The History of Spilled Ink
or
How on Some Nights I Stopped Talking and Wrote Something Down
YEAR 2
January 2016
January 22, 2016: Cancelled due to the Blizzard of 2016!
Moved to the 29th
INSPIRED FROM ONE OF MY FAVORITE POEMS:
Do not stand in my classroom and weep
I am not there; I am shoveling snow and sleet.
I am a thousand snowflakes that blow,
I am the glints of frost on your car’s window,
I am the sun hidden from view,
I am the germs spreading the flu.
When you awaken in the morning's slush,
I am the ashamed superintendent’s blush
Upon seeing skidding busses in circled plight.
I am the outraged parents just after morning’s light.
Do not stand in my classroom and cry,
I am not there; I am stuck in traffic and wondering, “Why?”
~JOHN DUTTON
1-29-16
[5 people]
Gail Williams – Excerpt from Book 2 of Dakota Trilogy: "Alice"
John Cowgill – “Jane”
Faith and her mother, Amy Stilwell
Me
February 2016
[24 people]
Michelle and Melissa Scott
James Moore
Rayval Moore
Ted Bull
Sarah Ann Winn
Gail Williams
Carol Covin
Bill West [Beville]
John Cowgill
Lubna Azmi
Murceler Kabin
Zaakie Fofana
Brynn Bears
Sophia Thompson
Destiny Frazier
Rachel Francis
Dennis Fargo
Colleen LaMay
Ellennita Hellmer
Dushawn Allen
Susan Sinclair
Dave Feser
Me
March 2016
WE ARE RELOCATING TO A NEW VENUE NEXT MONTH!
I know the 29th is technically the 5th Friday; however, that is what date Jirani Coffee House booked us, so we are going to go with it! Spilled Ink is now April 29th, 2016.
Sorry for any confusion!
[14 people]
Dan Verner
Deena Westenhofer
Peggy Sutherland
John Cowgill
Heather Stevens
Carol Covin
Gail Williams
Michelle Scott
Tayval Moore
James Moore
Garrett Carlson
Rachel Burger
Becks Dawson Sova (?)
Me
(?) = Not sure on the spelling
April 2016
4-29-16
[12 people] Victor Rook, Garrett Carlson, and Paulette Gardner listened J
Robert Scott – “AA”
Michael Sensale – “Bookstores”
Steve Curran – “Pain is Timeless”
Alice Mergler – “Judging a Dance Contest”
John Cowgill – “Mother Goose”
Dan Verner – “R.S.V.P.s”
Gail Williams – Excerpt from “Seeds of Graceton” [Book 1 of the Dakota trilogy]
Kathy Smaltz – “Near to Happy” and “Living in This House”
Tom Basham – “Doubt”
Eric Whitescarver – “Pictures and Promises”
Michaela Reilly – “Lamea” [poem]
Me
Saturday, 4-30-16, Spilled Ink, Jr. [Rising Writers’ Workshop]
[17 people]
Me - “Home Work Excuse”
Yeleni Lopez – “Van Gogh trait writing”
Andie Martin – “Contacts for Her Eyes”
Dashawn Allen – “Time Will Tell” and “School Days”
Gabriela Morales – “The Mistake” and “Hidden Deep Inside”
Rayval Moore – “Divorce”
Tyler Danzy – “66426”
Sergio Nolasco – “Goals”
Jasmine Kerns – “Expressions”
Chris Appiah – “My New Life”
Aubrey Venteicher-Shulman – “Cold” [Her Tundra Adventure]J
Dioma Ogwara – “New Life”
September Craddock – “The Color, Black”
Garrett Carlson (Teacher) – “Depressed”
Will (Presenter) – “Istanbul” Haiku poetry booklet
Madison Tempest – “The Norelco 2600” (phone connecting families during war)
Ashely from Golden Fleece Press, an online literature magazine – “A Blog post”
https://goldenfleecepress.com/submissions/
May 2016
[15 people] Belinda and Gary Miller, Cathy and David Moya, and Carin Elliott listenedJ
A Review by Dan Verner
We had a fantastic time at Spilled Ink last night. I told John Dutton that the previous month's meeting, which featured twelve writers and lasted two hours, was a tipping point for the event. This time, I felt like we reached critical mass with fifteen writers reading their work, taking two and a half hours! Whoo! Give it up for John Dutton who started Spilled Ink a couple of years ago with three or four writers.
I wanted to list the readers from last night and say a little something about what they read. (I might not have listed everything that was read or gotten some things wrong. Please let me know if I did and I'll correct it. Thanks!)
Last night's readers were:
John Dutton, kicking it off with some incredibly funny poetry about SOL testing.
Dan Verner [You did read, so do not forget to give yourself credit! J]
“Arlington Burial Poem” WOW!
“The Cats Are Going to Spilled Ink”
“Blowing One’s Nose”
Garrett Carlson shared a nostalgic and humorous piece about memorable (and some not so memorable) car trips that we've all taken.
Gail Williams read from her novel, "The Seeds of Grafton," a detailed and sensitive portrait of nineteenth century life in a small town in North Dakota.
Michael Sensale followed up on his rap from last time with another sterling performance with the help of some guy from the audience. ; ^ )
Carol Covin shared some whimsical and touching letters and diary entries, mostly from her time in Paris when she was in college.
Colleen LaMay read a memoir, poignant and humorous by turns, about a bully named Rosie and how Colleen's mother rescued her from the bully.
Abby LaMay, a high school junior, shared a poem called "The Perfect Horror Story Setting," using imagery and effective word choice to create a dark mood.
Anna Burke, also a high school junior, read "Parallel Lines," a poem with an ingenious concept which used similes to great effect, resulting in a poignant and heartfelt writing.
John Cowgill offered a poem about some of the writers in Write by the Rails using mono-rhyme (difficult to do), as well as a well-imagined science fiction story about bullies.
Jan Rayl, a nurse for decades who is now teaching other nurses, favored the group with her hilarious blog post, "Always Wear Clean Underwear," revealing that nurses and doctors don't really care about anything you're wearing: they're focused on treating you.
Judy Petruskie shared some sweet poetry filled with imagery about her grandchildren. This was her first time sharing her poetry at an open mic, and I'm glad that she plans to continue.
Gregg Komitsky read from an effective satirical screen play about the artificial creation of a Messiah. Gregg and I taught about the same time at Robinson High School in Fairfax.
Dominika Domanska showed an understanding about how many of us feel about taxes with her poem and also shared a well-crafted poem by her daughter.
John Dutton topped off the evening with an energetic and amusing reading of "My Editor, Alice Mergler."
If you're a writer, join us by going to writebytherails.org and signing up. If you want to hear some original writing by local writers, come on out to Spilled Ink every fourth Friday at Jirani Coffeehouse across the tracks from the train station in Manassas. Hope to see everyone there next time!
A Reaction
Judy Petruskie This evening at Jirani's with "Spilled Ink" exceeded all my expectations. I am so glad that I was motivated enough to join the group. The readings were inspiring, some funny, some informing but all very interesting. I was even invited to read a few short poems that I have written. I am looking forward to the next meeting and will be able to read some of the mountains of words I have put on paper in years past. ~posted on May 28th, 2016
June 2016
6-24-16
[18 people] Tony Parras, Christine Becker, and Katheryn Pruitt listened J
Garrett Carlson – “X-Box Frustration” and “Right Field”
Antonia Kilday – “Unbound” and other poems
Carol Covin – “How I Learned to Shoot”
Colleen LaMay – “Am I in the Right Place?” (Driving with Abby, her daughter)
Cole LaMay – “Na Dir” (Chapter 1 of Science Fiction novel)
Just Aaron – “Soulless Poetry”
Michael Sensale – “Trivia by the Book”
Sara Brooks – “To the Boy Who Will Love Me” WOW!
Mark Weaver – “Baseball 1869” (Chapter 1 of “I Love Baseball”)
Gail Williams – Excerpt from “Seeds of Graceton”
Celia Ho – “You” (poem)
Kathy Smaltz – “Missing in Venice” and “Killer”
Judy Petruskie – “Reflections of a Perfect Day”
John Cowgill – “At This Very Time”
Lynne Sosa – “The Phone in the Toilet”
Jan Rayl – “Three Sides of the Stethoscope” WOW!
Tyrell Jordan – “Pain,” and “Glass,” and “Bees” (poems)
Me
July 2016
[11 people]
Dan Verner [Hosted]
Ron Nearhood
Gail Williams
Adam Cohan
Linda Force
Ann Atanasio
Carol Covin
John Cowgill
Artik [first time]
Michael Sensale
Tyrell Jordan
I may not have been there in person I was in spirit:
Spilled Ink (written in Wichita, KS)
Scribbling scenes of sensual sin while
Preparing pages of plump paragraphs as
Ink will be spilled once again
Lounging and laughing while
Lusting after language as if words were long, luscious legs
Everyone's eagerly on edge awaiting
Dan Verner's critically acclaimed critique
Intellectual prose and poetry fill the
Night as readers open their hearts
Knowing they are safe to bare their souls
~John Dutton
Covert Ops (written in Durango, CO)
It was late in the school day
During the doldrums of the month of May
My eyes roved from the slit in Sheila's short skirt
Up to her C-cup curves of her vintage Video game t-shirt
They rested there and watched her bodacious bosoms bloom
"You perv," she did blurt to indicate she did not approve
The image was now engrained in my brain
As my darkest desires caused me much pulsating pain
For as the blood rushed to my head
All I wanted was to be in my bed
Under the darkest of night
To be pitching a tent so terribly tight
I hoped my playful plot would play out just right
Hoping by my mother I would not be caught
Dad could be easily fooled
Using a bunch of Playboys and tools
I would keep the door open for a cool draft
Then I whispered, Minecraft
~John Dutton
*Poem inspired by Kathy Smaltz as we waited for her to receive her crown as PWC Poet Laureate 2016
When Fast Times at Ridgemont High meets Citizen Cane
August 2016
[19 people]
Dan Verner
Robert Scott
Gail Williams
Colleen LaMay
Sara Brooks
Katie Goode
Bruce Smith
Tyrell Jordan
Artik
Ron Nearhood
Carol Covin
John Cowgill
Kathy Smaltz
Cathy Hailey
Aaron
Alice Mergler
Gabriel Mahia
Michael Sensale
Me
September 2016
[17 people]
Gail Williams - Excerpt from her novel
Beverly Bendekgey - “The Dagger Dripping Cold as Ice”
John Cowgill - “Captain Zap”
Kathy Smaltz
Cathy Hailey
Aaron - “Words on a Page”
Alice Mergler - Memoir about her son
Lillie Jacob - “If X Equals Me”
Jonna Garvin - “Red and White”
Antonia Kilday - Poems from her first book
Michael Sensale - SLAM poetry
Mara Mahan - Excerpt from her first book, “Wardbreaker”
Kylie Bean - “The Feather Boy”
Lynne Sosa - “The Phone”
Amanda Miller – Three poems
E’loise Wallace - “Mom was Right”
Me
October 2016
[19 people]
Dan Verner - “Cats Are Voting”
Nancy Kyme - “North Dakota” [SNIRT is Snow + Dirt]
Gail Williams - Excerpt from her novel (Character, Art Fletcher)
Beverly Bendekgey - Halloween poems
Artik - “The Tram”
Ron Nearhood - “That Man” WOW!
Natalie Potell - Poem inspired by Emerson
Cheryl Harding - “A Breast”
Julia Harding
Marirose LaFollette - Prologue to her Steampunk novel
Carol Covin - “Nipples”
John Cowgill - “Lady on the Train Platform”
Bennie Herron - Poem inspired by foster kids
Kathy Smaltz - “Hot Air Balloon” [sestina poem]
Cathy Hailey - Challenge poem accepted!
Gianny Cruz - Nature poem
Solomon Cordova
Saber Fatnassi – “Conquering Fear and Failure”
JD
**A special “Thank You” to Atif Qarni who brought his wife to listen tonight. Someday, maybe she will brave the stage! Daniel Foose also stopped to listen.
****
Pictures can be found on the Facebook pages of:
Write by the Rails or Spilled Ink
****
November 2016
[9 people]
Chelsea Wood - “You Are Imperfect, and You Are Mine”
Bonnetta Hubbard - “How to Flush Your Way Through Europe”
Artik - “Dear Lovey”
Katie Goode - “The Paper Not Graded”
John Cowgill - “The History of Thanksgiving”
Gail Williams - “Chapters for Book 2: Jones on Arlene Dalton”
Marirose LaFollette - “The Kingdom of Colors” & Chapter 1 of novel
Ron Nearhood - “Blackboards and Chalk”
JD
JUST READ ONE TME AND YOU GO FROM
“FIRST TIME” TO “LONG TIME!”
December 2016
[8 people]
Alice Mergler -- “Finding Joy in the Journey”
Artik -- “Big Ole’ Woman” and “I Wish for You”
Gail Williams -- “Alice Delivers”
Michael Sensale -- “Free” [One from his collection of poems in the style of George Carlin]
John Cowgill -- “Angel Train”
Ron Nearhood -- “Blackboards and Chalk”
Tyrell Jordan -- “Spiritual Orbs” [A excerpt from his novel found at Wattpad.com]
JD – Several Poems of Christmas Rubbish
Six people who mentioned they were specifically here to listen J
[David and Kathy Moya]
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