exhibition postscript (1)

As the rain hit the metallic roof of the gallery on Sunday afternoon, I slowly moved along the walls taking down the Poems-For-All exhibition. I had mixed feelings. Elation (It's over!) Sadness (It's over?) Earlier that day I was at a brunch to celebrate Ann Menebroker's 70th birthday. (Happy Birthday Annie!) It felt in some ways like a continuation of the energy that had enveloped and elevated the closing proceedings of the exhibition on Friday. Brunch hosts Mary Zeppa and Manny Gale had performed on Friday, Annie had been there, and we all talked about how much fun we'd all had listening to others on the bill, J. Greenberg's great muscial set (accompanied by the vocally gifted Michelle Avdienko during a cover of The eagle and the owl) . Becca Costello's hilarious set still had people laughing at the brunch, visions of a mythical lesbian coffeehouse encounter retold between mouthfuls of quiche. Friday evening closed with Manny Gale leading a sing along of Wobbly labor leader Joe Hill's The Preacher and the Slave. There'll be pie in the sky when you die (That's a lie!)

The little covers peeled easily from the wall, the double stick tape yielding with the firm pressure of a thumb tip, rolling off the rough white surface of the wall and falling into the garbage basket. Once an orderly column that would have made a Napoleanic Field Marshall proud, the covers sit on the table in lost stacks, the corners slightly bent from the effort to take them out of the formation they held for a month.

Even in it's aftermath there is a lot to process. I took a lot of pictures. And so did others. There's audio of some of the readings. And both J. Greenberg and Bob Moricz used their video skills to archive aspects of the exhibition. And there are so many people to thank. So while the walls are blank at the gallery, look for elements of it to return here as archived bits, photo collages and appreciations.