Happy Birthday, Bassma Habal

 

 

Ronald "Wayne" Nickerson (1949-2021)

This is one of the earliest surviving photos I ever took of the man whose eulogy named him Ronald "Wayne" Nickerson, though he was known to the Out of the Blue Art Gallery Cambridge crowd as R. Wayne or simply Wayne. I called him "R."

Thirty Days of Stone Soup Stuff

 

Years ago, Lynne Sticklor and I stopped being friends on Facebook. As a result, I don't get reminders of photos like these.

This picture was from when she was part of Lee Litif and Chris Robbin's back up band during their 2011 feature.  Might have been the last nice time we enjoyed together. 

Hopefully, there will be happier posts as we close out May. 

The Curse of Lee Litif

Lee Litif and Bassam Habal, 2010

Part One

In last week's post, I talked about why I allowed Lee Litif to feature at Stone Soup for so many years. I left out one big reason.

You might think that Lee Litif featuring at Stone Soup, penis paraphernalia and all, holding a dildo gunslinger style, is a bad idea. However, there's an even worse idea. Refusing to feature him.

I've learned it's bad luck.

Thirty Days of Stone Soup Stuff

 

 

A never-before posted photo of Ryan "Rat" Travis on the open mic before Lee Litif and Chris Robbins' final feature at the Fifth and Sixth Horsemen, which I'm looking into before I post my next Lee Litif post.

Happy Birthday, Bassam Habal

Lee Litif's performing pulse.

Thirty Days of Stone Soup Stuff

I thought I had at least one more show of Lee Litif and Chris Robbins performing. I think what happened is I started processing their 2010 show but then stopped when I made an error in the video. Between that and switching to a new computer and movie making software really threw me off my game. Let's see what I can do about that.

 

Defending Lee Litif

Most poets I know don't want to talk about Lee Litif. I'm going to talk (or at least write) about Lee Litif to anyone who wants to pay attention.

There are two types of Stone Soup audience members. The first group is comprised of people asking why I featured Lee Litif for so many years. The other group is made up of Lee's friends who likely think I treated him badly.

Thirty Days of Stone Soup Stuff

 

 

This is the front and back cover to Hippie Misfits and Montezuma's Revenging Televisions, a Lee Litif chapbook from one of the Stone Soup features I hosted. I am ashamed I don't know the exact year. To be fair, the chapbook gives no clues either.

Lee is a polarizing figure in the Boston poetry world. But while he was active, you couldn't have Stone Soup without him in some way. The universe wouldn't let you. I'm going to write a bit more about that in the coming week. 

Thirty Days of Stone Soup Stuff

 

I found this on Amazon. It's a cover to a chapbook created by Stone Soup's own Lee Litif. The title seems to be "the spiritual undecipherable earth." Someone tried to sell this (and possibly succeeded?) on Amazon. 

It's funny that the almost anti-internet Lee Litif is listed as an author on the site, and clicking his author link has led to other discoveries. 

On the other hand, it angers me that poetry collections that brought no money to their creators might earn others untold money in the ridiculous "collector's market." 

However much of a phenom that is, I working to stop it.

Happy Birthday Lee Litif

Happy Birthday Bassam Habal

Best intro giver and guitarist Lee Litif ever had.

 

 

Stone Soup Poetry Presents Lee Litif

Filmed by Bill Perrault on May 1, 2011. Lee Litif performed for Stone Soup Poetry's fortieth anniversary at the International Community Church. It also served as a wake for Stone Soup's founder Jack Powers, who passed away on October 14, 2010.

Happy Belated Birthday Lee Litif

Happy Birthday Lee Litif

Happy Birthday Lee Litif

Stone Soup Croutons, 11-7-16, Canvass

Stone Soup Croutons is a weekly poem I write using lines and impressions picked up from poems overheard from Stone Soup's open mic readers and features. I figure out a title (and sometimes the rest of the poem) later. If it's the week of the presidential election and it's going to be my last Stone Soup Croutons poem for a while, well...

This past Saturday (and to a much smaller audience this past Monday), I made the announcement that I am putting Stone Soup Poetry on hiatus. It was an announcement made to a small but loyal group, so of my most faithful, which made it hurt a little.

Therefore, the week already started as an emotional one before the results of Tuesday. It didn't add much to my later editing of the poem, though  trepidation permeated my thoughts way before the electoral map turned all bloody. I finally tacked the last words on early this morning. And I even added a Lee Litif reference, because I'm a bit of a smart ass post-depression.

This poem is it is it for now. You can find the rest of my series here. Will I add a closing poem later this year? That depends if I have one more Stone Soup this year, and whether or not that happens if anyone's guess, including mine. Thank you for reading this, and thanks to everyone who attended, read, and featured at Stone Soup at all over the last ten-plus years.


Canvass

Down on Pearl Street
balls of fire fury back and forth
in search of a single piece of evidence
of the neighborhood's namesake.

"Once Upon a Past," A Poem by Navah The Buddaphliii

Musical accompaniment by Michael Ponzak. From the poet's feature on Monday, May 16, 2016 at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



And the same night Lee Litif featured! Who says miracles don't happen?

People I Want to See Tonight at Stone Soup

Toni Bee

It will be great to see her tonight if she can make it, especially in light of an announcement I hope to make tomorrow.

Lee Litif

 

Er...ah...On second thought I can give it another month.


Last time I make this joke, I promise.
 

People I Want to See Tonight at Stone Soup

Lewis Reginald Morris

It was great to hear his new work at the Elephant release party. We've talked about him coming back. Be nice if he stopped in.

C.C. Arshagra

He featured last week, but hey, why not?

Lee Litif

On second thought, no. It's only been three weeks since he featured. I'm good for a little while longer.