To the thing colloquially known as everyone, a call to action.

I’m looking for a venue for Bloomers Poetry Club on Friday, November 20 from 7-10pm. I’d love for the legal capacity of the space to be anywhere from 75-100+ people. If it’s smaller than that, I’d still love to talk. Here’s what else I need: a bathroom and some seating. That’s literally it. My guests are respectful, discreet, and all grown adults. Here’s what you’ll get out of it: clout for hosting the most infamous reading series in the city, an opportunity to promote your space or anything you want me to plug, patronage (if you’re selling food or drinks), and a working relationship with me. So far, we’ve done Bloomers shows at apartments, houses, backyards, an art gallery, and a theatre. I need your help this month. Any leads are appreciated! Dm (maywallpress) or email me (maywallpress@gmail.com). Thanks all.

October’s events were both smash hits!

At the Bloomers anniversary reading, we finally infiltrated the world of perfoming arts thanks to our friends at Artists Repertory Theatre. I set up the stage to look like an apartment, mirroring the very first show last year. The five poets each read from books of my choosing. Patrick Riley read from Jubilant Thicket by Jonathan Williams, founder of the Jargon Society. Marissa Yang Bertucci read from Seasons of Sacred Lust by the Japanese Beat poet Kazuko Shiraishi. Leah Toledano read from Ariel. August Elsenbroek read from Carson’s translation of Sappho’s fragments (the day after she won the Nobel). Nadia Niva read from Bad, Bad and Opera Fever by Chelsey Minnis, one of my favorite writers. Autumn Schade read from Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen. Then, August surprised me with a poem she made out of writing submitted by past Bloomers. I cried, struck with a feeling of being completely known. Everyone said after they’d never seen me break and it was “like seeing our mom cry for the first time.” Finally, I performed the Community Poem made from “sacrifices” submitted by the audience. I held a flint-knapped stone knife with an antler handle above my head, which I then stepped on and broke when the poem came to a crescendo and I was enthusiastically making out with my boyfriend on stage. I felt bad for breaking it because my grandfather made it for me when I was a teenager, but it was an early work and his skill level has since skyrocketed. So it’s a good excuse for me to ask for a new knife. Thanks to Melory for hooking us up with the venue. It was a “we made it” moment for me. In one year, we took Bloomers from my bedroom to the theatre. What’s next for us? Where will we go? Is Bloomers perennial or evergreen?

A week later, we had a rather queer night at the Pope House when my handsome young men read a selection of Frank O’Hara’s poems. The Handsome Young Men series was made to playfully and somewhat ironically uplift the whole spectrum of masculinity with cis, trans, and non-binary people reading the “male canon” as one contiguous blur of handsomeness. O’Hara was the obvious choice for our second reading, being one of the most readable and beloved American poets of all time. It was so much fun. Who will the handsome young men read in December? Well, I can’t tell you that. But just know… I love Christmas.

On October 15, I read my poem “Charity” for Graft Union at Up Up Books. I really think the poem has aged nicely. I still like it a lot. It’s about falling in love with someone whose family comes from a different tax bracket than yours. You can find it on my personal Instagram or in the new Chimera zine, which I think is available at Secret Room. That same night, Marissa hosted the Chariot reading at Second Shapes. I wish I could’ve gone! The kind people at Graft Union have since made a joint Google calendar so we don’t book our readings on the same nights anymore.

Recent publications. Marissa has two poems in b l u s h. Nadia has a poem in The Gravity of the Thing. Jules, Frankie, and Ethan have work in Dreck. And I’m sure I’m missing some. My sisters sw0rdswall0wer and Gwyniver have upcoming shows. My daughter Slipper Elm is asking if anyone is booking for gigs. Slipper Elm is my favorite band. Additionally, my boyfriend is also seeking venues for his events (check out pathofplay on Instagram). Basically, we all need places to gather and perform because we’re artists and that’s what we do. Ta-ta for now!

Yours gratefully,
Judy