Working Gal Rock and Roll Poet: 08

Saturday, August 31, 2024

The Anne LeightonInclusion Interview Show with Joe Deninzon of Stratosph...

My interview with Joe Deninzon of Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius and Kansas Fame premieres on the Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show, seen on YouTube on Saturday, August 31, at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT / and Sunday morning at 1 AM Amsterdam Time.

Sunday, August 25, 2024

Invite to Poets for Harris Walz Online Get Together Sunday, September 1

Poets for Harris Walz are inviting the world to attend an online reading of poems inspired by Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz on Sunday, Sept. 1, 7-9 pm ET/ 4-6 pm PT/ midnight–2am in the UK.

Poets for Harris Walz is the brainchild of Bronx friends Dona Elena Hatcher, Tina Jackson, Rhonda Lyles, and Anne Leighton. All four have had a range of relationships from friends that were unkind to others with what’s become known in healing circles as “weird behavior” (mean people).

To RSVP for the event, fill out your information and submit at us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvdeuupz0tH9UhfQ18xGtY_3EPUKYpgWiv#/registration .

We hope to know by Thursday, August 28, who will be our special guest readers. Our organizers are supportive, observant and passionate poets, who will also be reading.

Please advise us if you’d like to be part of the open mic.

Dona Elena Hatcher is the owner of Take Flight Talent Workshops. She is the author of the poetry book, “Word Dances Poems on Pointe.” https://store.bookbaby.com/profile/WordDancesPoemsonPointe Email: dramadona1@yahoo.com.

Tina Jackson will be releasing her long-awaited poetry book, "Scars From An Addict" soon. Her most recent book, “Love Don’t Hit” is a novel about a woman who is physically, mentally, and verbally abused by her man. www.instagram.com/tinajackson7858/ Email: jacksontina578@gmail.com

Anne Leighton’s poetry book “The Leighton Explosion” is published by Soul Asylum Books, Canada. She’s working on The Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show. workinggalrockandroll.blogspot.com. Email: LeightonMedia@aol.com and Anne@AnneLeighton.com.

Rhonda Lyles is an Author, Entrepreneur, Mother, Grandmother, and Inspirational/Motivational Speaker. Since publishing her first book, “My Thoughts” in April of 2015, she written 13 more books—most recently “Loved Despite My Scars.” Email: lylesrhonda@yahoo.com

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Thursday, August 15, 2024

Invite to Submit to Poets for Harris Walz Online Get Together by August 23

The Reading Takes Place Online Sunday, September 1

Poets for Harris Walz are inviting poets inspired by the candidates of Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz to join our online reading event. Poets for Harris Walz takes place on Sunday, Sept. 1, 7-9 pm ET/ 4-6 pm PT/ midnight–2am in the UK.

Twelve poets will be selected to read their poetry within a seven-minute performance time. They will be chosen from submissions based on the relevance to our topic by the four curators of this event.

All submission and contact information listed below:

*Poems should be attached as a word docx and in the body of one email including all contact info.

*Poems should be single spaced and 12-point font, and titled.

*Include a one or two sentence bio and recent career highlights.

*Deadline for submission is August 23 midnight ET/9 pm PT/ 5 AM 24 of August UK Time.

Curator Emails for Submissions: Dona Elena Hatcher dramadona1@yahoo.com, Tina Louise Jackson: jacksontina578@gmail.com, Anne Leighton: LeightonMedia@aol.com and Anne@AnneLeighton.com, Rhonda Lyles: lylesrhonda@yahoo.com

Poets own their writing and biographies, and acknowledge we will be posting their performances on YouTube, Facebook, and Linkedin. The video might be shared by others around the world.

If this event goes well, we’ll do more online events.

Anne Leighton’s poetry book “The Leighton Explosion” is published by Soul Asylum Books, Canada. She’s working on The Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show. WorkingGalRockandRoll.blogspot.com. Email: LeightonMedia@aol.com and Anne@AnneLeighton.com.

Friday, August 2, 2024

Newsletter 16 The Anne Leighton Inclusion

Poetry newsletter August 2024

Since my last newsletter in 2022, I’ve journeyed from the depths of sadness for delusional love that never was! This trip help me learn—by observing and categorizing misguided hate—the actions from people that look down on you--from where ever I am, not them.

As a noun, Hate is a manifestation of people’s actions and thoughts. As a verb, Hate is action.

Another manifestation is our writing.

I’m on a Love Conquers All path to create an infrastructure that includes The Anne Leighton Inclusion Interview Show and time to write.

The Main hub of my writing work is my poetry website-- workinggalrockandroll.blogspot.com. The latest is a celebration of my Mom’s 100^th birthday which I finished writing for her Feb. 18 birthday, two days later at Art-in-the-Basin. I posted “Happy 100th Birthday, Mom (Dedicated to Halin Pryves Leighton)” on Sunday because of Kamala Harris. (She had some healing energy on this journey, classifying deliberately mean behavior as “weird,” but not in a creative sense manifested by artists. The poem salutes some of my ancestry including roots from India…. The last verse blew my mind--it was about my cats and not having children.

Also here at workinggalrockandroll.blogspot.com is a link to my first interview for the Leighton Inclusion. The third entry is with Tina Jackson, a former neighbor from the Bronx. Over the past ten years we’ve egged each other away from abuse. She released her first novel, "Love Don't Hit," and has been promoting herself in ways I need to learn! Now she’s working on a poetry book.

I’m creating poetry workshops inspired by Emily Dickinson—to understand the difference between kindness and cruelty. Tina will join me in some big workshops, and talk about getting out of abusive situations.

We like the idea of connecting with people that live love as opposed to those that are mean. Here's a link from a show one of my artists, Val Kinzler created as a series of “We the She” concerts in New York City.

Val had me write a poem, “We The She.” That segment starts about 39 minutes in; the poem tells my story of shaming a friend after an unsuccessful hookup with a rock star I was in love with back then. She gave him hell for not interacting with fans, and back then I told her she shouldn’t have stood up to the guy like that, 'cause I wanted him to like me next time we met if we ever talk…. Like he's gonna actually remember me!

I could’ve lost a friendship with someone that went to bat for me as opposed to someone that didn't like me.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NPv0c4GPss&t=2605s

Words are important, and we need to understand them for what they are. There’s so much about “Inclusion” being a negative word lately. "Inclusion" means "Everyone needs a lift, and someone thinks you're worth it. It's belonging with people that care about you.

Send the elevator down!

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. AnneLeightonInclusion is who I am. It’s become as much of my brand as my exuberant poetry book, "The Anne Leighton Explosion."

I Need Your Help For My New Poem—in progress. In fact, let’s call it, “In Progress”!!!!!

I fight City Hall and want to see change. Whether it does or doesn't, I have to be the change I want to see, because that's what I want in the world. That kind of recovery helps me slow down to observe, and recognize “mean” and kindness.

Just because I’m a writer, that doesn't mean I'm diplomatic. I've been blunt and humorous-in-an-outspoken way to every one of them.

Give me some advice on diplomacy and I’ll work on it and turn it into a poem.

One more link: If you have access to Facebook, please listen to my Art-in-the-Basin reading. Most of the poems were written after The Leighton Explosion, so I'm still at it. There's also a reading of the poem about my Mom on her 100th Birthday.

www.facebook.com/artinthebasin/videos/931976168342958

Thank you for reading and checking out my work. I love encouragement like that. Hoping you have a cool summer!

My book is called THE LEIGHTON EXPLOSION, which is a title I've played with throughout my entire adult life. It's based on The Music Explosion who rocked with a favorite song, "A Little Bit Of Soul." It's optimistic, and self-empowering, which is a quality I love in art... Three things have been constant in my life—- writing, music, and animals. Likewise, I've adapted the words to Frank Sinatra’s hit, “That’s Life.” I sing, “I’ve been a poet, a pauper, a publicist…. up and down…..” My poetry book, The Leighton Explosion (Soul Asylum, Canada) shows my range of emotion and different interests, especially rock music. My publisher Ken Cowle says I “made him laugh.” Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson, who writes the book’s foreword, praises my “lilt” and “personality” in an encouraging note. While I usually work as a music publicist with musicians including Jethro Tull, Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius, Sharon Katz & The Peace Train, and Michael Veitch, I've also made money from my poetry. This includes the Grammy-nominated album, Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat, (Audio & Video Labs) with me reading my poem “Feed Your Parents Well.” My poems have been published in The Indie Collaborative’s “Holiday Program,” “The Literary Parrot Anthology,” “Elephant Journal,” “BOG GOB,” “Powerline,” “the Aquarian,” and “Nickel.” I've performed live at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and Peter Max’s Studio. Some of my plays have been performed live—one by the Poets Repertory Theatre of Long Island and another by the San Antonio Living River Church, and at New York City’s Howl Fest. My other books are Paws For Thought: How to Understand What Your Cat is Thinking (Rockwell Books, UK), Using Your Art & the Media to Comfort People (Free To Run Books, West Hills, CA), and the self-published e-book, Get the Gig (Common Sense Career Consulting). I recently started producing pop music singles, which can be heard at soundcloud.com/leightonmedia/sets/anneleightonsongs.