The Ellington, 105th Street and Broadway -- Full of spring and the joy of life, a throng gathered to speak and sing, to carouse a little, regardless of the ongoing nonsense outside the doors.
We need this, our voices to be heard, and the room was packed once more with a community that binds itself with creativity and expressions of love and support, but not without some fight.
The latest salon, ably hosted by the lovely Maureen Hossbacher, got started with Judith Rodgers, who read a salty excerpt from her new novel, working title – “Rebirth.” A transatlantic, romantic, relationship as cracked as the shellfish, maybe? “Are oysters real food?” Is it enough? The novel deals with the transformative power of violence. Ouch!
Actor and playwright Martin Alvin’s tale of boyhood yearning for a red 3D reelviewfinder, (you remember those?) also took a violent twist. The cartoons that he immersed himself in enable him to cope with the crashes, bangs and wallops of a more personal and very dimensional nature. “95 cents was a lot of money!”
Karen Daly, a longtime member and former Board Secretary of IAW&A, has been researching a book about New York City. While the book is still a work in progress, she read from her introduction to give us insights into those forgotten or overgrown areas of her NY slice. With a keen sense of history and starting with an epiphany that she experienced in a church, (Oh! And her nosey nature) she explores the “seen but not registered” parts of the city.
Award-winning playwright, composer, short story writer and former board member of IAW&A, Mark Butler authored and narrated a mini play entitled “Podcast NYC.” The cast, John Skocik and Samm Jenny, tied themselves into comedic knotty problems about the meaning of authenticity, virtue signaling (I feel that should be in air quotes), content with a C, and how some of us are just becoming a brand of ourselves.
You can check out Mark’s various creative Christmas adventures at www.coolchristmasproductions.com.
Time for some music. Marie Mularczyk O'Connell, Candice Baranello and Lorraine Berger are three dynamic voices blended in harmonies that lift your spirit, and warm your heart. The trio are well known in the folk music community as the Mountain Maidens and perform widely in concerts and festivals around the tri-state area. They are also multi multi-instrumentalists, and tonight are festooned with flowers.
They perform a cracking version of Patrick Kavanagh’s “Raglan Road,” and a rousing round of “Old Maid in the Garret” with real spoons and a virtual sexy carrot. They can be contacted via mmularczyk770@gmail.com.
After the interval, Catherine Kanjer Kapphahn, writer, educator, storyteller and debut presenter at our IAW&A salon, read an excerpt from her memoir, “Immigrant Daughter: Stories You Never Told Me” - which received the Center for Fiction’s Christopher Doheny Award. We heard a lovingly detailed recollection of a how hard it is to untangle the silences of someone who does not want to pass on the trauma of their own upbringing. Her book is out now and available also on Audible.
Freelance journalist and author Jill Caryl Weiner is well known for her books for families, “When We Became Four” is a bestseller, and she continues tonight with a new venture that explores the older side of life. Through fantasy, Jill uses tints and hues in her language that swirl around this colorful room to engage with dementia and the unknowing of it. It is May in Wonderland.
Maria (M.C.) Neuda is a poet and a writer of short stories, in particular, crime stories. She likes to explore the darker human emotions, because unpleasant as they might be, they reveal important… dun dun dun! Noirish in the extreme! Maria told us a hard-boiled tale with a twist or twofer. Violence in America, it goes on.
There is never a theme for the salons but things seem to seep in. Not necessarily copacetic, but in tune.
Actor John Paul Skocik (see above) is also a singer/songwriter. He performed a few original songs for us to cap off this wonderful evening. Lyrically deft, a little bit daft and refreshingly honest. An all-round entertainer, he gave us some, self admittedly, long winded advice, “Don’t fall in love with a woman who doesn’t give a damn about you! … Someone’s going to end up a fool.”
Ah, John. It will all be okay.
‘Queer House’ - IAW&A’s Pride Salon
IAW&A Board Member Shelley Ann Quilty and novelist and playwright Honor Molloy will co-host “Queer House - IAW&A’s Pride Salon, on this Thursday, June 5, from 7 pm to 10 pm, at Houghton Hall, 22 East 30th St (5th & Madison Aves), New York, NY
The hosts promise “to celebrate our LGBTQ+ communities and all things fabulously queer!”
They add, “We have a terrific lineup of talented folks who will loudly and proudly raise our spirits and raise the roof of our ‘Queer House.’ This salon will feature readings, music, poetry, dance, and comedy for all to delight in! So, come on down . . .”
Admission: free. RSVP here to book a place.
‘Bloomsday 2025: A Shout in the Street’
The James Joyce Society and Irish American Writers & Artists Inc. present ‘Bloomsday 2025: A Shout in the Street,’ their 5th annual festive reading from “Ulysses,” on Saturday afternoon, June 14, at Dive 106, 938 Amsterdam Ave. at 106th Street, New York City. Bloomsday falls on a Monday this year, but to allow a leisurely event, from 3 to 6 p.m., and also to accommodate drinks specials, Joyce trivia and special guests, the organizers have made it a Saturday event. Brendan Costello Jr., the IAW&A’s late president, a moving force in the annual gathering, will be fondly remembered. For enquires about the afternoon’s happenings, email Mike Opest at jamesjoycesocietyny@gmail.com.
