37th Annual New Year's Day Marathon Reading at the The Poetry Project

Yesterday was the Marathon reading at the Poetry Project.

An excellent line-up as always. Loved John S. Hall's poem about facebook, and Erica Kaufman, Todd Colby and CA Conrad read work that really stood out for me as well.

I volunteered this year, worked the reader check-in table from 2-4. Then -- and this is huge -- I read between 4-5. I've never gotten up in front of such a large crowd. I had to take half a Xanax to calm my nerves, but I think I did a good job. (I read my poem, "like blanks in a spiritual system"). The Xanax tired me out, so by 9:30, after Patti Smith read a beautiful poem, I was about to crash and had to leave...

(I always buy poetry books at the Project on new year's. Yesterday I picked up Patti Smith's Auguries of Innocence and kari edwards' Bharat jiva.)