Leslie Schultz

Hengel Concertina (Photo: Bonnie Jean Flom)

On May 9, 2019, Hot Spot Music was the site of a combined poetry reading and concert. Jake Minar Bastyr, of New Prague, opened the program with tunes played on a Hengel concertina he had made with his grandfather, Jerry Minar. Then Rob Hardy, Northfield’s Poet Laureate, introduced Jake and me, and I read a selection of poems from my new collection, Concertina. Poems were followed by uplifting melodies from Jake, refreshments, and conversation. There was even some singing along, and some toes tapping, along with a few heels kicked up, during the course of that lively evening!

It was a warm-hearted and unforgettable evening for me, that’s for certain. If you were not able to attend, here are some photos and video clips that will give you the flavor of the evening. LESLIE

(This video begins with Jake playing and has some poems as they were read. Below, following the photographs, are two more short clips of Jake playing on May 9.)

View from the Stage (Photo: Leslie Schultz)

Floral Artist Mattie Lufkin (Photo: Leslie Schultz)

Tim Braulick and Leslie Schultz (Photo: Mattie Lufkin)

Refreshments and Floral Art (Photo: Mattie Lufkin)

Patricia Smith and Kristin Kasten (Photo: Mattie Lufkin)

Eric Johnson with Lin and Bob Bruce (Photo: Mattie Lufkin)

Tim and Luke Braulick (Photo: Bonnie Jean Flom)

D. E. Green with Cahrene Dimmick and Leslie Schultz (Photo: Mattie Lufkin)

Becky Boling and Jake Bastyr (Photo: Mattie Lufkin)

Reading of CONCERTINA by Leslie Schultz
and Music with Jake Bastyr
for May 9, 2019, Hot Spot Music, Northfield, MN

“Under the Murmur”
“Marches”
“Concertina”
“Lapis Philosophorum”
“Goldfish, Oboe, Paintbrush, Guitar”
“Minou”
“Simple Beauty”
“Silhouette”
“Sonnet Despite Rain”
“City Rain”
“The (Not-So) Easy-Bake Oven”
“Music So Loud We Can’t Hear”
“In the Produce Aisle”
“Antique Absinthe Glasses”
“Prayer in Stillness”
“Weather”

Thanks for this event go to Rob Hardy, Northfield’s Poet Laureate:

to the Northfield Public Library, for sponsoring the Poet Laureate program:

to the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) for funding support, through funds from the people of Minnesota and the Legacy Amendment:

and to Hot Spot Music and Martha Larson for hosting the event in this flexible and inviting space!

Martha Larson of Hot Spot Music (Photo: Mattie Lufkin)

Ars Poetica

A poem slips open into your hand
like a cracked egg falling, wobbly but whole,
into your old blue china mixing bowl,
nascent but complete, soon to be transformed—

new matrix binding chance observation,
puzzled memory, and flash points of insight
with enough artistry to draw attention.
Some few go deep, bring a bright steel rivet

to strengthen the battleship of the brain;
platinum threads to reweave a broken heart,
mending its weary net. Where there is pain,
we cry out to our old mother art.

Cake or bread? Confection or contusion?
A poem serves up its startling fusion.

Leslie Schultz