The History of Spilled Ink
or
How on Some Nights I Stopped Talking and Wrote Something Down
YEAR 8
WRITERS: BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE!
January 2022
1-14-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
9 writers help Spilled Ink celebrate our Seven-Year Anniversary!
John Cowgill – “Lady in the Passenger Seat,” “Stories of Heroes, #1,” and “The Great Adventures of
Sonny Lightfeet, #1”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger - Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Black Horse Gap”
Beverly Ann Bendekgey – Introduction to, “The Real Rules of Advancement” [Nonfiction Satire]
Lesley Tyson – “Between Courage and the Star,” “What’s Next?” and “Haunted”
Megan McDonald – “Black Cats,” “A Time to Look, Minimize,” “Oh, To Be in Spain”
Robert Fleming – “Black Widow Spider” and “A Winter Bear Bride”
Michael Crowley – “The Parrot Cries,” “The Sound of One Hand Clapping,” and “A-Muse-Ment
Parks”
“Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Read the Tea Leaves,” “A Logical Man,” and “Ready Eddy”
Me – “Under the Mask”
1-28-22
Spilled Ink
TIME CHANGE AT JIRANI’S! We are now 6:00PM to 8:00PM. We held two shows after a handful of people arrived around 7:00PM. Carmen Scales brought her family of five.
10 writers help Spilled Ink celebrate our Seven-Year Anniversary!
Me – “Faux Beach” and “A Harmless Obsession”
Morgan Hazelwood – “Catticus,” “Christmas 2021,” “Cat,” “Covid Days,” and “The Essence of
Poetry”
Brian Donnell James – “Roller Boy,” “Want,” and “Ole’ Smokey”
Alice Mergler – A Book Report, “After reading, Emily’s House”
John Cowgill – “Lady in the Passenger Seat” and “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #1”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Outline on a Horizon,” “She Hear My Emptiness,” “Self-Taught,” and
“Recording Changes”
Mike Higgin – “Healing,” “Mirrors,” “Dying to Live,” and “Famine of My Soul”
Leigh Renfrow – A short story, “The Girl, the Beast, and the Dear Man” and a poem, “Only Human”
Dwayne Cullins [First Timer] – MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
Carmen Scales [First Timer] – “Stop”
February 2022
2-11-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
Alice Mergler just listened.
Me – “What Do You Want to Be?”
Megan McDonald – “Cat Interruptus,” In Luminal Space,” and “Dancing Until Dreams End”
Michael Crowley – “I’d Like to Explain Some Things to My Cat,” “The Politics of Exclusion,” and
“Just Another Love Story”
Sandy O’Conner – “Peace” and “A Struggle”
Angela Dice Nguyen [First Timer] – Excerpt of her novel, “Dance Words”
Chrissy Chow [First Timer] – “All the Space Between”
Jada Ledbetter [First Timer] – “If I Wasn’t Busy Eating” and “What’s Wrong with Karens?
John Cowgill – “The Good Spilled Ink Man” and “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #2”
Robert Fleming – “Two Animals, Two Places” and “Lung Apple”
Dee Allen – “Blood and Soil” and “Bro Way” from his new book, Rusty Gallows.
Lesley Tyson – “Different Colored Dawns,” “Backwards,” and “Down Separate Rabbit Holes”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger - Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Rockfish Gap”
2-25-22
Spilled Ink
Art Schubart had to leave early.
Anant Dhavale – “Joan, Bob, and Ginsberg,” “Looking the Other Way,” and “Why Am I Not
Surprised”
Paulette Garner – “Move Boulders – The Power of Remembering”
Alice Mergler – “2-5-2020, Dear Olivia,” “After a Gift,” and “Bring It On”
Cameron Stopak – “Full Circle,” “Hey, Love, It’s Me,” and “On Those Nights”
Michael Sensale – “i-Dais,” Dead Men Leave No Trace,” and excerpts from “When Double Makes
Trouble”
Jim Boucher – “Aspiring Lady Liberty,” “Chamber of Renown,” and “There Abouts”
Jane Jones – “The Death Car”
Melnie Sussman (Student) [First Timer] – “I Want to Be,” Oh, Misses Moon,” and “Little Cat”
Milt Johns – “Madrid in the Morning” and “The City of Love”
Mike Higgins – “Three Pillars,” “What is Love,” and “The Auction Block”
Leigh Renfrow – “What is Love - Part 1,” “What is Love – Part 2,” “First Touch”
Gail Williams – “The Pop-Up Food Booth”
Grace Robinson [First Timer] – “Do What Ever Makes You Feel”
Wills D. Uan – “I Write This and That,” “Look Over There” and “In a Daze”
Brian Donnell James – “Infinite,” “Twins,” “Cradle Princess,” and “Artist”
John Cowgill - “A Ride in Her Caboose” and “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #2”
Morgan Hazelwood – “Grieving A Loss That Is Still Yet to Come”
Me – “The Break In”
March 2022
3-4-22
Spilled Ink Junior
Benton Middle School’s Story Slam [Memoirs]
11 readers [3 teachers and 8 students]
Teachers:
Barb Babauta – “Ms. America”
Robin Hilliard – “A Short Story Changed Me as a Person”
John Dutton – “The Break In”
Students:
Ellen-Sophia Kline – “Sparkling Cold Water”
Kristjan Agnarsson – “Playground Panic”
David Carson Nolan – “Boulder Down a Hill”
Peter Heaton – “Walking Up Amman, Jordan”
Tala Hashem – “Soda Sleepover”
Ikram Adani – “Echoing Matrix”
Leena Anderson – “Getting My Puppy”
Evelyn Karnbach – “Getting Lost in a Lake”
3-11-22
Spilled Ink EAST at Hector’s Mexican Restaurant in Tackett’s Mill.
The music was so loud that we struggled to hear the speakers five feet away from us. We even used a microphone and an amp. #CrashedandBurned
Alice Mergler – “Pride Goes Before the Fall” and “Walking the Boards of Neabsco Park”
Paulette Garner – “Betta (w/ Jamacian accent) then “Better (in English)” and “Day Interrupted”
Michael Sensale – “April Challenge (Pollen),” “Payback,” and “Kill Strike”
Michael Crowley – “What I Did Yesterday,” “Tabula Rasa,” and “The Poet Must Sail”
Mike Higgins – “My Friend,” “Look,” “Wheel Stone,” Wheel Stone,” and “Gift”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Spells of Ink,” “A Scrap of Seaweed and a Spray of Foam,” and “The
Grammar of Existence”
John Cowgill – “Field of Standing Stones” and “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #3”
Me – “One Lake Road, PWFP”
3-24-22
Coles Elementary School’s Literacy Night
Sandy O’Connor and I celebrate her first book with the students at Coles Elementary School. She first read it at Spilled Ink EAST, and all knew it was meant to be a book.
3-25-22
Spilled Ink
Paulette Garner – “Don’t Be Surprised” [Haiku Triplet] and “Influence”
Kimberly Ray – “Split in Two,” “You’ll Want to Sit Down for This,” and “Where Does It Lead?”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Dianah,” “A Smoke,” and “For Those Still Standing”
Anant Dhavale – “Nibbana – Unclaimed,” “Belongings,” and “A Seriously Cold Morning”
Brian Donnell James – “Hispanic Girl,” “Shy One,” and “The Hijab”
Cameron Stopak – “Death 202X” (THINK: Terminator’s Sarah Connor writes poetry)
Wayne Kline [First Timer] – “Binding the Mummies”
Leigh Renfrow – “Hope,” “Grief,” and “Fellow Traveler”
Mike Higgins – “Black Woman,” “Famine of My Soul,” “Eggshells,” and “Singularity of Shame”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger - Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Big Jack section of VA”
Morgan Hazelwood – “The City of Love,” “True Love,” “What is the Meaning of Me?” and “Ancient”
Arvinder Johri [First Timer] – “Green Wings” and “The Second Coming”
John Cowgill - “The Field of Standing Stones” and “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #3”
Gail Williams – “The Amissville Horror,” “I Guess I Have to Go: To Gail from Daddy,” and
“A Loss atop a Loss”
Michael Sensale – “By the Bay” and an excerpt from “Open Slay”
Melanie “Perfect Punctuation” Sussman – “My Dear,” “Blue Graves,” “Ask My Murderer to Stay”
John Donley – “Driving on Empty,” “Ripped,” and “Today”
Jim Boucher – “Chance Departed,” “Nativity Assembly,” and “Just Joseph”
Sharlene Thornton [First Timer] – “The Spot”
Alice Mergler – “History Catapults”
Wills D. Uan – “Pastel Blue,” “Careful Night,” and “Path of Optimism”
Me – “One Lake Road” (Updated)
4-8-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
Sandy O’Connor and Joy (from Boston, MA) listened.
Megan McDonald – “Can We Walk Outside and See the Moon?” “The Story Always Flows,” and
“Puzzles”
Lesley Tyson – “Halved Hypothetical Hypocrisy,” “Just When You Get the Ends to Meet,” and
“Forgery”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #3, #4, and #5”
Dee Allen – “In Exchange” and “Radiance”
Dottie Ward [First Timer] – “Unwritten,” “Rs Poetica,” and “Knowing”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger - Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Front Royal Station/Sky
Meadows”
Alice Mergler – “You Gotta Love a Marsh”
Paulette Garner – Borrowed from Mr. Antrobu’s “On (Subjective) Success” and “Chocolate and You”
Wendell Hawkens [First Timer] – “Concept of a Chicken”
Me – “My Cell Phone” (free verse) and “Chicks” (haiku)
4-22-22
Spilled Ink
22 readers!
Many listeners! [Rebecca Maynard and Allie Zebrowski were two]
Alice Mergler – “Finishers Needed”
E’loise Wallace – “Wishing, Waiting, and Hoping”
Cameron Stopak – “One Sick Verse for the Dead Pavement Fan”
Eric Kellum [First Timer] – “Mid Life Christ Is”
Anant Dhavale – “Divided, That’s How We Stand,” “A Midnight Sonata,” and “Abode”
Jeff Mayhugh [First Timer] – “Congressman or Complainer” and “Citizen Robinson”
*Citizen Robinson buried the dead at night at the 1st Battle of Bull Run
Robbie “Rise” Krieger - Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Empty Tomb of Gath”
Melanie “Perfect Punctuation” Sussman – “The Oddity of Sadness,” “What’s It Like to Mourn,” and
“Still”
Wills D. Uan – “What Makes a Complete Birthday?” “Taurus,” and “The Atmospheric Experience”
Sharlene Thornton – “The American Inn” and “The Hiker”
Mike Higgins – “Knew Love,” “First Time,” “Indigo Man,” and “A Single Grain”
Gail Williams – “Why I Don’t Know Football”
Brian Donnell James – “The Billiard’s Player, 1935” and “Norma Rae”
Michael Sensale – “Bear-Faced Murder, part 1”
Jim Boucher – “Trees,” “Spring is Sprung,” and “Springtime Quotation from the novel, My Antonia”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #4 and #5”
Morgan Hazelwood – A children’s story, “Moon Tree, Star Tree”
Leigh Renfrow – A short story by 15-year-old son, “Just Another Day”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Decisions and Goals,” “Prayers,” and “The Child”
Me – A haiku, “Chicks”
5-13-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
Beverly B and Alice Mergler listened.
Robert Fleming – “Grasshopper” and “Charlie Brown’s Mondo Teacher”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #6” and “Lily of the Valley”
Lesley Tyson – “It Was Supposed to be Fog,” “Egg,” and “Sleeping Place”
Megan McDonald – “Universal Kaleidoscope,” “Redundant,” and “The Other Side of My Future”
Michael Crowley – “Broken,” “I Must Judge,” and “Good Night Baby”
Cathy Hailey – “Living Underground”
Beverley Ann Bendekgey – “Mistaken Identity” and “Ride’m Cowboy”
Katherine Gotthardt – “Kitchen Scene” and “Being a Tree”
Sandy O’Connor – “Emboldened” and “Sa’sha, My Dog”
Nancy Wyatt [First Timer] – “I Want to Staple My Drooping Eyelids,” “Our History is Like Two
Continents,” and “I Love Rodney Yee”
Michael Sensale – The first three levels of “The Nine Levels of Publishing Hell” (Concept, Draft, and
Edit”
Me – “Coffeehouse Poet”
“Spilled Ink: We Be the Is!”
~Sonny Lightfeet
5-27-22
Spilled Ink
ALICE MERGLER SAVES THE DAY!
SPILLED INK
HAS BEEN MOVED FOR THE NIGHT!
The owner of Jirani called me at 4:22 today and informed me he is closing Jirani's Coffeehouse immediately due to the barista getting sick.
Thinking on the fly: We are going to do a HYBRID. If you show up, we are going to go to Alice Mergler's house. Her address is 9132 Grant Avenue. It is five minutes from Jirani's.
Here is the link to the ZOOM if you want to participate from home:
John Dutton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Spilled Ink Special Edition
Time: May 27, 2022 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Alice Mergler, “I hope I have time to vacuum!”
12 speakers and 5 listeners (Joy, Brittany, Michelle Ann, Marcelos, and Mark)!
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “What Must Come First,” “The Call 2,” “Morning Routine,” and “The
Child”
Alice Mergler - “Behind the Front Cover”
Dottie Ward [First Timer] – “I Still Love to Iron Because” and “Revolution”
Bill Salamone [First Timer] – How Much Is Enough?” (Written that night for his girlfriend, Michelle)
Kimberly Ray – “Rewire the Circuitry”
Joseph Hickey – “The End of All Music” and “Song of a Broken Soul”
Katherine Gotthardt – “Flowering”
Paulette Garner – “Don’t Be Surprised” (A Triple Haiku) and “House Guests, part 1”
John Cowgill – “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #6” and “Lily of the Valley”
Cathy Hailey – “Echoes”
Lois Montgomery [First Timer] – “The True Wisdom of the Owl”
Me – “Coffeehouse Poet”
WE BE THE IS!
6-10-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
Sandy O’Connor listened.
Nancy Ayanna Wyatt – “Night Visions” and “Reader’s Digest”
Megan McDonald – “Violescent Wind” and “Poetry is Where the Pen Goes”
Joy from Boston – “TuMi”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Read Between the Lines,” “Winter is Coming,” “Short Poem,” “Strike
the Match”
Robert Fleming – “When You Achoo” (Haiku)
Beverly Ann Bendekgey – An excerpt from, “In Pursuit”
Katherine Gotthardt – “Retract” and “Backyard”
Lesley Tyson – “Story in Pieces,” “Backward,” and “Repair”
Michael Crowley – “The Old Man Dreams,” “The Clock,” “Haiku 21,” and “If You Can Read My
Mind”
John Cowgill – “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #7” and “Moldy Socks and the 3 Bears”
Dottie Ward – “Lesson #1” and “Why?”
Michael Sensale – The middle three levels of “The Nine Levels of Publishing Hell” (Publicize,
Serialize, and Revise)
Ruth Matthews – Excerpt from the novel starring Leroy and Melvina, “Dangerous Love” (Melvina and
Maymay are at Mrs. Cotton’s house)
Me – “The Smile Before the Door”
6-24-22
Spilled Ink
Jirani’s Coffeehouse has a new Barista, so we are back in business!
Maira Amin [First Timer] [Student at Gainesville HS] – “Burning House”
Eric Kellum – Three Haiku: “A Daddy’s Hug,” “Holding Grudges,” and “Hey, America”
Alice Mergler – “Becoming an Author”
Paulette Garner – (Haiku) “No Going Back” and “A Grateful Heart”
Kathleen Kinsolving [First Timer] – “Bobby’s Mother,” “the Promise,” and “What Makes a Martyr”
Artik – “I Don’t Watch,” “We See You,” “And So We Wait,” and “Beauty Unexpected”
Anant Dhavale – “The Low Rumble of Time”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #7” and “Moldy Socks and the 3 Bears”
Mike Higgins – “Unattended,” “Intimacy,” “November Love,” and “Life Story”
Leigh Renfrow – “Balance,” “Brave,” and “Beach”
Brian Donnell James – “Kakuma” and “Istanbul Dream”
Gail Williams – “The Last Fight” and “What Do I Call That?”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Well Polished Prayer,” “Note from a Father,” and “Marmalade
Miracles”
Michael Sensale – “Bear-Faced Murder, part 2”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger – Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Pine Grove Furnace, PA.”
Me – “Coffeehouse Poet”
SOULS DRIPPING INTO THE MICROPHONE.
~Alice Mergler
ABANDONED ART IS ART NONE THE LESS.
~Anant Dhavale
7-8-22
No Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid] because Jack and I went to Wisconsin to visit my mother for a week.
7-22-22
Spilled Ink @ Jirani’s Coffeehouse
ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS EVER! 21 people performed!
Saida (Sigh-Duh) Rodriquez [First Timer] – “The Month of May”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #8 and #9”
Morgan Hazelwood – “Bedside Knitting,” “Executive Dysfunction,” and “My Love is the Night”
Kim B. Miller – (All Haiku) “Strong Women,” “Just Because they’re in Your Nest,” “You Cannot
Divide Yourself,” “Gold Digger,” and “Grief Counseling, Parts 1 and 2”
Wills D. Uan – “Lemon,” “The Pen is My Weapon,” and “Take One Step”
Jim Boucher – (All Haiku) “Kindred Moments,” “Orangery,” and “Traverse”
Brian Donnell James – “Ode to Arline,” “Guardian,” and “Desolate Shore”
Michael Sensale – Parts 1 to 3 of “Missing in Action”
Mike Higgins – “Respect,” “Killdeer,” “New to Me,” “Snow Drifting,” and “Stay in Our Light”
Dottie Ward-Wimmer [First Timer] – “After the Fall,” “Pink Ink,” and “Silly but True”
Deirdre McSorley – “The Air I Breathe with the Trees” and “Beyond Any Cost/My Heart Remains”
The second one was three poems made from two poems!
Jim Slater [First Timer] – The introduction to his book, “Storytelling from Boyhood and Beyond”
Dave Martin – “Stations of the Cross” and “The Pisces Male”
Andie Martin – “I Write This as a Teacher” (nonfiction)
Brittany Anderson [First Timer] – “Hurricane” and “Useless Information”
Alice Mergler – “It’s Time”
Louis Mateus – “Thief of Moments,” “Virginia,” and “My Sprints Up Towards the Present”
Anant Dhavale – “A Mid-noon Visit to the Westminster Cathedral,” “Run, Run, Run,” and “Nibbana,
Unclaimed”
Leigh Renfrow – “My Happiness”
Maira (Ma-re-ah) Amin – “Rules of Being an Object,” “Power,” and “The Topic Unknown”
Me – “Do Not Bury Me in the Ground”
8-12-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
Alice Mergler and Natalia Escobar (Will’s friend) listened. Sandy O’Connor listened due to computer issues. She wanted to read, “Ramblings in My Neighborhood.”
Megan McDonald – “Elegy for Raku,” “Blue in Green,” and “Cooper Blue Kintsugi”
Lesley Tyson – “At Which Point,” “Sorting Words,” and “Imagined Rain”
Junior McIntryre [First Timer] – “Where the Heart Goes” and “Not a Soul in Sight”
Wills D. Uan – “My Mistake,” “Path of Optimism,” and “Sunny Day”
Tom “Dr. Love” Burson – “A Well-Polished Pair,” “My Teacher,” and “I Don’t Want to be Good”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #8, #9, #10, and #11”
Eric Kellum – [First Time at SI East] – “Dream House” and “To Whom It May Not Concern”
Me – “Do Not Bury Me in the Ground” and “Weekend Getaway”
8-26-22
Spilled Ink @ Jirani’s Coffeehouse
20 people performed!
Saida Rodriquez – “Family Dinner,” Explaining the Inexplicable,” “Voice for My Little One”
Jim Boucher – Three Haiku poems [No titles; I was late]
Jim Slater [First Timer] – Excerpt from his book, “Storytelling from Boyhood and Beyond”
Wills D. Uan – “Sunny Day,” “Lip Balm,” and “Fly Away”
Michael Sensale – “Literacy Liquor Cabinet”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “First Lesson,” “All Under Control,” and “Marmalade Miracles”
Morgan Hazelwood – “An Evening’s Walk,” “No Matter What the Season,” and “My Love, My Dove”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger – Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Out of Yellow Springs
Village”
Gail Williams – “Please Tell Me There is Hope for Our Kids”
Brittany Anderson – “Snowfall,” “New Arrivals,” and “Breathe”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #10 and #11”
Kim B. Miller – “I’m Tired,” “Poetry Is,” and “Frozen Lakes”
Brian Donnell James – “Reflections of the South” and “The Quiet Men”
Evelyn Karnbach [First Timer] [Benton Student] – “Fine” and “The Light at the End of the Tunnel”
Eric Kellum – “The Power Struggle of a Superhero”
Jess Nicole Ulrich [First Timer] – “I Don’t Want You to Come Back,” “Our Secrets,” and “Change”
Anant Dhavale – “Everything Too Sets,” “Belongings,” and “One Step at a Time”
Cameron Stopak – “Life’s Not a Game,” “Green Screens,” and “Down on My Luck”
Louis Mateus – “Brief Topic of Conversation,” “Visit to Emily Dickinson,” “Chrysalis,” and
“Resolution”
Maddie Mathers [First Timer] [Benton Student] – Chapter 1 of her novel, “Daydreams”
9-9-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
9:00 PM start - It was a late start; Elise was out of town, and Brooke had softball practice.
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #12 and #13” WE BE THE IS!
Joy from Boston – “Scents” and “Bragg Peak vs the Great Pacific Garbage Patch”
Sandy O’Connor – “Ramblings in My Neighborhood”
Beverly Ann Bendekgey – “The Haunted Heart”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “June Returns” and “Sips”
Me – “That Damn Cat”
9-11-22
Spilled Ink at Arts Alive
19 people performed!
Jim Slater – Continuing from his book on his boyhood, “Great Surprises”
Michael Sensale – “Contemporary Writer,” and “Back to School”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger – Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Bake Oven Knob”
Gail Williams – “Bird Song,” “Hot Peppers,” and “What Would Daddy Do?”
John Cowgill – “Great Feast of Valton,” and “Meet Me at the Waterpark”
Kim B. Miller – [All Haiku] “Strong Woman,” “Dear People,” and “Glow Stick”
Mary Rook – “Birds on a Wire” and “Called to be a Mom”
Katherine Gotthardt – “Artist” and “Backyard”
Brian Donnell James – “Dear Brother John,” “The Hispanic Girl,” and “The Park Dwellers”
Alice Mergler – “No Two Poems Are Alike in the Making,” “On That Day, 9-11-01,” “You Got to
Love a Marsh,” and “Good Night, Sweet Prince”
Kimberly Ray – I read her poem, “Timepieces Have Reversed”
Paulette Garner – “Chocolate and You”
Rick Clark [First Timer] – “Hanging Laundry in Early Spring”
Cathy Hailey – “Under the Sun,” “Sun Drenched,” “Falling Rose,” and “Romance Remembered”
Maira Amin [Gainesville HS Student] – “Power,” “Address Me as Such,” and “The Voice”
Rachel Kutner [First Timer] [Marstellar MS Student] – “I Kissed a Boy Once” [Monologue from the
play, “Tomorrow’s Wish”]
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Short Poem,” “Rip Trippin’,” and “Buy Out”
Darilyn Gould [First Timer] – “East Berlin”
Me – “That Damn Cat,” “Obstacles,” and “Midnight Poet”
9-23-22
Spilled Ink @ Jirani’s Coffeehouse
22 people performed!
Paulette Garner – “Spreading Memories of Love,” “Please Let Me Pass,” and “To Catch a Thought”
Deborah Hundley [First Timer] – “Time”
Jess Ulrich – “Seasons of Our Love” and a writing from her mom from 1979, “I Love You Now”
Eloise Wallace – “Upside Down,” “Inside Out” and “Turned Around”
Dottie Ward-Wimmer – “Nana”
Alice Mergler – “The Path”
Thomas “Dr Love” Burson – “My Soul’s Ghosts,” “At Home Waiting,” “Birthday Card,” and “Purple
Hippopotamus”
Wills D Uan – “Dreamy,” “Cardigans,” and “Growing Up”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger – Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Wet Tent”
Danielle Brooks [First Timer] – “Metamorphosis”
Chanice Withers [First Timer] – “Who Am I?” and “Grandpa”
Gail Williams – “How to Accept an Offer”
Morgan Hazelwood – “September” and “Some Dream of Worlds”
John Cowgill - “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #12 and #13” WE BE THE IS!
Brian Donnell James – “A Soldier’s Prayer” and “Testimony”
Kenya Tibbs [First Timer] – “Little Blue House” and “Twisted Dance”
Mike Higgins – “First Time,” “Trisomy,” “Waking Dream,” and “Salt and Water”
Maddie Mathers [Benton Student] – Chapters 2 and 3 of her novel, “Daydreams”
Amelia Stamp [Benton Student] – Chapters 1 and 2 of her novel, “Bailey Against Death”
Dave Martin – “The Quest of Elisheba” and “Montgomery”
Brittany Anderson – “Bliss” and “The Kind of Man”
Michael Sensale – “A Carlin Introduction” and an excerpt from his Open Slay novel, “Dec. 17th”
Mary Rook - An excerpt from her “Almost Human” novel, “The ship is ready, but I am not”
Me – “A Harmless Obsession”
10-14-22
Spilled Ink EAST [Hybrid]
Alice Mergler just listened tonight.
Michael Sensale – “A excerpt from the Night Shade Files: Kill Strike,” “Sentience,” and two riders
from “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” [Red Rider and White Rider]
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “On Reading,” “Morning Routine,” “Book on Roof,” “First Lesson,” and
“How to Hold Sunshine”
Cathy Hailey – “Looking Forward and Looking Back” and “Hurricane Camille 1969”
Joy from Boston – “Roses ‘n Blue”
Robert Fleming – “Voyageur,” “Memories of Southern California,” and “Blackout”
Michael Crowley – “Hamlet” [A new twist on the Pied Piper]
John Cowgill – “The Great Vampire of Oles” and “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #14”
WE BE THE IS!
Me – “Home” and “My Editor, Alice”
10-28-22
Spilled Ink @ Jirani’s Coffeehouse
20 speakers performed! We almost made it on time, but Alice Mergler pontificated!
Brittany Anderson taught us that Bacon Roses are a symbol for friendship turning into love.
Alice Mergler – “My Dad Whistled”
Chanice Withers – “Returning” and “Mountaintop”
Michael Sensale – Chapters 11 – 13 of his novel, “The Knight Shade Files: Head Hunt”
Cameron Stopak – “October 2022 Medley”
Maddie Mathers [Benton Student] – Chapter 4 of her novel, “Daydreams”
Dave Martin – “Tarmac Delay” and “Dance, Mud Turtles, Dance”
Morgan Hazelwood – “Twas the Week Before NaNo” and “NaNo is Coming”
Brittany Anderson – “Rhymes with Orange,” “Xenophobia” “The Foundation Matters” and
“Maybe This Is How”
Brooke Linville [First Timer] – “Dear Clarence Thomas”
Robbie “Rise” Krieger – Continuing Epic Poem on the Appalachian Trail, “Murray Property”
John Cowgill – “The Great Vampire of Oles” and “The Great Adventures of Sonny Lightfeet, #14
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Problem Solving,” “Another Face,” “Place,” and “Predecessor”
Wills D. Uan – “Brain Power,” “For My Madness,” and “Creation”
Dottie Ward-Wimmer – “Precious Raven” and “Mirror”
Leigh Renfrow – “Happiness,” “Tightrope,” and “Broken but Together”
Mike Higgins – “Death Shadow,” “Dichotomy,” “Distractions,” and “DNR” (Do Not Resuscitate)
Louis Mateus – “Keep Your Crime to the Small Time,” “I Can’t Find the Grave,” “One of Your
Songs,” and “Short Story”
Gail Williams – “We Were about to Get Busy When…”
Brian Donnell Williams – “Sweet Tones, Somber Tones” and a poem by Anita Scott Coleman,
“Portrature”
Me – “Special Places” and “Dodge Poetry Festival 2022”
11-11-22
We attempted to have Spilled Ink East at Open Space Arts in Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, but the acoustics and the internet connection were both terrible.
Live:
Alice Mergler – “The Folds of Honor”
Paulette Garner – “Turtles Just Want to Have Fun”
Myself - Me – “The Long Summer” [Winner of the Golden Nib for Nonfiction 2022]
Zoom:
Mike Crowley - “Horror in Hamlet” [A new twist on the Pied Piper, Part 2]
Sandy O’Connor – “Sasha” [Her dog]
Dee Allen – “To Clean Canvas” and “Ode to Vincent Price”
11-25-22
Spilled Ink @ Jirani’s Coffeehouse
The day after Thanksgiving. I am sure that some have not left the dinner table!
Lucy Koons – “Jet Lag”
Melanie Sussman – “As Death Does,” “Wilting,” “My Heart To You,” and “The Death of Reality”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “What Will You Carry to Bed?” “A Rake,” “Love Never Dies,” and
“The Devil Is”
Kathleen Kinsolving – “March 1978”
Maddie Mathers [Student at Benton MS] – “Life Eternal” This was inspired by the song, Life Eternal,
by Ghost
Kimberly Ray – “Tossed Asides,” “Under the Covers,” and “Gray Man”
Maira (Myra) Amin - “I Hope You Dance” and “What is Anger”
Dave Martin – “The First Lady’s Cancer” and “A Cat is Like a Tree”
Andie Martin & Taylor Broset [Two elementary school teachers] – “True Stories from the Classroom”
Michael Crowley – “Staring Down the Stars,” “Black,” and “Daily To-Do List”
Me – “The Long Summer” [Winner of the Golden Nib for Nonfiction 2022]
12-9-22
Spilled Ink East was on Zoom only.
Zoom recording error, so I have no titles.
Alice Mergler (just listened)
Lesley Tyson
Megan McDonald
Leigh Renfrow
Mike Higgins
Joy from Boston
Me – “Walking My Human”
12-23-22
Spilled Ink was on Zoom only.
Alice hosted a few people at her house: John Cowgill, Mary Rook, and Mary’s mother. Gail Williams just listened.
Alice Mergler – “Sweet Memories” and “There is No Way to Hold Back an Eagle”
John Cowgill – “A Special Christmas Presence” and “The Christmas Train Ride”
Lesley Tyson – “I Found Darkness,” “Angel Heart,” and “Stars and Darkness”
Megan McDonald – “In the Season of Reining Deer,” “All Stars Sing,” and “Rain in the Desert”
Mary Rook – Excerpt from her YA book entitled, “Almost Human” [Day 1, I Can Do This]
Sandy O’Connor – “Ramblings from My Neighborhood”
Thomas “Dr. Love” Burson – “Christmas Tapestry,” “I Remember After the Hayride,” and
“Just When You Thought You’d Lost Forever”
Robert Fleming – “Elf Emergency” and “Santa Sleigh Uber”
Michael Crowley – [Christmas Songs] “North Pole Party,” “I Went to the Well,” and “Space Santa”
Kimberly Ray – “Where Have All the People Gone?”
Paulette Garner – “Where in the World” and “Fall Leaves”
Beverly Ann Bendekgey – “Winter’s Pace”
Wendell Hawken – “Reading Whistle-la” [Ode to a Lonestar Tick]
Tony Atkinson – “Hear the Music of Flutes and Strings” and “Scrooge’s Christmas Jig”
Kris Heaton – “The Dust that Commanded”
Me – “A Visit from Saint Verner”
