Two days of poetry (part 2): St. John Fisher College

Following a fun afternoon of poetry in Avon, NY (see part 1), I headed to St. John Fisher college in Rochester, NY, for the May edition of the Rochester Poets reading series. I was one of two featured poets, the other being my friend Matt Smythe.

Matt and I both went to high school in Canandaigua, NY, a picturesque town about 40 minutes from Rochester. The town sits on one end of Canandaigua Lake, with Naples at the other. Matt graduated in 1990 and I escaped the following year. We never hung around in high school, although we each knew the other existed, and we had some friends in common. We both left town after graduating and didn’t see each other again for more than 15 years.

In 2008, our mutual friend Travis Nixon died after a long battle with cancer. He was 36 years old. Travis owned the gift and game shop Coyote’s Den in Canandaigua and served on the city council. He was beloved by the community, and people of all ages were at his funeral. Matt and I were among them, and we talked for a few minutes after the funeral. Matt had spent nearly a decade in the Army, then ended up getting an advanced degree in literature with a focus on poetry. Not long after, I sent Matt an early version of the manuscript for Unexpected Sunlight.

Sending out a manuscript to other poets is a tricky business. For the most part, in my experience, you’ll get no comments at all. Occasionally you’ll get a short note. If you’re very lucky, you’ll get what I received from Matt – detailed, poem by poem, line by line analysis of the manuscript with suggestions and comments. Matt’s careful eye made the manuscript much better than it would have been, a fact for which I’ll be forever grateful.

Fast-forward to 2010. By some freak of publishing fate, the lovely folks at FootHills Publishing decided to risk the complete collapse of their 25-year-old press by putting out Unexpected Sunlight. That meant it was time for me to start organizing readings wherever I could. And although I’d lived in Rochester from 2000-2007, I’d been completely inactive in the poetry scene. The two names I knew were Frank Judge and Writers & Books. I contacted both about doing a feature reading, and Frank responded to say he had a slot in two weeks and could I make it? I accepted and requested that it be a co-feature for Matt and me.

And so on Wednesday, May 5, a group of about 30 people gathered in the Hughes Rotunda of the Wilson Education Building at St. John Fisher College. Several of the attendees had never been to a poetry reading. A friend was there whom I’d last seen her in 1991. Two of my sister’s friends were there (huzzah!) as were many other friends from my years in Rochester. Thanks to everyone who attended. It was wonderful to have you all there.

The reading itself was a lot of fun. Matt and I asked Frank to call us both up to the front of the room so we could flip a coin to see who would go first. My side of the coin came up and I led off. I read a mix of poems from Unexpected Sunlight and some newer poems, too. I also read two poems of Matt’s (“Stoplight Red” and “The Air On Bourbon”), because we’d decided in advance to each read the other’s work. I love Matt’s writing and enjoy reading it aloud even more.

Matt followed me with a strong set, some of which came from his master’s thesis, a book-length collection called All Water. Matt is passionate about music and fishing and human relationships, all of which comes through in his work. As I mentioned, he also spent eight years in the military, and his experiences certainly inform his writing. Matt read two of my poems, too – “Come with me, Shelby” and “Lottery.”

All in all, a rewarding evening of poetry, surrounded by friends and fellow poets. And I don’t think it will be the last time Matt and I work together. Stay tuned!

Coming up in part 3: I was the guest speaker in two classes at Monroe Community College on May 6. It was a transformative experience. Read part 3.

Thanks to Rome Celli for the photos used in this story.