Brookline Poetry Series: Reading with Major Jackson

What’s that old adage in Hollywood: never work with kids or animals because they’ll always upstage you? Well, leave it to my daughter, Ella, to upstage her mother. Here she is at the microphone singing Christmas carols before my reading. I have to admit--she was pretty good.

Maybe we should take our act on the road.

My reading with Major Jackson at the Brookline Poetry Series couldn’t have gone any better. My parents were in the audience at their first-every poetry reading; they received a nice round of applause. For the most part the kids were well-behaved. Major and I had a strong showing of friends and poetry lovers at the Brookline Public Library. And for me, it was a personal celebration of Underlife's first year in print.

Major made the drive down from Vermont, no doubt a little stressed from the snowy ride. But you wouldn’t have known it as he read from all three of his collections. He has a certain grace when he reads, moving effortlessly from his Philly experiences to the interior landscapes of Holding Company.

With the full roster of talented open-mic readers, it was a delightful afternoon of poetry. Thanks to Ann Killough, Susana Roberts, and Aimee Sands for putting together a terrific reading.

My parents, (blurry) photo taken by Alex.

There's Alex helping me sell a few books.

Major and me. What a way to close out 2010!