio 1A. Please call in with questions! It would be so great to hear your voices.

I'll also be featured at Works in Progress Women's Open Mic on Sunday, February 9, in Oakland. All women are welcome! The reading was postponed from last month because of the host's illness. Linda Zeiser is feeling better now and will offer the reading (with 8 fashion watches given away as door prizes) FREE! There's a potluck from 6:30 to 7:30, with the reading starting at 7:30 PM. Live music from singer/songwriter Melanie DeMore. Fireside Room, Plymouth United Church of Christ, 424 Monte Vista, Oakland. More details at http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/8...