Last night marked the launch of Poetry at The Alley, Keith Snow’s new venue hosted, appropriately, at a small restaurant called The Alley on Second. The debut event was originally to have taken place on December 6th, but was cancelled due to snow, making January 3rd the premiere. Julia Tilley and Randy Gross, originally scheduled to read last month, will instead be featured at a special reading taking place on January 17th.
I got there late last night, as the reading started at 7:15 and I had to work until 8:00, but I arrived during the mid-reading break, so it worked out well. Snow has opted to assign a theme to the evenings, and this month’s was “Henna Tattoos & Haiku Too.” Henna tattoos were available for purchase from the proprietors of the restaurant and though I did not get one, guest host Emily Rice proudly displayed hers and it was beautiful. Few haiku were read, at least while I was there, but it was an evening of solid poetry, graced by many regulars to Harrisburg readings, a few we all love but don’t see nearly enough, and even some who I, at least, had never seen before. One of the last group presented so well that even the occupants of the table next to ours, there for the food and largely uninterested in the poetry, commented on how much they enjoyed him.
Despite a very few minor hitches — trouble finding winners for the many door prizes and noise from the aforementioned table really being the only two that come to come to mind — the evening went remarkably well for a first time event, and was equally well attended.
Poetry at The Alley has room to mature, but if tonight is any indication it will do so beautifully as its relationships with the restaurant and the community become more defined and the reading develops and character and flavor of its own.
Poetry at The Alley takes place at 7:15 PM on the first Saturday of every month at The Alley on Second (entrance on Blackberry St). For more information, contact Yvonne Moosa, 717-233-7107.