8/2 All Good Things
Heya everyone!
If you missed the announcement, I made an announcement.
Another announcement—Stefanie Maura and I will be back at Cedarmere for another writing retreat in October.
As a reminder, we’re getting the team back together! Details about the Walk2EndAlz are here.
Also, coming August 30: another Reiki circle! Details below.
THINGS HAPPENED
Subbing yoga sculpt has come to an end, and I’m not sure if the participants will miss weighted-yoga-burpees, but I sure will. I got to hang with my mom at the movies (Minions & Monsters is a terrible movie that had confusing midnight/noon showings; Disclosure Day is great).
I got to see some history and art both at the New York Public Library (but the main gallery was closed, so my brother and I saw 2/3 of that one) and the Morgan Library, which has an Ashbery exhibit as well as a Renaissance tarot exhibit.
Over in Connecticut, I visited the New England Carousel Museum, unknowingly on National Carousel Day, which means I got a free brass ring with a ribbon and a free ride on a carousel for children (there was a scale next to it, and I did not need to get weighed in public!). That museum also houses a Fire Museum and a Greek Museum—I mean, bonus after bonus, right? Then I visited the American Clock and Watch Museum—thousands of clocks and watches. Connecticut thinks it’s the home of pizza, but it needs to realize it’s the home of timepieces.
(If you want to hear my rant about the pizza, drop me a line—not enough room for me to get into it here).
I got to see more history and art things at Sunnyside and Phillipsburg in the Hudson Valley. You’d think I’d be better at history, but my brain doesn’t work that way.
Sunday Funday Book Club did some pivoting and wound up at a coffee shop with yummy drinks, and I ranted about the terrible book we read. (That rant is located here if you want to hear it.) Finally, I had a blast writing on-the-spot poems for an event on the water at the Crescent Beach Club—poetry at the beach. Life doesn’t get better.
WELLNESS CORNER
As aforementioned, October 18 is the Walk2EndAlz. Donate or root us on!
Looking to get some cardio in? Dance along to this playlist.
Find some stillness and get your energy balanced on August 30 at 7 PM: donation-based Reiki circle with proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Association. You’ll be able to register soon here.
KUDOS!
My second sci-fi fem full length poetry collection Women in Space! will arrive from Aqueduct Press in 2027! (Pre-order link on the way).
ESSTARIAN’s album Fathom & Lightyears is available now!
The Center for Fiction released its long list for the 2026 First Novel Prize!
BOOKSHELF
Have you visited Bookshop.org yet?
I read through another section of the nature poem anthology and a few chapters of the book about 80s movies. I’m still reading Figuring in that it sits on the table with the books I am currently reading, looking pretty, next to the issue of Spiral that also looks pretty. The Buddhism book, another poetry book, and the next SFBC book are also underway. (SFBC’s read is Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman).
Poetry
“Low Tide, County Line” by Gloria Ogo
“Senescence” by Shira Dentz
“Spring” by Victoria Chang
“Love Opened a Mortal Wound” by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
“Social Death, An Address” by Xandria Phillips
“When Orbital Proximity Feels Creepy” by Peter Gizzi
“Toys Turned on a Lathe” by Alice Fulton
“color network aviation origins” by Roberto Harrison
“Palaver in the House of Abandoned Things” by Jen Ashburn
Three poems by Genevieve Hartman
A poem by Rumi R.
“If You Should Go” by Countee Cullen
"Rituals and Spells so Nothing Heinous Happens: Double Check the Baby Monitor (or Postpartum OCD and Me)" by Elizabeth A.I. Powell
“Climate” by Meghann Plunkett
“This Radiant Life” by Chantal Neveu
“Married, Filing Separately” by Claire McQuerry
“The Post Human” by Jorie Graham
“Small Craft Talk Warning” by Dean Young
“Teeth” by Kathryn Merwin
“Meditation at Lagunitas” by Robert Hass
“Epistemology” by Catherine Barnett
“Hello, New Year” by Marc McKee
“So Many Constellations” by Paul Celan, trans. Michael Hamburger
“Last night i dreamt” by Maria Giesbrecht
“Venus Transit” by Lily Brown
“109 Bermuda” by Kenzie Allen
"A Cloud of Drench Bearing Down" by Emily Pittinos
“Private Uncertainty” by Peter Leight
Excerpts from “Stray Birds” by Rabindranath Tagore
“Sunflowers” by Jenny George
“She of the Rescue Center Answered” by Marianne Boruch
“Why we women get oven burns” by Laura Wittner, Trans. from Spanish by Juana Adcock
“A Pious Woman” by Gabriela Mistral, Trans. by Randall Couch
Nonfiction
Clearly, I read Didion & Babitz. The suggestion here is do not read it. (I. Am. So. Angry. At. This. Book.)
Mixed Media / Cross Genre
What Is Freedom: Shepard Fairey
Internet
The Afroman saga continues
In never-go-outside-again news, The New Yorker profile on the lone star tick
In more never-go-outside-again news, there’s a reason you feel like somebody’s always watching you
Why geography education matters
“Relishing Details & The Hunger Book” on Emily Brandt’s Open Language
An alternative to air conditioning
Is being too happy possible?
“Never Pay to Have Your Book Displayed…” from Writers Weekly
“Open Loops” from Scientists & Poets
“What Happens When Over 1,000 Artists Play a Game of Telephone Around the World” from Marlena Chertok
How To Set Up A Do It Yourself Book Tour
“Unstitching and Re-hemming A Poem” by Miriam Calleja on Trish Hopkinson’s blog
Building a media list
And of course check out these:
Typewriter photographs! Erasure poems! Post card sentiments! Signed copies of How We Make Amends!
LISTEN
Sunday Funday Book Club’s soundtrack for Didion & Babitz
Talking Comics Podcast #671: Underage Geese with hosts Bob Reyer and Steve Seigh and guest Nikki Torres
Lesley Wheeler’s poem “Return Path” aired on The Showdown podcast.
My poem “We Used To Be Astronauts” aired on Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction radio show. Poem at 8:10.
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn interview with Judy Chicago (which I listened to during a four hour drive home from Connecticut and saved me from deciding to pull over and live on the Belt Parkway).
Hyperfixed podcast: The Master of Mazes Vs The Big Green Monster
WATCH
Here's The Story: Voices in the Garden 3: Mischief Night
Freelance (2025)
Einstein and the Bomb (Netflix)
You the final season (Netflix)
Blackberry (Netflix)
Disclosure Day
The Odyssey
OPPORTUNITIES
Stylist for fashion show needed, The Strother School of Radical Attention, Deadline 8/9
Mule Skinner is open for submissions in several genres, Deadline 9/6
Annual Juried Photography Show, Long Island Arts Council Freeport, Deadline 9/14
SUGGESTED THINGS
The New England Carousel Museum (Bristol, CT)
American Watch and Clock Museum (Bristol, CT)
Max’s Pizza 4 (Bristol, CT)
NYPL’s America’s 250 exhibit (including perhaps the gallery that was closed)
Morgan Library: Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions and Friends Who Came to See Me: Drawings from John Ashbery’s Collection
Anything in the Hudson Valley, including Philipsburg Manor and Irving’s Sunnyside
Bodyworks Day Spa (Stewart Manor, NY)
Kismet Coffee, Kitchen, and Cocktails (Bay Shore, NY)
Crescent Beach Club (Bayville, NY)
MISCELLANY
This is not a joke set up: Have you heard about the one-ingredient recipe for banana ice cream? It’s only one ingredient. It’s banana. Somehow it becomes ice cream. I’ll have to read the recipe and get back to you.
All good things,
Christina
**Of course, you can forward this email to those you think may have interest. If you post information publicly, please link back to me. Appreciate it.
THINGS ARE HAPPENING
My calendar is here.
Updated book club info is here.
Now – August 23, 2026
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition featuring Sarah Maple
Thursday, August 5, 2026, 5pm EDTNew England Poetry Club Reading: Tim Mayo with Pamela Wax
Chesterwood, 4 Williamsville Road, Stockbridge, MA 01262 Admissions: $10 Members/$15 for Non-members
Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 6 PM
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center presents Professor Louie and the Crowmatix, Putnam Valley, NY Tickets $25
Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 7 PM
Jazz and Dance Fusion with Esperanza Spalding and Kayla Farrish, River to River Festival, Robert F. Wagner Park, NYC
Sunday, August 9, 2026 at 3 PM
Poets’ Corner featuring Abby Luby plus open mic for Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, Putnam Valley, NY Door $10
Monday August 10, 6:30pm EDT
Poetry Reading: Tim Mayo with Carlene Kucharczyk
Phoenix Books (seating limited), 2 Center St, Rutland, VT 05701, Free
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 7 PM
Creative Writing Workshop with Barbara Novack at Rockville Centre Library 221 N. Village Ave. Rockville Centre, NY 516.766.6257
Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 2 PM – 5 PM
Sculpture on the Trail Reception, Center for Environmental Education and Discovery, Brookhaven, NY
Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center presents The Kevin McKrell Band
Putnam Valley, NY Tickets $25
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center presents Down by the Riverside, a documentary. Putnam Valley, NY Suggested donation $10
Monday, August 31, 2026 at 7 PM
Summer Gazebo Reading Series features Christina M. Rau, Chip Williford, and others. Schoolhouse Green, Foxhurst Rd, Oceanside, NY
Also on zoom:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82944633771?pwd=LHEsaXFNTzavARjQ174yi76lVgaBPt.1
Meeting ID: 829 4463 3771 Passcode: 844607
FREE
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 7:30 PM
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center presents Bruce Molsky
Putnam Valley, NY Tickets $25
Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 3 PM
Poets’ Corner features Stephanie JT Russel plus open mic for Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, Putnam Valley, NY Door $10
Thursdays, September 17, 24, and October 1 at 7:00 to 8:30 PM (EST)
Leaping Language: Exploring the Dynamics of Similes and Metaphors with Kristine Rae Anderson: A River Heron Review Workshop, online
Information and registration: https://www.riverheronreview.com/leaping-language
$125 for three sessions
Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 6 PM – 8 PM
Tactile Poetry Workshop at Walt Whitman Birthplace, Huntington, NY
Register in advance.
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 12:30-2 PM
Sukha Backyard Book Club reading Saltwater Buddha
Register in advance.
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 10 AM - 4 PM
Cedaremere Writing Retreat with Stefanie Maura and Christina M. Rau
Details and registration here.
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 10 AM
Walk2EndAlz with Team J and J! Donate or root us on here.
Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 6 PM – 8 PM
Reiki & Write at Walt Whitman Birthplace, Huntington, NY
Register in advance.
Sunday, November 1, 2026 Time TBA
Cedarmere celebrates William Cullen Bryant’s Birthday
Registration link coming soon
Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 10 AM – 12 Noon
Hike Around and Write with Walt Whitman Birthplace, Jayne’s Hill, Huntington, NY. Register in advance.
On The Regular (Always check with venues. If no contact info is listed below, google it. If your series has changed, let me know for next time. If you want to add your series, drop me a line).
One Sunday a month: Mid-Island Y JCC Poetry Series 2-4 PM
First Sundays: Poetic License, online, 4 PM
One Sunday a month: Speculative Sundays with Akua Lezli Hope, online, 7 PM EST
Later-in-the-month Sundays: Book Club at Great South Bay Brewing, Bay Shore, NY from 10-noon
Third Sundays: Sunday Reading Series at The Hungry Brain, 6:30 PMLast Sundays: Po’Jazz with Golda Solomon at Blue Door Arts Center, Yonkers, NY, 2-4 PM, Free
Every Sunday Monday: Summer Gazebo Reading Series, Oceanside, NY and on zoom, 7 PM
Every Monday: Restless Open Mic, Marché Le Woof 31-03 Vernon Boulevard Astoria. Signups at 6:30 PM
Every Monday: Phoenix Reading Series, Shades of Green 125 e 15th NY NY, 6:30 PM, $5 plus food purchase
Every Monday: The Underground Open Mic at Bar Freda (Queens/Brooklyn Border), 7:30 PM
Every Monday: Easy Paradise Open Mic at KGB Red Room, 8 PM, sign up in advance, 21+, 2 drink min
First Tuesdays: First Tuesdays Series, Espresso 77 Cafe, Jackson Heights, 6:40 Sign up, 7 PM open begins, feature follows, $5 purchase
First Tuesdays: Poetry At Book and Mortar 157 N Country Rd Mount Sinai, NY 11766 7 PM (open mic sign up 6:30), jeweliasdad@aol.com for info
First Tuesdays: Calling All Writers Spoken Word Open Mic, Urban Coffee, 101 Broadway, Greenlawn, NY, 7-8 PM, 5 minute limit, kindness required
Every Wednesday: Wednesday Night Poetry, Kollective Coffee and Tea, Hot Springs, AZ, 6:30-9 PM
First Wednesdays: The Platform, Madison Community Arts Center 10 Kings Rd Madison NH, 8 PM
Second Wednesdays: Poetry: It's a Shore Thing!, Long Beach Library (NY), 6 PM
Second Wednesdays/Thursdays: The Muse at Neirs Tavern, Queens, 7 PM
Fourth Wednesdays: Risk of Discovery at QED Astoria, 7:30-9 PM
First Thursdays: BVAC at Jack Jacks, Babylon, 7 PM
First Thursdays: Poetry Circle Open Mic, Living Room Café, Ardmore, PA, 6:30 PM
First Thursdays: Lowell Writers Open Mic, lalabooks, Market St, Lowell, MA, 6:30-8PM
ON HIATUS UNTIL OCT. Third Thursdays: Poetry Pairs Series, Literature Repository Reading, Bohemia, 7 PM
Third Thursdays: NeuroNautic Institute Presents open mic with features, Otto’s Shrunken Head, NYC, 7-9 PM
Third Thursdays: At Brookline Booksmith, MA, 7 PM
Third Thursdays: SAFTA Reading Series, Pretentious Beer Co, Old City Knoxville, TN
Every Friday: Fridays: Seed Café Open Mic, 250 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI, 6:30 PM
First Fridays: Revolutionary Poetry Nights, Grounds Books and Coffee, Tuscon, AZ
First Fridays: Maryland Writers’ Association, 7 PM EST, onlineSecond Fridays: Open Mic at Deja Brew Café, 102nd&Jamaica Ave Queens, 7:30-9 PM, hosted by Michael Alpiner
Third Fridays: Hudson Valley Writers Center in person and online, 7 PM
Last Fridays: Northport Arts Coalition Poetry Reading, Northport and online, 7:30 PM EST
Last Fridays: Friday Night Fire, Teatro Yerbabruja Second Avenue Fire House, Bay Shore, NY, 7 PM
Last Fridays: Redmond Association of Spoken Word, Centro Cultural Mexicano Redmond, WA, 7-9 PM
Every Saturday: Astoria Music Collective Saturday Songwriters at The Local Bar, 3 PM,
Every Saturday: Cultivating Voices Live, online, 3 PM EST
Biweekly Saturdays: Lip Balm, online, 5 PM EST
First Saturdays: PPA East Meadow Library, 1-3 PM, hosted by J R Turek and Margarette Wahl
Third Saturdays: PPA Levittown Town Hall, 1-3 PM, hosted by J R Turek
Various Saturdays: It’s Poetry Baby!, Oceanside Library, NY, 2 PM
Last Saturdays: Poetry Street On The Road at Riverhead Library and online, Riverhead NY, 2 – 4 PM
Various monthly: Ludy Café and Hudson Valley Poetry, Irvington, NY
Congrats! You've made it to the end! As always, this newsletter is gratis. If you wish to at any time, you can feel free to buy me a tea (or a coffee).