What's Happening or Shameless Self Promotion

No, I am not going to talk about all the wonderful demonstrations taking place in so many towns and cities across the U.S.A., or how seven members of the Supreme Court seem to be standing up to the would-be dictator occupying the White House or all the awful things he and his cronies are doing. I am going to talk about ALTE and about me.

But first, a digression to say I hope everyone, whether you celebrate or now, had a Happy Passover. Mine was lovely, good food, family, and no arguments to speak of. Kind of amazing when I think about it.

And here is An ALTE reminder: We folks at ALTE really, really, really hope you will join us on Monday, April 28^th at 6:3- p.m., 250 West 90^th St., NY, NY for a reading of an excerpt of Judy Ruskay Rabinor’s new play, The Secret. Admission is free, and we will be hosting a delightful reception as well. It would be so wonderful to see you there. To reserve a space, please call (917) 710-5633.

We are in the process of reading your submissions for the upcoming Hot and Cold issue. You will be hearing from us soon. And if you’ve got a short piece you’d like us to use on the ALTE Substack, we would be happy to consider it.

Please, please subscribe to our Substack, whether paid or not, and tell your friends. We’d like to have many folks join the ALTE community.

Now, here’s my news. I’ve got a few upcoming poetry events I’d like to share with you. April, as you may or may not know, is National Poetry Month. To celebrate, I will be one of the featured readers at the Garwood Poetry Festival in Garwood, NJ, if you happen to be anywhere near Garwood, the festival is Sunday, April 27, 2025, from 2-4 p.m., at the Garwood Public Library, 78 North Avenue.

If Zoom is more your thing, I will be participating in a group reading to celebrate the launch of the anthology What the House Knows (Terrapin Books). My poem, “And Two Hydrox Cookies,” is included in the anthology. It’s a poem about Alzheimer’s and my mom. You’ll hear about a dozen poems from other contributors as well. There’s something for everyone, and I think you will find their work terrific. May 8, 7-8:30 p.m. To register for the Zoom link go here.

And on Sunday, May 18, 2025, immediately after my 50^th college reunion weekend, Brandeis in case you don’t know, I will be participating in a Zoom reading of new poems reflecting the Jewish experience. The poem I will be reading, “Lot’s Wife,” is one of my personal favorites. I think we all have favorites among our own work. A persona poem, it’s a midrashic take on the biblical story of Lot. I often find myself writing about women in the bible. Also, for many years I was fortunate enough to attend Alicia Ostriker’s midrash writing workshop, and that study has informed my work as well. I’m excited to be able to read this one to an audience. Go to DayEight.org for the registration link.

Hope to be a little more focused next time I write, but I am more than knee deep in packing and moving. I will tell you more about that later.

See you on the 28th.