First Tuesdays - February 2018

Due to the unexpected cancellation of the featured reader, there was an extra long open mic which birthed a 13 part cento. Although the theme was ostensibly "love" in honor of Valentine's Day this month, the back and forth of crowdsourced lines revealed competing compulsions to stick to the theme on one hand, and the gleeful desire for the morbid, ribald, or unexpected on the other.

Here is the cento for February 2018:

In the dream, my life was smoke (1)

A bed of blood made by the Tesla factory (2)

The secret of survival cut deep in the soul (3)

Tell her she would be imbibing your dead past (4)

In the deep valley of french toast between your thighs (5)

We welcome strange invasions! (6)

I've never been close enough to feel your breath before (7)

Like a bright, orange but low key sunset (8)

The joy this language brings is all you'll ever want (9)

Even Satan could steal my soul just once (10)

I stopped him. I wanted it for my compost (11)

The rabbi in my head went for a long walk (12)

You don't have to worry about me she said from 8000 miles away (13)

Give her a haggis! (14)

You know I don't love you sometimes (15)

You're only as good as your scraps (16)

Contributors:

(1) Richard Jeffrey Newman

(2) Peter Marra

(3) Denis Gray

(4) Sergio Satelite

(5) Herb Rubenstein

(6) Jay Cholliek

(7) Dan Fleshler

(8) Pat Duffy

(9) Richard Jeffrey Newman

(10) Kristi Hart

(11) Lydia Chang

(12) Norman Stock

(13) Malcolm Chang

(14) Elizabeth Wiethoff and Howard Passel

(15) Pichchenda Bao

(16) Kerianne Leibman

The next First Tuesdays Reading will be held at Espresso 77 on March 6 and will feature Denis Gray.