Next up was New York City -- The first evening I was over at Saint Marks Poetry Project to talk about Lorenzo Thomas with a small, eager band. I met poet Lydia Cortes there, whose books I had read over the years.
But the main order of business was Friday night over at the CUNY Grad Center, where the tireless Laura Hinton had organized an event in the wake of her edited volume Jayne Cortes, Adrienne Rich, and the Feminist Superhero, an event sponsored by The Lost & Found Series.
I was up first, with a talk about Cortez.
In the course of this powerful evening, I met up with poets I'd known before, like Patricia Spears Jones, poets I'd known but never met, like Steve Dalachinsky, China connections like Qinghong Xu, and new folks like Janelle Poe, Virginia Vasquez and Emilie Rosenblatt.
There were musical performances by long-time heroes of mine, Bill Cole, Joe Daley and Warren Smith. These musicians had worked with Jayne Cortez in the past, and it was a rare thrill to hear them give her poetry yet new improvisatory might on this night.
Bill Cole brought his didgeridoo.
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