The Somerville News Blog

From the classroom to the Paris Review

By Doug Holder Off The Shelf Jason Tandon was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1975. He is the author of "Give Over the Heckler" and "Everyone Gets Hurt" and is the winner of the St. Lawrence Book Award from Black Lawrence Press. He is also the author of two chapbooks, Rumble Strip (also from sunnyoutside) and Flight, both of which were nominated for the 2008 Massachusetts Book Award. His poems were twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2007 and have appeared in many journals, including New York Quarterly, Notre Dame Review, Columbia Poetry Review, The Laurel Review, Poetry International, Poet Lore, and Fugue. Tandon holds a BA and MA in English from Middlebury College and an MFA from the University of New Hampshire. His recently released poetry collection is "Wee Hour Martyrdom" (sunnyoutside). I spoke with Tandon on my Somerville Community Access TV show: " Poet to Poet Writer to Writer" Doug Holder: You studied with Charles Simic, the former U.S. Poet Laureate at the University of New Hampshire. Describe that experience. Jason Tandon: Simic was a wealth of information. He's been around forever. He's met everyone, every contemporary American poet that you can think of. One thing that he always stressed about the lyrical poem was economy. He wanted you to write something that could be read forty or fifty times, and have it still give you something back each time you read it. I was very, very excited to work with him, naturally. He was "the poet," if I could have chosen a poet, to have worked with. He certainly delivered. He was very forthcoming with his time. He is such a global figure in poetry. I was worried that he wouldn't be approachable or reachable. But his office was always open. He responded to emails very quickly. He had a very distinct style of leading a workshop. He was very critical and very forthcoming-he didn't hold back. He told me what he liked and what he didn't like. I really appreciated it. DH: Was he brutal? JT: He was brutal for all intents and purposes. But I thought it was great. It balanced well with the other professor there who took a very different approach. I love Simic's poetry... I love his style, so for me it worked out very well. I love his economy and compression. DH: In your poem from your recent collection: " The Room of Absence," dedicated to Simic, absence speaks very loudly. Why? JT: The funny thing is I was reading an interview with Simic from the 70's. He was talking about absence in his poetry. It was a very complicated passage. He was trying to explain how he felt present in the poem but at the same time absent. I really didn't understand what he was talking about. So I brought it to him in his office and asked him to explain it to me. He reread it and said, "What the bleep does that mean?" He playfully just cast this passage aside. So this was something he talked about in an interview and he had no idea what it meant. "The Room of Absence" was a phrase he used and the rest I suppose is poetry history. I am not sure what the poem means, but they were a series of images that were kicking around in me. DH: You have published with "sunnyoutside" a small press headed by Dave McNamara, that was once located in Somerville, but now is located in Buffalo, NY. How did you hook up? JT: I knew one of Dave's writers at the University of New Hampshire, Nate Graziano. He is a fiction writer and a poet who publishes with sunnyoutside. I gave Nate a few of my poems. He seemed to like them. When I got my first chapbook manuscript together, I was thinking of how to get it published. I was thinking of sunnyoutside. I wrote them a big, long query letter. I told Dave McNamara what I liked about his authors and how my work might fit in. He told me at the time that he was booked up (which is the case with most publishers), and told me to give him a query back in six months. I wrote down the date and sent him the manuscript. Three months later he said he would do it. I started with a chapbook "Rumble Strip," later my collection Wee Hour Martyrdom" came out. I couldn't be happier with the work David does. He is a great editor too. DH: You had a stint at "The Paris Review" right? JT: As soon as Charles Simic became editor, (which was in the summer of 2005), he called me up and asked me if I wanted to be an intern reading through the slush pile. We had a little office in the basement of the English Dept. I read through literally thousands of submissions per issue. DH: Out of those thousands of poems how many were selected? JT: Maybe 10 to 15 poems...total. But I submit to journals so I know what it is like to be on the other side. And of course I was reading for The Paris Review that has a significant history and standards. Of course it was not the New York office of The Paris Review. It wasn't glamorous. The office had a desk, chair, a computer, and a phone that didn't work. DH: You grew up in Hartford; Conn. Has that city influenced your work at all? JT: Actually most of what's in "Wee Hour..." comes from my time living in Malden and Medford. "Rumble Strip," was taken from living in rural areas like Vermont. Still, I am very influenced by place and people. I don't know that Hartford influenced me. DH: You have a minimalist style. Are you of the school of thought that less says more? JT:JT: Yes. Absolutely. If you have a phrase or image-if you have a few lines that just open up a variety of doors for the reader, you are doing a good thing. I want people to come in contact with my work with their own ideas. I like this better than narrative...I am trying to trigger the imagination of the reader. If you do too much you overdo it. DH: You presently teach at Boston University. How does that fit with your writing? JT: I have always enjoyed teaching. I taught before I really decided to write. I taught junior high right after college. I went back to get my MFA. I teach Contemporary American Poetry so I am constantly thinking about and discussing American poets. The students are great. Breakfast in My Twenties I'd brew coffee from a can of TV blend, pull my radio from the wall as far as it could go, and tune in blues or strings with luck, that luminous refrain and echo. Crawl onto my roof, light a smoke and sit for five or ten to watch a violet cannon or a carpet gray unroll, while Baba prepared for the lunch rush in his deli below. Grilled tahini chicken, falafel and kebob, I'd bury my nose in my clothes- O smoke that poured from the vent! My lungs breathed blood, raw, fresh, my teeth gleamed white. I could've run five miles each day, but there was too much to do and see at night. Lyrical Somerville edited by Doug Holder From "The Breast" by Anne Sexton "This is the key to it. This is the key to everything." To have your work considered for the LYRICAL send it to: Doug Holder 25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143 dougholder@post.harvard.edu Her Brother Feeding at The Breast: Reflections on a Fifteenth Century Painting of "Virgin and Child" (at "The Cloisters," New York City) No areola whorls around the nipple blue-white translucent singed with red swollen like the rozulahtes. The right breast rubs against his arm as patient fingers branch, offering inside that notch a bud through endless time. The baby's mouth plump and satisfied thrusts forward like his eyes answering to the peopled universe beyond. Left knee slants to her right hand slopes diagonal to left elbow -- bows of two violins raised to a single tune. His thumb and middle finger arc: Inside begins the world The mother's arm curving underneath his thigh can feel the plunge of energy coiling through his nerves. Her face has that certainty when self dissolves total with the moment. Eyes faint moons glinted with dark orbs, she knows she cannot know. The baby lifts his knee for symmetry, similitude -- the natural impatience of the infant -- and modesty to hide that small pointer with its balances on either side. And yet his distinct "maleness" and Divinity -- in the mother's hushed adoring awe. Where is the sister infant, whether mortal child or goddess? Or does every goddess ride to life on foam? Some born through fathers' brains, emerge full-grown, never babies suckling at the breast. Would Demeter have nursed Persephone and felt through the pressure of that mouth, her daughter's power to rebirth the world? The son is wriggling now, left arm squirming for release. Right leg thrusts defiant for the ground. Soon she parts her fingers, repairs her bodice, and mollifies this spirit that refuses to be held. In that moment before discarding "Virgin" identity to resume the commonplace, does she long to hold a daughter, wish for a different god? -- Marilyn Jurich * Marilyn Jurich is the winner of the Ibbetson Street Press Poetry Award 2008 as presented at the Somerville News Writers Festival. She is a professor of English at Suffolk University in Boston.

Somerville Hospital could close

~Photo by Bobbie Toner 'Draconian efforts' possible to keep parent company running By George P. Hassett The city's only hospital could close as a casualty of deep budget cuts for its parent company, the Cambridge Health Alliance. Hospital officials, however, say they are doing everything they can to keep Somerville Hospital open. In an interview with The Somerville News, health alliance spokesman Doug Bailey said October budget cuts by Gov. Deval Patrick could result in hospital and clinic closings and layoffs for the Harvard-affiliated health care provider. He said health alliance officials are hoping that some state funding is restored. In May, Cambridge Health Alliance announced Somerville Hospital would close two units - intensive and transitional care - and shift all off hour emergency surgeries to Cambridge Hospital in an effort to save $4.9 million a year. The cuts claimed 32 jobs. Bailey said the future of Somerville Hospital remains "uncertain" and if Patrick's cuts are not reversed, health alliance officials may have to resort to "draconian efforts" to keep the company running. Somerville Hospital, he said, is not a top priority for closing. The health alliance would have to give the state 90 days notice before they closed the hospital. David Schildmeier, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said closing Somerville Hospital would be "devastating for the community."

Thanksgiving from around the world

~Photo by Bobbie Toner Somerville students celebrated Thanksgiving in worldly fashion Tuesday as they enjoyed a Thanksgiving lunch with delicacies from around the world, including Brazil and Asia, at the Cowboy Cafe inside Somerville High School.

Letters To The Editor

Support families in Union Square Dear Editor, I am writing this letter to emphasize the importance of the upcoming hearing on the Union Square Zoning Ordinance. At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, the zoning plan will be discussed at a joint hearing of the Board of Aldermen Land Use Committee and the Planning Board in the Aldermanic Chamber at City Hall. Organizations that I am involved with, Save Our Somerville (SOS) and the Affordable Housing Organizing Committee (AHOC), are deeply concerned about displacement spurred by this zoning. We hope that Somerville residents will join us in solidarity at the hearing or personally convey their concern about the ramifications of the impacts of this zoning upon the affordability of Union Square neighborhoods to their aldermen by letter, phone, or e-mail. What are the stakes here? Neighborhoods surrounding Union Square vary in composition from longtime Somerville residents to the new immigrants that have brought vibrancy to the city of Somerville throughout its history. These neighborhoods also vary widely in the economic status of their residents. I have been told that Union Square is home to a greater diversity of background and economic means than any other area of the city. A common thread that many of these neighborhoods share, however, is the presence of families. If you live anywhere near Davis Square, go for a stroll down Concord Ave. by Union Square on a Saturday afternoon. You will find children playing in the streets the likes of which has rarely been seen in the decade since I was a child growing up near Davis. The proposed zoning plan does nothing to address the displacement of Somerville residents and does too little to create affordable homes in sites of potential new residential development. The Green Line is coming to Union Square and the City of Somerville would like to capitalize upon the new development opportunities. Unfortunately there is a lack of responsibility shown towards the needs of Somerville people and, as such, a seriously flawed vision for this cityʼs future. If the city had been serious about the preservation of affordability, and by extension the presence of families and community in Somerville, they would have addressed issues of displacement and affordability before introducing any new zoning. These issues are incredibly difficult to tackle and will take a very large commitment to even semi-satisfactorily address, but introducing development friendly zoning at a critical moment in time, such as this, will exacerbate existing issues and could potentially spell calamity for Union Square. Appropriate leadership has not been shown by the executive branch of our city on these issues. That is why I now look towards the Board of Aldermen as this ordinance comes before them. As I stated, the mere fact that this zoning is being considered at this time is a failure of city priorities, but it is being considered and we cannot go back in time. We have yet to see where our aldermen will come down on this. Excuse me for being jaded by the tender age of 22, but I seriously question the courage of a majority of our present Board of Aldermen to take the leadership that I look for in a situation of isolation. That is why we, the people of this fair city, must stand in unity behind these issues to create the necessary political will that, moving forward, will support our aldermen as leaders who can do what it takes to preserve this city and our community. It has taken 150 years to create the quality of community that we have here in Somerville today. I will be crushed if I witness the loss of this community within my lifetime. To alter the disastrous course that this city is taking will take a serious, prolonged commitment. Letʼs allow this coming hearing to be a start. Please join me on Dec. 4 and together we can save our Somerville. -Adam Rich Readers are invited to send letters to the editor to The Somerville News. Please email your letters to News@TheSomervilleNews.com or mail them to 21A College Ave., Somerville, Mass., 02144. The Somerville News Reserves the right to edit letters for style , grammar and length. All letters must include an name and contact information. Contact information will not be shared with the public.. We look forward to hearing from you.

Letters To The Editor

City must help Union Square biz grow To the people of Somerville, Picture Union Square as it could be: a place where people of all ages window shop on clean, wide, tree-lined sidewalks. Where neighbors linger at outdoor cafés and enjoy performers, markets and festivals in lively, green, open spaces. Where a mix of profitable, independent businesses thrive-from engaging retail shops to interesting restaurants to bustling offices-and many residents can walk to new shops and well-paying jobs near their homes. Union Square can be all this but first we must replace outmoded zoning regulations that discourage this kind of pedestrian-oriented commercial development for Union Square. The Board of Union Square Main Streets is pleased to support the proposal now before the Board of Aldermen to create new zoning districts and an arts overlay District for Union Square. For the past four years, our organization has worked with business owners, volunteers, citizens and the City of Somerville to fulfill our vision of a thriving business district in Union Square.. Helping Union Square recapture its status as a thriving commercial center is vital not just for the Square but for the city as a whole. For decades Somerville has failed in many of its efforts to support business development and this stagnation has left us without a commercial tax base. Our neighbor of Cambridge has more than four times the commercial property value per square mile when compared to Somerville. This allows Cambridge to depend on residential property taxes for only 37 percent of the city budget. In Somerville, where we lack sufficient commercial development, residential property taxes make up 86 percent of the total budget. Union Square, once our city's "downtown", is nearly the same size as Davis Square but this gem is faded, with Union Square's commercial properties worth only 40 percent as much as Davis. For Somerville to maintain quality public services such as police and fire, education and other services, Somerville needs significant commercial investment. Replacing outmoded regulations can achieve this vision, redeveloping Union Square as the commercial center and bustling neighborhood it once was. Now, thanks to extensive efforts by city planners, the arts community led by the Somerville Arts Council, and numerous other partner organizations and community members who have worked alongside Union Square Main Streets, we believe the new zoning will enable much needed development in Union Square and provide a range of balanced community benefits. We particularly favor these features of the zoning proposal: • Solid Pedestrian-orientation - the new zoning recognizes the dense, urban fabric of this historic neighborhood by bolstering active first floor uses, full occupancy of upper floors and mandating structured and shared parking. • Historic architecture and In-Fill Development - Landmark properties that once defined the center of the Square can be rebuilt back to their former glory and fulfill their highest potential. Like missing teeth, along our sidewalks empty lots, inappropriate business types and run-down one story properties can be replaced with businesses that enliven the streetscape. • Advancement of Arts Uses - Requirements for arts uses and incentives for artist live/work studios build upon our efforts to engage Somerville's robust arts community for economic development. • Open Space - Instead of the wastelands of tarmac mandated by today's zoning, the new regulations would set aside 20 percent of these parcels for usable public open space. • Affordable & Additional Housing - When built out, the new zoning could increase the city's pool of inclusionary units ten-fold and generate millions of dollars in linkage fees for even more affordable housing. Additional new apartments will alleviate market pressure on current housing and help create a vibrant urban city center supporting neighborhood businesses during the day and evening. • Community Health - More intense development is focused on those areas of Union Square presenting the greatest environmental challenges. The polluted properties of the Public Safety Building and those along Prospect Street and in Boynton Yards will require significant investment. This zoning proposal can spur the clean-up that has languished for decades. Further, the zoning builds a more sustainable neighborhood through energy-efficient pedestrian-oriented density and incentives to encourage environment-friendly green building design. Over the last four years Union Square has seen real improvements. Since USMS launched in February 2005, 12,000 square feet of commercial properties that were vacant or industrial uses now have cultural and retail uses like a dance studio, architectural offices, a café, and housewares store.. Because of outdated, onerous regulation, progress by these small business owners - most of whom live here -- has been unnecessarily slow and expensive. Bureaucratic red-tape has locked-in poor commercial uses while parking requirements, based on inappropriate suburban models, have hobbled efforts to create jobs, to fill vacant buildings and to improve properties. The barriers to bringing in tenants for upper stories are so great that these spaces have remained vacant for decades. The new zoning proposal will remove these barriers, allow new businesses to fill vacant spaces, to do the environmental clean up, and to build the pedestrian-oriented uses that this neighborhood and the citizens of Somerville love, want and deserve. While the proposed zoning strategically focuses the densest development near the proposed public transit improvements, it does not depend on the Green Line. Zoning changes are essential, with or without new transit, and lowering barriers to commercial development is essential for the fiscal health of our city. The zoning proposal before the Board of Aldermen was over three years in the making. It was crafted with intensive input and evaluation from a working group of neighborhood stakeholders, review from design and development professionals and the extensive work of city staff at the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. This significant change is, however, just the first step for new development in Union Square. The City of Somerville needs to consider incentives to assist current businesses and commercial property owners to improve and expand. We need work to attract development that meets local needs and is compatible with neighborhood design. Additional strategies beyond inclusionary zoning are needed to address affordability concerns such as the creation of new rental units. As change comes to Union Square we'll all be called to maintain our participation on this process to review plans and find appropriate business tenants. For too long, it's been as if Union Square has been wearing the wrong shoes. These smelly old shoes, ill-fitting and giving us blisters with every step, have made it impossible for us to walk, never mind to run. It's time for the City of Somerville to do better and to allow this neighborhood to stand up and move ahead with pride. Sincerely, The Board of Directors, Union Square Main Streets Readers are invited to send letters to the editor to The Somerville News. Please email your letters to News@TheSomervilleNews.com or mail them to 21A College Ave., Somerville, Mass., 02144. The Somerville News Reserves the right to edit letters for style , grammar and length. All letters must include an name and contact information. Contact information will not be shared with the public. We look forward to hearing from you.

Clubs help charity on Thanksgiving

~Photo by William Tauro Rotary president Phillip Cantor, Kiwanas president Ellen O'Brien and Lions president Tim O'Malley presented contributions to charities such as Project Soup, Somerville Homeless Coalation and CASPAR as part of Tuesday's Thanksgiving lunch at the Mount Vernon.

The View From Prospect Hill

Kudos to the cast of characters responsible for the Arts Armory on Highland Avenue. Joseph and Nabil Sater, of Middle East fame, have done an excellent job of cleaning up an old eyesore and turning it into a place that could bring our diverse community together. When the brothers bought the old armory in 2004 for $2.6 million, they made it clear it wouldn't be a nightclub. And it seems they kept their promise. Instead of a noisy club, we're getting a center devoted to bringing the arts into our neighborhoods. There will be a special focus on educating children and the folks at Little Sisters of the Poor across the street are excited too. Thank you Sater brothers, for enhancing the Somerville community with your project, instead of just capitalizing off it. And a thank you to Ward 5 Alderman Sean O'Donovan for facilitating the project for four years and keeping neighbors informed of what's coming next. Without proper communication, misinformation too often circulates through our dense city streets. This is how it's supposed to be done. Let's use this experience as a model for future projects in residential neighborhoods.

Charter review 'more than disturbing'

By Mary Jo Rossetti - School Committee - Ward 7

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

The following is Ward 7 School Committee member Mary Jo Rosetti's testimony to the mayor's Charter Review Committee.

My name is Mary Jo Rossetti, as an elected school committee member I serve and represent all children of our city, I happen to reside in Ward 7. In my near 10 years of service I have never been more opposed to a recommendation. The thought of appointing anyone to a body of government is illogical.

Couple that with the audacity of "requiring" these appointed bodies to have "educational expertise and diversity" is more than disturbing to me. At one of your committee meetings last month, I asked that you note our current annual and long range goals. I hope you have found the time to do so.

I note that the only recommendation you have requested of our current Board of Aldermen is to rename this legislative body as City Council, and in your Chair's words, this is to allow them to be "gender neutral."

With no disrespect intended to these current elected officials, what makes them "experts" to manage all areas of our city? Need I remind you that we, as elected School Committee members, have the ability to hire and fire the school's Superintendent, and furthermore that this position pays greater than $160,000 per year! Is it your opinion we are not being advised by an "educational expert" for this amount of money?

School committees are at the heart of civic engagement in the United States. In fact, the last general school district (besides Boston) to use appointed board members is shifting back to elected representatives effective this month (Southern Berkshire Regional).

A recent study by the National School Board Association noted that "elected school boards compromise an overwhelming majority" throughout our country. Exactly what data did you use?

This smells like an attempt of control by taking over the schools and taking it from the hands of the community. Do we believe that the voters do not deserve to select their elected officials and public policy makers?

What is the problem here in the first place and why the change? Do you just want to do something different because somebody told the presidential candidates that "change" is the new buzzword for 2008?

Appointed members smacks of both elitism and politics. Does this mean people can lobby or deal their way onto the School Committee rather than seeking the support of the people?

One of our local newspapers recently gave a "Thumbs Down" to Question 5. As they stated, an elected official "seems to have worked for over the last few hundred years."

In closing, I will refer to a quote of Governor Patrick in a recent statement of his dated October 31, 2008: "In a successful democracy, the currency of government is integrity. We in public office are not entitled to our positions. We are placed here by voters to do the best we can on their behalf. And we are expected to conduct their business honestly and openly."

Thanks for the Memories

Jimmy Del Ponte On The Silly Side

What do you think of when you think of Thanksgiving? For me, it's giving thanks, then eating a huge turkey dinner with the family. Before the actual day, it's the preparation ritual, which includes going in stores and seeing overflowing displays of foil cooking pans, gravy master, stovetop stuffing, Bell's Seasoning, frozen Butterballs, endless pies and endless lines. On Wednesday afternoon you won't be able to get near McKinnon's or Lyndells. The big grocery chain stores will be jammed as well. That's when we become thankful just to find a parking space, so we can be part of the lines.

I remember when my mother was in her "all hands on deck" mode the day before Thanksgiving. I can still see my dad sharpening that big knife in the kitchen. It was understood that he got the neck, the giblets and all the parts no one else wanted. I was the one who had to run down to Stop and Shop in Davis Square on Wednesday for last minute items. And every year there is that 11th hour Thanksgiving Day frantic trip to a Store 24 for something - usually more butter. You look at the other customers who are there and agree that you all should be at home instead of at a convenience store. I am thankful that I overbuy and stockpile cranberry sauce, butter - and Lipitor.

On Thanksgiving I think back to when we were at the kiddie table. A time when our parents, grandparents and all of our aunts and uncles were still alive - and we didn't have a care in the world. Losing a cousin at an early age was unheard of - ours was an invincible family. We never ever thought that there would be a time that some of them would not be with us. Now, as we get older there are less of them still here, so we use our memories to bring us back to those happy times - not that these times aren't good, because they certainly are.

I for one always try to be thankful that we have reasonably good health and the kids are all happy and thriving. What works for me is the phrase: "it could always be worse..." I feel lucky and grateful for my family and friends - both of them!

Thanksgiving means that it's almost time to get serious about Christmas shopping and more endless lines. Every year I tell myself that it's no use to panic because it always turns out fine. We are conditioned to go into the frantic Christmas mode the day after Thanksgiving - just think of all the Christmases we have survived - why should this one be any different? We will survive. Stay home on Friday and have a turkey sandwich. Thanksgiving means football (go Highlanders!) and settling in after dinner to watch endless college and NFL games. If we are lucky we will get one of those balmy Thanksgiving days where the temperatures are in the 50's.

It's funny how the things I am thankful for now are different than the things I was thankful for 25 years ago. I used to be thankful that I had enough beers left for the next day - today I hope we don't run out of milk and juice boxes. I used to be thankful Kay and Chips stayed open until the wee hours of the morning serving breakfast - today I am thankful if I stay awake for a TV show that's on at 8pm. I used to be thankful for days off from school - now I am hoping they approve the extended school day.

I remember being thankful that I completed a 2-mile jog - I thank heaven today if I can go up the stairs to my bedroom without getting winded. I remember being thankful for my Camaro Z28 convertible - today I am thankful to rest on my Castro convertible sofa. I used to check out chicks, now I check out library books (ok, and chicks while at the library). I used to thank God for my long rock n' roll hair - today I am thankful if the drain doesn't clog up with hair after I shower. I used to be thankful that I was thin and I had big hair - now my stomach is big and my hair is thin. I remember I thanked the Lord when my daughter graduated from College - I later thanked God, Allah and Buddha when she decided to take that hideous nose ring out and let the hole close.

Here are some more things I am thankful for today: my pillows, my bed, my remote controls and my dog. I am thankful for my big TV, sports on TV, The Three Stooges, Seinfeld, The Honeymooners, birthday cakes, my camper in NH and pizza to name a few more. I used to yell out "yippie" when I'd come home and discover my parents had left for the cape for the weekend - today I'd give anything to spend an hour with them. Wouldn't I love seeing mom scurrying about the kitchen and dad snoring in front of the TV. This year we will be making more memories that we can use at a later date.

So, stock up on butter, cranberry sauce and don't forget the pies - be sure to appreciate the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and parents you still have in your life. I am truly thankful for all the blessings I have. And dad, we'll be saving the neck, heart, giblets and all your other favorite parts for you.


Please e-mail your comments to Jimmy at: jimmydel@rcn.com

Abbey Lounge will be gone tomorrow

Say goodbye to the Abbey Lounge folks.~Photo by Tom Nash Dive will close today By Tom Nash Tonight the Abbey Lounge will host a final evening of cheap beer and rock'n' roll before shutting its doors forever. Last week, patrons of the gritty Beacon Street watering hole crowded around the TV set to watch a live news broadcast on the club's closing, with the reporter standing just outside the door. Just an hour before, bartender John Giannino had told the news crew how it felt to see his father's business closing for good. "It's disappointing," he said later. "What else can you say?" The club entered the year struggling, laying off three of its employees in the face of a shrinking economy and dwindling audiences. Contrary to a report in the Boston Herald, Giannino said the bar will not be reopening as an Irish pub. "We're closing our doors on Wednesday and that's it for us," he said. The Wednesday show will feature bands that got their start at the Abbey Lounge. The night will feature sets by Acrobrats, Auto Interiors, Jay Allen,Coffin Lids, Curses, Konks, Muck and the Mirers, Spitzz, Sprained Ankles,Tampoffs and Triple Thick. "It's going to be unforgettable, but also a little somber," Giannino said. "It's the last show. It's going to be a great memory, but in the back of our minds we'll know it's the last time we'll be able to party here." The show begins at 7 p.m and has a $5 cover.

Open letter to the Charter Review Committee

William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

To the Charter Review Committee,

I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to give testimony at your Nov. 10 public hearing. I hope you are not discouraged that, from mildly to passionately, all but one person who spoke was critical of your preliminary recommendations. That may explain why the hearing, which was scheduled to be broadcast at least five times on the city's cable channel, never was.

I respectfully suggest that you might have begun the work of your committee by gathering evidence on how Somerville government is benefiting or injuring its citizens and, therefore, how it should be changed. In just five meetings, you covered a truly remarkable range of topics. Yet I detect scant mention in your meeting notes of the Somerville-specific historical context and conditions that inform your judgment. So please consider my own view.

There were times when Somerville's government was more explicitly rife with patronage than it is today. It has been over two decades since city officials went to jail. But even then, citizen watchdog groups, a vigilant local press, and extensive, diverse, and politically active relationship networks helped keep city government honest. They have faded away. In their absence, the executive branch has steadily accumulated more power. The legislative branch has disappeared in all but name.

For as long as anyone can remember, our mayors withheld city services from the wards of disobedient aldermen and worked for the election of obedient ones. But in the absence of vigilant watchdogs, aldermen have become more vulnerable to such pressure.

This parallels and is fed by the enormously increased size and volume of donations going to mayoral campaign funds, particularly from interests living outside of Somerville. The current mayor won his position by spending $35 per vote, more than any municipal campaign in Massachusetts. By comparison, aldermen seldom spend more than $2 per vote.

The resulting autocracy expresses itself in many ways. The current administration refused to release elected officials' ethics statements as required by law. In response to a Freedom of Information Act action, they released them with key blocks of information blacked out. They offer the laughable excuse that the Massachusetts Ethics Commission does not require the release of officials' phone numbers.

From 1975 to 1985, the Board of Aldermen vigorously debated and passed legislation regarding at least twenty major issues, often with five to six votes. In the last ten years, I count two significant pieces of legislation originating from the Board. The rest were the mayor's initiatives, submitted by a Board member. Dissenting votes were rarely more than two or three.

The eclipse of aldermanic power, trends in campaign financing, and the deal making that takes place outside of the public eye are, taken together, troubling. So many significant decisions over recent mayoral tenures flaunted the best relevant evidence, suggesting the extent to which they were influenced by political considerations. Their outcomes speak eloquently to their quality.

Over the past century, the response advocated by the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and Louis Brandeis to such conditions was a council/manager municipal charter. So I was disappointed by your easy dismissal of it. At your July 9 meeting, you had "agreed to research and discuss a city manager [i.e., a council/manager] form of government." Then at your Sept. 10 meeting, "the committee agreed that there is no desire to move away from a mayoral form of government."

When I asked what your research on council/manager government had involved, your response was that some committee members read the book, The Adapted City. When I asked what your discussion had involved, you said that committee members had made these observations: there is a trend among municipalities toward a mayoral form of government; some committee members believe that an elected mayor is more responsive to the voters; some believe that council/manager government is more appropriate for homogenous, suburban cities, while strong-mayor government is better for diverse urban ones; and some believe that our strong-mayor government is working well, so there is no need to change it.

I would suggest that

• trends mean little without understanding the historical reasons for changing governmental forms specific to each municipality that comprises the trend;

• over the decades, our own strong-mayor government has become unaccountable to the voters;

• you should actually examine objective conditions before you pronounce Somerville government to be working well;

• and Lowell, Worcester, and Cambridge are all larger and more diverse than Somerville, but have done quite well with council/manager governments.

Lowell and Lawrence had very similar economies when Lowell adopted council/manager government, as did Cambridge and Somerville when Cambridge did the same. It is fascinating to compare the subsequent trajectories of these two pairs of cities' fiscal health, political participation and general wellbeing.

And then there is diverse and urban Chelsea, whose strong-mayor corruption and incompetence made it the first U.S. city forced into receivership since the great depression. In fact, only about 10 percent of Massachusetts' municipalities have strong/mayor governments, but they account for all but one of the Commonwealth's significant municipal corruption scandals. I imagine that your colleague Gerry McCue can describe how Chelsea has steadily come back since it adopted council/manager government.

Somerville citizens now have no real means of redress other than by voting for a mayoral challenger. Without an incumbent's bulging campaign coffers and patronage-based army, a challenger's chances are miniscule. If you summarily dismiss consideration of council/manager government, then I am astonished you have not recommended initiative and referendum, which do not exist in our charter.



I do applaud your recommendation to finally grant the Board of Aldermen authority to appoint their own staff. How about their own counsel? Your fiscal and financial recommendations are very much appreciated as well.

The notion that a person of color appointed by the mayor could effectively represent fifty ethnic groups is dubious, however, as is the notion that School Committee members should possess some kind of "expertise" other than speaking for their constituents.

Taken together, the recommendations you have made thus far are feeble in the context of our history and objective conditions. Council/manager government is not intrinsically superior in every situation. But its adoption would leaven an inertial, old-boy-network political culture that excludes the recruitment of fresh and diverse talent, perpetuates patronage, and fails on your criterion of benefiting all citizens. Somerville's structural fiscal deficit is one of its products.

When our nation's founders decided to change their form of government, they began the Declaration of Independence by stating that "a decent respect for the opinions of mankind" required them to state their reasons for doing so. They defined the values that would guide the transformation of their political institutions. And they cited the history and resulting conditions that compelled that transformation. I would encourage you to do the same.

There are many among Somerville's citizens who would simply like unpoliticized consideration of their job applications and performance, impartiality in service distribution and zoning decisions, or a city government that tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Most do not enjoy the luxury of dispassionately discussing forms of municipal governance.

Do you believe that the conditions they experience are unworthy of your consideration? Do you believe that the recommendations you are offering will transform those conditions?

Newstalk for November 26

Mayoral Aide Mike Buckley submitted his resignation effective December 5 - as soon as that happened speculation throughout the city went rampant - but we have it on reliable sources it's because he was offered another job that pays more money. We also hear he's not going very far, so either it's in Gov. Patrick's administration or could it be at the housing authority here in Somerville - whichever it may be, we know Mayor Joe will miss him - they are also good personal friends. Mike often said that he was the most loyal guy the Mayor had on staff - and was heard saying a few times that he'd "take a bullet for the Mayor if he had to..." we're glad that won't have to happen - best of luck to you Mike, from Newstalk.

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It appears that Ward 4 Alderman Walter Pero has the votes necessary for President of the Board of Aldermen - which he's been wanting for a long time. On the School Committee front, we hear that Ward 1 member Maureen Bastardi will become the new Chairperson of the School Committee - we wish them both luck in their roles this coming year.

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One name is already surfacing from the rumor mill about running for Alderman at Large - former aide to Senator Shannon and Mayor Kelly-Gay, Sean Fitzgerald - who has been seen around town having a lot of coffee with various political figures. Apparently Sean wants to test the waters to see if he can unseat one of the incumbents. Sean currently lives in Ward 7 with his wife and family and works in Boston at the State House as an aide to Rep. Jay Kaufman.

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Oh and by the way, even though the official word from the Police Department is that there is no Sergeant who was suspended, we still stand by our earlier comment that a Sergeant was suspended for allegedly doctoring court attendance sheets. The official word might be that "it's not true" and that no one is suspended, but several other sources say differently.

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Ward 6 Princess Alderwoman Gewirtz, we hear, is pretty upset that her committee on the Condo Review Ordnance now won't be heard until after the first of the year, if at all. Not to worry - a lot of the taxpayers across the city - the regular people will be watching very carefully for any behind the scene maneuvers. We all know she hates not having her way - you have to be careful, those PDSers are known to have had secret meetings in the recent past.

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Speaking of the PDSers, Prince Carl is back from demonstrating in California we hear - although he's not talking to The Somerville News - we guess since we didn't endorse him in the recent election...oh well. Don't worry Prince Carl, we will keep your name alive here in Newstalk in the good old Somerville rumor mill, which depending on the side you listen to (Left, Right or even the Middle), can be pretty interesting.

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We said it here first back 4 months ago, that another major Real Estate office was closing its doors here in Somerville. Coldwell Banker has announced to its agents that the Somerville Office on Highland Avenue is closing its doors for good here in Somerville - the office is apparently loosing money and already agents are jumping ship. We predict another good size local Real Estate company (but not owned locally) will also be closing its doors within six months. Seems as if truly local real estate offices like Bremis, Buccelli and Norton will survive. For those keeping track - that's 3 offices we predicted closing in 2008 - and all 3 closed. It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to know that this is normal for offices that flourished when the money was good and the three offices mentioned that will probably survive have people associated with them have been through this before.

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Kat Powers, Editor of the Somerville Journal and Jamie Norton, Managing Editor of The Somerville News will be appearing live on "Somerville Pundit", Wednesday December 3 with popular activist Joe Lynch as the host. The show starts at 8pm and it is live - on Channel 3. Call in and ask them questions, should be interesting.

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The Somerville News Writers Festival VI, held last Saturday night at the Dilboy Post, was standing room only with over 200 attendees - thanks to the efforts of our own Doug Holder and Tim Gager - who are already lining up guests for next year's event. Great work guys and an awesome evening was had by all.

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On December 8th from 7:00-9:00 PM the High School will host a family workshop called "Financial Aid Night: Getting Your Fair Share" which will demystify the college financial aid process and help families begin to consider key decisions to maximize their future high school graduates college financing option. For more information about programs and services to help families negotiate the financial aid and college application process, please contact SHS Assistant Principal John Oteri at 617-625-6600 x6100 or joteri@k12.somerville.ma.us.

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Christmas trees and wreaths will be sold by Full Circle and Next Wave students, under the supervision of staff, at Foss Park from December 3 through 21. Trees come in varying sizes and prices; wreaths are 14" in diameter and festooned with a red velvet ribbon and cost $12 each. Wreaths and may be pre-ordered now for early December delivery - to pre-order a wreath, please contact Agnes Gallant at Full Circle/Next Wave (agallant@somerville.mec.edu) or call 617-625-6600 x6860.

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What city department has two major employees home a lot and being paid for working full time? Several phone calls into the News tip line have asked for someone to investigate why in these hard economic times city employees would risk not coming to work - unless of course their director is okay with it...

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The Brown School is now home to a Weatherbug Platinum Station donated by Miriam and Beverly Schwartz as a gift to the school - students and staff from across the District can use the Weatherbug Station to track weather conditions for class projects using a web portal (www.weatherbug.com). Users can type in the Brown School's zip code (02144) and receive the same weather statistics that meteorologists use to make forecasts. Anyone who has access to the Internet can see this information.

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A brand new seven-foot Yamaha concert grand piano is now making its home in the Somerville High School Auditorium courtesy of the Somerville Lodge of Masons. The Masons donated $10k of the $13.5k cost of the brand new piano to the School. The old piano needed $17k in repairs, so this was a very good use for the money. The new concert grand piano will be debuted at the annual winter concerts held at Somerville High School on December 11 and 18 - both concerts will be at 7:00 PM and complimentary tickets will be available after Thanksgiving. For more details on the new piano or to get your hands on some tickets, contact the K-12 Supervisor of Music Education, Mr. Richard Saunders at 617-625-6600 x6143 or rsaunders@k12.somerville.ma.us.

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Apparently all is good now at the DPW - it appears that TB is back to work at the DPW...its been very hush-hush there about the goings on and the lack of goings on - talk about maintaining the "Code of Silence"!

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Our condolences to the family of Bobby Martini for the recent loss of his son Robert E. Martini - it's another sad day here in Somerville with this loss, many will miss him!

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A sure sign that the holiday season in the City of Somerville is upon us is when the annual tree lighting ceremony on the City Hall Concourse happens - well, this year it will be on Tuesday, December 2nd beginning at 5:30pm - the public is invited to gather at City Hall for performances by local artist Patrice Peris, the Somerville High School Band and the Somerville Community Chorus. Following the tree lighting, guests are invited inside the Aldermanic Chambers - where all children will have the opportunity to have a photo taken with and receive a gift from Santa. Light refreshments will be served.

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Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Somerville Youth Arts Coordinator Jimmy DelPonte announced that auditions will be held Tuesday, December 10 for a new after-school arts enrichment program called "Klass Klownz." The auditions are open to any Somerville resident in Grades 7 thru 9, and will be held Wednesday, December 10 at 6:00 p.m. at the West Somerville Neighborhood School, which is located at 177 Powderhouse Boulevard. Performers should prepare a one-minute skit that can take the form of a funny song, an impression or a parody of a TV ad or character. CD player will be provided for those auditioners that have their own music.

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Congratulations to Southern Middlesex Register of Deeds Gene Brune on his accomplishments with regards to the registry of deeds for taking it out of the dark ages and brining it into the modern 21st century! Together with Secretary of State Billy Galvin, a social gathering and open house was hosted this past Monday night and the event was well attended - we're not surprised Gene has a reputation of doing good, whatever he touches.

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Armory set to open early next year

Are you ready for an arts center Somerville?~Photo by Camille Pandian By Patrick Connolly At night, when the floodlights shine on the medieval-castle-like building at 191 Highland Ave., it gives the white concrete turrets a fairytale appearance. For its owners, tenants and neighbors, when the Center for Arts at the Armory finally finishes construction and receives a certificate of occupancy it will be a dream come true. "I'm wondering," said Evelyn Moore, who lives across from the Armory in the Jeanne Jugan Residence run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, "is it normal for an 84-year-old woman to be this excited about her future?" Moore is not the only one excited about the transformation of the Armory from a storage space to a multi-use arts center over the last four years. "It's amazing the transformation it's gone through," Ward 5 Alderman Sean O'Donovan said. The Armory, designed by Boston architect George A. Moore, was constructed in 1903 for the Somerville Light Infantry of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. Over the years, the National Guard and the State Police occupied the space. In April 2004, Joseph and Nabil Sater, owners of the Middle East club in Central Square bought the decaying property from the state for $2.6 million. "They seem to be very close to where they want to be as far as moving forward for the certificate of occupancy," O'Donovan said. The Armory needs to meet 41 conditions made by the Zoning Board of Appeals before it can receive a permanent certificate of occupancy. "The 41 conditions have become our bible," said Debra McLaughlin,member of the Armory's board of directors. McLaughlin emphasized the Armory's focus on the four pillars - visual arts, theater, dance and music - which abutting cities Medford, Cambridge and Boston already have. "We're very excited that there was a vision to turn a historic building into a community arts center and it's slowly but surely becoming a reality," McLaughlin said. Under a temporary certificate of occupancy, the Armory houses the offices and workspaces of seven tenants, including the Actors' Shakespeare Project, Arts at the Armory, Case AVP Photography, Hi-N-Dry Music Studio, the Mark Sandman Music Project, Moving Celebrations, and the University of the Middle East Project. The tenants aim towards the community, with after school programs for children and discounts for students and seniors. "If there's anybody who can anchor a community, it's Joseph," said Andrew Mazzone, who represents Hi-N-Dry Music Studio and the Mark Sandman Music Project. "He did this for the community not for any particular group." Apart from new office space, the Armory's renovations include two live-work spaces for artists and a 1,200-square-foot cafe, which can also be used to entertain crowds up to 50. The crown jewel of the project is a transformation of the Armory's drill hall into a 7,000-square-foot performance space. What was a basketball court four years ago, now features a mezzanine overlooking a floor that can fit 395 people during "at capacity" events 10 times per month and 325 at other times. Under the 41 conditions, performances would last no later than 11 p.m., unless agreed upon by the Board of Aldermen. Although McLaughlin said the performances wouldn't be loud, they took additional precautions by hiring MJ Audio, who has helped soundproof the space and provided technology that keeps the sound inside. "The intention was never to come into a neighborhood and disturb the neighborhood," Joseph Sater said. "If the intention is to have a nightclub, I won't have that in a residential area. For the money I spent I could have had it anywhere I wanted." At a community meeting last Wednesday, neighbors expressed lingering concerns about the Armory, including parking, rear floodlights shining into their homes, neglectful landscaping and the noise. "From the get go, it's been a concern of the neighborhood that it does not turn into a function hall," said John L. Sullivan, the self-described "tribunal leader" of the neighborhood. "If it works within the neighborhood, we understand the impact of having it there, but we need to make sure that we are entitled to our peace and tranquility." Although the floodlights and landscaping have been fixed, some neighbors argued the parking situation is terrible even without the Armory fully operational. McLaughlin said the Armory is renegotiating a lease for overflow parking with Cambridge Health Alliance, but noted the need for community members to use alternative transportation when attending the Armory. The 88 and the 90 buses pass by the Armory on Highland Avenue,and one of the 41 conditions is to install bicycle racks. "I think this is unprecedented that the neighbors are being given so much control," said George Landers, of the Inspectional Services Department. "I have never seen anything like this in my time down at ISD. They are just reaching out for this to work." Another of the conditions is to create a Neighborhood Advisory Committee comprised of Alderman O'Donovan, representatives from the Armory and three neighbors. Nominations for these positions are now being accepted and are available on the Armory's website. "It's going to be a great thing, in my opinion, when all the conditions are satisfied, for not only the arts community, but for the seniors, the children and the people from the high school," O'Donovan said.

Store it yourself on McGrath

~Photo by Bobbie Toner The Space Self Storage team gets ready for another day of work at their new Somerville location. The Long Island-based company opened a new spot at 51 McGrath Highway where customers can rent office space or store their valuables in a facility that has 24-hour, state of the art security, said Sales manager Roy R. Moulton, pictured here at the far right. As an added bonus, customers who pre-pay receive two months of storage free.

Buckley resigns

Michael Buckley quit his City Hall job last week. ~Photo by George P. Hassett Aide had been advisor to Curtatone By George P. Hassett One of the mayor's top aides resigned from his City Hall job Friday. Michael Buckley's last day as an aide to mayor Joseph A. Curtatone will be Dec. 5, said City Hall spokesman Thomas P. Champion. Buckley had worked as an aide to Curtatone before the mayor tapped him to replace Joseph Votour as highway superintendent for the Department of Public Works. When Janice Delory resigned as Curtatone's chief of staff in April 2007 and Michael Lambert replaced her, the mayor asked Buckley to once again serve as his aide. Buckley sent an email today at 3:05 p.m. to city department heads informing them of his move. "As many of you may have already heard I presented Mayor Curtatone with my resignation," he wrote in the email. "I will be leaving my position as Aide to the Mayor effective [Dec. 5]. It has been a pleasure working with all of you. I can't tell you how appreciative I am for the friendships that I gained. Please feel free to inform your staff members. I will not be going too far and hope to remain in contact with you going forward." Champion did not have an immediate comment on Buckley's departure. And the mayor isn't talking either. "[Curtatone] will probably withhold comment until Mike has more to say" on his resignation and future plans, Champion said.

Don't play by the highway

Don't breathe too deep if you live on Bailey Road or Mystic Avenue. ~Photo by Bobbie Toner The nearly "half-million dollars worth of equipment" in the air-monitoring truck.~Photo courtesy of Mystic View Task Force Pollution increases tenfold near I-93 By Jack Nicas In some areas around Interstate 93, there are approximately 10 times as many airborne ultrafine particles than in other less-traveled parts of the city, according to a study presented by the Mystic View Task Force Wednesday. Residents of Mystic Avenue and Bailey Road, two areas examined in the study, could be at risk. "[Ultrafine particles] are the first suspect in what's causing the health effects from highway pollution," said Task Force member Wig Zamore. Health problems associated with highway pollution are "reduced lung function, asthma, cardiovascular disease, [and] lung cancer," according to the study. An average ultrafine particle density would be "10,000 to a few tens of thousands [per cubic centimeter]," Zamore said. The study found areas around I-93 with 100,000 ultrafine particles per cubic centimeter, the size of a small sugar cube. "When you're getting 10 times the pollution as somebody else over a long period of time, it's as if you were smoking ten times as many cigarettes," Zamore said. "You're going to expect that through the law of averages, your health effects are going to be greater." Zamore suggested leaving windows facing the highway closed, not exercising near the highway, and the use of high-efficiency air filters for residents within 200 meters of I-93. The study, which was Tufts graduate student Christine Ash's master's thesis, relied on information gathered on a "typical winter morning" earlier this year in the Ten Hills area. A truck outfitted with nearly "a half-million dollars worth of equipment," according to Ash's professor John Durant, drove around Ten Hills from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., collecting air quality data. The study found that the ultrafine particle concentration was very high in the early morning and then decreased as the day progressed. At 7:20 a.m. the particle concentration 50 meters from I-93 was measured at 90,000 per cubic centimeter; two hours later that number dropped to 30,000. It also showed the concentration sharply decreasing as the truck moved farther away from the highway. At 7:20 a.m. the particle concentration decreased by 60,000 from 50 meters to 400 meters away. "The study showed that the time of day and the meteorology is very important," Durant said. "And also of course that proximity matters." A separate study on the city's levels of nitrogen dioxide and black carbon, two indicators of traffic-related pollution, was also presented Wednesday. That study found nitrogen dioxide levels were twice as high near I-93 than in Draw 7 Park. Nitrogen dioxide levels near I-93 were similar to those found in heavily congested areas such as Kenmore Square and Roxbury Crossing in Boston, said Taeko Minegishi, the study's lead researcher. Everyday approximately 150,000 cars travel on I-93, 50,000 on Route 28, and 20,000 on Route 38, according to the Massachusetts Highway Department. Approximately 250,000 cars pass through the three roadways' intersection per day, Zamore said. "There are only two or three other intersections in the state with that much traffic," he said. The city's heavy traffic flow may soon present a more serious problem than traffic and noise, Zamore said. "The number of people with health problems is going to be proportional to both the traffic density and the population density," he said. "Once you have both of those overlapping in a very small area, you should expect to see a large public health problem."

Behind the scenes at Houghton Mifflin

By Doug Holder Off The Shelf Lawrence Kessenich was an editor at the prestigious Boston publishing house Houghton Mifflin. Kessenich, 58, attended the MFA program at UMass-Amherst, lived near Emily Dickinson's house, and encountered such poets as Joe Langland, Donald Junkins, and James Tate. When he didn't secure a teaching assistant position he was forced to drop out and applied to the Radcliffe Publishing Seminar, attending in the summer of 1978. During his time at Houghton Mifflin, Kessenich recruited W. P. Kinsella author of "Shoeless Joe," Rick Boyer author of "Billingsgate Shoal", a mystery that won an Edgar Award for best mystery novel of the year, David Payne, author of "Confessions of Taoist on Wall Street", and Dianne Middlebrook editor of "Selected Poems of Anne Sexton." Kessenich was the editor for Terry McMillan's first book "Mama," as well. I spoke with him on my Somerville Community Access TV Show: " Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer." Doug Holder: After you graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1974, you told me you "meandered" throughout your twenties. What did you do? Is meandering a good thing? Lawrence Kessenich: It was good for me. At the end of college I was interested in the theatre. I started doing amateur theatre. I basically spent my twenties applying to graduate schools. I was accepted into a theatre program, but at the last minute decided it wasn't for me. I was starting to write a lot at that point. I put together some short stories that I had written, and applied to 5 or 6 programs. I didn't get into any of them. At that time I started writing more poetry and so the next time I applied, I applied in poetry. I got into three different programs and chose the one at UMass-Amherst. I have always been attracted to Massachusetts. They had a very good program at UMass. DH: How did you support yourself in your twenties? LK: I had all sorts of odd jobs. I worked in a hospital and assisted in autopsies-that was an interesting experience. I worked at an art supply store, a U Haul dealership. DH: You attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course in the 70s. Was it sort of like a boot camp for getting into the publishing industry? LK: That's a pretty good description. It's six weeks and it is very intense. I went 25 years ago, I think it has been around for sixty years now. They bring in a lot of people from the publishing business, it is just not theoretical. I eventually got the job at Houghton Mifflin from someone I met at the course. DH: But you originally wanted to be a writer and now you found yourself on the road to being an editor. LK: I sort of had an epiphany when I left UMass. I thought maybe I was more suited to be the helper than the person who actually creates the stuff. It turned out I was pretty good at it...it was a good role for me. But eventually I did want to become a writer myself. I did a little, but it is hard when you are an editor. There are only a handful of people who do it. DH: You say you had to "acquire" novels in order to get ahead. How does one go about doing that? LK: Well, for novels or nonfiction-you basically read articles. When you are starting out agents won't talk to you. So you talk to other people, read literary magazines, the smaller magazines, where the authors aren't necessarily well known. There is a magazine in the publishing trade called: "Publisher's Weekly." I discovered the author W.P. Kinsella who wrote "Shoeless Joe" there. The reviews appear in PW before the book is even out. So I happened to read this review of a Canadian anthology of short stories. There was a one sentence description of Kinsella's story: "An Iowa farmer builds a playing field in his cornfield in order to invoke his baseball hero Shoeless Joe Jackson." It sounded wonderful. I'm from the Midwest, and I like sports. I was young and naïve and I didn't know much about publishing. I figured that fourteen editors would write to him as soon as they saw it. So I decided I was going to write him right away. I asked him if he ever had written a novel. Nobody wants to start with short stories. It happens once in a while but it's rare. DH: You worked with Diane Middlebrook on the "Selected Poems of Anne Sexton." What role did you play-did you select any of the poems? LK: No. I wish I could of because she was one of my favorite poets. I was there as a representative in the publishing house. I made sure that when the manuscript was turned in they did the right things with it: like cover design, inside design, and I was the intermediary between anyone else they had to deal with. DH: In an interview with Lois Ames, Sexton's and Sylvia Plath's social worker, and author of the intro to Plath's "Bell Jar," Ames told me she tried to write a biography of Plath but ran into a lot of trouble with the family. Did this happen to Middlebrook? LK: It took years for Diane to write "Anne Sexton: A Biography." But during that time she called me up and said: "You are never going to believe what I have--- the tapes of Sexton's sessions with her therapist." "Well" I said. "This will guarantee that the book will be controversial if nothing else." And it certainly was and the family was very upset. This fact didn't come out until the book was published. Lyrical Somerville edited by Doug Holder I recently spent time with Boston Poet Laureate Sam Cornish and he gave me his new collection of poetry: "An Apron Full of Beans: New and Selected Poems." ( CavanKerry Press). Sam told me that one of his favorite singers is Frank Sinatra. This poem will tell you why. To have your work considered for the LYRICAL send it to: Doug Holder 25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143 dougholder@post.harvard.edu SINATRA * For the Honorable Thomas M. Menino Mayor of Boston in the late hours of Saturday night at the end of the week in every corner of my room Frankie has a song for me in the low breaking dawn the endless Fifth Avenue of my memory the voice is Sinatra he is a song that follows me through the lonely city nights and smoke- filled bars of drink after drink and lighting up letting the smoke rise into the air drop a nickel in the machine Frankie has a song for you --Sam Cornish * From "An Apron Full of Beans"

Haigh brings imagination to writer's fest

Jennifer Haigh is a writer from Hull who likes stories with heroic pigs. ~Photos by Asia Kepka Acclaimed Hull novelist to read in Somerville Nov. 22 By Patrick Connolly Growing up in western Pennsylvania, Jennifer Haigh loved to read Charlotte's Web. "You can't go wrong having a pig as a hero," Haigh said. "That's advice I should follow in my own work." On Nov. 22, Haigh, a critically acclaimed author, will be at the VFW Dilboy Post for the sixth annual Somerville News Writers Festival. Haigh will come to Somerville from Hull, where she now lives. Hull is an isolated community on the South Shore. The seclusion may explain why Haigh creates such vivid characters. "I really write from my imagination," Haigh said. "So it's all pretty much made up right out of my head." Her third and most recent novel, The Condition, came out in July. It takes place on Cape Cod and is the first of Haigh's books to be set in Massachusetts. The title refers to a condition called Turner syndrome, which Gwen, the middle child of the McKotch family, is diagnosed with. Although there is no memoir component to the story, Haigh can relate. "This idea first germinated when I was a kid. I went to junior high with a girl who had Turner syndrome," Haigh said. "It wasn't until years later, I was doing medical research for a different novel and I came across an article in a medical journal and recognized her condition." Turner syndrome is a genetic glitch found in females that doesn't allow them to mature physically. The Condition follows the McKotches for 20 years after Gwen is diagnosed. "She never goes through puberty," Haigh said. "Mentally, emotionally she matures but physically she stays very small." The novel centers on the condition, but it encompasses all of the McKotches, who are products of their New England environment. Similarly, the characters in her second novel, Baker Towers, are embedded in the culture surrounding Bakerton, a coal mining Pennsylvania town like the one Haigh grew up in. "The place itself is familiar to me," Haigh said. "In a certain way, we're all shaped by the place we come from." Baker Towers won the 2006 PEN/L.L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author. Haigh's first novel, Mrs. Kimble, won the 2004 PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. Along with these novels, Haigh writes short fiction, which has been featured in Granta, Ploughshares, Five Points and Good Housekeeping. Haigh isn't a serious athlete, calling herself a lazy runner, but she relates these writing styles to running. "Writing short stories is like sprinting and writing novels is like training for a marathon," Haigh said, adding that writing novels is a more complicated process. "The hardest part of writing novels is making something out of nothing. It's a very intimidating prospect and I think the enemy is despair." Whenever Haigh loses motivation, the thing that gets her back on track is reading. "For me it's essential that I read everyday and read something really good," Haigh said. "Reading good writing is like taking vitamins. It only benefits you." The author's that Haigh admires are Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road, and James Salter. "[Salter's] one of these great living writers nobodies ever heard of. He's really a wonderful stylist and also writes these very clean disciplined sentences," Haigh said. "I'm not saying my work is anything like that, more that I wish it were." Haigh got where she is today by writing persistently, taking pen to pad first thing in the morning everyday. "In some ways it's the most boring occupation imaginable," Haigh said. "You need a tolerance for monotony, which I suppose I have." In the future, Haigh plans to write another novel, the form she's most comfortable with, but she won't disclose any concrete details. "Perhaps, I will write a heroic pig novel one day," Haigh said.

Teens 'limit ignorance and spread knowledge'

Somerville teens tell their stories on Pearl Street. The crowd listens closely. By Camille Pandian Pearl Street is buzzing with excitement. At Teen Empowerment's community center on the street, kids mill around outside talking excitedly. When the lights dim and everyone sits down inside and the performance does start, however, it quickly becomes apparent this is not your average teen performance event. The subject matter covers social issues from parental abandonment to gangs, violence, crime, racism and drugs. The performances are poems and rap songs, and they are all written by the teen performers themselves from personal experience. This is Teen Empowerment: a non-profit organization run by and for youths aged 14-21. Its aim is to empower and inspire young people to be leaders in positive social change. "It's all about peer leadership," Assistant Director Amanda Holm says. Teen Empowerment hires city youths from a wide variety of different social backgrounds. They meet daily to discuss issues and then hold events such as this one, where they recruit other teens to come witness and be a part of the discussions in social awareness. The organization has been around for 17 years and also has centers in Boston, Egleston Square, Dorchester and Rochester, New York. "Their biggest thing is every piece is something personal,' Holm says. "We don't ever want to be preaching to other kids about 'don't do this, don't do that.' It's more like, 'this is where I'm coming from, this is what I've gone through, here's why it'll help you to learn about my experience.' It's always a 'we' thing, instead of an 'us versus them' thing." For many of the performers Thursday, it was their first time in front of an audience. John Norena, 14, read a poem about how it felt to grow up having had his father abandon him. "I was sweating a little bit," he says. "But I need to get it out of me. When I express it I feel pretty good." When asked about his long-term vision for sharing such personal experiences, he says, "I want people to know my story. My pieces have a message in them, a real message." Merlinda Petit, 15, also performed Thursday. Although she has been working for Teen Empowerment for three years, she also still gets nerves before a show. "It is nerve-racking," she says. "But at the end of the day you're glad you did it, because even if it was just one person you reached out there." When asked about her long-term goals for the project, she says, "I'm trying to limit ignorance and spread knowledge."

Arlington loves trees too

Deborah Henson-Conant and the Arlington choir sing and dance under Belinda, the endangered Thorndike Street tree. Henson-Conant braved the cold to play the harp gloveless for over an hour. Arlington High choir celebrates endangered Somerville tree By Jack Nicas "Belinda, Belinda-the most beautiful tree in town!" sang the Arlington High choir under the Thorndike Street willow tree Wednesday afternoon. The tree continued its celebrity this week with a musical celebration by 61 Arlington students and 2007 Grammy nominee Deborah Henson-Conant. The group performed two of Henson-Conant's original songs, Belinda and Birth'A Bertha, both named and written specifically for the tree. One week prior to the celebration, 15 protestors deterred the Cambridge Landscaping Company from cutting the over-100-year-old tree down. On Wednesday more Somerville residents turned out to enjoy the music and celebrate the tree. Henson-Conant, now an Arlington resident after 18 years in Somerville, strummed her harp and the choir sang along; the ensemble performed both songs twice. The choir has been learning "Belinda" since September, when the group chose to perform the song alongside Henson-Conant in its December holiday concert. Arlington senior Darius Dummott, one of the choir's liveliest members, said the students knew the tree existed when they began rehearsing, but had never actually seen it. That is except for one member. "I've known the tree since I was a kid," said Leah Eva, whose sister lives nearby on Seven Pines Avenue. "They started singing it and I said, 'I know this tree!' Everyone looked at me like I was crazy." Eventually the choir became curious and wanted to meet "Belinda," said Dummott. "It was our idea; we wanted to come out here and see her." Two days after deciding to visit the tree, the group heard it was endangered, Henson-Conant said. "So we decided we better get down here. We want to support the tree and support the community." On Tuesday, arborist group Boston Tree Preservation will reexamine the tree to determine if it really needs to come down as the Cambridge Landscaping Company insists, said Thorndike Street resident Greg Nadeu. "The tree deserves a second opinion," he said. Many of the Arlington students said they agreed. "This tree went beyond my expectations," said Van Shane. "It really is a beautiful tree," Dummott said.