A Very Brief Decade In Review

FUCK, that hurt.

A Post-Holiday, Stone Soup Homecoming

Tonight's a bit of a homecoming. Welcome back Ed and Karen Gault (and lil' Cosette). Expect a double feature and a couple of surprises if you can make it tonight.

DOG! With Snuggie

Every once in a while (which is to say, once a day), I do something that makes people wonder about me. This film is the second thing I've done today that will accomplish this.

Wild Turkeys In My Mother's Yard

Caught this on Christmas Day mere moments after my Mom caught them hanging around near her porch before they doubled back to join up with the flock who didn't make it across.





Every once in a while (which is to say, once a day), I do something that makes people wonder about me. The mix at the end is my thing for today.

January 4th: Mike Amado Tribute

I wanted to get this up early. Mike Amado passed away shortly after New Year's 2009 after a long battle with kidney disease. Days after it happened, we had an open mike tribute. This year, we are planning a full fledged tribute to his work, thanks to the work of Mike's friend, Jack Scully. We hope you join us that day and put aside some Christmas money to purchase Mike Amado's book, Rebuilding The Pyramids.

Spreading Holiday Cheer

First, the only Christmas song I haven't heard since the end of October.





And yes, I posted this last year. Sue me.





Best wishes, everyone.

From My Appearance on the Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer TV Program

After Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer airs on Sommerville cable, Doug Holder likes to transcribe his interviews to appear on his blog and/or an issue of The Somerville News. For now, his interview of me is up on his blog, and you can click here to read it. I'll see what I can do about getting the TV footage online by year's end.

Seasons Greetings

A little holiday card I made with footage of you-know-who.




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December 28: Welcome Back, Ed and Karen

Ed and Karen Gualt moved from Boston with their daughter Cosette over the summer, and we've been missing them ever since. On December 28th, we're forcing them to come back by giving them a family sized feature. I'm envisioning this as more of a friendly get together (with donations at the door), so come one and come all. Show off the wares from your Barnes and Noble gift certificate,. Bring your excess holiday party food to share. If we're lucky, it's going to be a day of reunions and maybe even a surprise or two that I don't want to put in writing just yet.

I'm Off Tonight

But Lo Galluccio is still featuring tonight, and Lynne Sticklor is hosting!

My Appearance on The Steve Katsos Show

The part where I don't get sneezed on by Steve is finally online.

Steve is an old friend and an old comrade from the days of working for the newspaper at Framingham State College. We even took an advanced journalism course in conjunction with the paper and it's then (and now) adviser, Desmond McCarthy. You can tell just by seeing Steve in action below how relieved I was that he was there to lighten the mood.

Steve is always "on," so the clip below is me trying to sound intelligent while trying not to laugh at Steve with his expressions. Is this why my eyes always look closed?

My First Library

The Henry Whittemore Library, part of my alma mater Framingham State College, just asked me for donations to their Alumni Collection. I said with much flattery that I definitely would after the holidays.

Now so far, I only have access to multiple copies of my chapbook, but if any publishers want to donate anthologies I've been in to the library, please let me know.

Thanks to the college again for the opportunity.

Stone Soup has two great closers for December 2009. The first is December 21st, when Lo Galluccio returns to feature her mini-chap from Propaganda Press. Lo knows how to mix, poetry, prose, and music in her features. You can expect a different show every time.

The Stone Soup reading will be especially different since I will not be hosting this week. Lynne Sticklor, who along with Ed Gault has done much to help fill in for me this past year. She will be taking up the reins and giving me a break. I'll be either in the bleachers open miking and listening or out and about catching up on Christmas shopping. Either way, I will also be taking steps to make sure the event will be YouTubed.

My poem For Prabakar T. Rajan

Before Prabakar's reading at The Goba Salon this past Friday, Tom Daley emailed several of us, asking us to bring work (by ourselves or others) to read in honor of Ron's guest of honor.

I haven't been as close to Prabakar, Ron Goba and Keith Nystrom as others in the poetry scene, but I've become closer as I've joined their Friends of Poetry workshop since my own Goba Salon reading. I owe so much to Prabakar for not only inviting me to read for the salon (he had booked the talent for Ron since the two founded the series) but for being the person who first verbally gave me the invitation to join the workshop.

It was keeping this in mind, as well as trying in some way to honor his wish that he'd rather hear poems about his friends than about him, that I wrote the poem below, based on the first time Ron, Prabakar, Keith, and myself were at the same workshop together a couple of weeks ago. I jotted down all the quotes as I heard them during the workshopping of Ron's poem and mine, making very few alterations.


Salon Poem

Ron's poem sizes up
pointed, loaded weapons
for a Sigmund-style salvo,
says, "I was entertaining bazookas,"
clashing phallic cymbals,
asking us to compare sounds.
Keith suggests a big black fanny pack
down by the poem's center
to help keep weapon partially concealed.
Even so, could you still stand up
with said poem on stage
and not be asked to step down?
Ron scoffs. "Even Ashberry
played with hs dictionary."
Prabakar scimitars my failed sonnet,
finds the Kafka I'd sneak in at college,
rewrites one stanza into
a well wrought urn to keep it in.
Ron leans forward: "What an incredible birth."

Prabakar T. Rajan Says Farewell at The Goba Salon, December 18, 2009

Prabakar says farewell to the Boston poetry scene courtesy of the Wollaston, MA venue he helped to found with friend Ron Goba.

I have these going up on Facebook, but I wanted to make sure Prabakar could see these. Not everyone has Facebook accounts, or can even access them if they have work computers.



Vicki Murray got the brunt of my pics while
documenting the Round Robin given that she was
directly across the room from me, and it was awkward
to take pictures when we the salon sits in a circle.


Tom Daley and Prabakar listen to the Round Robin
before the feature.


Prabakar reads as dear friend Ron Goba listens
intently, his glasses off just about any time a poem
was being read by anyone.


The applause at the end of the feature.


As I knew from first hand experience, there is a
discussion after the feature reads. For Prabakar, who
has been booking for the Salon for a couple of years,
the discussion was lively, even feisty at times.



And this was all before the second round robin,
where both poetry and tributes were read for
Prabakar, even by a friend of a friend who just
met him.




Keith Nystrom, co-documentor.







Kieth going super sleuth.


Like a ninja!




The break before the 2nd Round Robin.


Anthony Baldor is just as happy to see me
with a camera as most people are (not very).


Back to the circle.


Michael Mack in the audience. He did an impromptu
reading of a poem about his father which he was
able to have relate to Prabakar.




Ron reads the final poem of the night.


Back to the photos. Prabakar poes with Ron and
Gabrielle Fee and her mother Isabelle, both of
whom knew Prabakar from his day job as a doctor
and were indebted to him when Gabrielle was ill.




You pose enough for me, and inevitably, more
people want to join in.




Some other faces at the reading: Eric Howes.


And Sue Goba, co-master of the house.






Keith without camera. I hope he sends me the
photo he snuck with me behind Prabakar.


And Jade Sylvan.


Fact: Naming Jade Sylvan in your blog will
garner you 30 extra hits!


Prabakar signs a book for new friend Lynne Sticklor,
who couldn't be in the audience that night.


Nate Connors says goobye to this photo session.

Back!

Following my triumphant return from Nantucket, I got sick (again) and finally called to resolve my longstanding modem problem (finally). It's Saturday, and both problems seem to be resolved.

And with all my workload and the blizzard of doom for this year on it's way, all I want to do is watch Muppet Show episodes illegally loaded up on YouTube.

What A Rush!

Heading back home to do laundry, pack, and hopefully figure out my set list for Sunday.

I have been seven steps behind since coming back from Thanksgiving and my sick days from work. Now that the national training program I've been herding along since September is done, I'm only five steps short of getting things done.

Did I really think I was going to get any writing done today? Oy-vey.

Scenes From The Baby Chronicles Reading, November 30th, 2009

Michael E. Quigg with the books!

Insert old-school Zelda Triforce music.


Hey! Heeeey! It's Our Founder!

Jack Powers and Margaret wait and wonder
what the hell all this baby stuff is about?


Michael Monroe on the open mike.


Me, not Sam Teitel, Sam Teitel.


Steve Subrizi kicks the reading off.

Michael E. Quigg keeps it going.

Patrick never stops being Patrick. Bless him.

A recitation of "Sex Doll Baby Unicorn"

alone was worth showing up for.

Bill Barnum preps to close the night off.

Steve again, covering a poem from one of the absent

poets who covered Steve, who is also wondering

what the hell he started.

Billy closes it off. No baby poem.

It's Happening! Spoken Word Nantucket, December 13

I'll be taking the ferry in the afternoon on Saturday, December 12th. I'll be bringing my books (old and new) and hopefully some other goodies. A perfect way to end the poetry/performance part of my year.

Click here for more info if you're one of the fortunate who either lives there or can get there on a whim.

Chad Parenteau on Poet to Poet Writer to Writer SCAT Channel 3 Dec 15 3PM

The bio as it appears on Host Doug Holder's page is below. Actually, the bio is also on my main site, but I've edited it from the version he lifted, and the changes are included below. I am including the photo he used, though.

(That one's hard to find, BTW. Wondering how he found it and why he picked it!)

Visit the site here for more info on future shows.



Chad Parenteau was born in Woonsocket Rhode Island in 1973 and grew up in Bellingham, Massachusetts. Graduating high school in 1991, he entered Framingham State College and majored in English, learning poetry and prose writing from authors such as Alan Feldman and Miriam Levine and studying journalism under Desmond McCarthy. While volunteering for the college newspaper The Gatepost, he wrote articles, columns, and comic strips, serving his Junior and Senior years as the Comics Editor and Living/Arts Editor respectively.

A finalist for the Framingham State College Marjorie Sparrow Literary Award in 1993, Chad was active in campus literary groups, contributing to The Onyx, Framingham State College's literary journal (where he also served as a reader), and Life Underwater, an early literary effort by Boston-based writer, musician and journalist James O'Brien.

Moving to Boston in 1995, he obtained his MFA at Emerson College, studying with Bill Knott, Gail Mazur and John Skoyles. His involvement in the small press continued, publishing poetry in Meanie and Shampoo and profile pieces for Lollipop, Comics Interpreter and Whats Up. He was also an early contributor to Boston's Weekly Dig, focusing on artistic and activist groups and reporting as one of a the few print journalists present for the events during and after the 2000 presidential debate at UMass Boston.

In 2003, Chad self-published his first chapbook, Self-Portrait In Fire (based on his MFA thesis) and won a Cambridge Poetry Award. He continures to appear in numerous print and online publications, including anthologies such as French Connections: A Gathering of Franco-American Poets. In 2007, his poem "Moonlighting" was on display at Boston City Hall as part of The Mayor's Prose and Poetry Program. 2008 saw the publication of his third chapbook, Discarded: Poems for My Apartments from Cervena Barva Press.

Chad has featured in several venues, including Spoken Word Nantucket, the Fox Chase Reading Series in Philadelphia, the 17 Poets! Reading Series in New Orleans, and the Out of The Blue Art Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is the current host and organizer of Stone Soup Poetry, one of the longest-running weekly poetry venues in the state. His recent contribution to the reading series is creating and editing its online tribute journal Spoonful.

Chad continues to live and work in the Boston area. His current place of employment is the VA Hospital in Jamaica Plain. In addition to being a retinal imager for the Optometry department, he serves as Senior Imager for the Care Coordination Services Store and Forward Training Center, a national telemedicine program, and edits its bimonthly newsletter, Artifacts.

Is It Art?

This photo taken by fellow museum crawler Kelly Burke Decourte in an unused part of the MFA. I knew I could play with it later. So...I did.