Poetry Break: Poem Read at Joan Mitchell's

Free Verse (MA. Reilly, 2010)

Poem Read at Joan Mitchell's

                   - Frank O'Hara

At last you are tired of being single
the effort to be new does not upset you nor the effort to be other
you are not tired of life together

city noises are louder because you are together
being together you are louder than calling separately across a telephone one to the other
and there is no noise like the rare silence when you both sleep
even country noises—a dog bays at the moon, but when it loves the moon it bows, and the hitherto frowning moon fawns and slips

Only you in New York are not boring tonight
it is most modern to affirm some one
(we don't really love ideas, do we?)
and Joan was surprising you with a party for which I was the decoy
but you were surprising us by getting married and going away
so here I am reading poetry anyway
and no one will be bored tonight by me because you're here

Yesterday I felt very tired from being at the FIVE SPOT
and today I felt very tired from going to bed early and reading ULYSSES
but tonight I feel energetic because I'm sort of the bugle,
like waking people up, of your peculiar desire to get married

It's so
original, hydrogenic, anthropomorphic, fiscal, post-anti-esthetic, bland, unpicturesque and WilliamCarlosWilliamsian!
it's definitely not 19th century, it's not even Partisan review, it's new, it must be vanguard!

Tonight you probably walked over here from Bethune Street
down Greenwich Avenue with its sneaky little bars and the Women’s Detention House,
across 8th Street, by the acres of books and pillows and shoes and illuminating lampshades,
past Cooper Union where we heard the piece by Mortie Feldman with “The Stars and Stripes Foever” in it
and the Segamore’s terrific “coffee and, Andy,” meaning “with a cheese Danish”—
did you spit on your index fingers and rub the CEDAR’s neon circle for luck?
did you give a kind of thought, hurrying, to Alger Hiss?

It’s the day before February 17th
it is not snowing yet but it is dark and may snow yet
dreary Frebruary of the exhaustion from parties and the exceptional desire for spring which the ballet alone, by extending its run, has made bearable, dear New York City Ballet company, you are quite a bit like a wedding yourself!
and the only signs of spring are Maria Tallchief’s rhinestones and a perky little dog barking in a bar, here and there eyes which suddenly light up with blue, like a ripple subsiding under a lily pad, or with brown, like a freshly plowed field we vow we’ll drive out and look at when a certain Sunday comes in May—
and these eyes are undoubtedly Jane’s and Joe’s because they are advancing into spring before us and tomorrow is Sunday

This poem goes on too long because our friendship has been long, long for this life and these times, long as art is long and uninterruptable,
and I would make it as long as I hope our friendship lasts if I could make poems that long

I hope there will be more
more drives to Bear mountain and searches for hamburgers, more evenings avoiding the latest Japanese movies and watching Helen Vinson and Warner Baxter in Vogues of 1938 instead, more discussions in lobbies of the respective greatnesses of Diana Adams and Allegra Kent,
more sunburns and more half-mile swims in which Joe beats me as Jane watches, lotion-covered and sleepy, more arguments over Faulkner's inferiority to Tolstoy while sand gets into my bathing trunks
let's advance and change everything, but leave these little oases in case the heart gets thirsty en route
and I should probably propose myself as a godfather if you have any children, since I will probably earn more money some day accidentally, and could teach him or her how to swim
and now there is a Glazunov symphony on the radio and I think of our friends who are not here, of John and the nuptial quality of his verses (he is always marrying the whole world) and Janice and Kenneth, smiling and laughing, respectively (they are probably laughing at the Leaning Tower right now)
but we are all here and have their proxy
if Kenneth were writing this he would point out how art has changed women and women have changed art and men, but men haven't changed women much
but ideas are obscure and nothing should be obscure tonight
you will live half the year in a house by the sea and half the year in a house in our arms
we peer into the future and see you happy and hope it is a sign that we will be happy too, something to cling to, happiness
the least and best of human attainments

...I know we will be saved

Free Verse (M.A. Reilly, collage, 2010)

....slowly, slowly, I begin to counsel bravery. Slowly, slowly, I begin to feel the planets turning, and I am turning toward the crackling shower of their sparks...

The Mystery of Meteors

Eleanor Lerman

I am out before dawn, marching a small dog through a meager park 
Boulevards angle away, newspapers fly around like blind white birds 
Two days in a row I have not seen the meteors
though the radio news says they are overhead 
Leonid’s brimstones are barred by clouds; I cannot read 
the signs in heaven, I cannot see night rendered into fire

And yet I do believe a net of glitter is above me 
You would not think I still knew these things:
I get on the train, I buy the food, I sweep, discuss, 
consider gloves or boots, and in the summer, 
open windows, find beads to string with pearls 
You would not think that I had survived 
anything but the life you see me living now

In the darkness, the dog stops and sniffs the air 
She has been alone, she has known danger, 
and so now she watches for it always 
and I agree, with the conviction of my mistakes. 
But in the second part of my life, slowly, slowly, 
I begin to counsel bravery. Slowly, slowly, 
I begin to feel the planets turning, and I am turning 
toward the crackling shower of their sparks

These are the mysteries I could not approach when I was younger:
the boulevards, the meteors, the deep desires that split the sky
Walking down the paths of the cold park
I remember myself, the one who can wait out anything
So I caution the dog to go silently, to bear with me 
the burden of knowing what spins on and on above our heads

For this is our reward:Come Armageddon, come fire or flood, 
come love, not love, millennia of portents-- 
there is a future in which the dog and I are laughing 
Born into it, the mystery, I know we will be saved

100 + Children's Books Set in New York City

1. Ackerman, Peter. (2010). The Lonely Phone Booth. Illustrated by Max Dalton. Boston, MA: David R. Godine.
2. Adler, David. (2004). The Babe & I. Illustrated by Terry Widener. New York: HMH.
3. Alko, Selina. (2012). B is for Brooklyn. New York: Henry Holt.
4. Allen, Debbie. (2001). Brothers of the Knight. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. New York: Puffin.
5. Barracca, Debra. (2000). The Adventures of Taxi Dog. Illustrated by Mark Buehner. New York: Penguin.
6. Bartone, Elizabeth. (1997). Peppe the Lamplighter. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. New York: HarperCollins.
7. Bean, Jonathan. (2007). At Night. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
8. Beaty, Daniel. (2013). Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 
9. Bootman, Colin. (2009). The Steel Pan Man of Harlem. Minneapols, MN: Carolrhoda Books.
10. Boulter, Jacqui. (2012). Where Horses Fly. Illustrated by Sabrina Kuchta. Edgartown, MA: Vineyard Stories.

11. 

    from  Tito Puento, Mambo King/Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo

12. Brown, Marc. (2014). In New York. New York: Knopf.
13. Brown, Monica. (2013). Tito Puento, Mambo King/Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo. Illustrated by Rafael Lopez. New York: Rayo.
14. Brown, Peter. (2009). The Curious Garden. New York: Little, Brown.
15. Burleigh, Robert. (2001). Lookin' for Bird in the Big City. Illustrated by Marek Los. San Diego, CA: Silver Whistle Books.
16. Campbell, Bebe Moore. (2006).  Stompin' at the Savoy. Illustrated by Richard Yarde. New York: Philomel.
17. Caraballo, Samuel. (2008). Estellita e la ciudad grande/Estellita in the Big City. Illustrated by Pablo Torrecilla. Houston TX: Pinata Books.
18. Collier, Bryan. (2004). Uptown. New York: Square Fish.
19. Colon, Edie. (2011). Good-bye Havana! Hola New York. Illustrated by Raúl Colón. New York: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.
20. Cooney, Barbara. (1999). Eleanor. New York: Puffin.
21. Copeland, Missy.  (2014). Firebird. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. .New York:  G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.
22. Dorros, Arthur. (1997).  Abuela. New York: Puffin.
23. Dugan, Joanne. (2005). ABC NYC: A Book About Seeing New York City. New York: Henry Abrams.
24. Dugan, Joanne. (2007). 123 NYC: A Counting Book of New York City. New York: Henry Abrams.
25. Egan, Tim. (2007). Dodsworth in New York. New York: HMH Books.
26. Falconer, Ian. (2009). Olivia. New York: Simon & Schuster.
27. Frossard, Clarie. (2010). Emma's Journey. Art by Etienne Frossard. Brooklyn: Enchanted Lion Books.
28. Gerstein, Mordicai. (2007). The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. New York: Square Fish.
29. Glaser, Linda. (2010). Emma's Poem. Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
30. González, Lucía. (2008). The Storyteller's Candle/La verlita de los cuentos. Illustrated by Lulu Delacre. New York: Lee & Low Books.
31. Godwin, Laura. (2002). Central Park Serenade. Illustrated by Barry Root. New York: HarperCollins.
32. Gutman, Anne. (2009). Lisa in New York. Illustrated by George Hallensleben. New York: Knopf.
33. Hall, Bruce Edward. (2004). Henry & The Kite Dragon. Illustrated by William Low. New York: Philomel.
34. Harris, Isobel. (2013). Little Boy Brown. Illustrated by Andre Francois. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Book.
35. Hartfield, Claire. (2002). Me and Uncle Romie: A Story Inspired by the Life and Art of Romare Bearden. Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. New York: Dial.
36. Heller, Linda. (2007). Castle on Hester Street. Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. New York: Simon & Schuster.
37. High, Linda Oatman. (2001). Under New York. Illustrated by Robert Rayevsky. New York:  Holiday House.
38. Hopkinson, Deborah. (2006). Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. New York Schwartz & Wade.






39. Hughes, Langston. (1995). The Block. Paintings by Romare Bearden. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
40. Hyde, Heidi Smith. (2010). Feivel's Flying Horses. Illustrated by Johanna Van Der Sterre. Minneapolis, MN: Kar-Ben Publishing.
41. Jacobs, Paul Dubois & Swender, Jennifer. (2006). My Taxi Ride. Illustrated by Selina Alko. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith. 
42. Jacobs, Paul DuBois. (2004). My Subway Ride. Illustrated by Selina Alko. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith. 
43. Jakobsen, Kathy. (2003). My New York. New York: Little, Brown.



from Next Stop Grand Central





44. Kalman, Maira. (2001). Next Stop Grand Central. New York: Puffin.
45. Kalman, Maira. (2005). Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of John J. Harvey. New York: Puffin.
46. Kalman, Maira. (1990). Max Makes a Million. New York: Viking Juvenile.
47. Keats, Ezra Jack. (1962). The Snowy Day. New York: Puffin.
48. Khalsa, Dayal Kaur. (1995). How Pizza Came to Queens. New York: Clarkson Potter.
49. Kirk, Connie Ann. (2013). Sky Dancers. Illustrated by Christy Hale. New York: Lee & Low Books.
50. Lewin, Ted. (2007). At Gleason's Gym. New York: Roaring Brook Press.



Ted Lewin's Big Jimmy's Kum Kau Chinese Take Out. 

51. Lewin, Ted. Take Out. (2001). Big Jimmy's Kum Kau Chinese Take Out. New York: HarperCollins.
52. Littlesugar, Amy. (1999). Tree of Hope. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: Philomel.
53. LLoyd-Jones, Sally. (2018). Goldfish on Vacation. Illustrated by Leo Espinosa. New York: Schwartz & Wade
54. Low, William. (1997). Chinatown. New York: Henry Holt.
55. Manning, Maurie. J. (2012). Laundry Day. New York: Clarion Books.
56. Markle, Michelle. (2013). Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. New York: Balzer & Bray.
57. Melmeed, Laura Krauss. (2005). New York, New York: The Big Apple from A to Z. Illustrated by Frané Lessac. New York: HarperCollins.
58. Michelson, Richard. (2005). Happy Feet: The Savoy Ballroom Lindy Hoppers and Me. Illustrated by EB. Lewis. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
59. Myers, Walter Dean. (1997). Harlem. Illustrated y Christopher Myers. New York: Scholastic.
60. Nargi, Lela. (2011). The Honeybee Man. Illustrated by Krysten Brooker. New York: Schwartz & Wade
61. Neubecker, Robert. (2004). Wow! City! New York: Disney-Hyperion.
62. Niemann, Christoph. (2010). Subway. New York: Greenwillow.
63. Norman, Lisette. (2006). My Feet are Laughing. Illustrated by Frank Morrison. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
64. Ochiltree, Dianee. (2012). Molly, by Golly! The Legend of Molly Wiliams, America's First Female Firefighter. Illustrated by Katleen Kemly.  Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek.
65. Perdoma, Willie. (2002). Visiting Langston. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. New York: Henry Holt.
66. Pinborough, Jan. (2013).  Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children. Illustrated by Debby Atwell. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers.
67. Prince, April Jones. (2005). Twenty One Elephants and Still Standing. Illustrated by Francois Roca. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
68. Rael, Elsa Okon. (1997). When Zaydeh Danced on Eldridge Street. Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. New York: Simon & Schuster. 



Quilt from Tar Beach

69. Rael, Elsa Okon. (1996). What Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street. Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. New York: Simon & Schuster. 
70. Richardson, Justin & Peter Parnell. (2005). And Tango Makes Three. Illustrated by Henry Cole. New York: Simon & Schuster. 
71. Ringgold, Faith. (1996). Tar Beach. New York: Firefly Books.
72. Rocco, John. (2011). Blackout. New York: Disney-Hyperion.
73. Rubbino, Salvatore. (2009). A Walk in New York. Candlewick.
74. Sasek, Miroslav. (2003 ). This is New York. New York: Universe.
75. Schroeder, Alan. (2009). In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage.  Illustrated by JaeMe Bereal. New York: Lee & Low Books.
76. Schulman, Janet. (2008). Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City. Illustrated by Meilo So. New York: Knopf.
77. Sendak, Maurice. (1970/2001). In the Night Kitchen. New York: Red Fox.
78. Sis, Peter. (2000). Madlenka. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
79. Sis, Peter. (2002). Madlenka's Dog. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
80. Skewes, John.  (2010). Larry Gets Lost in New York City. Illustrated by Michael Mullin. Seattle, WA: Sasquatch Books.
81. Smith, Charles R. (2002). Perfect Harmony A Musical Journey with the Boys Choir of Harlem. New York: Jump at the Sun.
82. Stanbridge, Joanne. (2012). The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives: The True Story of an American Composer. New York: HMH Books.



from The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives: The True Story of an American Composer

83. Sweet, Melissa. (2011). Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade. New York: HMH Books.
84. Swift, Hildegarde H. (2003). The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge. Illustrated by Lynd Ward. New York: HMH Books.
85. Takabayashi, Mari. (2004). I Live in Brooklyn. New York: HMH Books.
86. Tan, Shaun. (2007). The Arrival.  New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
87. Taylor, Debbie. (2013). Sweet Music in Harlem. Illustrated by Frank Morrison. New York: Lee & Low Books.
88. Teachers Writers Collaborative (Ed.) (2012). A Poem as Big As New York City: Little Kids Write About the Big Apple. Illustrated by Masha D'yans. New York: Universe.
89. Thompson, Kay. (1969). Eloise. New York: Simon & Schuster.
90. Tonatiuh, Duncan. (2010). Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. New York: Henry N. Abrams.
91. Uhlberg, Myron. (2010). Dad, Jackie, and Me. Illustrated by Colin Bootman. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
92. Uhlberg, Myron. (2003). Flying Over Brooklyn. Illustrated by Gerald Fitzgerald.Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
93. Velesquez, Eric. (2004). Grandma's Records. New York: Walkers Children.
94. Velesquez, Eric. (2013). Grandma's Gift. New York: Walkers Children.
95. Vernock, Audrey. (2011). She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story. Illustrated by Don Tate. New York: Balzar & Bray. (Set in Philadelphia and NYC)



from Grandma's Records

96. Vila, Laura. (2008). Building Manhattan. New York: Viking Juvenile.
97. Vogel, Amos. (2001). How Little Lori Visited Times Square. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. New York: HarperCollins.
98. Waber, Bernard. (1987). Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. New York: HMH Books.
99. Waber, Bernard. (1975).  The House on East 88th Street. New York: HMH Books.
100. Waldman, Neil. (2001). They Came from the Bronx: How the Buffalo Were Saved from Extinction. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press. 
101. Ward, Lindsay. (2012). When Blue Met Egg. New York: Penguin. 
102. Warhola, James. (2005). Uncle Andy's. New York: Puffin.
103. Waters, Kate. (1991). Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan's Chinese New Year. Illustrated by Martha Cooper. New York: Scholastic.
104. Watson, Renee. (2012). Harlem's Little Blackbird. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. New York: Random House.
105. Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2014). Sugar Hill: Harlem's Historic Neighborhood. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Albert Whitman & Company.
106. Wiesner, David. (1999). Sector 7. New York: Clarion. (Begins @ Empire State Building)
107. Williams, Mo. (2005). Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. New York: Walker Books.
108. Williams, Mo. (2007). Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identify. New York: Disney-Hyperion.
109. Winter, Jeanette. (2007). The Tale of Pale Male: A True Story. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
110. Winter, Jeanette. (2007). Angelina's Island. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
111. Winter, Jeanette. (2004). September Roses. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
112. Winter, Jonah. (2009). Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx/La juez que crecio en la Bronx. Illustrated by El Rodriguez. New York: Atheneum Books.



from This is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration

113. Woodson, Jacqueline. (2013). This is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.

New York City in Image

Images I have made of New York City.

Kind of Blue (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Utopia (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Etta and Butch Go for a Ride (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Counting (M.A. Reilly, 2010) 

Corner, South Bronx (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Pershing Square (M.A. Reilly, 2010)

Unholy City (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Wall Street (M.A. Reilly, 2010)

Fog Bound (M.A. Reilly, 2011)

Washington Heights (M.A. Reilly, 2011)

A Woman Gathering Silence (M.A. Reilly, 2010)

Intersection II (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Remembrance (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Bridge in Fog (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Bearings Taken (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Be for Me, Like Rain (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Duty (M.A. Reilly, 2010)

Homeless (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Waiting (M.A. Reilly, 2010)

The Bridge (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning (M.A. Reilly, 2011)

Take the A Train (M.A. Reilly, 2010)

Big Moon City (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

 

Suddenly (M.A. Reilly, 2008)

At the 125th Street Station (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Listen (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Over Breakfast (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

Christmas in Harlem (M.A. Reilly, 2011)

Upper East Side (M.A. Reilly, 2009)

155th Street (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

Jerome Avenue (M.A. Reilly, 2012)

The Alphabet is No Language (M.A. Reilly, 2013)

Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning

On our way to visit a friend in Manhattan last night Rob and I got off the FDR at 155th Street exit and traveled by street to our destination. The sights I saw in the dark interested me and not having a camera nor the time to stop, I decided to revisit this morning.

This series of images I have titled: Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning. I enjoyed the ordinariness of the morning: people on their way to church, talking on cell phones, the loveliness and intensity of urban architecture, the contrast of oranges and blue.  No matter how often I am in Manhattan, it is always eye opening.

Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning, I. Nikon D300. 11.14.10

Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning, II. Nikon D300. 11.14.10

Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning, III. Nikon D300. 11.14.10

Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning, IV. Nikon D300. 11.14.10

Spanish Harlem, Sunday Morning, V. Nikon D300. 11.14.10

Spilling. Nikon D300. 11.14.10

A Train. Nikon D300. 11.14.10