Clouds and a charmed coolness held the day.
Our first Reading at the new venue, The Cafe Dufi,
Five of us gathered
Readings:
Evan Mac Oisteagain ( Ireland )
Short story < Thirty-one Sounds >
( a woman’s reaction to her husband being sent of as a kamikaze pilot )
The wind fires a broadside to her face,
Albert Sussler ( USA )
poem < Jomon Woman >
bringing her closer to the spirit of life.
Notes and rhythm bring music from the noise of chaos.
poem < Tribal Nation > ( by Steven Hall )
( a description of gamblers at the Pequot Foxwood Casino.)
poker players in their peacock puffery, bag lady former lawyers disbarred for embezzling
Shoichi Miyamura ( Japan)
Poem-Essay < Wind in the Darkness > ( by Masao Iwase, translated by S.
Miyamura )
(an old man facing death goes to visit an elderly mother who killed her son)
After all these agonies, sorrows and aging,
In the whirling wind with that grinding sounds
I saw the mother.
Strangely our three reading were on the same theme of mothers facing death. I wish I could add more to the mood of these sketches of words and the
cafe. I was pleasantly surprised, though the place was full of customers, they all quieted down to listen to our Reading.
Thank you Leah and Paul for your support.
Up coming events:
the next Reading will be on November 29th
The week before is one of a teachers conference that many plan to attend.
Linda I am sorry, but take heart. Decembers Reading- Bon-en-kai will be on Dec. 13th
cheers and challenge for our next Open Reading!
Albert
quote:
Maori saying: ‘Art is the child of the imagination’
In the last days of Summer, nine gathered in the Red Rock for our Reading.
Entertainment with a serious message.
Richard Russell ( UK )
prose < Lives of a Professional Foreigner >
After five jobs, I emerge as a professional foreigner.
Evan Costigan ( Ireland ) debut
poem < The Fall of Rain >
sandbags, a restaurant step considers the gathering rain.
poem < Leaving Nagasaki >
I look for outlines on harbor walls.
Tim Chambers (USA)
prose < Moon Beam Highway, Chapter Mafoo’s and Chili >
Its what’s in the bowl that is the problem
Shannon Coles ( Australia )
prose < Read is a Transitive Verb > ( a critique of Ulysses )
I asked the three wise men, Me, Myself and I
Albert Sussler ( USA )
prose < The Bicycle Repair Shop >
When I dry the tube off and get the patch ready, I can’t find the dam hole again.
Thank you Leah, Ivy, Masami and Okiko for your support.
I must now address the atmosphere of the Red Rock. In the last two readings there has been noise form customers that has brought our readings to a stand still. First in August, a drunk woman shouted about loosing her purse, then yesterday customers purposely tried to out talk our readers.
This is no place to conduct a serious reading. Even with a poster I placed on a table announcing out Reading, there was no help. It has been a good place for our readings for the last year, and I appreciate Joe’s help in giving us a space to perform and inspire our members. But this has gone too far.
It is time for our group to relocate. If there are any suggestions for a good location.
Requirements: An easy to find, intimate room, with good sound control near a station in central Nagoya.
Please let me know in the next week. I will be exploring myself in the mean time.
Reading Review:
Six brave souls made it though the heat of summer’s last days to our Reading.
Mayumi Lennane
poem < Going Down a Lane >
Lonely white dog walking the town
Albert Sussler
Joke< God creating a balanced world >
And up here is Canada, the most beautiful place on earth.
prose < The Grand Tour >
I like, for some demented reason, hurling along at unbreakable, neck breaking speed.
Richard Russell
prose, < McMullan and the Bee >
McMullan whipped the sweat off of his brow with his hoof
Tom Bauerle
Read from Bukowski’s <The Shoe Lace >
It is not the large things that send a man to the mad house
Paul Binford
Read from Steven Dunn’s <If a Clown>
A clown without a context
Joe Sichi
Read from Bukowski’s <Dog >
He believes in the hand that feeds him.
< Kissing me Away>
Lack of durability in human affairs.
Up coming Events:
Our next Reading will be held on the last Sunday of September, the 27th
At the Red Rock..
I appreciate all the effort of our members in the fight for creativity. Fighting the crowds and pulls of life, to bring their ideas to our
Readings.It is the juices of our own creativity that gives life its flavors.
I rode my bicycle to the event from Tokoname. It took three+ hours of hot sun pedaling. I almost didn’t get by the distractions of Kato Cycle. Thanks Tom for shelter, before my return trip.
There was a good turn out at the Red Rock. Over twenty with eight Readers. We flooded the whole front of the place. With cheers and shouts
Paul Binford: prose “Lessons Learned” Quote: “Trees still there, but now Dunkin Donuts.”
Richard Russell: prose, a humorous story called “Sheep” Quote: “Sheep … fled in the night, leaving nothing but the smell”
Ernest Schaal: prose “Encounter with an Ugly American” Quote: “Brash arrogant and ethnocentric, I’d thought I’d be the exception to the rule.”
Tom Bauerle: prose “Living With Ghosts” Quote: “Sharing a house with a dead woman … she had the kindest smile I have ever seem.”
Mayumi Lennane: poem “White Violet” Quote: “Blooming, she plays song beautifully”
Albert Sussler: (1) poem “Green Clouds” Quote: “Beautiful if the color of puss can be called that.”; (2) prose “It is a Crow’s World” Quote: “On the last day God created the crow.”; (3) prose “Robin” Quote: “You dance, you flap, you squawk but you don’t peck.”
Tim Chambers: prose, a humorous fly story “Moon Beam Highway” Quote: “horse flies are best … to fulfill their destiny.”
Joe Sichi: “poem of Layli” Quote: “page by page taken from the Shah … beating the crowds. a tree is the only place where shouting can be harmonized.”
special thanks to Leah and Maria for the noisy cheers. I was happy to hear from many, how well the reading went.
Up coming Events:
Our next Reading will be held on the last Sunday of summer, onAugust 30th at the same place, The Red Rock. Slam Poetry idea has won enough support to make plans for this winter. Thank you for the enthusiasm.
Best Wishes to all for a bright, not to hot, sparks a flying, summer.
Albert
p s Marina and Mandy, thanks for the invitation.
I enjoyed the Exhibition ‘Art in the Alley’
There was a good turn out at the Red Rock. Over twenty with eight Readers. We flooded the whole front of the place. With cheers and shouts
Paul Binford: prose “Lessons Learned” Quote: “Trees still there, but now Dunkin Donuts.”
Richard Russell: prose, a humorous story called “Sheep” Quote: “Sheep … fled in the night, leaving nothing but the smell”
Ernest Schaal: prose “Encounter with an Ugly American” Quote: “Brash arrogant and ethnocentric, I’d thought I’d be the exception to the rule.”
Tom Bauerle: prose “Living With Ghosts” Quote: “Sharing a house with a dead woman … she had the kindest smile I have ever seem.”
Mayumi Lennane: poem “White Violet” Quote: “Blooming, she plays song beautifully”
Albert Sussler: (1) poem “Green Clouds” Quote: “Beautiful if the color of puss can be called that.”; (2) prose “It is a Crow’s World” Quote: “On the last day God created the crow.”; (3) prose “Robin” Quote: “You dance, you flap, you squawk but you don’t peck.”
Tim Chambers: prose, a humorous fly story “Moon Beam Highway” Quote: “horse flies are best … to fulfill their destiny.”
Joe Sichi: “poem of Layli” Quote: “page by page taken from the Shah … beating the crowds. a tree is the only place where shouting can be harmonized.”
special thanks to Leah and Maria for the noisy cheers. I was happy to hear from many, how well the reading went.
Up coming Events: Our next Reading will be held on the last Sunday of summer, onAugust 30th at the same place, The Red Rock. Slam Poetry idea has won enough support to make plans for this winter. Thank you for the enthusiasm.
Best Wishes to all for a bright, not to hot, sparks a flying, summer.
Albert
p s Marina and Mandy, thanks for the invitation. I enjoyed the Exhibition ‘Art in the Alley’
On a hazy warm June afternoon, ten of us gathered at the Red Rock. Taking the middle table we gathered round for our literary exploration.
Leah Ann Sullivan:
two poems
Pantoum of a Photographer and a poet: The tea break, with mismatched cups and identical Saucers (Pantoum, a Malay verse form)
Watching Videos from Iran:. Pistol shots fired round after round, as an ocean of people pass on.
Mayumi Lennane,
a poem
Orange
bask in the sun… childhood friends … the sun loves you.
Tom Bauerle
four part prose, Airless Wonder
Brain’s tiny little sparks… neon lights … better than feeling nothing at all.
Joe Sichi
Three poems
Fuchsia: The names of the flowers we don’t know
Potato Face: See so many dull faces
Resting Mid Stream: Down stream, a willful turn
Shannon Coles ( debut )
a humorous sketch: A Bachelor Never Makes the Same Mistake Once.
I purchased my first ball and chain
Fear of loneliness stronger than fear of bondage.
Albert Sussler
a joke,two prose and a poem: Lion’s Pride (can’t tell just the punch line )
Turning Fifty: If one is not handsome by 20, strong by 30, rich by 40 or wise by 50 one will never be…
Bicycling with a Speedometer: Flirting with death shouldn’t be a daily activity
Neda: Authority replacing responsibility with repression cloaked in fear.
Paul Binford
a Mad Magazine humorous sketch: to keep the egg from breaking … I boiled it.
Soichi, Takashi, and Richard joined us as well as several others at the Red Rock. Ernie tried to make it to the reading but met a pole instead. I hope your recovery is progressing fine, so you will be able to join us in the next read. Thank you all for a good Reading. The more the merrier.
Notice: Our next Reading will be on Sunday July 12th, at the Red Rock 3:30 – 5:30 p m ( a little earlier than usual as to catch people before they head out for the summer. )
May 2009, now makes it two years since I began organizing the Nagoya Readings, since Sarah stepped down, so a few thoughts are due.
I am happy to help keep this Literary circle alive.
Exchanging our word creativity is one of man’s great pleasures. Up there with dance, eating and s…… singing. Sadly, I hear other ‘Reading’ groups in Japan are not doing well. Several have gone defunct. Ben’s Cafe in Takanobaba in Tokyo still exists but no longer features much original writing in English.
All your input is important to NWG.
Coming to our Readings,
Sharing poems and prose.
Encouraging new people to join.
Bringing new and exciting ways to keep expanding on.
Only with the effort of all of us, can we keep the Nagoya Writers group thriving. If it is not thriving, it is dying. This is not up to others but up to us.
Do share your thoughts, sweat and works. I and the rest of NWG need all the help we can get.
At the Red Rock in a dark mood setting seven of us met for the reading. Brown outs brought a flicker of light. Joe mentioned those were planned but I suspect he was covering for the missing hamster hiding in the wiring.
Albert Sussler
A Joke -Russian Economic Professor’s exam.
Alumni asks ‘Aren’t these the same questions you asked when I was a student some thirty years ago?’
Professor, Yes they are, but the answers have all changed.
Doubting
Living as a foreigner in Tokoname, a brief account as to how I got here.
Doubting,
Doubting leads to searching.
Searching leads to answers.
but answers are not constant.
Changes lead to doubt.
Ever expanding spirals of the mind.
Linda Donan
She’s Swimming with the dolphins: (Her short story about a family stranded on a deserted island.)
(mother) you killed your baby sister.
(Son) She’s not dead, she is swimming with the dolphins.
Takashi Wakui – read a collection of his poems he has been working on this year.
Mirror: no sound in a mirror
You Exist: your nose exists, your hands exist, so you exist
Regrets: registering in the brain, like a pain in the knee.
Park Your Money: park your money in the driveway, safer in an earthquake
Ten One Liners on God: Doubts are deeper believers because they suffer more.
Mayumi Lennane – read her poem to be made into a song.
Cinnabar Candle: cinnabar candle in the night light sees drinking wine
Richard Russell – Maggie and Kelly,His comical sketch of a brother and sister in a neighborhood in England.
(electric sparks ) giants frying eggs in the air.
If ( the doll ) is really undead, will find out won’t we.
Two new people joined. Ivy and Yuko who I look forward to hearing from in the future.
Global Warming, (how far will it reach ): It is not the first time it has happened to our earth, it is the fifth… You think we learn.
Hormones, Messengers of the Mind: Nothing is better than a dopamine fix
Joe Sichi -
a two part interview dialog titled ‘A Cap on Life’: Keep my wife out of it.
Steve Pottinger -
Read from the Dumb Waiter ( a play that will be performed at the Red Rock on May 16th and 17th ) Meal and show 1:00 and 5:00. price: ¥ 3000: You don’t look so bright
Miguel Esquivel -
Real Women’s feet
( a take on Cinderella )
-Once upon a time I had a husband who loved me
-No one says what happens after ‘ happy ever after’
Mayumi Lennane -
White Butterfly: friends rustling, colorful birds
Richard Russell -
The Guinea Pig: -We buried Curly with full honours in a flower bed near the apple tree and dug him up a few days later to see what he looked like.
The April Nagoya’s Reading took place at the Red Rock in Sakae featuring the works of six readers of which three read for the first time.
Albert Sussler -
A Sparrow’s Last Stand: a metronome set for high speed presto
The Meaning of Letters: O is the eye, the observer
Global Warming, (how far will it reach ): It is not the first time it has happened to our earth, it is the fifth… You think we learn.
Hormones, Messengers of the Mind: Nothing is better than a dopamine fix
Joe Sichi - a two part interview dialog titled ‘A Cap on Life’: Keep my wife out of it.
Steve Pottinger - Read from the Dumb Waiter ( a play that will be performed at the Red Rock on May 16th and 17th ) Meal and show 1:00 and 5:00. price: ¥ 3000: You don’t look so bright
Miguel Esquivel - Real Women’s feet ( a take on Cinderella )
Once upon a time I had a husband who loved me
No one says what happens after ‘ happy ever after’
Mayumi Lennane - White Butterfly: friends rustling, colorful birds
Richard Russell - The Guinea Pig: We buried Curly with full honours in a flower bed near the apple tree and dug him up a few days later to see what he looked like.
The March Reading was held in the Noritake – no – Mori Gallery in
Conjunction with the Exhibition Power of Symbols of Joe Sichi, Francis Marie and Ulrich Moehwald and Albert Sussler
The readings were a good mix of seven short and long pieces, tearful and laughter.
Richard Russell – the opening chapter of his book Diary Entries about an English teacher going to Saudi Arabia to teach: ‘going to the nearest coffee shop, hoping it was not Starbucks.’
Marina Mia – two poems she dusted off with a blue brush
Defeat: ‘tears flowed from a rejected heart.’
Age: ‘Can you love me … for who I will be’
Sarah Mulvey -
All the Kings Horses: The opening of a story about a foreign mother raising her son in Japan. ‘When I watch them, the two of them the two together, I
feel like an outsider.’
Albert Sussler -
Crossing the Bay About crossing the bay to breaking barriers: ‘By having only my brushes to talk with I found what I was looking for’
Joe Sichi – A Celebration of Anger. Two poems.
The library is closed on Sunday: ‘Rivers snap trees is their statement.’
Silence: ‘Silence is only us temporarily.’
Ernest Schaal -
The Lover of Cats. A short story
‘I decided to leave Robert because of the cat.’
‘Taihen Sounds sincere.’
Shoichi Miyamura -
The hill by the Sea a poem about a lost friend.:’I only think about what needs to be thinking and forget the rest’
Thanks so much for all your efforts and great work.Look forward to hearing you at our next reading on the 26th of April
till thenkeep writing
Albert
The March Reading was held in the Noritake – no – Mori Gallery in conjunction with the Exhibition Power of Symbols of Joe Sichi, Francis Marie and Ulrich Moehwald and Albert Sussler.
The readings were a good mix of seven short and long pieces, tearful and laughter.
Richard Russell – the opening chapter of his book Diary Entries about an English teacher going to Saudi Arabia to teach: ‘going to the nearest coffee shop, hoping it was not Starbucks.’
Marina Mia – two poems she dusted off with a blue brush
All the Kings Horses: The opening of a story about a foreign mother raising her son in Japan. ‘When I watch them, the two of them the two together, I feel like an outsider.’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80D3xUjWCBA
Albert Sussler -
Crossing the Bay About crossing the bay to breaking barriers: ‘By having only my brushes to talk with I found what I was looking for’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyD7lK_PeBU
Joe Sichi – A Celebration of Anger. Two poems.
The library is closed on Sunday: ‘Rivers snap trees is their statement.’
This February Reading was the best I have attended. There was a good mix of styles. Some of the poems were really funny.
This year our reading have been well attended and spicy. There were ten Readers in all and a good crowd or listeners.
Joe Sichi, lead of with a four poems.
If I were to give Death a Color.
12 Minute Poem
Cure for Insomnia
Fuchsia - ” no smell, scent you will find …”
Chris Gladden with a handful of poems
Drenched
” wasp coming fires”
Piano
Mr. McDogal
Sumsada
Today’s Catch - ”Tonight you let me go again”
Albert Sussler read three of his new poems
Beauty of Aging
Defining Romance – “Romance needs turbulence.”
The Human Herd
Richard A dozen Haiku that had us all laughing,.
The Passion Series and other scenes of Japan.
The Passion of Hello Kitty
“There’s Hello Kitty
In all her purple glory
Housewife beating fur.”
Ariana A Poem
How Everything had Started. - ”I tried to grasp it but I couldn’t … what makes him happy”
Paul Binford
Bar Fly, a very local story - ” not to worry about political correctness or the truth”
Gary Brought a good stretch of laughter to our Reading,
I got Past the Point of no Return, - ” I need to know there is someone else to blame”
Swinging from the Tree
Tax you a little bit more.
Boys with Issues
Kris continued on her story of last month
No title,but I call it He promised to kill me. -”no one loved me enough to kill me.”
Mic Manney read a short story called The Cartoon Life
Some of the Readings I got so in to, I couldn’t listen and write down quotes at the same time.
In the next Read give me a line that you would like me to write up. To be sure to get all the facts right.
After the Reading about half stayed on a talked about our works and on life. We wondered why suddenly so many Writers are coming forth to join our group this year.
Maybe it is the fear of the economy and people want to find inspiration and community without having to spend money. The Reading is a perfect fit for that.
cheers to you all, for a great evening to remember.
