8/4 All Good Things
Hi everyone,
First, take note: my email is now a gmail, and it’s not my name because someone already had my name in gmail, which is why I’ve taken several years to agonize over what my gmail email could be. The Ymail and christina@christinamrau will no longer function soon.
Second, this newsletter is now called All Good Things.
Big news: one of my poems is featured on a reed diffuser. This is a thing. Look here.
In other big news, I am physically fine and emotionally rageful in the most Buddhist way possible—a 16 year old in an SUV t-boned me in my little VW Golf, which I no longer have because it was totaled.
A friendly reminder: If you’d like to support Team J and J with a donation and/or with some words to cheer us on as we gear up for the Walk 2 End Alzheimer’s, you can do so here: http://act.alz.org/goto/christinamrau
And now—
THINGS HAPPENED
Aside from car shopping and trying to get my mom out of rehab (soon!), I read my poem for ESWA’s Crossroads Contest online reading because it was a finalist, and I did not win though it still was a good time. Also, I got to go to ReaderCon in Burlington, MA, home of the Burlington Mall, where Paul Blart Mall Cop was filmed, and I hosted the conference open mic, which was fun. I saw Joy the Musical, and it was bad, real bad, and also a good time. I hosted a birthday party for my big brother and made party favor bags filled with candy, dinosaur tissues, and fun. I got to see the Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan, which was jam-packed with folks, and then saw the other exhibits, not jam-packed, and dare I say more interesting. Also, I missed book club because I got sick for a week. These past few months have been a super fun time.
WELLNESS CORNER
Some of you know the yoga/Reiki/meditation stuff already, but if you don't:
You can practice yoga with me at Sukha Studio usually on Tuesdays 5:45-6:45 PM. This week and the last week of August, I’ve swapped with the Thursday night teacher, so it’s yoga twice on Tuesday and twice on Thursday this month. For other fun activities like Meditate, Move, & Create and Hike Around and Write, go here.
KUDOS!
Hiram Larew’s efforts for Poetry X Hunger appeared in WhatsUp!
The winners of ESWA’s Crossroads contest are Lesley Younge, Donna L. Smith, and David P. Kozinski!
BOOKSHELF
Still plowing through the murderbot diaries. Reading some poetry collections, some Buddhism stuff, a book of essays, and didn’t get more pages into Figuring, which I will finish in maybe ten years. Also, I’ve started our next book club read I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones.
Fiction
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
Nonfiction
Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis
Poetry
Dimming The Stars by Brendan McEntee
English Kills by Monica Wendel
“An End” by Chet’la Sabree
https://poets.org/poem/end-4
“Cardiophobia” by Michael Meyerhofer
https://poetrycurrency.com/poem/michael-meyerhofer/cardiophobia/
“The Bridge” by Elisa Gabbert
https://poets.org/poem/bridge
“Bent Record” by Aditi Machado
https://poems.com/poem/bent-record/
“Clean Sweep” by Rebecca Faulkner
https://www.onlypoems.net/poets/rebecca-faulkner/poems
“Venom/If A Stanza Is A Room” by Logan Klutse
https://poems.com/poem/venom-if-a-stanza-is-a-room
“16 Bars Poetica” by Adrian Matejka
https://poets.org/poem/16-bars-poetica
“After Corn, No. 2, 1924, By Georgia O’Keeffe” by Allyah Yourish
https://booth.butler.edu/2025/07/04/after-corn-no-2-1924-by-georgia-okeeffe/
“10-2035” by Liz Mariani
https://www.moonlitgetaway.com/new-poetry/10-2035
“37 The Faint Peal of Thunder” by Xin Qiji
https://poems.com/poem/37-the-faint-peal-of-thunder/
Internet
“My Legion Year” by Alex Segura
https://alexsegura.substack.com/p/my-legion-year
This is a public health alert but my takeaway is ham salad is a thing?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/news/content/ar-AA1JrQ5p?ocid=sapphireappshare
“No one had the slightest idea what the book was about”
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel
And of course check out these:
How We Make Amends, post card sentiments, typewriter photographs, found poetry, and new inspirational stickers are all available.
LISTEN
I narrated (and did some singing in) Marie Vibbert’s “Tactical Infantry Bot 37 Dreams of Trochees” in StarShipSofa.
http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2025/07/23/starshipsofa-761-marie-vibbert/
Here’s Sunday Funday Book Club’s soundtrack for Saltwater Buddha.
WATCH
Another short meditation collaboration with Somnambulant Visuals:
The Endless Summer
Justin William: Magic Lover (Netflix)
Past Lives
Mid90s
The Birds
Psycho
Vertigo
Rear Window
Hitchcock
Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life (Netflix)
Squid Game Season 3 (Netflix)
Brooklyn
Yellowjackets Season 2 (Netflix)
OPPORTUNITIES
Military Families can visit museums for free this summer!
Plays With Matches, artist workshop pairings with Cori Kresge
Cowles Charitable Trust, quarterly deadlines for grants
Arts Letters and Numbers programming, various upcoming
Oak Spring Garden Foundation Eliza Moore Fellowship, Opens Feb 2026/Closes May 2026
SUGGESTED THINGS
Marie Vibbert: https://www.marievibbert.com/
SFPA has a new website! https://sfpoetry.org/wp/
Burlington/Salem MA Edition
Salem Art Gallery
Herb Mackey’s Metal Sculptures
House of Seven Gables and Hawthorn’s Birthplace
Salem Witch Board Museum
Salem Witch Trials Memorial
Punto Urban Art Museum
Peabody Essex Museum
Mary Cummings Park
Burlington Mall (Paul!Blart!Mall!Cop!)
Burlington Sculpture Park
MISCELLANY
Do you know how many choices exist for roof colors? This is the light bulb problem all over again (if you don’t know about the light bulb problem, feel free to reply to discuss, though you can probably figure it out).
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 https://www.christinamrau.com/calendar
Updated book club info: https://www.christinamrau.com/book-club
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at 9 PM
Flash Science Fiction Night with Space Cowboy Books
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/flash-science-fiction-night-eliane-boey-suzan-palumbo-pedro-iniguez-tickets-1344263140239
Thursday August 7, 2025 at 7 pm – 9 PM
Babylon Village Arts Council presents Nassau County Poet Laureate Alan Semerdjian
Poetry in the Village hosted by the Poet Laureate of Suffolk County Emeritus Deborah Hauser
Jack Jack’s Coffee House, 223 Deer Park Ave, Babylon, NY
FREE
Monday August 11, 2025 7 pm to 8 pm
Deborah Hauser, Jack Zaffos, Larry McCoy, and Jennifer Harmon featured at the Kiwanis Club of Oceanside and the Oceanside Library Summer Gazebo Readings hosted by Tony Iovino
Live in person at Schoolhouse Green, Foxhurst Road, Oceanside, NY or virtually at https://oceansidelibrary.libcal.com/event/14686598
Free
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 7 PM
Smithtown Nesconset Library, Ann Cefola on “Discovering Translation,” an informal workshop and reading from Alparegho, Like-nothing-else
Friday, August 22, 2025 at 6 – 10 PM
Betterman Night Bazaar
161 River Ave, Patchogue, NY
Sunday, August 24, 2025 at 10-noon
Sunday Funday Book Club reading I Was A Teenage Slasher
Ghost Brewing, Drexel Ave, Bay Shore, NY
Free
September 4-7, 2025
Art On Paper New York
https://ny.thepaperfair.com/
SEPTEMBER 7 IS MY BIRTHDAY!
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at 9 PM
Flash Science Fiction Night with Space Cowboy Books
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/flash-science-fiction-night-eugen-bacon-fj-bergmann-tara-campbell-tickets-1344265597589
Thursdays, September 11-October 16, 7:00-8:30 PM ET (Zoom)
Workshop: Your Secret Power--Tapping into Your Senses, with Kristine Rae Anderson— River Heron Review Writing Workshop
$210 for six class sessions
https://www.riverheronreview.com/your-secret-power-tapping-into-your-senses
Saturday, September 13, 2025 at 3 PM
Book Talk: Margaret A. Brucia launches The Key To Everything her biography of Mae Swenson
Cedarmere, 225 Bryant Ave, Roslyn Harbor, NY
Register here: https://www.friendsofcedarmere.org/events-at-cedarmere
Free
Saturday, September 27, 2025 from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Tactile Poetry Workshop with Christina M. Rau at Oceanside Library, NY
https://oceansidelibrary.libcal.com/event/13392016
FREE
Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 8 PM
David Sedaris at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center
https://secure.whbpac.org/3153 $$$
Monday, October 6 at 7pm EST
Kim Roberts and Michael Gushue read from Q&A for the End of the World, along with Bonnie Naradzay and Michele Wolf at the Cafe Muse Series https://wordworksbooks.org/event/bonnie-naradzay-michele-wolf-kim-roberts-michael-gushue/
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 https://www.gaylteller.com/mid-island-2/
First Sundays: Poetic License, online, 4 PM, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82298684083#success
One Sunday a month: Speculative Sundays with Akua Lezli Hope, online, 7 PM EST
https://akualezlihope.com/speculative-poetry
Later-in-the-month Sundays: Book Club at Ghost Brewing Company from 10-noon
Third Sundays: Sunday Reading Series at The Hungry Brain, 6:30 PM, http://www.hungrybrainchicago.com/
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, https://firsttuesdays.net/
First Tuesdays: Poetry At Greenspace, 47 Broadway Rocky Pt, NY, 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, https://www.madisonartsnj.org/about/community-arts-center
Second Wednesdays: Poetry: It's a Shore Thing!, Long Beach Library (NY), 6 PM https://longbeachlibrary.org/
Second Wednesdays/Thursdays: The Muse at Neirs Tavern, Queens, 7 PM
Fourth Wednesdays: Risk of Discovery at QED Astoria, 7:30-9 PM
https://www.pw.org/content/the_risk_of_discovery_reading_series_and_the_queens_literary_scene
First Thursdays: BVAC at Jack Jacks, Babylon, 7 PM babylonvillagearts.org
First Thursdays: Poetry Circle Open Mic, Living Room Café, Ardmore, PA, 6:30 PM livingroomardmore.com
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, www.brooklinebooksmith.com
Third Thursdays: SAFTA Reading Series, Pretentious Beer Co, Old City Knoxville, TN https://www.sundresspublications.com/safta/reading-series/
Every Friday: Fridays: Seed Café Open Mic, 250 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI, 6:30 PM
https://allevents.in/pawtucket/seed-caf%C3%A9-open-mic-fridays/200025919132025
First Fridays: Revolutionary Poetry Nights, Grounds Books and Coffee, Tuscon, AZ www.revolutionarygrounds.com
First Fridays: Maryland Writers’ Association, 7 PM EST, online, https://marylandwriters.org/first_fridays
Third Fridays: Hudson Valley Writers Center in person and online, 7 PM https://writerscenter.org/calendar/
Last Fridays: Northport Arts Coalition Poetry Reading, Northport and online, 7:30 PM EST https://www.northportarts.org/
Last Fridays: Friday Night Fire, Teatro Yerbabruja Second Avenue Fire House, Bay Shore, NY, 7 PM, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/friday-night-fire-featured-artist-and-open-mic-event-tickets-488297128857
Last Fridays: Redmond Association of Spoken Word, Centro Cultural Mexicano Redmond, WA, 7-9 PM, www.centroculturalmexicano.org
Every Saturday: Astoria Music Collective Saturday Songwriters at The Local Bar, 3 PM,
https://happeningnext.com/event/saturday-songwriters-open-mic-at-the-local-bar-astoria-eid3a0889pfbk
Every Saturday: Cultivating Voices Live, online, 3 PM EST
https://www.nmpoetry.com/wp/events/cultivating-voices-live-poetry-online/
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, poetrystreetontheroad.com
Various monthly: Ludy Café and Hudson Valley Poetry, Irvington, NY, ludycafe.com
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): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/christinamrau