Nature of the Muse – 1/29/15 – audrey di mola

Thanks to Jeanne Boes for the flyer!

NATURE OF THE MUSE
fireside reading & live writing @ LIC BAR 1/29/15

this time of year challenges you
like a little magician
fanning the day’s cards
brusquely in your face.
pick a card, any card.
change the flesh into word. –sandra lim

the players:

AUDREY DIMOLA is partly made of fire and delights in making her talented writer-friends sweat! She is the author of poetry & prose collections Decisions We Make While We Dream (2012) and TRAVERSALS (2014), guerrilla sticker poet of the Compass Project, devious founder of “Nature of the Muse,” and curator of the first ever Queens Literary Town Hall. A steadfast crusader for Queens culture and a lifelong supporter/participant in the arts, Audrey lives for creative exploration across genres, and aims always to stay wild and stay grateful. Oh yeah, and there’s a pretty good chance she’s Peter Pan. audreydimola.com

GEOFF ONG loves inside jokes, the ocean, longboarding, and those days when it’s just a little bit too hot. He also makes soulful pop music bursting with fun, summery, instantly relatable tunes – a perfect soundtrack for fans of summer road trips, hanging out, & eating ice cream.

SAROYA MARSH is the poet/author of the chapbook Not All of Me Shall Die. She works as a preschool teacher and youth mentor, but has always had a passion for writing. As a spoken word poet she brings a heartfelt intensity and deep beliefs to the stage, brandishing a saber of light that will penetrate those dark pockets of prejudice, injustice, and hurt that lay buried deep within each of us. She was a finalist in the 2013 Poetry Idol, 2013 Inspired Word Slam Master Jam Champion and 2014 Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion. She has been featured at these venues and others, including colleges in PA, DC and the tri-state area. Saroya has hopes that her poems will spark a mind of change. “If you want to leave an impact deep enough for future generations to see… start now.” –SM

KEVIN MARQUEZ was born and raised in the Lower East Side, the prime location that has inspired his writing. He attended City College where he fell in love with poetry while earning his MFA in Creative Writing. Besides his upbringing, Kevin’s body of work also focuses on brief vignettes influenced by his observations and interactions with a variety of characters and situations in New York City. Kevin now resides in Queens where he teaches English to immigrant students from all around the globe. His literary heroes are Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Frank O’Hara, and Willie Perdomo. He’s also into video games, comic books, and wrestling – a man of many hats.

Never one to follow the rules, MARC MONTFLEURY has been cutting his own path through music, poetry and expression in NYC since 2010. This self-described hellraiser comes equipped with a compelling live show, musical skills and a haunting vocal range. His music is uncompromising, unapologetic, unique, and doesn’t quite fit into any neat box – only that it’s always pretty damn fresh. He’s also a poet whose work is never done…

Queens, NY native JEANNE MARIE BOES is a singer, songwriter, and musician full of love, happiness and heartache. With her powerful, soulful and unforgettable voice along with songs – written by both her and some with her father, James – she is steadily gaining a following in her hometown and beyond. Jeanne Marie started playing piano at about age twelve and has since dabbled in violin, guitar and electric bass. Since 2009, she has released three full-length albums, an EP and two singles. As New York Music Daily says: “She’s got brass in her upper register, a pillowy, dreamy quality in the lows and a soaring range. She sings conversationally, intimately: you feel like she’s in the room with you. You have to go back a long ways to find a comparison…”

VALERIE G. KEANE is honored to be part of the current Queens literary scene. Her work has been published in Newtown Literary Journal and she is the founder of Poetry & Coffee, a very juicy discussion group in Queens for writers and readers, where people are waking up to great poetry and to life. Valerie has been featured at Mike Geffner’s The Inspired Word, Boundless Tales Reading Series, First Tuesdays Reading Series, REZ Reading Series, International Women Artists’ Salon, and the NYC Poetry Festival. She currently serves on the editorial review board for poetry for Newtown Literary.

local resources:
want more?! for QUEENS reading series, open mics, workshops, writers’ groups, literary organizations, lit-friendly venues & all the people to know… visit tinyurl.com/queenslit !!

about the series:
founded in 2013, “nature of the muse” came out of many things – my experiences as a writer, reader, curator, audience member, and writing workshop participant, as well as a lover of improv and the unexpected – what happens when you push creative people to produce work on the spot and share it with spectators. if you’d like to get involved (not only limited to writers! musicians, artists, etc.) give a shout: audrey.dimola@gmail.com.

audrey wholeheartedly thanks:
everyone who has supported her and helped to spread the word about this event, my beautiful and gutsy friends for participating, all the open minds in the audience, and of course LIC Bar and especially GUS RODRIGUEZ for giving this event its first and only home, and for always encouraging his fellow creatives to pursue their dreams. MUCH LOVE!

i too, if i may mention myself, have always known that my destiny was, above all, a literary destiny – that bad things and some good things would happen to me, but that, in the long run, all of it would be converted into words. […] a writer, or any man, must believe that whatever happens to him is an instrument; everything has been given for an end. –jorge luis borges

THE PROMPTS:

SAROYA MARSH (and she read this in a British accent while Marc played guitar.. HAHAHA!!)

Prompt: If only
Prompt: Bunny Dicks

“If only…. Bunny Dicks”

If only I liked cock
This poem would be less of a shock
I wouldn’t be an easy chick
I’d only go for bunny dicks
But not just any bunny’s meat
I bet that Bugs Bunny’s Wanker is sweet
I’ll probably develop some sort of habit
And then go after Peter Rabbit
I’d turn into a pussy dodger
& only crave the chode of Roger
But since I’m not into bunny dicks
This poem is a piece of shit

KEVIN MARQUEZ

Prompt: Write a poem using a word that begins with “Q.” Write the narrative in reverse, and make it 12 lines. (JEEZ!!)

“Quiz”

Quietly I hand her back my grade,
right before I step out of the bar
from a night of challenging prompts: left and right;
right before sitting down and wondering
if I could do this.
Right before I enter this establishment
with wonders of how the night would go,
I step back into the cab and reverse home,
thinking about the night ahead of me,
quick to put on my coat,
stand up from my couch,
and watch the clock strike 8.

MARC MONTFLEURY

Prompt: If dogs ruled the world

My nose could tell it all
I can smell fear give me paw
I know my tongue’s wagging
You can take me for a walk
After signing this peace treaty
Let’s feed the needy
But keep the milk bones for me and my cronies
I got a belly rub at seven
With a game of fetch between meetings
We get the best seating
Dog park box slots
Tell Netanyahu to keep waiting
I need bacon
If I ruled the world?
I’d hump mother nature’s leg for posterity
Nah if I ruled the world
I would tell Nas it’s spelled dog
Cuz I’m nasty and my trumpet blasts like Gabriel’s horn……

VALERIE G. KEANE

Prompt: Write a sentence about sex on your hand and put your hand over the person to the right of you.
Prompt: Tips for all the nuts out there.

“tips for all the nuts out there”

I just want to tell you
you cannot make a wrong choice.
The Universe just recalibrates.
So go ahead. Make your worst mistake.

Write a poem about sex on your hand
and put your hand over the person to the right of you.
I don’t know what that means but
it sounds sexy and daring and
I want to do it.

Do everything. Be everywhere.
Being in the presence of artists is important.
So is carrying a pair of tweezers in your purse
if you are over 35.

Don’t worry. You figure it out.
It’s just such a pleasure not to be dead.
Remember that.
Remember everything.
Try to.

Try to put it in the paper cup next
to the Kwan Yin statue before
you close your eyes each night.
Close your eyes to the things that don’t matter.

And there is very little that does.
Trust me.
So go ahead and lose your mind.
Lose your place in line.

Is there a line?
Is this where I draw the line?
Draw the line.
Put it halfway between me and heaven
so I know where to find you.

Find someone.
Find me.
I’m a nut like you.
A filbert, to be exact.

And if anything, I am exact.
And I think everything
has calibrated to this moment
as I put my hand over you
and into you and through you.

Take my advice.
Be shameless, always.

AUDREY DIMOLA

Prompt: (a drawing of an eye crying) Tear…
one eye
one moment
one tear
it feels it’s
never-ending
our metaphysics
our connection
one breath i
feel-
i can’t cry anymore
and you can’t stop.
i killed you
in my dreams
last night
i hope to god
it means
you’ve finally
let go.
does this mean
i won’t dream
of you
anymore?
does this mean
i’ll never
cry again
the way i did
in the shadows-
your silhouette
in the window,
a stranger.
i want
to cry
for greater
things now.
on my knees
in wonder
of this
world.

Prompt: Excuse me, would you happen to have dis dizzle
excuse me
would you
happen to have
dis dizzle?
i have
all the damn
dizzles
i am
the dizzle
the dizzlest
the dazzlest
let me
spangle
dazzle and
travel you
to the highest
heights
the deepest
seas
take a hit off
this dopamine
the dopest
mean
every word they
say
so take my
words at
face value-
excuse me
would you
happen to have
dis dizzle?
yeah-
it’s ME.