Hudson Valley PoetsFest 2009

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archae was at the 22 August 19th Subterranean Cave Reading at the Widow Jane Cave in Rosendale, NY, where we digitally recorded each of the featured poets and many other poets who braved the open mike. Commentary on the event plus photographs w/captions are available below.

The 19th Annual Hudson Valley Poets Fest/ Subterranean Cave Reading for 2009 has been sponsored by the Century House Historical Society at the naturally scenic and dramatic Widow Jane Mine on Route 213 in Rosendale. Originally conceived and initiated by the Creative Space Co-op in 1991, and sustained by regional poets long beyond the Co-op’s demise, this 19th season in 2009 provided seven Feature Poets plus an open mike in the old cement mine, and it was emceed by poet R. (Ron) Dionysius Whiteurs. The Feature Poets included Richard Rizzi, Carl Welden, T. G. Vanini, William Seaton, Alan Davis Drake, Ron Whiteurs, and Mikhail Horowitz.

DISCLAIMER: The writings and recordings of the poets and performers contained on these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions or personal tastes of the archæ staff. Visitors may find some works offensive. .

FEATURED POETS/PERFORMERS

| Listen | 00:00 | Welcoming statement by host Ronald Whiteurs
| Listen | 27:34 | Richard Rizzi
| Listen | 27:42 | Carl Welden | Website |
| Listen | 19:00 | T. G. Vanini with Julie Parisi Kirby
| Listen | 19:03 | William Seaton
| Listen | 22:22 | Alan Davis Drake | Read along |
| Listen | 03:31 | Ronald Whiteurs

Mikhail Horowitz also presented performance
pieces; they were not successfully recorded.

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THE DAY’s OPEN MIKE

| Listen | 04:01 | Jeff Feller
| Listen | 08:26 | Bram Moreinis reads poems by Arthur Kushner | Website |
| Listen | 02:08 | Adam Bradley
| Listen | 11:51 | Michael Platsky
| Listen | 07:02 | Philip Guerrero
| Listen | 05:56 | Alec Emerson

Also reading at the open mike were Frank Boyer, Tommy Burns, and Donald Lev.

As the afternoon progressed, the small waterfall in the back on the cave increased its outflow…
And water dripped gently and sporadically from anywhere on the ceiling…

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| Watch | Although our own video equipment failed us at Fest 19, you can get a good sense of what it’s like to attend a Hudson Valley PoetsFest by viewing this GoogleVideo of Geof Huth reading at last year’s 18th Subterranean Cave Reading. His wonderful photos and commentary on the 2008 event are available on his blog. There is a brief description of the 17th Subterranean Cave Reading (2007) on Dan Wilcox’s blog.

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20 Aug 2004 - NPR’s Low Poetry: Art Lives on in the Widow Jane Mine | Listen | 06:04 | National Public Radio’s All Things Considered “In Upstate New York, there’s a mine that was once the source of cement for historic structures such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the U.S. Capitol. The Widow Jane Mine has been closed — a victim of cheaper Portland cement — and now it attracts poets and musicians. Jim Metzner pays a visit to the Widow Jane Mine, where tomorrow it will host the 15th annual Subterranean Poetry Gathering.” Carl Welden is featured. He is one of this year’s featured poets.

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Other Links

| View | Century House Historical Society
| View | Map to the Snyder Estate, the Widow Jane Cave
| View | Rosendale, NY on Wiikipedia
| View | History of Rosendale Cement
| View | Rosendale Cement Specs
| View | About Town - Rosendale’s Reusable Resources
| View | Most of NY’s Hybernating Bat Colonies Are In Rosendale
| Read | Rosendale cement excerpt with photos, from Hudson Valley Ruins, 2006,
by Thomas E. Rinaldi and Rob Yasinsac, p. 126 ff. (Very informative)
| View | YouTube video excerpt of a laptop performance by sound artists
Kim Cascone and Gary Weisberg, at the Widow Jane Mine - 3 Aug 2007
| View | Another experimental YouTube video made in the Widow Jane Mine.
(This will give you something of an idea of what it’s like in the mine.)

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PHOTOGRAPHS

Click any photo to view a larger image.

	At the parking lot you’ll see a series of kilns, used in the manufacture of cement. Many of the mines on the Snyder Estate have been blocked up to prevent people from entering unsafe areas.
	A wider view of the same.
	A few feet east from the parking lot, hidden in the trees, is a waterfall. Listen for the water and follow your ears. (To your left as you head towards the cave.)
	It’s a bit confusing at first where to go. From the parking lot you’ll head between the two buildings across the road that you just came up. Note the umbrella on your right.
	THE sign to follow to the cave. It’s a bit difficult to read, having been painted in complimentary colors. The protecting umbrella is a nice touch.
	Head between the buildings towards the cave. You may be asked to pay the $5 entry fee.
	Continue up on around the bend. Follow the road up the hill towards the cave.
	Relax and think how wonderful it is not to have to mow all this. Keep following the road…
	Until you see the the MINE sign. (Return to the trail later.) The mine is just up on the right.
	The official entrance to the Widow Jane Mine, with two picnic tables guarding the entryway.
	Before you enter the mine, look over to the left and down. It’s not actually a pond but trapped runoff that also extends into the cave. (See the next photo to get ab idea what;s on the other side, inside the cave.)
	Sorry, the lighting has sharp contrasts here. This is what you see on the other side of the man-made cement block wall, inside the cave. Note the water and it’s reflections. The circular are in the rear is an round opening through the limestone. The bright sunlight (perhaps the only few minutes of it that afternoon) reflects through the opening and onto the water… and bounces up onto the ceiling.
	Another entrance to the cave, this off the road that goes up from the cave entrance. The slope with the child on it is muddy and slippery.
	A typical pillar that miners left to support the ceiling, dirt and trees above. The slope to the left is the same slope you saw in the previous picture.
	The cave exit/entance from the inside. From here it’s a short downhill walk to the slightly sloping floor of the cave. The is one of the few limestone caves with a relatively level cave floor. Most caves have floors that slope 45° or more.
	A view of a small section of the audience looking up towards the cave entrance. The stage is to the right.
	Perhaps a better view of the same. You can see the ceiling better here.
	These final three photos were taken by Geof Huth at the 19th Subterranean Reading, where he was a featured poet. He was happy to let us borrow these from his Blog post on the 2008 event. Thanks much, Geof.
	Photo courtesy of Geof Huth.
	Photo courtesy of Geof Huth. Sorry Geof, couldn’t resist transforming your marvelous photo into a black and white image Your excellent visual sense will understand why. Actually, there is little shift in tone between the two. Visitors can see the same photo on Geof’s blog in its original color incarnation.
__________________________________________ The Poets / Performers Behind the stage is a large pool of water. Note the daylight reflecting on it and up onto the walls and ceilings. (Actually, the “walls” are supporting pillars engineered by the miners.) Because of the low-light on this glooming, sometimes rainy day (with extremely high humidity in the cave) and the single light bulb (for the reader’s convenience, not the audience’s) the poets would have to stand stock still for 2-3 seconds so as not to appear blurry. The camera lens continued to fog up as well.
	RICHARD RIZZI - Featured Poet | Listen |
	CARL WELDEN - Featured Poet | Listen |
	T. G. VANINI - Featured Poet with Julie Parisi Kirby | Listen |
	WILLIAM SEATON - Featured Poet | Listen |
	RONALD WHITEURS - Featured Poet | Listen |
	BRAM MOREINIS - Open mike reads poems by Arthur Kushner | Listen |
	Jeff Feller - Open mike | Listen |
	Tommy Burns? - Open mike | Listen |
	Donald Lev - Open mike | Listen |
	Michael Platsky - Open mike | Listen |
	Philip Guerrero - Open mike | Listen |
	Alec Emerson - Open mike | Listen |
	MIKHAIL HOROWITZ - Featured Poet Sorry, audio is not available.

If you would, please leave a kind comment on iTunes and/or a comment at the bottom of this page. Thanks for visiting.

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Note: archae journal/Cloud Mountain Productions/Audio did not sponsored this event. We volunteered to record/master/publish online the audio, photographs, and texts as part of archaeZine. Recordings and texts are © 2009 by the individual performance artists. All works found on this site, including texts, recordings, photographs, logos, visual arts of all kinds, and etc., are solely for non-commercial use. No derivative works are permitted. Notify a specific artist directly for her/his permission to use materials. All rights reserved.

Thanks go to Ron Whiteurs, the host of the day’s events, for providing information on people, places and things —and for occasionally acting as a proofreader.

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THANK YOU to the steady stream of visitors who have come to the site so far. There are many other anonymous friends who have downloaded our readings via iTunes. Some of the people who have visited this page and hung around awhile are from the vicinity of:

• Arizona: Vail
• Belgium: Vilers-le-Bouillet
• California: San Leandro
• Illinois: Chicago
• Ireland: Dublin
• Maryland: Boynton Beade
• New Jersey: Eatontown, Old Bridge, Paterson
• New Mexico: Taos
• New York: Annandale on Hudson, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Cornwall on Hudson, Germantown, Highland, Hyde Park, Massapequa, Middletown, Newburgh, New York City, Saugerties, Schenectady, Wappingers Falls, Woodstock
• Portugal: Lisboa
• Washington: Seattle

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