Watson retires

Why did James Watson need to retire?
Because he got well known facts exactly backwards:
The problem with the human race is not that we have subgroups that are too different from each other, but that overall, we have too little genetic diversity.
Most of our genetic diversity is in Africa, so making generalizations about Africans vs. others does not make sense.
He does, or at least used to, like controversy, so making the obvious point that we need to help all ethnic groups in Africa to thrive, in order to preserve our diversity (which may be vital if we mess up the environment badly enough) didn't appeal to him.
It's too bad that his very successful career as an administrator and fundraiser at Cold Spring Harbor had to end this way.

Watson's Letter
Political dissection of his remarks

Poets in Port, February 29, 2008

Poets in Port will feature J R Turek at 7:30 pm on Friday, February 29, 2008 at Caffé Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, opposite the theatre. There will also be an Open Reading — the audience is encouraged to bring their poems and participate. For more information, contact Steven Schmidt.

J R (Judy) Turek

• is in her 10^th year as Moderator of the Farmingdale Creative Writing Group
• winner of the Conklin Prize for Poetry, awarded on February 15, 2008
• author of They Come And They Go
• a member of Maxwell Wheat’s Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee
• strives to write a poem a day and mostly succeeds
• in 2007, edited several poetry anthologies

J R has been published in:

• Grassroot Reflections, Volumes 3 through 6
• primal sanities!
• Free-Wheeling: Towe Auto Museum Poetry Collection
• Soul Fountain
• Friends of Hempstead Plains 2007 Poetry Anthology
• The Meadowlark
• Long Island Sounds: 2007 and 2006
• Long Island Quarterly
• For Loving Precious Beast
• The Long Islander
• the East Meadow Herald
• Performance Poets Association Literary Reviews #8 through 11
• Long Island Expressions Autism Awareness
• 2001: A Long Island Odyssey
• the Farmingdale Poetry Chapbook

Her poetry will appear in:
Assbestos
and PAUMANOK: Poetry and Pictures of Long Island.

She is a born and bred Long Islander who resides in East Meadow with her soul-mate husband, her dogs, and her extraordinarily extensive shoe collection.

If you see the license plate MSJEVUS, follow her; chances are, she’s going to a poetry event.

Judy's poems can be read online at
Poetry Bay and pages 2 and 6 of this LI Writers' guild newsletter.
A video of J.R. reading can be seen at Poetry VLog.

Winner of CONKLIN PRIZE FOR POETRY,
Awarded February 15, 2008

1964

She came with a name I can’t remember
don’t know why I called her  Sylvia
an extension of my right hand
everywhere I went
her hard plastic  body, arms and legs jointed
her molded head with sandy
permed curls  usually tangled

as was mine
my mother would brush our hair stroke for stroke
Sylvia’s  sleepy eyes closing as our heads nestled for a nap
her closed mouth a defiant  pout refusing lunch or cookies
or milk colored with food dye
the ritual of  our diaper and dress changes
tiny apparel in powdered laundry  loads.

Sylvia secreted my wishes, agreed with me
my brother was a  jerk, mom could be stern
and dad was mostly perfect
her leg broke when my  brother roughed it from her body
my father surgeoned her back to me, her lace  collar
collected my tears, transformed them into laughter
my brother  pecked her cheek

in contrition and we hugged away the years
as Sylvia  sat on my bed, then a book shelf
watching as I struggled through math  homework
then relegated to a corner of my closet
where she kept company  with tap shoes
and rollerskates, tennis racket and jump rope
and I left  her for a circle of new friends.

I can still feel her in my arms
the  raised line of her seamed body
the crease on her temple where her head  dented
carried upside down up and down porch steps
in the formative years  of our togetherness.
Sylvia, wishing I could pull you from the closet
I  have so many secrets to tell you.

~ J R Turek September 13, 2007

***

Long Island Expressway

A honeysuckle summer day starts with a motorcycle
see-sawing lane to lane  in belly-crawling traffic,
hopscotches to follow the white dotted line  between vehicles,
horns blare, he thumb-nose laughs,  leaves
      a cough of exhaust as he rumbles  off.
In his wake, a diesel-driven 10-wheeler swings in
to cut me off, to  slide in like a ninth inning runner
to home plate; cinder pellets rain down  on my hood,
I swerve left/right in a roadway game of dodgeball
      trying to avoid rocks strewn by a  bully in the sandbox.
Siren screams, red/white flashing lights hula-hoop
from the monkeybar above the car, the trooper
musical chairs in to join  our ringolevio delay.
A plateless rusted hunk-of-junk snails in the left  lane,
      driver tries to peer through the  steering wheel
while cars merry-go-round him, cop tags him
to take to the  hokey-pokey; we spread wings and fly by.
Olly olly oxen free; it’s  Monday
we’re late again
      stuck on the  playground of the LIE.

~ J R Turek September 19, 2007

Poets in Port, January 25, 2008

Poets in Port will feature JoAnn Proscia at 7:30 pm on Friday, January 25, 2008 at Caffé Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, opposite the theatre. There will also be an Open Reading — the audience is encouraged to bring their poems and participate. For more information, contact Steven Schmidt.
JoAnn Proscia JoAnn Proscia studies Creative Writing at Suffolk Community College. She is a member of LIPC Peer Workshop at Huntington Public Library and the Northport Chorale. She lives in Northport.

Poets In Port, November 30, 2007

Poets in Port will feature Kathaleen Donnelly at 7:30 pm on Friday, November 30, 2007 at Caffé Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, opposite the theatre. There will also be an Open Reading — the audience is encouraged to bring their poems and participate. For more information, contact Steven Schmidt.

Kathaleen Donnelly, graduate of St.Vincent’s School of Nursing, currently a Nurse Practitioner in Cardiology at Stony Brook University Hospital. Earned a M.A. in Philosophy while working 12 years in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit through the 1990’s. Single mother, son Keith. Opened and ran Whispering Wonders Child Care Center in Port Jefferson Village for 12 years. A member of the Sweetbriar Photography Club, and new poet with published/awarded poems:

• ‘Whistles’—10^th Anniversary Issue of Literary Review, A Publication of Performance Poets Association, and ‘Solitude’ in the 11^th issue.
• ‘Claire’s House’—Long Island Quarterly. (2006)
• ‘August Days’—Second Place, Princess Ronkonkoma 4^th Annual Poetry Contest (2006) and ‘First Swim of the Season’—Honorable Mention, humor category.
• ‘Aging Remedy’—Songs of Seasoned Women, QUADRASOUL, INC. (2007)
• ‘Lost in Autumn’, ‘The Wind Calls’ and ‘Impossible’—2007 L.I. Sounds Anthology.

Evening on the Beach

A small blond boy
stands at the shoreline
hurling flat rocks into the water,
surprised each time
they don’t skim the surface;
tries again,
and again.

Seagulls glide along the water’s skin,
fly towards me as I float atop,
not edible,
fly on.

On the beach, they avoid
airborne rocks;
sense danger.
How do their bird brains know?

Exposed green haired rocks
announce low tide;
I swim three feet
above a sandy floor.

The sun peaks between clouds.
Sunrays strike the sea,
leave a shimmering trail.
I could follow it,
circumvent the globe,
if land mass didn’t block the way.

My small friend leaves me,
I am alone on a beach on Long Island.
Where is everyone
on a hot mid August eve?

No matter.  I am with the shimmering sea.

Poets in Port, October 26, 2007

Poets in Port featured Peter Dugan at 7:30 pm on Friday, October 26, 2007 at Caffé Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, opposite the theatre. There was also an Open Reading.

Peter V. Dugan is a resident of East Rockaway, a graduate of The New School in New York City , a member of the Rockville Centre Poets and listed in Poets and Writers. Wysteria Ltd. published his first book length collection titled Medusa’s Overbite in 2001. He has taught poetry workshops and classes on form and style. Mr. Dugan has won local and national awards for his poetry. Some notables are an Honorable Mention by The American Academy of Poets, a 2^nd place for Farmingdale State College Raynor Wallace poetry contest, 2^nd place in the Barnes and Noble Poetry awards and a 2^nd place for the Dowling College Poetry Slam. His pieces have been published individually in recent years in Aitia, Long Island Sounds Anthology 2007, Soul Fountain, Perpetual Toxins, Good Liar, The Poet’s Art, The Five Town Forum, The Nassau Herald,the e-magazines Good Liar and Road Poet. He has also been published every year from 1997-2007 in the Long Island PPA Literary Review. He can be seen on Poetry Vlog.

My Reason

I write for those who go outside the box
and climb over the fence defying the signs,
Danger Keep Out, No Trespassing.
They are the ones who dance along
the precipice, doing pirouettes on the edge
of the abyss between the real and the ideal.
And as others have tried to bridge that chasm
with a structure made of old worm holed planks,
myth and magic tied with twine, a string
of lies, producing only an unfinished
catwalk that juts out like a diving board.


I write for those who will not take that leap
of faith, but use mortar, stone, and steel
in the here and now to span that gulf.
I write for those who live outside the lines
drawn by society, the biker, the hipster
and the burn out, those who don’t want
to live the life of the nine to five crowd,
wear stuffed shirts, a suit and tie, and be
a contestant in the rat race, running through
the maze looking for a slice of the American
Dream, that pie in the sky, that piece of cheese,
to be number one, the big cheese, a king,
an emperor, because they see the emperor
has no clothes and the cheese is Swiss
and full of holes. They see the Polly-O
String is dangling. I write for them.


I write for the musician, the artist, and the poet,
those who don’t want to go with the flow
of music. They seem to be tuned out or out
of tune but they follow a different beat.
They twist and shout, but they don’t dance
when others call the tune, or agree with
the choreography, it’s all hokey-pokey;
a big hustle to join the line and do the glide.
Call them wallflowers, I write for them.
I write for the outlaw, the outcast and the
outlandish. But they are not out of touch.
They are what they are and I am what I am.
I am a poet. I am on the outside looking in.

I write for myself.

Peter Dugan

Poets in Port, December 28, 2007

Poets in Port will feature Phil Reinstein reading poems by Marie Emmons Wayne Reinstein 7:30 pm on Friday, December 28, 2007 at Caffé Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, opposite the theatre. There will also be an Open Reading — the audience is encouraged to bring their poems and participate. For more information, contact Steven Schmidt.

Marie Emmons Wayne Reinstein (3/13/1952-5/22/2007) wrote poetry under the name of Marie Emmons.

In the words of Phil Reinstein:

Marie wrote her "old poems" between 1968 and 1974. She stopped writing poetry until 2001, as she devoted herself to her family, her friends, and her nursing work, mostly in the ICU. We met in October 2001 and soon found ourselves in love with a Capital "L". It was a second chance for both of us and we married on August 24, 2004. We had the 5 BEST years of our lives. When Marie became ill last Spring 2007, the love and compassion among her family and friends... her "pit crew"...thank you all, from Marie and from me. I am including a poem that was found posthumously. It was written on a blue 3" by 5" notepad. Titled "Four Days in Montauk 10/15/2001--10/19/2001". I first met Marie 10/20/01.

More of her poetry is available at MarieReinstein.com

Four Days in Montauk 10/15/01--10/19/01

Driving in anticipation
with doubtful thoughts and palpitations
on contemplating 4 days alone in
solitude

Determined to not be lonely
to find enough with just me
to stave off fears or to meet them head on
I will examine what has meaning here in this life of mine,
And broadening me to find the world there

I wrap a pink blanket 'round my shoulders and my legs
the wind is off the ocean

From the deck I see the whitecaps forming
on the expanse of Atlantic

Though the sun is shining and warm
the wind's speed and its audacity cuts us both—
Atlantic and me

I form whitecaps too in my life—yet
the depth of me is unchallenged as
Atlantic is too

Poets In Port

Northport Arts Coalition presents a series of poetry readings on the fourth Friday of every month at 7:30 at Caffé Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, opposite the theater.

Bring your poems and participate in the Open Reading. Music is also welcome.
For more information, contact Steven Schmidt.

Featured Poets:

May 27, 2011	Anna di Bella
June 24, 2011	Jeanette Klimszewski
July 22, 2011	To Be Announced
August 26, 2011	To Be Announced
September 23, 2011	Muriel Weinstein
October 28, 2011	Max Wheat

Past Readings
April 22, 2011	Barbara Southard & Linda Benninghoff
March 25, 2011	Kempton Boone van Hoff
February 25, 2011	Andy Burke
January 28, 2011	Susan Pilewski & Barbara Reiher-Meiers
November 26, 2010	Open Reading, including favorite poems by others.
September 24, 2010	Tara Propper
August 27, 2010	Christine Z.
July 23, 2010	Joli Ienuso
June 25, 2010	Mary Jane Tenerelli
May 28, 2010	Dorothy Friedman
April 23, 2010	Cliff Bleidner
March 26, 2010	George Held
January 22, 2010	Kelly Powell
November 27, 2009	Open Reading
October 30, 2009	John Williams
Sep 25, 2009	Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan
August 28, 2009	Phil Asaph
July 31, 2009	Jo Barry & Jim Friel
June 26, 2009	C. E. Hegarty
May 29, 2009	Gloria g. Murray
April 24, 2009	Lorraine Conlin
March 27, 2009	Doug Swezey
February 27, 2009	Destina Graf
January 30, 2009	Andrea Rowen
December 26, 2008	Bonnie J. Cassidy
November 28, 2008	Barbara Reiher-Meyers
October 31, 2008	Ginger Williams and Beverly
September 26, 2008	Doug Swezey, Kate Kelly, and Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan reading poems by Jean Schmidt aka Grace Darling aka fairsCaPe
August 22, 2008	Tony Policano
July 25, 2008	Jack Barrett Wohl
June 27, 2008	Jay Jii
May 30, 2008	Thomas Brinson
April 25, 2008	Gladys Henderson
March 28, 2008	Michelle Whittaker & Kempton Van Hoff
February 29, 2008	J.R. Turek
January 25, 2008	JoAnn Proscia
December 28, 2007	Phil Reinstein performing poems by Marie Emmons Wayne Reinstein
November 30, 2007	Kathaleen Donnelly
October 26, 2007	Peter Dugan
September 28, 2007	Edgar Carlson
August 24, 2007	Mankh
June 22, 2007	Bart Allen
May 25, 2007	Mary Jane Tenerelli
March 23, 2007	Steven Post
February 23, 2007	Jessica Lang
January 26, 2007	Richard Bronson
December 22, 2006	Greg Moglia
November 24, 2006	Barbara Hoffman
October 14, 2006	Kate Dellis Stover
September 22, 2006	Kate Kelly
August 25, 2006	Jessica Lang
July 28, 2006	Annabelle Moseley
May 26, 2006	Beverly Smith
April 28, 2006	Duane Esposito
March 24, 2006	Binnie Pasquier
October 28, 2005	Phil Sparacino
August 25, 2005	Open mic
April 29, 2005	Poetreeman (aka John Kicker) and music by Sun, Moon and Stars
January 27, 2005	George Wallace and music by Cathy Kreger

Poetry Readings in Northport

I am hosting Poets in Port, a monthly series of readings, starting this Friday.